Reflections | End of Watch by Stephen King

I reflect on End of Watch and how it fits into the Bill Hodges Trilogy.
Mr. Mercedes: • Review | Mr. Mercedes ...
Finder's Keepers: • Reflections | Finders ...
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[@Encarnado94]

I started reading Stephen King with this series been hooked ever since now buying and reading his early novels

[@morganstroh8398]

Same

[@uncleplugs]

Totally agree. This was the weakest of the three, by some distance. I loved Finders Keepers, though. I think King make too much of a point of referencing technology, maybe to make himself relevant to a younger audience.

[@paddingtonfan1192]

I found that the book interesting, I think, from my point of view, the book was exploring the dark side of the internet, which was touched upon in Mr. Mercedes. It's not my favourite King book, though.

[@75jmm]

I just subscribed recently to your channel and am really enjoying your reviews, you do great work! I have read the first two books in this trilogy and am about 150 pages into End of Watch. I agree so far that Finder's Keepers is the best one. I didn't dislike Mr. Mercedes, but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. Again, I think your reviews are very informative and well done, keep up the good work!

[@danielreed355]

End of watch was my least favorite of the trilogy I personally thought king could have done more with brady in this book. But Mr Mercedes was my favorite.

[@ASoron0424]

Ah! Thanks for the shoutout! Although I wasn't crazy about Eyes of the Dragon, mainly because I feel disoriented when it comes to high fantasy books, I was really excited to read it when, at the start of my project (maybe even before I started), I saw in your collective Stephen King video that you loved it as a kid, read it twice, even though you don't remember it vividly today -- and but I think it works as a really good shoehorn into King's work for people who haven't read his stuff. Largely for its quality but also for its brevity. Your review for Finders Keepers was really endearing, same with your review for Revival, so I'm really looking forward to those books in particular but, as I now broach his work from the 1990s, I'm not really excited to read his 20th century stuff. I remember not enjoying Under the Dome, which I read upon its release in '09 (I think), and I remember you gave a kind of lukewarm review for Doctor Sleep (although I think you fairly pointed out that you were kinda biased on account of how much you love The Shining). In this video you point out that he's BEST KNOWN for his early paranormal stuff: having read his most recent four novels, though, would you say that he's RIGHTFULLY best known for those books? Would you go so far as to say he's lost some of his magic?

[@ASoron0424]

*not excited for his 21st century stuff

[@EmilyCait]

Apologies for the length of this response :P I'm actually really curious to hear your thoughts on King's later works. The nice thing about your project is that you get to see the progression of his writing AND you are (presumably) reading all these texts with a similar goal in mind: reporting to an audience. I've been skipping around a lot. I started with some of his more popular titles and have since moved between new releases and older stuff. I don't get to see how he progresses as a writer like I perhaps would if I was reading chronologically. I also haven't been reading the texts consistently for review or analysis... a lot of his earlier works I read just for fun. Now anything I read - whether I want to or not - is read critically and with an eventual review in mind. Soooo... I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm very aware of how I have changed as a reader in my 15ish years of reading King. So here is my (very biased) opinion on his later works: his voice as an author is still strong in his later works. They all still 'sound like' King. I think that narrative voice that we first see in Carrie has carried forward into his recent works and has become more polished with time. BUT I find a lot of the recent stuff weak in terms of impact or shock value. Perhaps because I have read his early works, I expect that decades of writing in this genre would result in a 'better crafted' story. I have read the entire body of writing for a few authors, and generally their works get better with practice. So with something like Revival - very Lovecraft, very rooted in 'classic' genre tropes - I expected King to do better than his earlier works (and make some sort of impact on the genre he's working within). So when he failed to do so it made investing in the characters and a story, feel like a let down. The same applies to the Bill Hodges Trilogy. I'm willing to read King trying a new genre (they were definitely crime novels for the first two), or play with a genre (I'd be willing to suspend my disbelief for a whole series of supernatural crime novels). But to conclude a trilogy with magic? It's an inconsistent ending that breaks from the world he's established in the two other books. It's not that the 21st c stuff is 'bad'.... it just feels like they all have weak endings. All the ingredients are there - the paranormal stuff he's known for, the gritty ugly characters, the bluntness, the weirdly beautiful/thought-provoking bits - but they just don't come together in a way that makes reading 700 pages feel worth it. Whether that's me having grown as a reader, or me being more willing to forgive a weak narrative in a 'young' writer, or a genuine decline in the quality of his work..... I'm not sure? I don't know if he's lost his magic or if I've become unwilling to suspend my disbelief for anything and everything he throws at me?

