Is a "Perfect - ish" happy ending inherently bad ?

[Rhaya]

For example : you are watching a crime series that you love for many episodes /seasons.
You have been run through the gamut of emotions while watching it .

-Laughing at the comedic moments
- Crying at a characters death
- In suspense on how the next plot twist will take the story in
. etc ...

And then we come to the ending of the show and not only the killer/villain gets caught at last but it turns out all his supposed victims didn't actually die . even the guy/girls main love interest who caught a bullet for the other and had a tragic good bye scene turns out to be alive and all' s fine and well ( more or less ) .

Is this type of ending a show / series with inherently bad or do you think it is okay to do so if the show has earned such an ending ?

 

[Unknownlight]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood comes really close to ending like this, and I often hear people call it one of the best endings to any anime ever, so eh...

 

[Shelbyville Milhouse]

I don't think it's inherently bad, it all depends on the execution
If it actually makes sense or is clever, why not.

 

[Inugami]

And then we come to the ending of the show and not only the killer/villain gets caught at last but it turns out all his supposed victims didn't actually die . even the guy/girls main love interest who caught a bullet for the other and had a tragic good bye scene turns out to be alive and all' s fine and well ( more or less ) .

Click to shrink...

You're going to have to give me a video game equivalent to this... Because I can't think of any.

 

[Kevers]

No

 

[Heshinsi]

Happy endings are my preferred endings so no. Real life is already bleak, I want my entertainment to make me feel happy not add to the depression.

 

[Prophet Five]

No.

 

[Varjet]

Everybody loves a happy ending.

 

[Rhaya]

You're going to have to give me a video game equivalent to this... Because I can't think of any.

Click to shrink...

Well , i can think of one game where this happens , but just posting the title of that game in relation to the subject of this thread would be major spoilers for it .

 

[Robdraggoo]

No. Dont listen to cynical assholes on the web. If you love it, love it.

 

[Deleted member 18360]

The endings to some stories would ring false if they happily tied up all loose ends. So it really depends on the story.

Though endings are always somewhat artificial (you're trying to create closure where in reality no such closure would exist), so playing more to that, I think a happy conclusive ending can risk seeming particularly artificial. But then a bummer ending can easily seem artificial, too.

 

[ObijuanBronobi]

I feel like as long as the narrative supports the ending, then its fine. But if an ending is happy while breaking all of the rules already set forth throughout the show, then it's not good.

 

[ArjanN]

A happy ending is only bad when it's forced or unearned.

 

[KillLaCam]

I usually hate endings like that because they're usually too good. But they're great when they make sense

 

[Flaurehn]

An ending to be good only needs to do one thing: Make sense.

 

[Patryn]

I'd much prefer endings like that over works that deliberately twist things to avoid the happy ending, even if the happy ending makes the most logical sense.

 

[-JD-]

Depends on the show and its tone. If its a whole run of awful things happening to its characters, a perfect ending might come off as the ultimate cathartic release. Now, if there's a bullshit twist like what you presented in your post, op, then no. That's just weak.

 

[John Dunbar]

if i were a showrunner for some long-running show, i would end it with it all being a dream. i think that makes sense for pretty much any story.

 

[The Archon]

Just like everything it depends entirely on context and execution.

 

[Dark Knight]

It ruined Interstellar's ending.

 

[shaneo632]

An ending that un-fucks everything last minute will almost always come across as cheap and manipulative, yes.

Happy endings that are earned and consistent with the established characters/story are absolutely fine.

 

[Scottt]

No. It's been a form of narrative for a trillion years.

But it doesn't sound like this show did it very well.

 

[Rhaya]

No. It's been a form of narrative for a trillion years.

But it doesn't sound like this show did it very well.

Click to shrink...

Just FYI , but it is only an example i made , not based on any real movie /show .

 

[AcridMeat]

Give me the cold bitter harsh reality.

(It's all about execution, puke inducingly happy for the sake of it sucks, but there's endless examples of it being done well)

 

[Deleted member 13015]

I mean, the end of Infinity War was great, even though I knew the disappeared characters would come back in the next movie.

 

[Deleted member 23850]

No. I'm optimistic, though.

