Cathleen soon collapses from her malnutrition and ends up in the infirmary, finding a confidante in Sister Emanuel there; the two young nuns grow closer until they have a physical encounter.

The Archbishop has been informed that the Mother Superior is continuing with the traditional practices, and comes to the convent to force her to implement Vatican II.

The film ends with a note relating that after Vatican II a mass exodus of nuns occurred with 90,000 renouncing their vocation and leaving convents, a previously unseen scale of departure.

Novitiate is writer-director Maggie Betts's feature film directorial debut; her last projects were the 2010 documentary The Carrier, and the 2014 short Engram.

[6] Novitiate marked the film scoring debut for composer Christopher Stark, who is an assistant professor of music at Washington University in St. Louis as of 2017.

The website's consensus reads, "Led by a gripping performance from Melissa Leo, Novitiate grapples uncompromisingly – and ultimately compellingly – with questions of faith and feminism.