The New 10's has ended so it's fitting that we talk about the works of the last decade that have disappointing endings.
There seems to be a somewhat rising trend in the 2010's where the works that ended in that decade to end the story on a…rather weak note. Not saying all works in/ended in the 2010s are like this and there are weak endings that happened to shows and series before 2010-2019 but last decade has many series/works that have an increasingly number of weak endings. Why is that?
TV Tropes examines on that more notable works that are infamous for having a controversial ending and provided a guide on how to properly write an ending. Here's the Link
(SPOILER WARNING ON THE FOLLOWING WORKS: How I Met Your Mother, Game of Thrones, Mass Effect 3, Inception, Harry Potter, and (500) Days of Summer)
If link is broken or you need a quick summary, here are TV Tropes two main points along with two other points:
- Ending Should Match The Story.
- Ending Should be Predictable
- You Can Have A Subversive Ending But It May Not Match The Previous Material And Can Cause Derailment
- Ending Should Match The Theme and Aesop
You can find other guides to write the ending but generally the ending needs to be a great payoff with the previous material and match the theme, Aesop and other story plots and wrap up any loose ends. Endings are important because your series/work will eventually end and shows that you, the writer know what you are doing.
Which series/work that ended in the 2010s you think had a weak finale (or to a lesser extent, season finale) and how it can be improved? What causes a poorly written ending and how did this trend started to rise?
And since we are talking about endings, please be wary of spoilers.