[@ASoron0424]

OK this is really comprehensive and beautifully put and I think one of the most interesting realizations to've had in doing this Stephen King project is seeing that people genuinely care for not only his work but for him, King, the man himself. Your expertise is in children's lit and so I'm sure this comes up a lot: that people feel a sort of hyperattachment to the books they grew up with. So I'm particularly interested in how you talk about the 15 years you've spent reading King. It sounds like a relationship! Which it kind of is, especially since he's such a public figure and we've seen him age, seen him recover from that car accident, seen him retire and then come back. This is gonna sound presumptuous but I think I see in your feelings toward his later work what I kinda feel: I'm often disenchanted by stuff that King has done but I'm so willing to shrug it off and go to the next book because I feel a kinship with the writer that's almost familial. Like when a relative does something really rude and I kinda have no choice but to keep seeing them? And I think that this reluctance to be as tough on him as I might be of a writer who didn't bring King's background to the table definitely has a lot to do with the fact that I was reading his work as an adolescent and it played a huge part in shaping my tastes. He helped teach me how much fun reading could be. Does this come up often in your coursework? In other words: does it come up that the texts you study aren't to be looked at strictly through an academic eye but through the eye of somebody with a child's consciousness? I'm not sure if I worded that very well... I also feel like I'm only recently developing an eye for King's voice, which you say is so distinct. I'm starting to see what you mean. I wonder, though, if I'm only picking up on it now because I was slow to the punch or if it's because he didn't really develop it until maybe eight books in.

[@EmilyCait]

View from the Bar A familial kinship is a great way to describe my feelings for King! Even though I haven't loved his latest works, I will still keep reading them. I definitely consider myself one of his Constant Readers. He shaped my interest in the fantastic, so I can't bring myself to abandon his works. In my course work I've never specifically studied a text from the children's POV. (Although some people do do that with reader response theory. Reader response theory looks at the audience; it's kinda 'new' and I did my degree at an old-school university that focused more on content within the work.) I've sort of touched on reader response theory with women/girls and romance lit while researching for my thesis. (So not specifically children't lit, but perhaps the same idea?) Some of the research addressed how texts teach readers what to desire/consume. (Think Gossip Girl with its brand name dropping, teaching young readers that happiness lies in consumerism.) So as young readers, these texts shape/influence our view of the world, our performance within the world. That doesn't exactly answer your question... But it does make a connection between what we read as young people and how we view the world. So I guess as young people reading King, we were in part shaped by those texts? Maybe having them as part of what shaped us as readers and people makes them - and King himself - hard to let go, even if they don't have the same charm? Does that make any sense?

[@ASoron0424]

Yeah, the POV thing sounds like it'd be a tricky filter by which to assess a text. Trying to take yourself back to how you might have seen it at age 5 or 7. And what you say about King's work being "hard to let go" makes perfect sense. No matter how many times he bombs, and no matter how indignant I might become for the hours that feel wasted with books like Firestarter or Pet Sematary or The Dark Half, I'll keep coming back probably more out of some sense of relationship with the dude himself than, necessarily, a faith that he'll pull through and pump out another couple masterpieces.

[@santos8468]

I finished listening to the audio-book this morning. Brady should have died at the end of Mr. Mercedes. Bringing him back this way was silly and King spent way too much time explaining how Brady got this way just to make it make some kind of sense. I still like our three main characters and I felt that the ending was genuinely sad.

[@joshuamarsella]

Just finished it and I agree completely with your assessment! It was so underwhelming and everything seemed way too convenient to feel any real suspense at all. I just jumped back into The Stand and it is a much more pleasant reading experience then his recent stuff. I also recommend starting with his earlier works before adventuring into his new stuff, although 11.22.63 has been really good so far! Great review Emily!

[@justintai8725]

I totally agree with you. I also had a huge problem almost a plot hole about the technology working with the hypnosis. I would video review these too because I liked the first. Loved the second and Was underwhelmed by this one. Great video. Peace.

[@bookbabble]

Im glad to hear your thoughts on this. I haven't read any of these but now I will have some information in my belt, if anyone at work asks me about them!

[@williamkailantrophy7879]

Just finished this book and I gotta say it's my favorite of the three. Finders Keepers was my least favorite due to it being more of a standalone sequel rather than an actual direct sequel. I can't stress enough how in loved I am with Holly! She's just so fantastic as a character and reading how well she develop throughout the series made me happy. I find EoW was exactly how I want it to be. It's like Hodges is battling the demon Brady. Some things just won't let you go, and Brady is one of those things. A tad disappointed with the ending though. Felt like the "final confrontation" was too rushed and too convenient for our heroes. Wished that it would be longer. Would love for everything to end with a (extra) bang.

