Ever get pissed at one of those "In order to love you, I have to let you go" endings? (See: The Bodyguard. There’s no reason that Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner couldn’t be together since he’s no longer protecting her, and we’ve already suspended belief enough to see them together in the first place.) Or, maybe there’s an ambiguous ending that’s always annoyed you. (They start conversations, yes, but sometimes what we’re saying is, "We’ve followed your vision for two hours, Mr./Ms. Director. Don’t wimp out at the end. It’s your story — make a choice.")
Well, now you can address those resolutions — or, at least whine about them to people who might second your frustrations — in the comments section below. "Endings" can mean the actual final moments of a movie, TV series, or book, or the sign-off of a particular storyline or character throughout. Two rules: (1) Please list the name of the show, movie, or book you’re altering first, IN ALL CAPS, so spoiler-phobes can decide whether or not to read your entry. (I figured The Bodyguard was a safe enough example to picture since "I Will Always Love You," below, is kinda self-explanatory, and famous.) (2) Do not get mad at PopWatch if you can’t stop yourself and read something you shouldn’t.
Enter at your own risk…
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DAWSON’S CREEK
I was one of many who thought Dawson and Joey should have ended up together. It was his creek after all.
AI – I probably don’t even need to spoil it for people. Just lop off that last 45 minutes!
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
Emma Thompson & Anthony Hopkins just sit there too afraid to act on their decidedly repressed emotions. Grrr.
ATONEMENT
I HATE BRIONY!!!! All the setup, and no payoff. She sets us up to think Robbie and Cecelia are happy, and no. A friend of mine literally threw the book across the room. Not pretty.
Steven King’s IT–the TV miniseries
I remember being very creeped out by Tim Curry’s Pennywise throughout the whole thing…and then they get to the scary monster and it’s a huge spider?!?
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Not to be gruesome, but I wanted Daniel Plainview to die. When he killed the preacher I really felt something had gone terribly wrong. I understand the ending logically, but emotionally I felt unfulfilled. (geez, being unfulfilled b/c someone didn’t die sounds kinda bad)
QUANTUM LEAP
I had watched every episode of the series faithfully, just waiting for Sam to finally go home, so that last screen of text just killed me. Even now, thinking about it, I’m depressed.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Seriously, I spent two hours for this? There simply was no ending…AT ALL. Honestly, Coen brothers, please FINISH your badass tale of a murderous villain in Texas – don’t leave me hanging!
JURASSIC PARK
The T-Rex bites off Marc Bernardin’s head.
ANGEL
Wesley lives.
I think the endings of Atonement and Remains of the Day are part of what makes those novels great. They are disappointing in a beautiful, painful way that makes them resonate with the reader. If they were happy endings, the novels would not really have the same impact. I too was angry with Briony and heartbroken for Robbie and Cecelia, but that’s part of the point. Through her immortalizing their “happy-ending” story in her book, has she even begun to atone for her sins, or is she beyond redemption? Does her action in any way make up for the reality?
As far as lame endings go, though, I would vote for Return of the Jedi. After all that, we are just going to have a big bonfire and hang with the teddy bears? Thought there could be something a little more significant there – or what happens now that the Emperor exploded?
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Sorry – forgot to add the title in my last post.
CAST AWAY
It rips my heart apart watching Chuck do the noble thing and not get back together with Kelly in the end. I’m not a fan of divorce but, for crying out loud, Chuck Noland and Kelly Frears are soul-mates and belong together forever. (Kelly, lose the dentist!)
CASTAWAY: Tom Hanks should have gotten the girl whose package he didn’t open (some pun intended)
CASTAWAY: Tom Hanks should have gotten the girl whose package he didn’t open (some pun intended)
GREASE
One of the greatest play to screen adaptations ever is nearly ruined when the car takes flight in the final seconds of the film. Seriously?! Whose idea was this? I still think they should take that part out. I cringe every time it gets to that part.
mark in nyc, what are the odds?!
GREASE
One of the greatest play to screen adaptations ever is nearly ruined when the car takes flight in the final seconds of the film. Seriously?! Whose idea was this? I still think they should take that part out. I cringe every time it gets to that part.
ATONEMENT
I HATE the ending, but even more I hated the character of Briony. There was no development. The whole book was self-indulgent on the author’s part, including the ending.
GREASE
One of the greatest stage to screen adaptations ever is nearly ruined when the car takes flight during the final seconds of the film. Seriously?! Whose idea was this? I still cringe every time it gets to that part.
30 DAYS OF NIGHT and I AM LEGEND
I really hate endings where someone dies a “heroic” death that wasn’t necessary at all. You could still be alive, dude. You’re not a hero; you’re a dummy.
A.I.:
I’m a solution-oriented guy, so if I’m going to complain about an ending, I figure it’s only fair to come up with a suggestion of how to make it better.
Since I complained about the ending of A.I. just yesterday, I’ll tackle that one today.
It’s simple. The movie fades to black with David (Haley Joel Osment) still begging to the Blue Fairy to make his wish come true. The sentimental garbage that follows? Gone.
War of the Worlds (2005)
The son DOESN’T run out of the house and into dad’s arms.
BROADCAST NEWS
I love this movie, but I hate the silly “five years later” coda. Didn’t we already know that Holly Hunter wouldn’t end up with either guy? The movie should end with her in the cab leaving the airport (and, as usual, telling the cab driver which streets to take).
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Total waste of time, totally overated.
THE HISTORIAN (SPOILER) – Hundreds of pages building Dracula up to be the biggest bada## of all time, and he gets capped by a silver bullet after 30 seconds of the final showdown? Unsatisfying is not the word. Change: Dracula escapes, but is wounded to the point of his survival being questioned (or at least make his defeat more dramatic).
(non-Spielberg edition) TITANIC:
I realize that Jack has to die to serve the story, but it would’ve been nice if James Cameron had come up with a way that didn’t have millions of people looking at themselves and wondering “why doesn’t Kate Winslet just slide over and make room on that table?”
GILMORE GIRLS
How about a little confirmation on the Luke Loralei situation? A peek at some domestic bliss? I think unlucky-in-love Loralei deserved that. And seeing that throughout the series Paris always happened to wind up in Rory’s life, it would have been great to see Rory get on the bus only to find Paris there too.
Can we stop blaming the Coen Brothers for No Country’s ending? That’s how it is in the book! Correct the book if you want but leave the movie be.
THE MIST
First of all, I hated that movie, everything about it, but the “shocking” ending was in fact yes shocking but for all the wrong reason except being shocking. So, you escaped monsters, freaks in a grocery store, road at your own risk in the middle of this mist, and oups no more fuel, what’s to do, except apparently a collective suicide?! WTF? They fought for their survival all along and BAM that’s it! It did not fit at all with the story and the characters!
HEROES, Part 1 AND 2
I love drama. I love watching characters fight, I love emotional highs and lows, and, most of all, I love the anger/happiness/frustration when a beloved/loathed character dies. It takes a certain kind of series to ever kill off a main character who hasn’t either a) decided to go into movies or b) turned out to be racist/homophobic/criminal in their personal life. Shows like Lost, love them or hate them, aren’t afraid to take risks.
I love Heroes, but the creators need to understand that not everyone needs to live forever. Sylar doesn’t need to live forever. When they ‘killed him,’ I was excited to actually see the END of a plotline. But no…a few streaks of blood and a kidnapping later, he’s back. I’m also not convinced about Niki or Nathan being dead, either. No one anyone cares about dies…so why should I really care? There’s no drama!
Preach it. Anti climatic, jumbled never, ending story lines. The problems of a plot driven show.