10 TV Show Endings That Get Better The More You Think About Them
The most meaningful TV finales.
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00:00 Looking over the history of TV, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that series finales rarely
00:04 go well.
00:05 Some have been so poorly received - think Dexter, How I Met Your Mother and Game of
00:09 Thrones to name just a few - that they've overshadowed everything that came before,
00:13 no matter how good the show once was.
00:16 Here at WhatCulture we've already touched on those infamous TV endings that are actually
00:19 worse than you might recall, so this time around it feels right to look on the brighter
00:23 side of the small screen.
00:24 I'm Sci for WhatCulture.com and these are 10 TV show endings that get better the more
00:29 you think about them.
00:30 10.
00:31 I May Destroy You - Ego Death
00:33 I May Destroy You is one of the most powerful and vital shows released this century, following
00:38 young novelist Arabella, as played by creator and writer Michaela Cole, as she attempts
00:43 to piece together the lost memories of the night she was drugged and assaulted.
00:47 In the finale Ego Death, Arabella is granted the opportunity to confront her attacker and
00:52 in three increasingly surreal fantasies imagines all the ways she might get her revenge.
00:57 In one vision she kills him, in another she has sex with him and lets him go along with
01:01 her remaining emotional baggage.
01:03 But it's with its fourth and final image of Arabella celebrating the release of her
01:07 new book that the show's message is complete, allowing her to find peace in acceptance rather
01:12 than vengeance.
01:13 This is even more powerful when you remember Michaela Cole's own experience with assault
01:17 formed the basis of the show.
01:19 Whilst it may be satisfying to see her rapist fool, Arabella's ability to accept her
01:23 scars and look to her future is what really hits home and brings the show to a more uplifting
01:28 and empowering end rather than the violent farewell it could have easily settled on.
01:32 9.
01:33 Star Wars The Clone Wars - Victory and Death
01:36 Star Wars The Clone Wars is a remarkable achievement for a number of reasons, the biggest of which
01:40 is the way it fits into the wider Star Wars mythology whilst being apart from it as its
01:45 own story.
01:46 In the show's epic, action-heavy finale Victory and Death, Ahsoka and Captain Rex are forced
01:51 to battle their former soldiers, after which they escape into the night as fugitives from
01:56 the Empire and their former mentor Anakin Skywalker, who now rules the galaxy as Darth
02:01 Vader.
02:02 It's with Vader that Victory and Death becomes deeper than meets the eye, following him in
02:06 the show's final scene as he hunts Ahsoka and only finds the abandoned lightsaber he
02:10 built for her.
02:11 The implication of Ahsoka burying her lightsabers is that she's also burying Anakin and the
02:16 fallen Jedi she'll never see again.
02:18 In finding them, the episode is reminding audiences that they're still goodness in
02:22 Vader and that he recalls the impact his former padawan had on him throughout the show.
02:27 Watching their earlier adventures is too much to bear, knowing how it'll end.
02:32 8.
02:33 Mad Men - Person to Person Mad Men's finale is one of the most hotly debated
02:37 in the big world of small screen drama, its ambiguous closing shot hinting at any number
02:41 of things which will surely be talked over and analysed for years to come.
02:46 The main focus of Person to Person is Don Draper, who in the show's final scene is
02:50 found meditating, smiling peacefully before the screen cuts to the famous 1971 hilltop
02:55 Coca-Cola advertisement.
02:57 The implication here is simple enough, Don, in a moment of clarity, created the perfect
03:02 ad and went back to what he does best.
03:04 The controversial ending led many to believe Draper hadn't changed after all and had
03:08 reverted to his old ways without comeuppance or growth.
03:11 But it's actually deeper than that, finding a man caught between two identities, Draper,
03:15 his adopted self and Dick Whitman, his former self, and finding peace between them.
03:20 Draper suffered through seven seasons of lies and identity crises and with his 'I'd
03:24 like to buy the world a coke' ad, an idea that's too sentimental not to be Whitman,
03:29 has successfully reinvented himself one last time, his identity struggles now over.
