Shows start, shows end. Books start, books end. Same with movies. Same with all stories. Obviously the start of the story matters, that’s what hooks you can in. The middle of the story is where it reveals itself and the characters take life. That all leads to the climax where the story reveals what it’s all about. But what of the ending? Some endings bring all new possibilities to the world of our characters. Some bring finality and closure to make us feel good. Some end every bit as open ended as they begin, forcing us to decide what comes next. And others finish sad and have us experience empathy on a new level. But my question is this, do endings even matter?
I’m going to start by explaining my general routine for when I finish a story. Let’s just start with things that I don’t get an emotional attachment to. I’m not talking about things that are bad or I didn’t like. Shows like Breaking Bad and Cowboy Bebop are incredible, but they’re not a part of me if that makes sense. I’m just talking about stories that I don’t get that intimate bond with. For those stories I just move on. The ending could be good or bad, it doesn’t really matter. Now for the stuff that creates that intimate bond with me. When I finish those stories I am overcome. As the finish line comes into view I obsess over and dread the ending. I love these stories and all I want is for them not to end. You will rarely catch me complaining about something being too long and having too many scenes that are quiet and don’t really advance the plot. If I say something was too long I’m really just saying it sucked.
I’m going to give an example of my two favorite stories and how I responded to finishing them. My favorite books are the Harry Potter books and my favorite show is Code Geass. The first thing I did when I finished them, was start them all over again. This is a weird thing to do. I’m in two minds about it. On the one hand I just finished and know everything that’s about to happen, on the other I love the story and just want to keep living in that world. In some ways it’s like trying to vaccinate yourself against the story so you can move on to something else. Probably the most wild example of this from me is when I watched the first season of Unreal for the first time. I devoured it and then watched the entire thing three more times all the way through that week. I did not have a lot going on back then. Still don’t really. That was a sad diatribe. Anyway this is still something that plagues me. I recently finished The Quintessential Quintuplets, which I wrote about here, and instantly upon finishing had the urge to start it all over again. This can be a bittersweet process for me. I oftentimes find myself just wishing I could watch or read something new from a story that is already over. When I say something new I’m not talking about changing important plot points, I just want to hang out with my friends on a lazy Sunday. I give all this background to give you a feel for how I think about endings. But do they matter? I’m going to go through some endings to find the answer.
When Game of Thrones ended a couple years ago I, like a lot of people, was left feeling cold. The story that we had devoted years of our lives to had a rushed conclusion that didn’t feel like the show that we had been watching. Did I like it, no. It was a betrayal of all of the characters that I had invested so much time in. But I can’t say I was irate. The poor ending didn’t ruin all of the great times I’d had before. I didn’t feel like I’d wasted all the time I’d spent on the show.
That’s not an uncommon feeling for me. Whether I’d loved or hated the ending, had never really mattered much to me. Sure it helps that Harry Potter and Code Geass have great endings. But I love How I Met Your Mother, and that ending (which I don’t hate) was reviled and I still love the show. Even stories that were built around romantic relationships didn’t crush when I didn’t like who ended up with whom.
For over 25 years endings hadn’t really mattered to me. I always felt that since the story was over it didn’t really matter what happened at the end because that story wasn’t being told. We already had the story and that journey was what really mattered. I know it’s cliche, but it really is about the journey not the destination.
Then recently something weird happened. I read a manga called Domestic Girlfriend. The story revolves around a love triangle between a guy and two sisters. They also happen to be his stepsisters and the older one is his teacher, but I’ll save all that for its own piece. Anyway there’s this ridiculous twist at the end that for me, and seemingly most other people, really sucked. I knew it was coming before I started the story and still I was irate. For days I was fuming and ranting to no one about what I had just read. However here I am a month or so later and while I now refuse to recognize the ending in my own personal canon. I recently watched the show again and enjoyed it every bit as much as the first time.
So there you go that’s the answer, having a good ending doesn’t matter, not so fast my friend. I recently watched a show called OreGairu (it’s also called My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU! and My Teen Romantic Comedy is Wrong, as I Expected, I’m going to use the short one) and I loved it. If you’ve been on this website you know that because I wrote about it here, and here, and also here. This show’s become a bit of an obsession of mine. However, I hate the ending (not just because my best girl lost) and I can’t deny it has really negatively impacted my feelings on the show. Every time I think about it, which is honestly too often, I am hit with a simultaneous burst of happiness, anger, and sadness. I can’t think about or watch the show without feeling incredible frustration. The internet I finally understand your pain. I feel like I am screaming into a blank, meaningless void. (I’m also writing into one, but that’s it’s own thing.) I cannot deny that this ending really fucking mattered.
So how do I get these two feelings to make sense? They’re completely opposite. Well my thesis is this, endings don’t matter, except when they do.