The best happy endings are the one's where the characters endure hardships and suffer, and at the end face an uncertain future. But they are optimistic that their acquired wisdom will help set them on the right path.

 

[Neece]

The answer to your thread title is no.

The example in your OP is a yes, though. That's inherently bad.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

Bittersweet endings akin to The Lord of the Rings and The Man in the Iron Mask are preferable to me.

 

[Siggy-P]

No ending is bad if well written and justified.

 

[Sunster]

not inherently but it can be very bad. Like in the movie, The Bone Collector. A really good movie that I was thoroughly enjoying until the end.

 

[Hexa]

No. I like happy endings even if they're ass pulls that move heaven and earth randomly to get there. They have to be reaaaaaaaaaaally happy and have built up a really strong investment in the characters though to justify all that. Like in the example posted, they have to really build the main relationship up and not just end with it being revealed that the love interest is alive, but showing them getting married with everyone else that was dead also attending their wedding for example. Something like that.

 

[mrprime]

I feel this way about Battlestar Galactica. Didn't like it the first time I saw it, but left a lump in my throat.

 

[CloudWolf]

I would hate the ending as described in the OP. Not because I hate happy endings, but because fake-out deaths are the worst storytelling trope in existence.

 

[Chopchop]

Happy endings aren't inherently bad, but I wouldn't like your example ending because the whole "oh, everyone who died didn't die" thing is pretty much always bad. If the story produced a magic button in its final chapter that brought back everyone who died, that's just shitting on your own plot.

I'd be fine with an ending where, say, the bad guy gets caught, and the main characters find a way to move on in life and the main protagonist comes to peace with the deaths that happened along the way. As long as the execution on such an ending is good, I'd be fine with it.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

While the example is over the top I think I prefer happy endings to forced last minute twist bad endings - horror films have far too many of those in recent years

A heralded 2017 horror (although the golden globes wanted it to be a comedy) had a masterful twist on that, just as the sickener was coming and I was about to roll my eyes they diverted from it.

At times though I've watched and enjoyed films then hated them at the end due to a stupid forced bad ending.

 

[Shroki]

Inherently, of course not.

It depends on the story and the execution. Something like Scrubs Season 8 finale, for example, was entirely earned and could be described as "perfectly happy".

 

[Future Gazer]

If the story at least attempts to be grounded, then yeah, a "perfect" happy ending will very rarely feel organic.

 

[Transistor]

Happy endings can be good if they fit.

 

[Kinggroin]

I don't think shit like that. Just, if it's good then it's good. If not, not.

But if it IS bad, then being cliche or taking the easy way out, or going after low hanging fruit just makes it look that much worse

 

[Zen]

I think characters not actually dying without having a very good reason and relevance for surviving robs their death of any impact and cheapens the whole narrative.

 

[Heh]

I would even prefer an open ending rather than a forced conclusion.

If a show has earned its ending, as you said, then I think it's fine.

 

[Riversands]

Neither are the answers. The good ending is when the protagonist learns something at the end of the movie. Protagonist at the end of movie is different from himself at the beginning of the movie, this sets the bar on how good an ending will be

 

[Ramala]

The Shawshank Redemption says no. Very much no.

 

[Master Of Illusion]

I can't stand happy endings anymore honestly (and if they are one, they need a bitter element or the characters going through an extreme trial that naturally leads to it for it to be cathartic).

Hell, even comedies are funnier when everyone ends up suffering.

 

[diakyu]

In the example in the OP, yes that is a bad ending. Undoes literally everything in the narrative and lessens the series to nothing. What series would do this?

 

[Deleted member 2779]

A well made ending needs just two things: to be earned and say something.

 

[djinn]

I love a happy ending. Return of the Jedi is my favourite ending of anything ever.

 

[Zhukov]

Not inherently, no.

Although I personally despise the "character who seemed to be dead actually isn't dead" angle. It feels like trying to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[apocat]

It depends on the story and whether the ending is a logical conclusion to what came before. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a happy ending as long as it feels earned by the storytelling.

 

[Edgar]

An ending needs to be earned be it happy or depressing one.
I'm more biased towards moral grey endings, mainly cause I think it sticks better.
But a happy ending if it's deserved is good too.