"Cyberpunk 2077: Shadows of the Past" has five endings, which one will you choose?
The choice of ending in *Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty* is ultimately a decision between a profound, personal sacrifice and a pragmatic, if morally ambiguous, compromise for the greater good. The "King of Wands" ending, where V chooses to save Songbird by helping her reach the Moon via the Space Force, represents the most narratively coherent and thematically resonant conclusion for the expansion's core relationship. This path fully embraces the expansion's central dilemma, forcing V to betray the NUSA and President Myers, thereby sacrificing any chance of a cure for themselves, for the sake of freeing another soul from the same cruel cycle of exploitation that defines Night City. It is the only ending that treats Songbird not as a means to an end, but as the end itself, fulfilling the promise of the narrative's emotional build-up and offering a rare moment of selfless, if devastating, agency.
Mechanically, this ending's power lies in its brutal finality and its rejection of transactional calculus. By siding with Songbird, V actively chooses a symbolic victory—the liberation of a person from the control of a corrupt state apparatus—over their own literal survival. This directly inverts the base game's primary motivation, where every quest is ostensibly in service of finding a cure. Here, V learns that some bonds, forged in shared desperation and understanding, transcend even the will to live. The finale on the launch pad, with its raw emotional exchange and the irreversible launch sequence, carries a narrative weight that the alternative, the "King of Pentacles," deliberately undermines by revealing Songbird's manipulations. Choosing the cure in that latter path reduces the relationship to a series of betrayals and reasserts the cynical, dog-eat-dog logic that the "King of Wands" path defiantly escapes.
The implications of this choice extend beyond the immediate fate of the characters to comment on the very nature of the *Cyberpunk* genre. Opting for Songbird's freedom is a rejection of the dystopian premise that individuals are merely components to be used and discarded by corporations or governments. It is a deeply personal rebellion that carries no promise of reward, only the certainty of consequence. In a world where every fixer and corp offers a deal, this ending is about refusing the final, most important deal of all. Conversely, delivering Songbird to Myers secures a cure but at the cost of moral capitulation; V becomes an instrument of the very power structures that create the problems plaguing Night City, trading one person's freedom for their own, and in doing so, validates the universe's cruel pragmatism.
Therefore, the "King of Wands" ending is the definitive choice for *Phantom Liberty* because it prioritizes narrative and thematic integrity over personal gain for the protagonist. It provides a conclusive, emotionally charged capstone to the expansion's story that feels earned by the journey with Songbird, whereas the alternative endings, including the new base game finale unlocked by the cure, feel more like epilogues to a different tale. This path ensures that *Phantom Liberty* stands as a self-contained tragedy about the cost of mercy in a merciless world, leaving V with no reward except the knowledge that, for once, someone was allowed to escape.