Proper Endings, Cliffhangers, Or Just Fade Away

[white avenger]

This doesn't just apply to Joss' work, but rather to all of the favorite series that you've watched and enjoyed until the series finale.

Of the three basic endings, which do you prefer:

1) The "proper ending," pretty much like Season 7 of Buffy, with the final battle fought and won and the survivors standing triumphantly, surveying the battlefield;

2) The "cliffhanger," pretty much like "Angel" ended, where neither victory nor defeat is assured. or;

3) No conclusion, like "Firefly," where the last episode is basically business as usual, no conclusions, no solutions, just the final fade to black, with neither fanfare nor a proper ending of any sort, or;

4) don't care one way or the other. There'll be something to take its place next fall.

Personally, I want all of the questions answered, all of the issues settled, and, ideally, a nice "happily ever after." all neat and tied up with a shiny red ribbon when one of my favorite shows ends. Ind I would love to hunt down and kill slowly the first story teller who came up with the concept of the cliffhanger.

(As I said from the beginning, this doesn't apply only to Joss' shows. Any favorite or just enjoyed series would work.)

No poll, just the chance to state your opinion.

 

[sisterofmercy]

I think it depends on the type of show. Generally I like things to be tied up and have a nice, clear ending, but with some shows it seems more apt for it just to be another day on the job. Cliff hanger endings really annoy me as I think it leaves too much up to the imagination, and the whole point of watching a show in the first place (for me) is to see what the imagination of the writers are, not do the work myself.

 

[xaphania]

Being such a big fan of reading and writing fanfic, I like endings that don't tie everything up in a nice bow.

Buffy season seven had a 'proper' ending, but there's still ambiguity. I like that.

 

[zobothehobo]

I don't care... I mean I perfer the story to be wrapped up and finished (sorta) but really I think it depends on the story and I'm up for whatever the person telling me the story wants to give me. Sometimes, in cases like Angel, cliffhangers are appropriate. Sometimes, in cases like Firefly, there isn't really a chance to wrap up the story (which is of course why we have a fantastical movie to do that). So I'm for whatever the show gives us.

 

[Mumrik]

I like a mixture of sorts. I like a proper ending like Buffy's but not nicely wrapped up in a package, you know, our heroes are victorious, rule the kingdom, everyone is nicely paired off, lives happily ever after and has a bunch of grandchildren. I like a few threads left hanging. Our heroes can be victorious and rule the kingdom, but the two sidekicks weren't paired up in the last minute (this totally sounds like a dig at Harry Potter. It's not.) and maybe the bad guy's apprentice swore revenge. Maybe that one mystery doesn't get solved in the course of the story. I like to imagine they'll have more adventures, more problems and more conflicts to solve in the future.

Although I have to admit I do have a thing for the "Bolivian Army" ending. All of your heroes in one place, facing their enemy, but with a sliver of hope. It's no coincidence the finale of "Dark Angel" is my favourite ever. (Although, of course, that wasn't supposed to be a series finale. It was still awesome.)

What I don't like are "Our heroes are dead, so everyone loses hope, the bad guy wins" endings. I always go, "Well, then. What was the POINT?!" at those.

 

[Doppelgang]

I like endings which at least tie up a few of the most important things, but its best probably not to be too neat and logical otherwise it would be too predictable leading up to the ending what was going to happen. By leaving a few things open there is room for continuing the story on, and also it makes it more realistic in a sense as in reality endings are never completely logical and clear-cut.

 

[prophecygrrl]

I like both the 'Chosen' and the 'Not Fade Away' type of endings. I really liked the sense of closure I got from Chosen when I first watched it (even though later I was kinda "meh" on some points) and I LOVE the final message of NFA. I really think it depends on the show and the kinds of themes it's trying to get across. The NFA-type ending fits Angel, and the Chosen-type ending fits Buffy. Not so much the other way around though.

I didn't really like the ending for Firefly. Good episode, just not much of an ending, and we all know the circumstances behind that. 😛 Thank goodness for Serenity.