It is an inevitable curse of all great and or popular television shows, the ending. ANY series finale simply cant please everyone. In fact, I’d say its almost impossible. Television (and pretty much entertainment in general) is just too damn subjective. I don’t know any series finale that has been universally praised. The two big ones that come to my mind are Lost and The Sopranos. While I really enjoyed both its clear that the hype/expectations became almost bigger than the shows themselves. The backlash to the Battlestar Galacticas, The Dexters, etc. have producers and show-runners bracing for the the rage storm.
It leaves me asking the question…Is one scene, one episode enough to ruin an entire series? (Breaking Bad spoilers to follow)
The Breaking Bad finale aired this past Sunday. There was a lot of stuff that was predictable in the finale – most of the second half was telegraphed – but emotionally, it was exactly what it needed to be. Walter’s death goes down as one of the greats. He was a man who did horrible things and he largely did them because he liked that it made it him feel significant, but the goals he set he largely accomplished. Breaking Bad is a very weird, long and convoluted story about the lengths one will go to to succeed. I was VERY satisfied with the entire thing, from start to finish.
Vince Gilligan and company actually managed to pull a ‘happy’ ending out of it that worked. It is amazing they were able to pull it off given the emotional trajectory of the character. That takes great skill to do that and not have everyone just booing. And…they found a way to do it without it being a ridiculous pandering hand job.
People always say how the journey is more important than the destination and compare it to this. This isn’t a destination, and this isn’t the end. This is more or less the last glimpse of the journey that the audience will get to see of this fictional universe. Thats what nearly all endings truly are. So people are more concerned about the tone of the “ending” so they can make their own assumptions as to what happens.
Some people love stories with open endings and they go around praising how the storyteller is a genius and left the story open to each person’s interpretations or to each persons creativity of what happens next. Some even say that after their story is written, whatever the readers thought happened/think happens next is true. I for one, don’t like that. I don’t hate it either. I’m pretty sure some of the stories I love ended openly, but I think stories should be complete. I believe it should be ‘THIS HAPPENED’.
Maybe people don’t like endings because it gives closure to characters and how their lives will play out after the show stops perhaps? Telling people not to judge the ending of a show but the journey is like giving a free pass to producers. You create this universe, these characters, and engross your audience in it, then they become connected and gain a suspension of disbelief. The least you can do is to give an ending that will give closure and purpose to everything they’ve done to that point.
And just because you have heightened expectations of what the ending will be or should be doesn’t mean the entirety of the show is not worthwhile. The same goes for games or books or any other form of entertainment. A game or movie can still be considered great even if the ending isn’t that satisfying. Obviously, we all want an ending that has an impact on us, as well some satisfaction in the end. If you need one hour to justify this specific experience being worthwhile, maybe you shouldn’t have continued watching it.
-Dagobot
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