Dénouement Episodes

[fueschgast]

Hi there! Since it's apparently okay to just post about whatever has to do with TV here, I'd like to know your opinions on dénouement episodes.

While I like loose ends getting tied up, I'm not a fan of making it a whole episode long. Or at least there should be warnings for such eps. I'm still not over the Orphan Black finale turing out to be one of those. I was ready for all hell to break loose in the last ep, but then nothing much happened and I realized that the climax had already happened. I wish I had known beforehand!

(How should I tag this?)

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I don't mind them, and for the end of a show as opposed to a story arc I think it's kind of a nice nod to the fans. With OB there were moments of celebration and togetherness in the show but it was good to see them all evaluating where their lives would go from here, and that some things would still need to be worked through.

One such episode that I thought was a really neat example of this was Restless in Buffy which S4 set up a few things to come and was also an exploration about the unseen tolls on our heroes.

[alchemise]

I completely agree about Restless. It was a perfect season finale that I don't think took anything away from the arc of season 4. It was more like a transition between what had happened and what was to come.

[colls]

LOL - I can't imagine how someone could know this beforehand? It's like reading the last chapter of a book first (which I know some people do *shrugs*)

I guess it would depend on how and why they're done. Are they slapped together quickly because surprise!cancelation or are they genuinely planned out to provide a conclusion and serve as some sort of epilogue?

In literature, I like the practice. After the grand finale, the ensemble gathers at the local diner and reflects, tells stories, etc. I can't think of many true TV examples that take an entire episode at the moment, but I think most shows that have a planned ending have elements of this? Like Friday Night Lights had a bit of a "here's what the future will hold" for the characters at the end, which I found wonderful.


Sometimes show endings don't necessarily fall into this category, but have some elements I think you're talking about (maybe?). For Stargate SG-1, for example, the creators had to make a couple movies to tie up the Ori storyline so those had several loose ends wrapping up quickly - but enough loose ends left for other things in the franchise.

I am curious what the creators of Sense8 are going to do with their options.

(ETA: P.S. I tagged it as 'general' - thanks for posting!)

[8hyenas]

I'm wondering about Sense8 as well, I torn between a cataclysmic adventure and a handwave that ends with everyone hanging out in a villa, maybe a cooking scene! Ooooo

[jiokra]

IMHO, I think it's bad writing if you tune in for the finale and expect a grand finale only to realize the penultimate episode was the grand finale. People shouldn't get a heads up through a promo, interview, etc, but it ought to feel organic and like it's meant to be just from tuning it week to week.

It's not bad writing to have a denouement episode, but if the viewer experiences shock/dissatisfaction because they expected all hell to break loose and it didn't... except that it apparently did... well, it seems to me that the writing for the grand finale was poor at delivering all those emotional beats. If it's written well, there won't be that disappointment. You might not like the storytelling technique, but you won't feel cheated out of a good story.

For instance, Game of Thrones tends to have denouement episodes, but I've never walked out of a season feeling deprived. It feels cathartic and necessary, which is something these episodes are supposed to provide, a cooling off period from the climax and also scintillating viewers to convince them to tune in for next season.

[tvgurl_offcouch]

I guess it all depends on the tv show. Some tv shows, viewers feel cheated or denouement episodes don't fit within the narrative structure. But in others it is expected or a perfect way to end it. I agree with jiokra that character or emotional beats not being met lead to a failure of a denouement or is just bad writing.