Why Endings Matter

Working towards an ending is and underrated but crucial part of any story. Here we go into depth about why endings matter.
This project has been a long time coming, my colleagues and I have put a lot of love and effort into it, so I hope you'll enjoy it!
00:00 Intro
00:30 Thesis
01:47 Ruining a good story
03:35 Suffering from success
05:27 Letting stories end
06:45 Size doesn't matter
08:08 New stories need more new
08:22 How to sequel
09:34 How to spin-off
11:08 A good ending = immortality
12:01 Outro
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Thanks a bunch to Mokarokas and Jeremy for your generous support!
Discord community: / discord

[@viniciusserafim5550]

What a video! And thanks so much for using examples such as the pathetic final seasons of Game Of Thrones or the horrible latest seasons of the initially amazing Westworld, it's super satisfying to watch this one.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Glad you enjoyed it Vinicius! I think Westworld in particular was the greatest inspiration for this video haha! The perfect ending unwrapped and soiled for the sake of profits and profits alone.

[@viniciusserafim5550]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 I couldn't agree more! Season 1 was one of the best things I ever watched... Maybe it would have been one of the greatest mini of all time. Too bad potential profitability overpower other aspects.

[@auntielou3610]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 - truth

[@jacktorrance3522]

Good man for giving a much deserved shout out to "Black Sails". What a criminally underrated show that is, all because of a shaky first season where you can see it trying to match Game of Thrones with all the sex.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

One of my top 5 of all time. Definitely wanna make a video about when I have time!

[@sun_and_sage]

Great breakdown! Makes sense that money keeps it going. The Creed follow up to the Rocky franchise worked really well! A good example of getting it right.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Haven't seen Creed, but always assumed it was just Rocky all over again :P

[@tsaageotrimm]

Westworld first season is so unbelievably good

[@loyalcarlon]

This is why Mr Robot is the greatest show ever made. I have never seen a show stay so tight to main message and develop and crescendo so perfectly. It’s a perfect show with no padding, which is so so so rare.

[@Author_SoftwareDesigner]

Great video, man. Good points, we’ll-articulated, well-edited. Subscriber gained.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Appreciate the kind words! Glad you liked it :D

[@M3TALfoREVer1]

Your editing is great and you used a lot of examples that made sense. I starting watching cuz I just finished game of thrones so I’ve binged your videos lol can’t wait for more content

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Thank you! I've got a lot in the works, so hope to keep you entertained :)

[@Wintertoes]

Where did you come from dude? lol. I'm really glad I've found you, cause you always hit on stuff that resonates so well with me. I rarely enjoy youtube reviewer content anymore, cause I feel like a lot of them tread the same ground, and kind of feel... compromised? But you're a breath of fresh air. Every video of yours I've watched so far I've enjoyed immensely. Keep up the good work man!

[@MuzikFreak161]

Everyone that watched Prison Break past season 2 gets it

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Yes! Prison break really fell off a cliff :P

[@Nightcrawler333]

Very nice video. Totally agree 👍👍

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Glad to see you enjoyed it! :)

[@uriahl2331]

Well done fellas. All good points!

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Thanks Uriah! Glad you liked it :D

[@SzaboB33]

Every time a story ends, it's an opening for a new story, a yet unadapted book to make it to adaptation but the show makers would gamble with it because that opening is for everyone not just for the franchise owners.

[@Crossword131]

I agree, but I have no anime references to access, so I'm just waiting for the GOT/WW content.

[@sydnitheromantictaylor112]

Agreed. Some shoes for on too long like the walking dead, that fantasy series that Jeffrey dean Morgan used to be in, grey's anatomy and stranger things etc. It's like damn just end already, because if the story goes on longer than it should then each season just gets weaker and weaker then it gets endings like Lost, Dexter and How I met your mother.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Great examples all 🧐

[@leonkimathi1985]

Am really waiting for your In a Nutshell for House of the Dragon episodes 6-9.. pleeeease..the shakes are terrible 😔

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Coming, friend! This was just out the oven, and Nutshell videos are on the way as well 😌

[@ItsJoyJeet]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 still nothing brother.

