Pre-Release
- This Instagram post, by author James Dashner, of most of the cast at a restaurant before filming resumed.
The saddening thing is not the idea of them celebrating during the final Maze Runner film, it's the first part of the caption that was added along with the image, combining Cringe Comedy and Foreshadowing for book fans towards one of the most saddening moments of The Death Cure: Newt's pleading, final words for Thomas to Mercy Kill him, as the former has become a Crank. Thomas eventually does it with great remorse afterwards."Please, Tommy, please.... pass the salt. Good to see these guys back together!!!" - The second trailer ended with the spoilered line, with a shot of a teary, red-eyed Thomas as seen in the page image. Book fans were completely sidelined by that. The worst thing was, the aforementioned death happened in the movie itself. The saddest moment in the entire book series was finally adapted, and it's painful as it sounds.
- In the previous movie, Minho told Thomas that he didn't want to end up like the imprisoned Immune. As a captive of WCKD, he is now going through the same tests as them, meaning his worst fears have been realized.
Post-Release
- Teresa administers a serum made with Minho's blood to a patient infected by the flare (a little girl, at that) and the serum seems to work. A few minutes later, however, the serum has failed, with the little girl reverting back into a Crank.
- This is tearjerking in hindsight, but when Thomas and Newt finally are reunited with Minho, it's heartbreaking to realize that this is their last perfect moment together. Which leads to...
- The infamous page 250. EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND. It's just one emotionally-resonant fight between Thomas and Newt, the latter of whom has succumbed to the Flare and turned into a Crank. Thomas is only able to end the fight by stabbing Newt in the chest with his own knife. To make matters worse, the music accompanying this tragic moment is a new rendition of the same music that played during Chuck's death, "Finale"."Tommy..."
- If you look closely, you'll see that Newt's hand was on the knife's handle, strongly implying he charged at Thomas while aiming the knife above his own chest, knowing the collision would kill him, all so he wouldn't have to murder his friend.
- Surprisingly, the "Please Tommy, please" doesn't come when Newt succumbs to the Flare. It comes when Thomas is preparing to get Newt to the cure. The quote comes when Newt begs Thomas to take a necklace he's wearing. The music doesn't help.
- At one point, Newt briefly regains control while in the midst of strangling Thomas, and tearfully apologizes before snatching Thomas' gun and attempts to shoot himself in the head, only for Thomas to knock the gun away at the last second, after which Newt reverts back to a crank.
- Even worse, when Newt says his last words, his expression is one of happiness and relief, thanking Thomas for essentially killing him, to end his suffering. What happens afterwards is Minho, Gally, Frypan, and Brenda arriving with a sample of the cure, after Newt has died. In other words, they arrived a few seconds too late to cure Newt. Brenda is left in tears, while Minho and Frypan silently kneel at Newt's corpse, with Minho at first attempting to retain his composure, but then collapsing in despair. All Gally can do is stand in shock, as despite his (ambiguous) villainy from during the first movie, Newt was still a very close friend to him.
- Ava Paige's unceremonious death. After Thomas goes to her to confirm whether his blood is the definitive cure, she confirms it. He agrees to be used as a cure, on the condition that his friends go free. Ava Paige obliges, then BANG. A bullet to the back ends her life, fired by Janson. Her hope of redemption from WCKD's immoral methods has been snuffed out in one fell swoop.
- Teresa's Heroic Sacrifice. Like in the novel, she gives her life to save Thomas. Unlike in the novel, Thomas' despair is clearly shown.
- Teresa's apology to Thomas just before, when they're trapped on the roof, and his reply.Teresa: I'm sorry. I tried.
Thomas: I know.
- Teresa's apology to Thomas just before, when they're trapped on the roof, and his reply.
- At the Safe Haven, a new stone slab is revealed, allowing the survivors to chisel names of lost lives from the Maze. Fittingly, Gally adds Chuck's name, Minho adds Newt's name and Thomas adds Teresa's.
- Newt's letter at the end of the film. It's more in a heartwarming way than a sad one, but the letter really helps flesh out his character and shows what he and Thomas meant to each other. Thomas Brodie-Sangster's sincere delivery and Dylan O'Brien's tearful reaction make for a truly moving scene. If you think the feels couldn't get any more intense, take into account that Thomas Brodie-Sangster wrote the letter HIMSELF and narrated the letter while sitting some distance away from Dylan O'Brien during the filming of that moment.Dear Thomas,
This is the first letter I can remember writing. Obviously I don't know if I wrote any before the Maze, but, even if it's not my first, it's likely to be my last.
I want you to know that I'm not scared. Well, not of dying, anyway… It’s more forgetting. Losing myself to this virus, that’s what scares me.
So every night I've been saying their names out loud. Alby, Winston, Chuck, I just repeat them. Over and over, like a prayer. And it all comes flooding back. Just the little things, like where the sun used to hit the Glade at that perfect moment right before it slid beneath the walls. And I remember the taste of Frypan's stew. I'd never thought I'd miss that stuff so much.
And I remember you. I remember the first time you came up in the box. Just a scared little Greenie who couldn't even remember his own name. And from that moment you ran into the maze, I knew I would follow you anywhere. And I have. We all have.
If I could do it all over again, I would. And I wouldn't change a thing.
My hope for you is when you're looking back years from now, you'll be able to say the same. The future's in your hands now, Tommy. And I know you'll find a way to do what's right. You always have. Take care of everyone for me. And take care of yourself. You deserve to be happy. Thank you for being my friend. Goodbye, mate.
Newt - The very last shot of the film, zooming on Thomas's face as he is holding the small vial containing the definitive cure. It's a deliberate reversal of the first film's opening scene, where he was looking around the walls of the Maze in shock, all while the camera pulled back. Before, he was just a kid who was forcefully dragged into an experiment by the organization that he used to work for. Now, after going through so much hell, and losing many friends throughout the trilogy, Thomas is now in a place where he can live the rest of his life in peace. And he can use that cure to save many others in danger. Combined with this tearful reprisal of the main theme, this proved to be a fitting end to a coming-of-age story in a post-apocalyptic world.
