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How Do You React to Endings When You Reach Them?
Endings come in many sizes, shapes, and forms in fiction, nonfiction, and reality.
Every story has a beginning, middle, and end.
This is true of every fiction and nonfiction book that you could read or write, as well as reality. We, in these meat suits we occupy for a century or so, begin and end. Along the way, most of what we experience falls into the very wide middle.
Some endings are very cut and dried. Sometimes all the main characters of the story die at the end. Other times, they all live happily ever after. Most often, it’s somewhere in between.
I am always fascinated by endings. There are so many different ways that things end. What’s more, people tend to have wildly different opinions when it comes to good or bad endings.
Additionally, over time, I’ve changed my opinion on certain endings. For example — the TV show Angel. The last episode was very open-ended and ambiguous. The first time I saw it, I was left feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. But later, rewatching it, I liked it a lot better. Sure, the show is over — but the characters still have jobs to do.
What is it about endings that cause such visceral reactions in people?