[@EmilyCait]

I think the supernatural needed to be sprinkled throughout the series, not just introduced in the final book of the trilogy. I like King's supernatural works and I like his more "reality-based" works, I just think in a series there needs to be some consistency. I'm glad you enjoyed it though! :)

[@jehrnandez21]

Although I did enjoy the supernatural plot on this book, I also think that maybe it would have been better to follow the same "criminal-thriller" line from the other books. I bet this has been done before, but I wonder how good it would have been if instead of a "mind control" thing, King would have written about some sort of suicide cult wanting to follow Brady's steps and create a massive killing. I also feel that the "final confrontation" was too short and rushed. But anyway, this was overall a nice trilogy and I enjoyed it greatly.

[@Spongebrain97]

Jorge Hernandez I just finished the book and yeah I gotta say I agree with you. While Brady's supernatural elements don't ruin anything they do really detract from the realism of the first two books. Your idea of a suicide cult or something carry on Brady's work sounds pretty good because while Brady was deafeated and became a vegetable, his influenced could've lived on in other deranged people. Hodges would be physically done with Brady but Brady's influence wouldn't have died out

[@EmilyCait]

Agreed! I like your suicide cult idea (or something similar) as the ending. Something rooted in the reality like the rest of the series was...

[@jaimediaz512]

I was worried that i was the only one that found this third installment in the series hard to read. It didnt have me in its grasp like the other two did. i thought i put this book off because of work and life in general, but no. its just this book.

[@EmilyCait]

Yeah... It was a disappointing conclusion to the trilogy. Which is too bad. I really loved Bill and Holly as characters.

[@mahamike]

I am reading End Of Watch now... But I really loved Finder’s Keepers... What did you think of the supernatural aspect of 11-22-63-?

[@omalleysmith9100]

So glad I watched this review before reading this. I enjoyed the first two, Finders Keepers being my favourite... I am not a fan of supernatural stuff, so I probably won't be reading this third installment. The first Stephen King book I read and REALLY enjoyed was Revival, which is pretty recent. I'm late to the S.K. party. lol

[@EmilyCait]

Nice! I really liked Revival... right up until the end. I anticipated something different and the actual ending ended up falling short for me. But I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it! :)

[@JohnMartin-oh6bf]

I enjoy kings books...but I love that seat cover

[@renatoalbuquerque4245]

I finished my reading of the Last Turn at the moment, and in my opinion left much to be desired, especially in relation to the first two who were much superior. I think King has gotten too caught up in trying to explain himself about Zappit and its functions and that's gotten a bit more involved in the reading itself. I was surprised by the end even though it seemed a bit predictable, but overall I liked the outcome. My final opinion was that King got his hands on this universe totally different from yours and could write more books aimed at the theme proposed in the trilogy.

[@EmilyCait]

I also liked the first two better. I didn't see the trilogy ending up where it did either.

[@pyrokamileon]

End of Watch is different than the first two books, but I do not understand how it having a supernatural bend is a bad thing? I think a video (or at least a text reply) explaining that would be really helpful, or maybe if u could point me in the direction of someone else's video/article where they discuss the idea would also be really helpful. I apologize if I am coming off as offensive, I am merely confused on this topic that I have heard raised against this author before :-(

[@NWAWskeptic]

I agree with the super natural element kind of feeling out of place. Have you read The Outsider yet? Holly makes an appearance in that one as well. And a Hodges-like character. But is more similar to End of Watch.

[@EmilyCait]

I have read The Outsider. I'm still not sure how I feel about it... Hence the lack of review thus far. :P

[@NWAWskeptic]

