The Long Walk’s Bleak Ending & Contest Winner Explained

Curious who ultimately wins in Stephen King’s The Long Walk? The brutal contest pushes its young competitors to their limits, forcing them to choose between endurance, morality, and survival. As alliances break and desperation takes hold, the story builds toward a haunting conclusion.

Here’s how both the book and film end, and which character claims the final victory.

Who wins the contest at the end of The Long Walk?

The Long Walk ends with different winners depending on the version. In the recent film adaptation, Peter McVries becomes the final victor of the competition. He survives after Raymond Garraty, who kept him alive multiple times during the Walk, chooses to die. McVries officially wins, though the outcome leaves him broken.

In Stephen King’s original novel, the ending unfolds differently. McVries dies second-to-last when he sits down and allows himself to be shot. That leaves Garraty and Stebbins as the final two walkers. Garraty wins when Stebbins collapses and dies, yet Garraty continues walking toward a mysterious dark figure, ignoring the Major and his wish.

The film highlights McVries’ victory as both tragic and ironic. Earlier, he had spoken about wanting to do something noble with the win. Instead, after Garraty’s death, McVries demands a gun as his prize and kills the Major, following through on Garraty’s revenge. This marks a darker turn for a character who had been one of the most moral contestants.

The book’s ending carries a different tone. Garraty’s victory is less about revenge and more about existential endurance. He survives but seems detached from reality, continuing to walk despite his official win. The sight of the dark figure propels him onward, leaving the story on an unsettling, ambiguous note.

These contrasting endings highlight two interpretations of the same concept. The movie depicts victory as destructive rage overtaking morality, while the novel presents survival as hollow persistence. Both versions show that the winner of the Long Walk emerges scarred by the experience of outlasting so many others, never left whole.

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