As the title suggests, The Search for Spock is a quest story, so the ending is going to follow a typical quest ending. Admit it: we all knew this tale would end with the hero restoring normality to the world, er, universe before returning home.

But before that, an evil would need to be defeated. This, of course, calls for a game of The Floor Is Hot Lava.

Lava, Lava Everywhere

We aren't sure why, but so many movies end with the villain taking the lava plunge. Return of the King ends with Gollum and the Ring meeting a fiery demise in Mt. Doom. In Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan and Anakin duel through a lava farm. And Terminator 2 concludes with both the T-1000 and the T-800 taking a dip in a molten hot tub.

The Search for Spock is no different. Kruge teleports down to Genesis and beams up everyone except Kirk and Spock. Remember that Spock is the object of the quest, as evident in the title, so the battle between the hero and villain will determine the fate of the quest as a whole. This setup is so classic that even the dialogue can't help but shout-out to how predetermined it is:

KIRK: You fool, look around you! The planet's destroying itself!

KRUGE: Yes, exhilarating, isn't it?

KIRK: If we don't help each other, we'll die here.

KRUGE: Perfect. Then that's the way it shall be.

That's the way it shall be, indeed.

For the quest to end, the conflict between these characters needs to resolved, courtesy of an epic battle between Kirk and Kruge. (Okay, it's not all that epic. In fact, it looks like two middle-aged dudes in awkward cosplay costumes drunkenly trying to sumo. But hey: it was filmed in the pre-digital 80s.)

In the end, Kirk defeats Kruge by kicking him into a pit of lava on the self-destructing planet.

Hit the Reset Button

With evil defeated, the path to normality clears for the hero. Kirk and his crew commandeer Kruge's Bird-of-Prey and hightail it to Vulcan. There, the object of desire can be used to return the world to normal.

Think of it like the end of any Legend of Zelda game…but instead of collecting and reuniting the Triforce, Kirk has collected Spock's body and katra. Now a Vulcan high priestess will reunite the two through the ritual of fal-tor-pan, the refusion.

After the ritual, McCoy confirms he's all right and pretty chill about going through a so-called dangerous and never performed ritual. This takes us one step closer to the normal world.

Then comes Spock. Robed in white, the Vulcan ceremoniously walks past Kirk and his crew, but then something occurs to him. He turns and asks Kirk why he came back for him. It is clear from the exchange that Spock's mind is addled, his memories a mess. But as they talk, his memories slowly return to him:

SPOCK: I have been…and ever shall be, your friend.

KIRK: Yes. Yes, Spock.

SPOCK: The ship. Out of danger?

KIRK: You saved the ship. You saved us all. Don't you remember?

SPOCK: Jim. Your name is Jim.

KIRK: Yes.

At the realization that Spock is back, the crew surrounds him for a big group hug.

Remember at the film's beginning that Kirk was apprehensive that his family has been broken, calling Spock's death is an "open wound." Now, the Enterprise family is whole and the wound has been healed with Spock's resurrection. The brokenness that sent Kirk on this quest has been mended, and among his friends, he is home. The world has returned to normal.

Unless you consider the destruction of the Enterprise. And the death of Kirk's son. And the whole committing treason. Oh, and the fact that they just brought someone back from the dead.

So…normal-ish?