Spoiler alert: This article discusses the series finales of many popular television shows. If you don’t want to see spoilers, please be cautious as you read through this piece!
It’s a bittersweet feeling when you say goodbye to your favourite television family. Whether it was only for a few seasons or a decade-long commitment, the characters you’ve grown to love (or hate) on your TV screen make a lasting impression.
When a show ends, it can feel as though you’re saying goodbye to someone you’ve let into your own home, which leads to pretty big opinions from fans as to how each character’s story should end.
Series finales are tricky to master, but there are plenty of shows a majority of fans felt were done right, including Friends, Modern Family, and Hawaii Five-0. However, there have also been some questionable television endings that audiences were less than fond of — I still skip the final three episodes of The Fosters.
With all this being said, many aspects make or break a series finale. Below are just a handful of the aspects that audiences either adore or have grown to hate.
- Time jumps
-
Over the years, many TV shows have attempted to pull off a proper time jump toward the end of their series. Sometimes, this jump occurs at the beginning or the middle of the final season, such as in Pretty Little Liars or Parks and Recreation. However, some series, like The Fosters, also do this for the final few episodes to provide an extra layer of closure for the audience.
With a time jump, fans receive some insight into what happens to their beloved characters past the time period where the majority of the show took place. Some audience members enjoy having the comfort of knowing where their characters end up in the future. In contrast, others would rather leave it up to their imagination to establish what their life holds going forward.
Time jumps also give audiences a glimpse of hope when it comes to potential spin-off series. However, these are even harder to establish as a success.
As a huge Pretty Little Liars fan myself, I found it difficult to buy into the plot of Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists and was even more disappointed to find that this show broke the characters Emily and Alison up. However, I do suggest checking out Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin or the upcoming season dubbed Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, as this spin-off takes place in the same PLL universe but with even more gore and fright.
- Resolving a Series-long issue/conflict
-
One of the great aspects of TV shows is the ability of audience members to watch the characters grow and develop interesting personality arcs throughout the series. Methods like these are in place to continue building fan interest in the show.
In some cases, writers decide to have their characters chase a certain objective for the entire duration of the show. This keeps audiences coming back season after season, in search of the solution the main character has been seeking since episode one.
In the case of Hawaii Five-0, the series finale begins with flashbacks to the first episode of season one, showing Victor Hesse and Wo Fat planning their attack on Steve and John McGarrett. Throughout the final episode, Steve avenges his late father’s death by cracking the cipher that his late mother, Doris, gave him in a letter, leading to the ultimate arrest of Wo Fat’s wife, Daiyu Mei, the final season’s main antagonist.
Steve’s time at the Five-0 first began with the intention of tracking Victor down, and even though many aspects changed and information was revealed throughout the show’s 10 seasons, fans are led to believe that this was the final piece of closure that Steve needed for his ultimate mission.
- The star couple’s farewell
-
There are few things more frustrating than waiting for your favourite TV characters to finally end up in the relationship they’ve been bound to establish for several seasons. However, what’s worse is watching your favourite couple spend the final season of their show broken up, only to get a lousy tease of their potential rekindling in the final few moments.
For many fans, the last season of Gilmore Girls was frustrating (to say the least). During the season six finale, the star couple Lorelai and Luke break up, leading Lorelai to marry Christopher, the father of her daughter, Rory, on a whim during the final season.
Although they get a divorce later in the season due to Christopher’s suspicion that Lorelai still has feelings for Luke, it’s not until the final few minutes of the series finale that audiences are led to believe that Lorelai and Luke might end up together.
With the pair sharing a kiss during the final episode and Lorelai wearing the necklace that Luke had been struggling to give her, fans are left hopeful that this meant the two got back together off-screen soon. However, for many fans of the show, this was not enough closure for the couple who had spent seven seasons sharing an on-and-off romance.
- showing growth
-
As previously mentioned, TV show characters (hopefully) go through a ton of growth throughout their show. It is usually during the series finale when writers emphasize how far their characters have come. For example, in Modern Family and Pretty Little Liars, the main characters part ways and head in different directions as their lives grow into new phases.
In the two-part Modern Family series finale, Mitchell and Cam move into a new house with their daughter, Lily, and their newly adopted son, Rexford. However, Cam receives a job offer coaching college football in Missouri, his home state, that he had been hoping to receive a few episodes prior. He ultimately takes the job, leading the four to leave California behind and the rest of their family.
Meanwhile, the Dunphy kids, Hayley, Alex, and Luke, head away from their childhood home with their parents, Claire and Phil, as they begin new chapters of their lives. Gloria, Jay, and Joe are headed to Colombia for the summer, while Manny is leaving to pursue his love of film.
It’s a bittersweet ending knowing that the entire family is going their separate ways, but it does provide fans the closure they need knowing that even though they’ll be far apart, nothing can truly split the beloved Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan.
- The full circle ending
-
It’s hard to hate a feel-good story, especially when that character you’ve rooted for since the beginning changes for the better. In many television series, there’s your classic “good guys” and “bad guys.” At the same time, these characters usually come around by the end of the series and have their full circle moment.
In The O.C., the final scene in the series finale features Ryan leaving his job site when he spots a kid, who looks almost identical to his younger self, sitting on the sidewalk with his bicycle. Before getting into his car, Ryan calls out to the kid, asking if he needs help.
This final scene brings Ryan’s personality full circle, as audiences first meet him as a high school student in juvenile detention. Just as Ryan was brought into the Cohen’s home by Sandy, The O.C. ended on the impression that he would pay forward Sandy’s act of selflessness and help this new kid. Ryan grew into a genuine, loving character by the end of the show and the series wraps up in a perfect full circle.
Whether you love or hate these aspects, it’s almost impossible to end a television series in a way that pleases all of its fans. Sometimes, it’s simply better to leave your favourite character’s fate up to your own imagination.