[@ChrisNoonetheFirst]

I thought Breaking Bad was going to be over after they had the planes crash. Even though the foreshadowing with the stuffed animal in the pool was really good, I just thought a New Mexico 9/11 would be the furthest the concept behind the show could take them. But the writers must have had a plan, cuz BB pretty much had the most perfect ending ever

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Really nice story arc, Breaking Bad. I would really recommend checking out Black Sails as well if you haven't already :D

[@JoshuaDMaley]

Very late to the party on this video but since no one else seems to have said it, I feel compelled to point out that while the Hobbit novel came before the Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson adapted The Lord of the Rings first; the Hobbit trilogy came years after. His Hobbit movies also took significant liberties, like including Legolas.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Good point! With the cinematography they had in mind, I think the right choice was to go for LOTR, seeing as the Hobbit was more of a childrens' book and focused more on set pieces than the deep-dive on themes and overarching epicness.

[@OkabexKurisu]

Whats wrong with Attack on Titan? Pacing is still good. It just sucks that they made a 3 part season.

[@mokarokas-1727]

Three parts, with three separate arcs, with different opening and ending themes, released a year apart from each other... WHY IS IT NOT JUST CALLED THREE SEASONS?

[@OkabexKurisu]

@@mokarokas-1727 I dont know man, but s2 was only 12 episodes. So I dont care as long as it is still good which it is.

[@sarahharrisginge736]

What you said around 10:08 is a great example of how to expand a universe instead of just cash grabbing. Animatrix is my favourite example of that. Shows/films that should have ended to preserve their legacy off the top of my head: The Simpsons South Park Zoolander Pirates of the Caribbean Red Dwarf Westworld Shrek (after no. 2) etc.... I think Toy Story did a good job, and Pixar in general has been pretty consistent with good sequels. Disney on the other hand... The live actions are awful! Really great take!! I'm so sick of the sequels and prequels that are rushed and just there to make money. You're right, all they do is callbacks and add characters noone cares about. Great video guys! 👍 Keep it up! PS: love love love The Last Airbender 😃

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Thanks Sarah, great to see you enjoyed it! Kind of wish we would've included Zoolander from your list, haha! And yes, The Last Airbender is the daddy of stories, wholy... I'll have to get on making more content about it. Though, everything's basically been said already :P

[@sarahharrisginge736]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 YES PLEASE! That and Adventure Time. They're both shows with beautiful characters and stories that make you feel, grow and learn 💜

[@peytonwortel65]

Sad u didn't talk about westworld in this, but also i think you should do a video on fear the walking dead. The original show runner had a 7 season plan and story outline, but it was scrapped after season 3 when je was replaced and tjen the story went everywhere and has been a complete train wreck ever since

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@CrystalClear5617]

Well Korra was meant to be just season 1 then they made the tragedy that is season 2 then they got permission for 3&4 so that's why those are good because they knew they had both seasons to make a story with

[@LordFirthunands]

I disagree with the criticism of The Legend of Korra. That world rapidly evolved by science and technology that brought peace and trade. It is like saying that the Modern Age lost the thread and the substance of the Middle Ages. They are different times and contexts.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Thanks for your input! I don't think we critizised the modernization of Korra in this video though :P The problem with Korra, apart from being a significantly lesser story, is how it taints the lore of the ATLA-world, in explaining the magic (by showing the first Avatar), introducing giants with lasers, as well as destroying the link to past avatars. Some people may like these additions and changes, but they come at a price. And they impose themselves on the original story whether we like it or not :)

[@LordFirthunands]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 You're welcome. Yes, obviously they have a price, but the payment for the development of the story seemed fair to me. After all, they tell you the origin of everything and how that knowledge can be used for good or for bad. The same happens with our world and realizing where that which we believed to be inaccessible magic due to simple ignorance comes from. In addition, The Legend of Korra has a message and a common thread that is to see the consequences of extreme ideologies and what is done with power. Things that are seen in The Legend of Aang but more from above. Cheers!

[@kaykoko8301]

💯 under every word. I don’t know most of the shows you mention in the video but all these recent big franchises are just clinging onto past cringe mixes of everything remakes, why is good writing not relevant anymore? Ugh

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

I know right!? Everyone and their dog wants to see another show like Game of Thrones, but they just refuse to take the time to make one that's actually good. So frustrating.

[@MarcoTulio-mi1ov]

é o que eu sempre falo, deixa as coisas acabarem, senão acontece o que voce disse, sequencias ruins e sem a essencia do original, nas melhor que star wars, dragon ball, avatar, naruto como exemplo, ate mesmo jogos que nunca tem fim como assassins creed

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Exactamente. Os finais são subestimados!

[@legofan4409]

Wait, how did Attack on Titan go on for too long?

[@alansaganias559]

It didn't...

