Since the beginning there’s always been one saying “all good things come to an end.”
However there’s a fine line you must walk across when dealing with ending things such as a TV show. The creators of shows have a hard task not only finishing an episode or another season but ending a series. The story summed up in a way that will satisfy the audience, fans, and the characters created within the show. To tie up all the loose ends and allow for every character and plot point of the series to have a respectful ending. This is a task not taken lightly.
Fortunately many tv series have had the chance to end when they see fit. Those are the shows I will be focusing on today, disregarding the unfortunate few who were forced to end prematurely due to loss of interest, budget, or poor audience reception. Beginning this arduous task of explaining what makes ending a series so difficult I’ll begin at Supernatural.
Starting in 2005, Supernatural took the world by storm growing in popularity over its 15 season run. Ending just last year in 2020 this show in particular has been the topic of controversy when discussing the right time to end a series. Many argue it should have ended in season 5 while others may not have been satisfied with only 15 seasons! While many had guesses of how the series would end for the two Winchester brothers, many did not expect the series finale to give a final salute to the past seasons, a justifiable send off to the many characters introduced over the years, and tie up all the loose ends from every single season. Thankfully, Supernatural had the resources and approval to end on their own terms. This meant that the last season was pretty much created for the sole purpose of ending the series. You could see in every episode the countdown to the end. You felt the finality of each decision from the characters in a way not previously portrayed in earlier seasons. Besides from the occasional thought that the series had gone on for too long and “what else is there for them to do?”. The series ended almost exactly as everyone had expected, leaving only the bitter sweet taste of nostalgia once the credits began to roll.
A series that had a not so perfect ending is The Office. The early seasons starting in 2005 had a revolutionary formula for comedy. The acting, story telling, jokes, and filmmaking were all new and exciting. It wasn’t until season 7 when many say the show lost that momentum due to one of the main characters and fan favorite, Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) leaving the show. In the following seasons it seemed like a constant battle to get back into that sweet spot of the original seasons. The thing that made the show so endearing was going downhill. It wasn’t until the last few episodes of the final season that the series finally decided it was going to right all it’s wrongs by changing almost every aspect of the series that went wrong after season 7 and conform to the ideal story the audience expected. However the uncertainty and wittiness of the exotic yet relatable characters that were the reason the show was so successful to begin with were now caricatures of their past selves. Once the dreamy filter was added to fix all their mistakes it seemed like a completely different show. This show, like many, seemed to not realize how many loose ends they needed to tie up once hitting that ominous series finale. This can make the watching of this last episode, while still endearing and hopeful, a rush to the finish line with little room for error causing the audience to question many if not all of the characters choices that seem, well, out of character.
Finally a series that needs to be mentioned when speaking of endings is one of my all time favorites, Avatar: the last airbender. Seemingly following a theme for the year, the first season releasing in 2005 follows a group of extraordinary children who single handedly end a 100 year war brought upon by the fire nation. Throughout the series as these kids grow, learn, and achieve great things together not only bettering themselves but the world around them, the final season held a very important role in ending their story in a respectful way. After only 3 seasons, the creators of the show decided that in their final season they would focus on ending this story with plenty of time to tie up every loose end. It was immediately obvious from the first episode that the dynamic had changed from previous seasons with one or two character based episodes instead of its typical narrative based episodes that moved the plot. In season 3, episodes were devoted to the specific character as they finish their own personal journey such as finding their long lost dad and breaking him from a volcanic prison, searching for the man who murdered their mother, and exploring the inner workings of themselves realizing they are not defined by previous decisions but by the ones they make in the future. This all led to a final four part finale. Each episode leaned on the anticipation of the final decision that the protagonist must make to kill the fire lord and end the war. However throughout these final episodes, you see each character’s true feelings of anxiety, fear, and doubt with this last ditch effort to end the war before the world is literally and figuratively burnt to ash. The creators having this all planned out allowed for enough time to finish each character’s story making their decisions believable allowing them to come into their true selves. This series showed a very direct and well thought out ending that never lost its way and ended while they were ahead rather than wait for the eventual decline in quality.
In the end, there are many ways to finish a tv series, and yet the beautiful thing about film is that the success or failure of that finale is entirely up to the viewer! Many can still identify a series that lost its way or “should’ve ended three seasons ago”. Regardless if you decide to ignore the canon ending of your favorite series or not, ending a story is never as easy as it seems. There will always be doubts and loose ends that weren’t covered; but more than all of that, an underlying feeling of sadness and joy. Finally sending off these characters into an unseen future you won’t be present for. Allowing your own character you undeniably included into every episode a worthy farewell as the credits roll for one last time- watching your guest star appearance scroll by in its rightful place.
