What Happened And How Promising Young Woman Ended
Promising Young Woman follows Cassie, played by Carey Mulligan, as she baits predatory men into taking advantage of her in a seemingly intoxicated condition at local bars and nightclubs. Cassie then turns the tables at the last minute and confronts those men about their actions, before they attempt to sleep with her. Each confrontation marks a name and a tally for her notebook, which contains what appears to be hundreds of entries.
Later, viewers find out Cassie’s best friend Nina, was raped and presumably committed suicide. Nina’s trauma and death are the motivation behind Cassie’s weekend activities. When she finds out that Nina’s rapist, Al Monroe (Chris Lowell), is back in town to get married, she orchestrates a plan to get back at Al and those involved with Nina’s rape.
In her final act of vengeance, Cassie poses as a stripper for the bachelor party, lures Al to a bedroom and handcuffs him to the bed. Cassie then reveals herself to the unwitting Al and attempts to carve Nina’s name into his skin. Al breaks free and proceeds to suffocate Cassie to death.