Although Smile 2’s ending seems to doom the franchise’s future, both Smile and its sequel secretly offer an explanation that justifies the movie’s big twist. Smile 2’s twist ending is wildly audacious, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good for the Smile franchise as a whole. Like Smile’s ending, Smile 2’s closing scene reveals that a significant chunk of the story took place in the shattered mind of its disturbed heroine. However, where only ten minutes of Smile takes place in the heroine’s head, Smile 2’s ending is much more ambitious and ambiguous.

https://screenrant.com/smile-2-curse-victims-guilt-connection-op-ed/