03:34 7.
03:35 Futurama - Meanwhile From the mind of The Simpsons creator Matt
03:39 Groening, Futurama ran for four spotless seasons before being unceremoniously cancelled and
03:44 years later revived as a mere shell of its former self.
03:47 The show's finale, before its most recent renewal anyway, is actually brilliant, finding
03:52 Fry and Leela stuck in a universe that's been paused and leaves them alone to live
03:56 a long and happy life together without any interruptions.
04:00 That is, before the Professor saves them and brings them back in time to do it all over
04:03 again.
04:04 Meanwhile serves as a bittersweet reminder that, for all of its surreal adventures and
04:08 oddball humour, Futurama was always about Fry and Leela, and how their turbulent relationship,
04:14 first indifferent then friendly then romantic, grew.
04:18 Watching the pair live a long and happy life together after all the pain, action and insanity
04:22 they'd been through makes the rest of the show feel that much warmer and comforting
04:25 on rewatches.
04:27 Hopefully the new reboot doesn't betray them.
04:30 6.
04:31 Lost - The End Before we get into Lost's endlessly divisive
04:35 finale The End, it's worth getting a few things out of the way.
04:38 Yes, the episode, along with the entire sixth season, fails to give answers to many of the
04:43 show's biggest island mysteries, and yes, there's a sense that some things are being
04:46 rushed to completion.
04:47 But it's honestly not as bad as you've been led to believe.
04:51 Revealing that the alternate reality the characters are living in is actually a form of limbo,
04:55 where they're all waiting to be reunited in death, The End's rug pull stands as one
04:59 of Lost's best, and packs a bigger punch the more you think about it.
05:03 Instead of answering the show's lingering questions, The End instead opts for a touching
05:07 and profound farewell that highlights the main focus of the show - the characters, and
05:11 the bonds they'd make on their journeys.
05:14 More answers about the island's secrets would have been nice, but watching everyone
05:17 reunite in the afterlife, happy for the first time in a long time, ends the true adventure
05:22 of Lost beautifully, and that is how these characters grew and found peace together.
05:28 5.
05:29 Breaking Bad - Felina Breaking Bad was such a great show, it was
05:32 always going to be difficult to end.
05:35 Its run was characterised by such perfect drama that it was only ever going to end very
05:39 well or it was going to alienate its entire fanbase.
05:43 Luckily, its finale Felina ends things perfectly, not only killing Walter White and his neo-Nazi
05:48 foes in a hail of bullets that finally sets Jesse Pinkman free, but by having Walter admit
05:53 to himself the real reason he became so obsessed with his powerful life as Heisenberg.
05:59 Throughout the show, Walt keeps lying to himself by saying everything he's doing is for his
06:03 family, but in Felina he finds honesty for the first time when confronting ex-wife Skyler,
06:08 stating "I did it for me.
06:09 I liked it."
06:11 Breaking Bad was always about Walter White's rise and fall, and his uncanny ability to
06:15 not only lie to those around him, but to himself.
06:19 Felina makes him finally confront himself before biting the dust, embracing the truth
06:23 no matter how late he may be.
06:25 After five seasons of deception, it brings the entire show full circle.
06:29 4.
06:30 The Leftovers - The Book of Nora Much like his previous show Lost, Damon Lindelof's
06:35 haunting and mournful drama The Leftovers came to an end that didn't give away any
06:39 big answers, but instead kept its focus on the characters at its centre.
06:44 In a world where 2% of the world's population have disappeared, The Leftovers' brilliance
06:48 came from the fact it was never about the departure, but about those left in its wake,
06:52 struggling to move on in a world unable to cope with its terrifying losses and heartbreak.
06:57 The Book of Nora perfectly captures this theme, steering clear of the mystery to focus on
07:01 series mainstays Kevin and Nora as they finally find the strength to move on with their lives.
07:05 The episode gives brief insight into what happened to those who vanished, but it's
07:11 inconsequential to the bigger themes of the show.
