The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

From his home, Salander collects Martin’s laptop and two binders that document his murders. She keeps two photos of a naked girl she finds in an envelope and burns the binders. She then walks to the bridge and drops the laptop in the water. When Frode arrives with news of Martin’s death, she informs him of the previous night’s events. Salander instructs him not to involve her or Blomkvist in any of the police reports, and Frode is distraught over how to handle the secrecy.

Blomkvist thanks Salander for saving his life. She shows him the two Polaroids and they deduce that it is Harriet. Blomkvist tells Salander that Gottfried, who was raised by an abusive father, sexually assaulted both his children, and Martin continued to abuse Harriet after Gottfried’s death. Blomkvist comments that Gottfried’s and Martin’s abusive childhoods must have damaged them. Infuriated, Salander retorts that both men have no excuse for their crimes.

Blomkvist and Salander perceive that Anita Vanger, the figure in Harriet’s window, must know what happened to Harriet, and they board a plane to London. On their arrival, Salander meets with two hackers who help her tap Anita’s phone. Blomkvist visits Anita at her house and when he asks her to tell the truth about Harriet, she kicks him out. Shortly after, she makes a telephone call to Australia, where a woman answers. Blomkvist and Salander book tickets to Australia, but Blomkvist departs without her when Salander learns that her mother has passed away.

Blomkvist finds Harriet at a large sheep ranch, one of many owned by Cochran Farm. She has been living under the pseudonym Anita Cochran, and her team is in the middle of culling diseased sheep when Blomkvist first approaches her. He calls her Harriet and introduces himself as the boy she used to babysit when he was three. After overcoming the shock of hearing her name, Harriet agrees to talk to him.

Blomkvist shows Harriet the wounds on his neck and explains that Martin nearly killed him. After hearing Blomkvist recount the story of his investigation, Harriet fills in the details of her escape. Anita had smuggled Harriet off the island the day after the accident by hiding her in the backseat of a car. Before leaving, Anita had gone to Harriet’s bedroom to collect her diary and some clothes. Harriet then dyed her hair blonde and used Anita’s passport to move to Italy where she met her late husband, Spencer Cochran.

Harriet confirms that her father and brother sexually abused her from the age of 14. Her mother, Isabella, knew about the abuse and did nothing. Harriet also confesses to killing Gottfried. On the day of his drowning, he was drunk, quoting the Bible, and bragging about his murders. He raped Harriet and, during her escape, she pushed him into the water and held him down with an oar. Martin witnessed the act and blackmailed her to continue his abuse. Relieved that the painful truth is finally in the open, Harriet feels a sense of closure.

Blomkvist and Armansky attend Salander’s mother’s funeral. After the service, Blomkvist drives Salander back to Hedeby so she can pick up her belongings and motorbike. He tells her about his meeting with Harriet in Australia. Salander is furious that Harriet did not report Martin in 1966, allowing him to murder women for another 37 years. Blomkvist tells her Harriet did not know he had taken up his father’s crimes, but Salander is disbelieving. He invites her to stay in Hedeby with him but says he’ll understand if she is not in the cabin when he returns.

After dropping off Salander, Blomkvist visits Vanger in the hospital. Vanger is shocked that Harriet is still alive and finally understands that she is the one who has been sending the pressed flowers. She sent him the gifts every year in the hope that he would know she was safe but had to remain in hiding. Harriet and Vanger reunite, and Blomkvist returns to the cabin where there is no sign of Salander.

Salander leaves Hedeby and drives north, fraught with her feelings of resentment towards the Vangers and the pain of losing her mother. Her mother’s death leaves her with unanswered questions about her past, and she fears that the wounds of her trauma will never heal. She reassesses her relationship with Blomkvist and realizes that her anger towards him is misdirected since he has never tried to control her. Salander decides to turn back and returns to Hedeby.

At the cabin, Blomkvist tells Salander that he respects her but, for their friendship to last, he wants her to eventually trust him. They spend the night together, and Frode visits them in the morning with a letter from Vanger. Vanger wishes to protect Harriet and requests that Blomkvist bury the knowledge of Gottfried’s and Martin’s crimes. In return for his silence, he will be financially compensated. Blomkvist finds the proposition offensive, but Salander agrees that with Martin dead, the exposure would only harm Harriet; the media will force her to relive her trauma. As a compromise, Salander wants Vanger to compensate the families of the women killed and to give yearly donations to women’s crisis centers. Blomkvist reluctantly accedes.

As a final blow, Blomkvist learns that the incriminating evidence on Wennerström that had enticed him to take Vanger’s assignment is not substantial enough to indict him. Salander observes Blomkvist’s furious and defeated state and asks him to explain his side of the Wennerström affair. He tells her that the facts from his initial source were indisputable, but Wennerström planted subsequent sources to dupe him with false information. Salander tells him if he wants to ruin Wennerström, she has all the evidence he needs on her laptop.