Bad Endings vs Good Endings (Writing Advice)

Learn what separates a bad ending from a good one. Examples from Star Wars, Avengers, The Walking Dead, Spider-Man, Rocky, and more!

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0:00 Intro and Spoiler Warnings
0:50 What is an Ending?
1:57 How to Write Good Endings
3:53 Bad Ending 1 Too Good To Be True
4:28 War of the Worlds Example
5:57 Rocky Example
7:00 Bad Ending 2 It Was All A Dream
7:26 Wisdom Example
9:26 Joker Example
10:39 Bad Ending 3 Off-Tone Ending
10:55 Star Wars The Last Jedi Example
13:04 Spider-Man example
14:18 Bad Ending 4 Manipulative Cliffhanger
14:44 The Walking Dead Season 6 Example
16:10 Avengers Infinity War Example
17:07 Outro

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[TheBinger]

“Until Karen and her great boobs are tragically gunned down.” This is why you are the sensei—Perfection that made me laugh out loud.

[zsuzsuspetals]

One of the best cliffhanger endings is John Carpenter's The Thing from 1982. The music, the two men happy to be surivors but still wondering if one or the other had been taken over by the alien. It was one of those cliffhanger endings that just didn't need a sequel.

[s.henrlllpoklookout]

"Keep them brief"
Return of the King has entered the chat

[maximus]

Finally, a channel with Good, quick, and straightforward advice from someone who understands what it's like starting out. No jokes, no diciphering, just advice like a claymore: front facing toward enemy. Going to be listening to every one of these.

[bellatorpoeta]

Another type of bad ending is the "Tragedy out of Nowhere" when something bad happens at the very end that wasn't foreshadowed. I watched an indie martial arts flick that did this. The hero defeats a street gang, they get sent to jail, and then in the very last scene days later when he is calling his friend, an unseen gunman shoots and kills him. It felt like a cheap shock tactic.

[GoddessOfWhim]

i'm a sucker for "They all lived happily ever after." i don't think we see that enough anymore, everything's gotta set up a sequel. no room for stand alone stories anymore

[slanner]

One of my favourite it was all a dream endings was the ending to Inception. It’s not necessarily it was all a dream, but it leaves it ambiguous over whether Dom is still in the dream by showing the spinning top but then not showing the result, leaving the audience speculating over whether he actually escaped the dream. At the same time it’s a good resolution because it showed that Dom finally decided that what he really cares about is being with his kids and he no longer cares if it’s a dream.

[roippi]

My favorite ending is from The Shawshank Redemption. After all the satisfying twists and resolutions during the film’s climax, the happy ending is dead simple but hits like a ton of bricks. Those guys _earned_ that ending.

[Goatie]

One thing I really appreciate about your videos is that you don't fall into the trap of only taking the scenes/movies everyone loves to hate on. It is great and refreshing to see bad examples taken from otherwise good movies as well as good examples taken from otherwise bad movies. Keep making great videos.

[mandyzabohne]

Worst ending: a romcom called "He's Just Not That Into You, " which is based on a relationship advice book by the same name. The message: don't make excuses for guys who aren't responding, breadcrumbing, etc. Basically, "if he wanted to, he would, " book-length. So in the movie, there are several plotlines about single women learning to see through lame excuses, plus a woman whose partner doesn't want marriage like she does. They all get stronger and more realistic. BUT THEN, for the ending, for no damn reason, all the guys pull a 180 and become exactly what the women have been wishing they would be- the player becomes obsessed with the woman who's been following him around, the partner miraculously decides he wants to be a husband (even though he was already committed and solid, but had solid reasons for not wanting to be legally married.) It's a totally contradictory, stupid, pandering ending that isn't brave enough to see the premise through.

[deckardcanine]

Worst ending: the 2001 "Planet of the Apes." It was trying for a twist every bit as mind-blowing as the original. The trouble is that it made no sense. Few people wanted a sequel to explain it, because we already made up our minds that no explanation would suffice.

[stormdog]

"You are poor." Was a legitimately great line. Then it all went to hell.

[katagraphe]

While so many authors feel they have to put out bland videos for their brand, I appreciate your quality videos filled with thoughtfulness. I am not even a fiction writer, but I appreciate your analysis and how to think through stories. Anyway, thank you for contributing insightful videos of your profession and not merely generic "content"

[feartrain]

The most legendary twist ending imo is M. NIGHT’s “THE SIXTH SENSE”, the twist reveal gave me the chills, which matched the tone of the story perfectly. Everything just came together full circle so well, it was so good it made my family and I return to the theater for the first time to rewatch a movie.

Then on the other end of bad twist endings, by the same director ironically, M NIGHT’s “THE VILLAGE”. Where they reveal the identity of the monster, right before the final confrontation. With so much intense buildup the finale should of been terrifying, instead they deflated the climax…really strange execution.

[Macroprosopus]

I always struggle with this one. I tend to write 3 endings. A good ending, a bad ending, and an alternate ending. Then I just see which one fits the story better.

[phiggins]

The best example of tying up loose ends: The last scene of The Terminator. I was 15 and for the first time in my life I was consciously blown away by great writing. The action and the effects, as incredible as they were, took a back seat to the writing.

[alexanderlukas]

I really liked the ending of "Edge of Tomorrow".

Spoiler:


A "good" ending for everyone except the main character because no one knows that he is the hero and how much he suffers.
But a glimmer of hope at the very end that he may get his love.

[MistahJay]

The whole Arthur being an unreliable narrator and us not knowing exactly what happened plays so damn perfectly into the character of the Joker

[thebiologist]

The ending of the rise of Skywalker pissed me off to no end. The whole movie is about accepting yourself, accepting your legacy and rising above it, being better than your predecessors; than your family name. It mimics the exact same journey Luke followed, rising above the cursed Skywalker name and accepting it, bowing to undo all the damage his father caused, proving he's not destined for evil. Rei accepting her family name at the end of the movie rather than claiming an unearned one would have made for an ending 10 times better, and all it'd have taken is changing a single word in the script.

[voon]

That is why Spiderman 2002 will forever be the Spiderman movie buried in my heart even after 20 years. The impact just outshine the other