Edward Yang’s third film “Terrorizers” had a stunning final act which consisted of two different endings for a character at the end of his rope. In interviews, Yang often said that both endings of “Terrorizers” are true, which isn’t a factual statement but an emotional one.

It’s important to keep that Edward Yang cinematic philosophy in mind as we get to this remarkable series of scenes that complete Ting-Ting’s character arc. She is in some ways the emotional center of the film. When she tells her grandmother during her first coma conversation that she won’t be able to sleep unless she is forgiven for not taking out the garbage, we should take her literally.

She has basically walked around this film in a somnambulant daze, dozing off in class, unsure whether Lily is a friend or a rival, never quite understanding what her relationship with Fatty was. Meanwhile, her grandmother, the person on earth she loves the most, cannot wake up. Ting-Ting needs to be saved from this suspended animation, which has the form of a fairy tale.

She has returned from this terrible day at the police station, trying to make sense of Fatty’s actions, staring out the window. She notices her plant from school, which has suddenly bloomed. This recalls her teacher’s view that things we over nurture do not bloom, that we need to neglect them a bit before they grow. This is, of course, a metaphor for Ting-Ting who has been out of sight and mind of her parents throughout the film, and therefore comes of age.

She hears humming in the apartment. As she goes to investigate, through her grandmother’s door, Ting-Ting sees her awake, folding origami. She does not respond to this with an outburst of emotion, she seems to handle it as if in a dream state — mentioning how she thought the nurse might be humming, that she must be late (at notes the time as 2:30 p.m., which will turn out to be important.)

The scene between Ting-Ting and her grandmother is subtle and incredibly moving. She mentions that she was at the police station and was too embarrassed by the situation to return to school. She then kneels down beside her. Her grandmother makes this beautiful, delicate paper butterfly and hands it to Ting-Ting. She then puts her head on her grandmother’s lap, her grandmother strokes her hair.

Ting-Ting does all the talking in the scene. And it’s poetic:

I haven’t slept for so long.

I’m so tired, grandma.

Now … you’ve forgiven me … I can sleep.

(She closes her eyes.)

Grandma …

Why is the world so different \

from what we thought it was?

Now that you’re awake …

and see it again …

has it changed at all?

Now …

I close my eyes …

the world I see …

is so beautiful.

The film cuts from this image of Ting-Ting asleep on her grandmother’s lap to the plant, finally blooming and beautiful.

We next see Ting-Ting curled up on her bed, which of course makes us think the whole scene might have been a lovely dream. She’s woken up by the sound of her uncle A-Di’s voice, talking to his mother on the phone, telling her that “it’s not a joke.”

Ting-Ting gets up. We then notice that she has the paper butterfly in her fingers. She gets up to see what’s going on. We hear A-Di’s voice and the one-way phone conversation with his sister. Then we hear a voice declare that it’s her fault, if only she’d come sooner … we see the nurse being escorted out of the grandmother’s room by another medical professional. There are three white-coated medical professionals in the apartment.

Yang-Yang walks into the confusion. NJ is saying to one of the white coats that he was out all day. He notes that she likely died peacefully. He sees Yang-Yang and tells him to be a good boy and stay in his room.

A male nurse tells NJ that she likely died a few hours early — around 2:30 p.m.

Ting-Ting hears this, then looks down at the paper butterfly in her hand. She stares at it … and then we hear her voice being called by a woman. Ting-Ting turns around and sees her mother at the door. They embrace.

It’s a scene that defies interpretation. I never read of Yang being asked about the scene’s meaning (he does not discuss it in the film’s audio commentary on the “Yi Yi” Criterion release) but I assume his answer would be something like yes, she really did wake up and share her last moment with Ting-Ting, and yes, it was a dream.

It’s the emotional truth of the scene that matters most. The grandmother is finally allowed to have a beautiful moment and Ting-Ting brings her story full circle.