[@Gyrannon]

You included Star Wars and Attack on Titan cause you assume the ending already happened. They didn't. Attack on Titan, its progressing as it should, for the most part it IS following the manga as closely as possible. And yeah, the end is approaching, but the studio translating it from manga to anime are taking their sweet time to release it. That whole bit where Eren goes on a Titan rampage on the rest of the world? That happens in the manga! Star Wars having 9 episodes? GEORGE LUCAS HAD PLANNED THAT FOR DECADES. He just didn't think Disney would betray his vision and quite literally destroy it. As for the rest of Star Wars, the Legends bit of it, the comics go back dozens of thousands of years and go way past the death of Luke Skywalker - Lucas admittedly hated the fan fiction but he tolerated them cause they didn't prop themselves up as canon. You should do better research before lumping good shows in with destroyed shows. Even Game of Thrones was intended to last 13 seasons at the very least, til Dumb & Dumber decided to rush it & trash the show at the very end.

[@ashleyalexander7388]

game of thrones was the worst. I'll never forgive D and D. I hope they don't ruin anything else.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Thankfully they got fired from Star Wars. Serves them right!

[@TheMajorStranger]

You lost me when you showed Mission Impossible. If there's one Franchise that doesn't feel rehashed and get better over time it' this one.

[@lwazinkasawe3887]

ATTACK ON TITAN, PLEASE. ANIME ORIGINAL ENDING 😩😭🙏🏾

[@Nachtdervolfe12345]

Enjoyed the video and agreed on all points except that The Mandalorian is forgettable. Most of what has come after the prequels, besides Clone Wars, has been hollow cash grabs that didn’t add much to the story, but The Mandalorian is actually adding to the world of Star Wars and I have enjoyed it very much as a grounded take on the aftermath of the original trilogy rather than the soulless mess that was the sequels.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Fair enough! Mandalorian is probably the one I keep hearing not only bad things about :P

[@RetroEcoChicken]

hmmmmmmmmmmm did this dude see the last season of black sails? it was not very good.

[@christopherm.1258]

I think Westworld is missplaced in this video, because this show still had things to say in its future seasons. Season 2 was about the importance of haveing a choice, season 3 was about the importance and capability of free will and season 4 was about adaptability. There was story and the "they just wanted money"-agument also doesn`t work here, because Westworld just lost viewers since the start of season 2. They kept going with the show, because the showrunner had their story to tell. The problem with the show, in my opinion, is that the execution lacked on effort since season 3 (I actually found season 2 pretty well!) They allowed themselfes more and more logicflase and executed characterarcs, which are mostly good to great on paper, realy poorly.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

The story ended in S1, no matter how you spin it, and reviving it after the foundation of the story has been exhausted is doomed to fail, which is also precisely what happened.

[@user-iw9sm9he4e]

Ирония заключается в том, что 1 сезон именно про свободу выбора - это одна из ключевых тем. Диалог между Черным человеком и Грейс в поезде это квинтэссенция рассуждений об этом.

[@auntielou3610]

Yes, yes and yes to everything you stated. I was screaming that’s right capitalism and Hwood laziness. It seems it has gotten worse over the last decade. Overcooked shows that dribble on to rebooting franchises that no one asked for or wanted. Do we not have talented, original content making writers in the states? Anywhere? 🙄 the last series I liked that was original content was Dark. The creators have new series 1899 premiering next month. And don’t get me even started on shows canceled on a cliffhanger…..ugh.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

Right! I've been meaning to watch Dark for a long time. Thanks for the reminder! It seems crazy to me that everyone knows that quality content goes a long way, yet the big studios more or less refuse to take the time to craft solid stories. I really don't get it :(

[@auntielou3610]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 - agree they don’t. It’s laziness to make money. Look, no one asked for TOP GUN: Maverick but 30 yrs later here we are….why? My 2 cents- they could resurrect content, make cash, allegedly US Military were advocates for film. Enlistment down in US for service so last time worked to boost enlistment so let’s promote this to gain more recruits. Disgusting.

[@CultureVultureMedia1]

​@@auntielou3610 Yeah that's always a thing. I think the US Army is also a massive contributor to Call of Duty. Although, I have to say, Top Gun Maverick knows exactly what it is; an over-the-top cheese ball of a flick, and doesn't pretend otherwise. I hate almost everything I watch, these days, but I genuinly enjoyed it x)

[@c.w.8200]

@@CultureVultureMedia1 Yes! Dark was always planned as a three season thing and they executed it so well.