zwolanerd

Today’s guest writer is Meags, who has written a bunch of stuff for zwolanerd already and is super awesome!

I recently finished the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which I had high hopes for. The book had been on several best seller lists for many, many months, and I heard that the plot and the twists in the plot were excellent, fast-paced, and surprising. Without spoiling the ending for those out there that would like to read the book someday (although I don’t recommend that you do so), the ending was a major let down. And this isn’t because I demand that all the entertainment that I consume be wrapped up in nice, neat, happy endings. An ambiguous ending is sometimes okay. (The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, comes to mind.) But if the ending is horribly disappointing, it can, and does, ruin the whole of the book or movie or TV show for the consumer.

The ending is basically the final impression left on the consumer of that entertainment. If the ending is terrible, it will influence how you feel about the entire product. Perhaps the joy is in the journey, not the destination, but the end will influence how you remember the journey!

A movie example that comes to mind is Everything Must Go, the 2010 movie starring Will Ferrell. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that the movie just … ended. There was absolutely no resolution to anything. It almost seemed like the filmmakers forgot to add the ending to the release. Perhaps this is sometimes the director’s idea of an “indie” feel, something hipster-y and unique. “Too cool to have an ending.” It’s not effective. The short story that the movie is based on also does not have much of an ending, however, there aren’t several plot lines that are introduced and left hanging.

What endings (books, movies, TV shows, video games, etc) have left you completely disappointed?

Tags: guestpost

Written by: Meags