Travis And Betsy Reunite: Not Real


When Betsy shows up in Travis' vehicle during Taxi Driver, the two seemingly reunite and re-ignite a possible romance. However, this appears to be another idealized version of events that Travis imagines. The streets are suspiciously clean, and Betsy's hair blows in the wind like an angel. And it doesn't seem coincidental that she wears white. This is Scorsese's sacred ending for Taxi Driver: an angel with the face of Betsy welcomes Travis to heaven.

The Final Moments: Not Real


Scorsese ultimately leaves viewers with a profane ending in Taxi Driver. After Travis and Betsy go their separate ways, a brief moment of chaotic sound design brings the audience back to reality, whatever that may be. And the look in Travis' eye suggests that he's certainly not in a peaceful place. The Taxi Driver continues to ride on, but he's in a hellish realm and repeating the same loop. To quote Betsy from earlier in the film, De Niro's character is "part truth, part fiction... a walking contradiction."