This weekend I binge watched the mini-series Good Omens with my friend Meg, and I was pleasantly surprised and had an overall feeling of satisfaction after it concluded. I think the main reason for it is that the mini-series (and I'm guessing the book as well) nailed the ending.
Ever since Game of Thrones ended, I've been examining over and over my reaction to endings and how a negative one can taint the entire thing. So for me, I've realized something that may not be true with others: it's not just about the journey--the ending must land for me to enjoy a good story. I'm not sure why this is, or what's wrong with me psychologically that I can't just appreciate a journey and realize that the ending is only a small part of the entire time that was spent. But it is what it is. I have to get a good ending people. :(
An ending is so important (in fact) that it can actually make me like something that I originally felt so-so about. Good Omens for what it is, seems like old hat these days. Its plot is nothing new. Practically all urban fantasy has demons, angels, and retreads of the Anti-Christ and witches and ghosts and zombies to the point of it being ad nauseum. Supernatural, The Dresden Files, The Iron Druid, the Anita Blake books, and on and on and on. These stories just recycle each others plots and Good Omens is essentially breaking no new ground at all. I have a feeling that if a nobody had written Good Omens, it might not even have gotten published these days because there are half a dozen stories just like it out there on shelves already. However, what it does do good is make you care about the characters. And then it gives an extremely satisfying conclusion that feels good.
It's unfortunate really that Game of Thrones couldn't do this. With as much time and effort as George R.R. Martin and the actors did by inhabiting roles he created, I feel like his whole saga has been tainted a bit...discolored...and, well, perhaps shat upon? If we are being perfectly honest. Not that he or HBO didn't make their money's worth, but still.... And my feelings toward endings may not be shared by a lot of people. So I get that. But I think that if May 2019 left me with anything (looking back on it) it was this: that I understand moreso than ever before where my joy comes from when looking at stories. It lies with endings. They've got to land in a way that resonates with me...in a way that leaves me fulfilled so that I can walk away from these characters with a feeling of peace.
So I guess that's it. For me to be happy with endings, I need to feel like I can walk away from the story, from the characters who I spent time with, and I need to be able to say, "I am at peace with them." I hate endings that leave things unsettled and conflicted. Conflict as part of a story should be in the middle and not at the end, and Good Omens does this. It's a wonderful tale, and even if you are jaded by urban fantasy stories, it's worth the time to watch all six episodes.
First of all, as of this evening I FINALLY caught up with GOT, so I understand why you may have been disappointed in the ending. But now I need to read your several posts about this final season to know if I agree or disagree with you. You always make very good points.
ReplyDeleteWhen you talk about how important the ending of a story is, I flashed on Field of Dreams. But then it's now the 30-year anniversary of the film (gad, I'm getting old!), so trailers for it have been on TV. But too that story more than any other I can think of had an ending that was extraordinarily relevant to everything that came before it. How the story began dictated how it must end. And the ending was perfect. I still remember how powerfully satisfying that feeling was in a theater that was full of people who were pretty much crying.
Congratulations for getting caught up on GoT. I honestly hope that the ending gave you some peace. For me, GoT just left a sour taste in my mouth. I felt like they burned down the character of Daenerys just so they could make a white man the king. I feel like she deserved better to be honest. Or at least...if they were going to go the route of destructive PTSD...then it needed to be treated with more delicacy. PTSD is no laughing matter, and it's what Daenerys was suffering from in the end. Too much trauma.
DeleteI'll probably watch that this week.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. A bad ending will taint my entire experience. A TV show is less important than a movie, especially a show I've watched for years, but still, it'll influence how I think about it in the future.
ReplyDeleteI think GOT tried to end it with things settled but to get there it had characters act unnaturally. Good Omens was consistent the whole way so it didn't feel forced. Like when I watched Catch 22 on Hulu last week though I wish I still had the book to look up how much it changed. Since the book was from the late 80s I know they had to make some adjustments.
ReplyDeleteBtw I think I read somewhere that the reason Neil Gaiman approached Terry Pratchett in the first place was he was having trouble with the ending of the book. Then they wound up reworking the novel into the final product.
Oh wow. Well endings are hard to write. It's very telling that Neil Gaiman had trouble ending it. Sometimes a collaboration just ends up working so well because its two against one.
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