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Bad/meh shows with great endings?

Deleted member 4461

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Oct 25, 2017
8,010
I don't personally have any in mind, but there's a lot of talk about good shows ruined by a bad ending.

Does the opposite ever happen? A bad or meh show that is elevated by an amazing ending?
 
Royalan

Royalan

I can say DEI; you can't.
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Oct 24, 2017
11,963
The Leftovers

Was pretty let down by the show overall, tonally very messy (imo).

But it pulled it together by the end.
 
AoM

AoM

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Oct 31, 2017
7,294
I found Dollhouse just okay overall, but I remember really liking the ending.
 
Ashes of Dreams

Ashes of Dreams

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May 22, 2020
14,459
Royalan said:
The Leftovers

Was pretty let down by the show overall, tonally very messy (imo).

But it pulled it together by the end.
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I'm mixed on that ending. I think The Leftovers was at it's absolute best in Season 2, while Season 3 was a mess.
I kind of wish the last episode never happened, not because I think it's bad, but because I think what the season was trying to say, perhaps what the entire show was trying to say, would hit harder if the last shot of the show was his father sitting on the roof, nothing having happened, asking "now what?"
 
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,969
I've not actually stuck with a show for long enough to find out if I didn't enjoy it much... films, though... Split's ending made me love it after being a bit lukewarm on it at first.

Vic Damone Jr. said:
The twist was pretty entertaining. Was thinking about the show recently but then remembered whedon made it:/
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So did a lot of other talented people, same with his other shows. Fuck Joss, but the shows are still great.
 
OneTrickJeffrey

OneTrickJeffrey

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Jul 14, 2018
1,527
Philadelphia
Can't really name any shows since I would likely drop it before getting to the end in the first place.

If we can count films, Monsters University is pretty dull and derivative for the first hour, but has one of the best third acts of any Pixar film.
 
Orayn

Orayn

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Oct 25, 2017
10,973
SSSS.Dynazenon was a little lacking compared to SSSS.Gridman but the ending was fantastic. I'm glad Trigger is still delivering type of hype that Gurren-Lagann and Kill La Kill fans crave.
 
Tavernade

Tavernade

Tavernade
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Sep 18, 2018
8,633
Star Wars Rebels

It failed at incredibly basic plots early on, was tonally allover the place in the first few seasons, had audio issues, no stakes, repetitive plots... and then the final season knocked it out of the park to the point of being as good if not better than the best of Clone Wars.
 
PhilosopherDirtBike

PhilosopherDirtBike

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Nov 1, 2017
3,201
AoM said:
I found Dollhouse just okay overall, but I remember really liking the ending.
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The fun thing about Dollhouse is they pretty much knew they were going to get canceled so they basically did a speed run of four seasons of plot in like 7 episodes

Also the series finale is a direct sequel to a season 1 episode that never aired on TV, which is absolutely wild
 
Croc Man

Croc Man

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Oct 27, 2017
2,546
AoM said:
I found Dollhouse just okay overall, but I remember really liking the ending.
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Good call, seem to remember a lot of twists.

Eliza Dushku also starred in Tru calling which started generically, someone dies, she goes back in time to investigate why and save them. Way too late they add a rival and mythology that elevates the set-up. He tries to ensure the victim stays dead but crucially isn't portrayed as evil, just wants to ensure things stay on a natural course to prevent.... well we'll never know. If they just introduced him earlier it could have turned into a good show.
 

Deleted member 13798

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,374
This is a hard qualifier because bad shows don't usually make it to a satisfying ending. It's not like a 2 hour movie, it's a fucking commitment.
 
Midramble

Midramble

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Oct 25, 2017
10,461
San Francisco
2009 remake of V (alien invasion show)

Since they knew the show was getting cancelled, in the last episode the climatic protagonist group plan fails, most of the good guys die, the aliens mind control all humans and win. Good guys completely lose. Was amazing.
 
loco

loco

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Jan 6, 2021
5,525
Six Feet Under. That ending was amazing. Everything else not so much and very average.
 
Ruisu

Ruisu

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Aug 1, 2019
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Brasil
Now that I thing about it, a lot of Power Rangers. It's mostly kind of mediocre or unremarkable, and then you have one episode in the middle of the season that is really fantastic (usually a crossover) and then a couple of episodes for the ending that are amazing.
 
impiri

impiri

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,277
There's a possible universe where Dollhouse was a well-paced show that ratcheted up the stakes over four or five seasons. Instead, we got an incredibly slow case-of-the-week first season and an any% apocalypse speedrun of a second season.
 
Strings

Strings

Member
Oct 27, 2017
31,419
It's a book, but Shuichi Yoshida's Parade is a solid 3/5 - well-written, competent, blah blah, etc - until a fascinating swerve at the end recontextualises just about everything and bumps it up an extra star.

A bit of a controversial take, but I think All That Jazz is just fine for the most part. The ending number is ludicrously powerful / god-tier though and it's what everyone leaves the film thinking about:

 
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