I agree, I was kinda on the bubble as well. SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't read The Outsider. I think the issue for me is we are sympathetic to all the principle characters in the first third of the book. Which is exactly what you'd want at that point as both sides have overwhelming compelling evidence and King wants to draw us in to that dilemma and feel honest compassion for both. I think if the very first chapter was told from Terry Maitland's point of view when they arrived to arrest him in public, we might have felt the sting of a truly innocent man having his life destroyed, and felt the secondary sympathy for the detective and the DA. I honestly did not know how to feel when they revealed the video footage of his alibi and the elation his family felt watching it. I almost felt more bad for the detective potentially losing his job over an honest mistake. As we knew more about whats going on in his mind than in Terry's. And I get that King wanted to keep the mystery of the conflicting accounts going and not let us in Terry's mind too much at that point. But to be honest Terry was still too much of a stranger to me to invest myself into his character when he was killed. Even though his outrage was justified. But also since the characters of the first half were all likable, it was acceptable, if not cheered, that they all joined together to solve the mystery together. The defense attorney grew beyond the typical arrogant facade of a defense lawyer, and you actually ended up liking him and the help he provided. Then as we have mentioned, the super natural took over the plot. I found it difficult to "hate" the entity as we didn't even know what it was, or how it thought. Was it truly evil or just the nature of his being? And its powers were too ill-defined. If it could manifest and "burn" the deputy, then why not kill the pursuers directly. And I never could truly grasp how fully it was "projecting" when he appeared to other characters. Was it an apparition or not? They explained it too long after the incidents actually occurred. Which is why I tend to read with pure supernatural or pure realistic and not so much the blended stories. Then development is more solid throughout. The plus was I did like the characters very much, and I agree, Holly is awesome. But the supernatural element was disjointing to me. Which was the same kind of feeling I had for End of Watch. But at least the rules were more clearly laid out in End of Watch, they Brady could not enter people's minds without the Zappit and the consequences to the hosts when he took over their mind. It is interesting that the last two books in the Hodge's trilogy, that the villains ultimately killed themselves(after Hodges/Jerome mortally wounded them) So all told, did Hodges kill anyone in the trilogy? Would be a fitting finish for a man who welcomed his own death early on, to not even take a life after that. All in all I liked the characters a lot and that helps to overlook some of the flaws of the series. I was gonna mention the TV series of Mr. Mercedes, I just watched it online, but already got kinda long winded. Sorry about that :-) Liked your take on the trilogy though.

[@MrWalkingbass]

oh.. 2 of of 5?I was thinking about reading the trilogy as an introduction to his works... Besides his work on "It", I watched Creepshow ('82) which he collaborated on and I felt like I would be fond of his own works. I saw Mr. Mercedes in a bookstore and the plot kind of drove my attention. Which one would you recommend me read first then? Thanks for the review, I needed some orientation. By the way, natural light suits you very nicely.

[@EmilyCait]

I think starting at the beginning is a very good option. Carrie is short and a good introduction to the style of writing that King is known for. You get the supernatural and the commentary on the ugly/gritty aspects of humanity in a tiny package. (So many of King's books are HUGE time commitments.)

[@Seedly23]

you put me on this Trilogy. End of Watch was predictable and yes you're it is so hard to buy that Hodges just accepted Brady has powers. The Mr Mercedes was the best of the 3.

[@burkhow17]

Hello, I ended up buying End Of Watch the other day, not realizing it was the 3rd part of a Trilogy until after. Do you recommend I start with Mr. Mercedes first or does this book stand on its own?

[@EmilyCait]

Yes! I think you can skip Finder's Keepers if you really want (it focuses more on other characters that aren't important in End of Watch) but I think to understand the conflict between Hodges and Brady you need to read Mr Mercedes first.

[@burkhow17]

Okay thank you!

[@Ho-c]

Hey Emily Do a Review of "Come Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant", she Canadian tho, I wanna hear your thoughts. Listen to your Viewers!!

[@MrPipex75]

Hey ! how long did it take to you reading the book?

[@EmilyCait]

Not too long. I picked at it along side a few other books over a week. It was a pretty quick read :)

[@ChristinadeVries]

I did enjoy End of Watch, but the supernatural part of the story threw me off as well. I ended up giving it a 3 to 3,5 stars because the characters are so much fun and his writing is (of course) amazing , but I didn't particularly like the storyline in this one. It just felt too quickly resolved and as you said; disjointed from the rest of the series.

[@EmilyCait]

I think part of my disappointment is that I really loved the characters! I like when King has minimal characters (things like The Stand with a large cast of characters are not my favorite). I loved Holly and Bill's friendship... and the fact that their relationship remained a friendship. No forced romance here! I think the supernatural crime novel would have worked if it had been there right from the beginning in Mr Mercedes.

[@MegaMark67]

Love his earlier novels as well. Crime stories by King don’t do much for me.

[@pjwchung]

2 out of 5?

[@FCSchaefer]

The first two books were pure Alfred Hitchcock, the last book was an episode of The Outer Limits.

[@sonshawn4421]

I think your really pretty

[@octaviopedroza348]

Absolutely disagree with you in this time