Ending explained Any Way the Wind Blows Rainbow Rowell

Any Way the Wind Blows Ending Explained

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Literal Account of the Ending

The novel’s climax occurs in the White Chapel at Watford, where the American mage Smith‑Richards prepares to “cure” a crowd of hundreds—including Daphne Pitch and Professor Martin Bunce—by casting a spell that temporarily boosts their magic. Simon Snow, who has become immune to magic, flies through a stained‑glass window to confront Smith. Baz, Penelope, and Shepard arrive with Philippa (“Pippa”), whose voice Baz stole years earlier. Pippa uses Baz’s wand to restore her own voice by swallowing a recording of it, then exposes Smith as a fraud: his power‑up spell wears off and leaves recipients with no magic at all. Jamie Salisbury admits his own magic has already faded. After a chaotic confrontation, Headmistress Bunce arrests Smith. The main action then moves to the epilogue, set one year later.

The Climax

Smith‑Richards, dressed in white at the altar, intends to call Daphne first and make her cast a giant chocolate‑bar spell as proof of his miracle. When Simon disrupts the ceremony, Smith and his followers cast spells at Simon, but none affect him. Pippa, newly able to speak, shouts a spell that covers Smith in cobwebs. Jamie confirms the cure is temporary. Simon grabs Smith and flies him out through the broken window; Smith is then taken into custody by Headmistress Bunce, who jumps from the Weeping Tower to the scene. The critical turning point is Pippa’s public testimony, which breaks the crowd’s faith in Smith.

Major Character Outcomes

Simon Snow: Learns that he is still a magician, not a Normal. He reconciles with Baz, moves into a flat together, and begins to accept his identity. By the end, he has not undergone the wing‑removal surgery; his wings and tail remain, and he is learning to live with them.
Baz Pitch: Confronts his guilt over stealing Pippa’s voice and helps restore it. He moves in with Simon and continues his relationship with him. He also helps his stepmother Daphne process her near‑participation in Smith’s scheme.
Penelope Bunce: Discovers Shepard’s demon marriage contract and remains determined to break it. She brings Shepard to her parents for dinner, and the two decide to stay together, though their future location is uncertain.
Shepard: Reveals his magical debts (firstborn promised to imps, last name lost to a fairy, carrier of a mermaid condition) and faces Penelope’s anger, but they eventually reconcile.
Agatha Wellbelove: Abandons magic entirely. In the epilogue, she lives on the Watford grounds, tending to goats and sleeping in a barn loft. She has a romantic relationship with Niamh, the veterinary intern who assisted in Simon’s wing surgery.
Smith‑Richards: Arrested and held in a tower pending trial. His spell is confirmed to be a curse that depletes magic permanently after a temporary boost.
Jamie Salisbury: Reunites with his mother Lady Ruth after Simon drives him home. His magic has faded completely.
Philippa (Pippa): Regains her voice and publicly denounces Smith. She thanks Simon but expresses hatred for Baz.

Resolved and Unresolved Threads

Resolved

Smith‑Richards’s fraud is exposed and he is arrested, ending his cult‑like operation.
Pippa gets her voice back.
Simon and Baz commit to a domestic life together, with Baz moving into Simon’s flat.
Agatha finds peace and a simple purpose with the goats, and begins a relationship with Niamh.
Penelope and Shepard decide to stay together despite his legal and magical complications.

Unresolved

Shepard’s demon marriage contract is not broken; Penelope has only begun researching a solution.
Simon’s wings and tail remain; the planned surgery was not carried out, leaving his transformation incomplete and his future physical status open.
The long‑term effects of Smith’s curse on those he “cured” (like Jamie) are not reversed, though the immediate threat is stopped.
Baz’s stepmother Daphne’s lingering vulnerability is acknowledged but not fully healed.

Theme Resolution

Identity and Transformation: Simon embraces being a magician who can’t do magic, and chooses to keep his dragon features rather than surgically remove them. Agatha rejects the magical world entirely, defining her own identity outside it.
Guilt and Forgiveness: Baz confesses his theft of Pippa’s voice and helps restore it. Pippa still hates him, but the act of restoration moves him toward atonement. Simon forgives himself for the Mage’s death, slowly.
Love and Control: Simon and Baz learn to trust each other with vulnerability; Baz promises to love Simon kindly without controlling him. Penelope initially tries to control Shepard’s narrative but eventually lets him make his own choices.
Power and Manipulation: Smith‑Richards’s manipulation is shown as empty: his power‑up is a destructive curse. The Coven acts to remove him, but the underlying desire for easy power remains in the community.
Family and Legacy: Simon confronts the Mage’s true identity (David Cadwallader) and refuses his inheritance. Baz reconciles with his father’s legacy. Agatha finds family with the goats and Niamh. Penelope’s family is strained but intact.

The Epilogue (Chapter 92)

Set one year after the main events, the epilogue focuses on Agatha. She no longer uses magic; her wand has been traded for a walking stick. She spends her days caring for goats on the Watford grounds—the same herd that was once part of the Wood’s magic. Niamh has eliminated the merwolves, making the area safe. Each evening Agatha leads the goats across the Great Lawn to their barn, where she sleeps in a loft furnished with a wheel window and a claw‑foot tub. She acknowledges the goats could manage without her but chooses to stay. Her final thought is that she will probably remain in this simple life for a while. The epilogue underscores that Agatha has found contentment by leaving the world of mages behind, choosing peace over power.

Reasonable Interpretations

Agatha’s ending is a deliberate anti‑heroic choice. By trading her wand for a walking stick, she rejects the magical world’s definitions of success and finds fulfillment in humble caretaking.
Simon’s retained wings and tail symbolize his refusal to conform. He no longer needs to be the Chosen One or a Normal; he is simply Simon, with all his strange beauty.
Baz’s confession and Pippa’s partial forgiveness suggest that some harms cannot be fully repaired, but that taking responsibility is still necessary.
Shepard and Penelope’s unresolved contract mirrors the series’ theme that some problems don’t have neat solutions—they require ongoing work and trust.
The novel ends on a note of cautious hope rather than triumph. Smith is stopped, but the system that created him remains; Daphne still yearns for power; the Coven is still reactive. The main characters have found small, personal peace.

Six Reader Questions Answered

1. Does Simon get his magic back?
No. Simon remains magic‑inert—he cannot cast spells, but he is immune to magic. In Chapter 78, Headmistress Bunce tests him and confirms he is “inert but not absorbing magic.” He is still a magician by nature, but his magic never returns.

2. Do Simon and Baz end up together?
Yes. They move into Simon’s flat together (Chapter 39), share domestic moments (Chapter 56), and by the end Baz promises to always come back (Chapter 81). The novel ends with them committed as a couple.

3. What happens to Smith‑Richards?
He is arrested by Headmistress Bunce at the White Chapel (Chapter 77) and held in a tower pending trial. His magic is still intact, but he is powerless to escape his circumstances.

4. Is Shepard’s demon marriage broken?
No. Penelope and Shepard discover that his tattoos are a prenuptial agreement and he voluntarily proposed (Chapter 40). They spend two days researching without progress (Chapter 54). The book ends with Penelope determined to find a solution but no resolution achieved.

5. Why did Simon give up his magic?
Simon gave away his magic willingly at the end of the second book because he believed being the Chosen One was a burden and he wanted to live a normal life. In this book, he reflects that he wasn’t manipulated (Chapter 2)—he made the choice himself, even though it had unforeseen consequences.

6. Does anyone die in the ending?
No major character dies. The only death referenced is the Mage’s (before the book begins). The climax is tense but non‑fatal for the main cast.

For more on the characters and themes, explore our other guides: