When Lester is caught masturbating by Carolyn , his angry retort about their lack of intimacy is the first time he says aloud what he thinks about her . By confronting the issue and Carolyn 's " superficial investments in others " , Lester is trying to " regain a voice in a home that [ only respects ] the voices of mother and daughter " . His final turning point comes when Angela and he almost have sex ; after she confesses her virginity , he no longer thinks of her as a sex object , but as a daughter . He holds her close and " wraps her up " . Mendes called it " the most satisfying end to [ Lester 's ] journey there could possibly have been " . With these final scenes , Mendes intended to show Lester at the conclusion of a " mythical quest " . After Lester gets a beer from the refrigerator , the camera pushes toward him , then stops facing a hallway down which he walks " to meet his fate " . Having begun to act his age again , Lester achieves closure . As he smiles at a family photo , the camera pans slowly from Lester to the kitchen wall , onto which blood spatters as a gunshot rings out ; the slow pan reflects the peace of Lester 's death . His body is discovered by Jane and Ricky . Mendes said that Ricky 's staring into Lester 's dead eyes is " the culmination of the theme " of the film : that beauty is found where it is least expected .