A good ending feels like a rarity these days, especially when we're talking about long-form media. As the franchises and revivals have become a fixture of modern movies and television, it feels like definitive endings are anathema. However, there have still been some pretty good ones in the new millennium, and some are the reason that these titles are still remembered to this day.
As with the other Top 25 Lists, this list has 25 entries, but only the top ten get write-ups. Entries are unranked. I regret to inform you that I was not a viewer of "The Shield," "Succession," or "Six Feet Under." I'll try and keep the spoilers to a minimum, but you guys know what kind of list this is!
The Good Place - Chidi's quote about picturing a wave has quietly become the most enduring contribution of "The Good Place" to popular culture. I find that fitting, because over the years the show became a sort of a stealth way for Mike Schur to talk about philosophical concepts related to morality. It's only here, at the very end, that we really take on the concept of death, in a show where most of the characters are dead from the outset.
The Sopranos - Do you remember when the Clintons parodied this for Hilary's presidential campaign? You wouldn't think just cutting to black during an uneasy moment would cause such a ruckus, but "The Sopranos" ambiguous finale definitely helped it to keep the show relevant for years after it went off the air. David Chase is plagued with questions about it to this day. My take is that whatever you think happened to Tony, he's a doomed man.
The Colbert Report - The ascension of the fictional Stephen Colbert to the pop culture pantheon was cool. The celebrity sing-along with a crowd of notables including George Lucas and Henry Kissinger was fun. However, my favorite part of the finale is the very end, where Stephen Colbert throws to Jon Stewart over at the "Daily Show" like the whole series had just been one long segment of the program where "The Colbert Report" originated.
The Leftovers - There was never going to be a definite answer as to why the disappearances happened, but one is suggested if that's what you need from the show. What's more important is that we get some emotional resolution for two of the main characters, when Kevin and Nora meet again after a long separation. It's such a gentle, peaceful goodbye that ends the series on a hopeful and optimistic note, if not an entirely happy one.
The Return of the King - I had many complaints about this one the first time I saw it, but over the years, after too many multi-part franchise finales, I've grown much more fond of it. Sure, the big battles and lengthy farewells are indulgent, but they're in service of truly epic storytelling. I even wish that Peter Jackson had included the material that he shot for the coda sequence, that would have revealed the fates of some of the other characters.
Mr Robot - The final twist of the very twisty "Mr. Robot" is one that I figured out well in advance, but I still enjoyed it immensely for how it unfolded. For a show that depended so much on what was going on inside its protagonist's head, it was fitting that the finale mostly played out there, putting some of Elliott's lingering demons to rest. And having the (almost) final title card drop being set to the Styx song (you know which one) was the icing on the cake.
The Americans - The most terrible part of being foreign spies living fake lives turns out to be doing the job too well. Getting away with it has a cost too terrible for Philip and Elizabeth to anticipate, as their mission reaches its inevitable conclusion and they have to say their goodbyes. The confrontation scene with Stan finally happens as well, and it lived up to all the anticipation. However, it's the confrontation that doesn't happen that will haunt me.
Avengers: Endgame - Clearly this was never meant to be a finale for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it was a good enough endpoint that plenty of viewers decided it was the right place to disembark. The MCU actually has several good endings, notably the "Loki" finale. However, "Endgame" was the first really meaningful one after over twenty films that killed major characters and even let one retire! It's too bad it's not going to stick.
Parks and Rec - There are happy endings, and there are happy endings so thorough at wrapping things up for each and every regular in the show, that you can't think about it without smiling. Okay, so I wanted a little more for April and Andy, but Leslie and Ben? Ron Swanson? Garry? Their endings are perfect. For extra feels, the extended version also adds more material for minor characters like Bobby Newport and Shauna Mawae-Tweep.
The Wire - The fifth season of "The Wire" couldn't live up to the previous ones, but I still found plenty to like as the series wound down. The finale doesn't have anything big and climactic, but simply checking in with so many of the characters in the series, from all walks of life, in an epic last montage, was enough to take my breath away. Special love to Bubbles, whose story ends on a hopeful note.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Twin Peaks
Gravity Falls
Avatar the Last Airbender
The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien
No Time To Die
Toy Story 3
Breaking Bad
Mad Men
Andor
Picard
Angel
Fleabag
Review with Forrest MacNeil
Futurama (multiple)
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