07:14 By keeping everything centred on Kevin and Nora and how much they've grown, The Book
07:18 of Nora enriches the serious themes of grief and trauma with a surprisingly uplifting goodbye
07:22 everyone needed.
07:24 3.
07:25 Angel - Not Fade Away The moody spin-off to Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
07:30 Angel was always a show about conflict.
07:32 Facing the eponymous vampire as he battles for his soul by doing good deeds that may
07:36 help him atone his sins.
07:38 The show's epic season 5 finale, Not Fade Away, puts these themes of atonement and good
07:43 versus evil front and centre as Angel and his team band together one last time to defeat
07:48 the amassing armies of hell and prevent yet another apocalypse.
07:52 In a brilliant moment of subverting expectations though, the show cuts to black before the
07:56 final battle, a cliffhanger that left many fans bitter considering they already knew
08:00 this was the last episode they'd see.
08:03 But when you consider the theme of the series, the shock end couldn't be more perfect.
08:07 As the rest of the show explores, the fight is never over for Angel and company.
08:11 There will always be evil to face and they will always be there to face it.
08:15 Another season would have been nice, but Not Fade Away's decision to cut away from the
08:18 final fight makes it a poignant finale nonetheless, perfectly capturing the essence of the show.
08:24 2.
08:25 The Good Place - Whenever You're Ready As far as TV show finales go, there are none
08:29 more profound than The Good Places, which follows Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani and Jason as
08:34 they finally enjoy heaven after what feels like an eternity of struggle for peace.
08:40 But Whenever You're Ready presents one last problem - everyone in heaven is destined to
08:44 be there forever with no escape.
08:46 It's a conundrum to which Eleanor conjures a heartbreaking but beautiful solution, giving
08:50 everyone a chance to spend all the time they want in heaven before giving themselves back
08:54 to the universe.
08:56 Although on paper the idea that every character will inevitably erase themselves from existence
09:00 once they feel complete enough to move on is a deeply depressing one, it elegantly captures
09:05 the heart and soul of the show, tackling the idea that perfect things are only perfect
09:10 because they have an end.
09:12 Watching Eleanor, Chidi and Jason vanish into the cosmos is wrenching, but beautiful when
09:16 you consider how far they've come to grow and find peace in a complex world none of
09:20 them felt entirely at home in.
09:22 1.
09:23 BoJack Horseman - Nice While It Lasted
09:26 As the years went on, it became more and more difficult to pinpoint how exactly BoJack Horseman's
09:31 story would end.
09:32 Would he die in a tragic accident?
09:34 Go to jail for all the terrible things he'd done?
09:37 Commit suicide?
09:38 That last one seemed like the most likely, at least for a while, but the season 6 finale
09:42 Nice While It Lasted defied expectations and reminded audiences that the show was never
09:47 about what BoJack deserved, but how far in his friends came to understanding themselves
09:52 for better or for worse.
09:54 In Nice While It Lasted, BoJack is given a scene with each of his closest friends, Mr.
09:58 Peanut Butter, Todd, Princess Carolyn and Diane, where they each find closure over their
10:03 shared histories and what they've taught each other.
10:06 BoJack may not be a good person, but he and his friends make it clear there's always
10:10 hope.
10:11 Like the rest of the show's often harrowing run, BoJack Horseman's finale serves as
10:14 an honest reminder that empathy and human connection is what matters.
10:18 The final shot of BoJack and Diane staring into the sky, their relationship's future
10:22 unclear, serves as a spotless farewell, capturing and enriching the show's recurring idea
10:27 that there's always hope, despite the uncertainty of what's to come.
10:32 And that's the list!
10:33 Let us know what you thought of this video down in the comments below, and whilst you're
10:36 there, let us know about other TV finales that you absolutely loved.
10:40 I'm gonna throw one out there - the original Scrubs finale, before it came back for another
10:44 season, makes me cry every time.
10:46 Make sure you like this video, subscribe for more, share it with your friends and hit that
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10:51 I've been Si for WhatCulture, and have a good week!