Who Is the Real Agent Argylle? Identity & Backstory Explained
Editor's Note: Spoilers are ahead for 'Argylle.'
The Big Picture
- The real agent Argylle in the movie is Elly Conway, who turns out to be a master spy with a fractured memory.
- Conway is a spy who was brainwashed into thinking she was a mild-mannered author.
- A man resembling Aubrey Argylle appears at the end, suggesting that there might be another agent Argylle in the universe.
“It’s time for you to meet the REAL agent Argylle!” With that line from former CIA director “Alfie” (Samuel L. Jackson) directed at author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), the trailer Argylle created an internet meme that’s been lampooned endlessly by film geeks. Its ubiquity is partially because the Argylle trailer has been inescapable for moviegoers in the last few months. Distinctive lines from this piece of marketing were inevitably going to become jokes as a sort of coping mechanism for the trailer’s omnipresence. However, it’s also proven tantalizing to people because the specific story chronicled in Argylleisn’t based on a super popular pre-existing IP.
When the trailer for Argylle first dropped, you couldn’t go on Wikipedia and just quickly find out who the “real agent Argylle” was like one could with the various twists in, say, Death on the Nile or Where the Crawdads Sing. Everyone, from film geeks to casual moviegoers, was in the dark about what this twist could be. Now, Argylle is finally in theaters and the world is privy to the information screenwriter Jason Fuchsand director Matthew Vaughn kept so close to their chests. The time has finally come to, as Alfie would put it, discuss who “the REAL agent Argylle” is in Argylle.
Argylle
PG-13ThrillerActionAn introverted spy novelist is drawn into the activities of a sinister underground syndicate.
Release Date February 2, 2024 Director Matthew Vaughn Cast Henry Cavill , Bryce Dallas Howard , Samuel L. Jackson , John Cena , Catherine O'Hara , Bryan Cranston Runtime 135 minutes Main Genre Action Writers Jason Fuchs ExpandElly Conway Is Agent Argylle — Sort Of
Throughout Argylle, Elly Conway finds solace in talking to a physical manifestation of her fictional super-spy character Aubrey Argylle (Henry Cavill). Sometimes, he appears as Conway’s reflection (most notably in one train-set fight scene) and sometimes, he briefly shows up as a substitute for real-life super-spy Aidan (Sam Rockwell). What’s clear is that Conway always has Argylle on the brain. Eventually, once she visits “Alfie” on his isolated vineyard, she finds out why she’s always got an 007 knock-off on her brain. “The REAL agent Argylle,” it turns out, is Conway herself.
Conway is actually Rachel Kylle (R. Kylle...like Argylle!), a master spy who knew all about the Masterkey, a device loaded with incriminating evidence that could've taken down the evil Ritter (Bryan Cranston). However, Kylle was eventually placed into a coma and awoke with her memories fractured, a mental state Ritter and his loyal servant Ruth (Catherine O'Hara) exploited to brainwash Kylle into thinking she was mild-mannered Elly Conway, who'd just been injured in an ice-skating competition accident. From here, Conway took on the life of an author of spy novels that subconsciously tapped into Kylle’s prior experiences in the field.
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Ritter encouraged this façade because Conway’s novels kept accidentally revealing valuable spy information his organization could use. With this final novel, Conway was about to inadvertently divulge the location of the Masterkey, after which Ritter and Ruth would’ve had her killed. Initially, Kylle refuses to accept any of this truth and begins to tear into Aidan about how he lied to her. As Kylle tries to reach for his car keys so that she can get home promptly, Aidan lures her into a fight that triggers her dormant mastery of hand-to-hand combat. It’s not quite clear in the script by Fuchs why this isolated skirmish with Aidan and none of the other encounters with bad guys was the one to suddenly make Kylle Jason Bourne again, but Argylle keeps moving anyway.
From here, Aidan and Kylle have a quiet talk on “Alfie’s” porch, discussing the real-world elements that inspired various cornerstones of her novels. This seems to wrap up all the big revelations about Kylle’s old life, though eventually, “the REAL agent Argylle” discovers that she wasn’t just a super-spy. She was a malicious spy who was loyal to Ritter. Discovering that she’s the inspiration for her own super-spy just unravels an endless torrent of betrayal and revelations for the author formerly known as Elly Conway.
Henry Cavill's Character Is the "Real" Agent Argylle — For Real
CloseThe revelation about Elly Conway’s identity would seem to sew things up nice and easy regarding who “the REAL agent Argylle is,” but wait, there’s more! The ending of Argylle gives us another twist as we see Conway at a promotional event for her new book, which concludes with an audience Q&A session. Everything seems to be going smoothly at this event as Conway divulges the various ways the assorted heroes of Argylle have flourished in the wake of saving the world. The final question at this event comes from a man in a mullet with a deep Southern accent played by Henry Cavill, meaning he looks quite similar to Conway/Kylle’s vision of Aubrey Argylle. He inquires Conway whether she has any questions for him, inspiring the weary author to don an expression of dread as the credits roll.
Further information about this version of Aubrey Argylle will have to wait for another Argylle installment, but there has been some clarification on this guy’s identity in the meantime. Director Matthew Vaughn explained in an interview with Collider's own Steve Weintraub that this figure is meant to be the “true Argylle,” though he doesn’t delve into specifics on what this means (including whether this new guy is a master at espionage). Calling him the “true Argylle” indicates Kylle is no longer the only Agent Argylle in this universe. Moviegoers don’t just get to discover one “REAL agent Argylle” for their money, they technically get two. What a world we live in!
How Those 'Argylle' Twists Set Up a Sequel With Franchise Potential
The various twists and turns of Argylle regarding the identity of a real-world counterpart to the fictional Aubrey Argylle conceptually carry on the tradition of spy movies being full of twists and uncertain moral allegiances. In execution, these various revelations are clumsily executed and could’ve used a greater sense of panache or camp to make them pop. Even just making revelations like Kylle previously being an evil spy matter more to the story would’ve made these twists more digestible. Still, the quality of the execution of these reveals aside — including one that involves a connection to the Kingsman franchise – the world finally knows the truth.
While director Matthew Vaughn admits to Collider how Henry Cavill's Argylle is the "true" agent before the credits roll, we are introduced to the younger version in the post-credits scene with Louis Partridge. The reveal potentially tees up a connection between the Kingsman and Argylle franchises with Vaughn’s comments indicating they could inhabit some sort of “space in the middle” he has not played with yet. What form that "space" could occupy isn't clear right now. But in the meantime, “the REAL agent Argylle” has been revealed to also be “Elly freaking Conway,” merging two memes related to the Argylle trailer into one plot twist and creating a way for more movies.
Argylle is now playing in theaters.
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