Best Endings

[Vandervecken]

There's a worst plot resolution thread doing its thing, so I thought I'd go the other way. What are the endings that make you sigh happily and say to yourself, "Damn. That was authentic Trek, that was." The endings that leave you in a little warm glow for a while as you contemplate them. I don't mean happy necessarily, although that is fine, but so is sad or miserable or even deadened if it's that good--I mean the ones that just make you proud to be a fan.

Also--it may be that the whole episode itself is only meh overall, or not the best. That's ok, this is about endings.

For me Return to Tomorrow is very affecting, and also the Savage Curtain. Chain of Command also gets me with Picard's 5-light admission, and I think the windup of the Royale is just classic huge fun. I'll come back with more, now other folks' turns.

 

[locutus101]

Chain Of Command: When picard says that he was this close to see five lights.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Duet, which I mentioned in another thread. A real eye-opening moment for Kira at the end, one of the first of many, apparently.

 

[Griffeytrek]

The Inner Light and The Visitor, just for that perfect roller coaster they take you on. They leave you right where they need to.

The Best of Both Worlds. That look on Picard's face as he stands at the window holding his tea.

And possibly the best end scene in all of Star Trek. In the Pale Moonlight. Sisco's ending monologue/report. Damn that stays with you.
"So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover up the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning of all... I think I can live with it... And if I had to do it all over again... I would. Garak was right about one thing – a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it...Because I can live with it...I can live with it. Computer – erase that entire personal log."

 

[locutus101]

The Inner Light and The Visitor, just for that perfect roller coaster they take you on. They leave you right where they need to.

The Best of Both Worlds. That look on Picard's face as he stands at the window holding his tea.

And possibly the best end scene in all of Star Trek. In the Pale Moonlight. Sisco's ending monologue/report. Damn that stays with you.
"So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover up the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning of all... I think I can live with it... And if I had to do it all over again... I would. Garak was right about one thing – a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it...Because I can live with it...I can live with it. Computer – erase that entire personal log."

Yeas, "In The Pale Moonlight" was a very good ending.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

One I think is underrated, Course: Oblivion. Maybe one of the saddest episode endings outside DS9.

 

[Vandervecken]

Yeas, "In The Pale Moonlight" was a very good ending.

Gotta join that chorus incredible ending. I would include Garak's explanation of all that really happened as part of it.

"So - with a seemingly legitimate rod in one hand, and a dead senator in the other, I ask you, Captain - what conclusion would you draw?"

I hear that in my head as well as Sisko.

 

[locutus101]

Gotta join that chorus incredible ending. I would include Garak's explanation of all that really happened as part of it.

"So - with a seemingly legitimate rod in one hand, and a dead senator in the other, I ask you, Captain - what conclusion would you draw?"

I hear that in my head as well as Sisko.

I agreed with Sisko that Garak deserved a good beating though...

One remark though: When Data's shuttle exploded all they needed to make it look like he was there was to put the materials constituting him in the same proportions. Here with an exploding vessel they are capable to retrieve part of the info contained in a recording device. That means that Garak's bomb was sufficiently weak to leave the ship and what it contains relatively intact yet damaged. Wouldn't that make people suspicious?

 

[Greg Cox]

"The Wounded," when it turns out that Maxwell may have been out of control, but he wasn't wrong about the Cardassians. And Picard lets the Cardassian commander know that he isn't fooling anyone.

Also; "The Hunted," which makes clever use of the Prime Directive in order to provide a satisfying conclusion in which Picard not taking action is the right thing to do. (Although it took me forever to remember that rather generic title.)

 

[Hawku]

TNG Phantasms when Data questions what Dr. Freud would say about the symbolism of devouring oneself.

 

[Griffeytrek]

I agreed with Sisko that Garak deserved a good beating though...

One remark though: When Data's shuttle exploded all they needed to make it look like he was there was to put the materials constituting him in the same proportions. Here with an exploding vessel they are capable to retrieve part of the info contained in a recording device. That means that Garak's bomb was sufficiently weak to leave the ship and what it contains relatively intact yet damaged. Wouldn't that make people suspicious?

In the episode when Data's shuttle exploded he was transporting an extremely volatile and dangerous substance. Basically a shuttle packed full of unstable nitro glycerin or in future tech much worse. hence a bigger expected kaboom. The implication in the Romulan Ambassadors case was it was a small smuggled in concealed explosive device. So just enough to destroy the ship and kill its occupants. Not enough to vaporize the contents. It makes sense when viewed in context.

 

[locutus101]

In the episode when Data's shuttle exploded he was transporting an extremely volatile and dangerous substance. Basically a shuttle packed full of unstable nitro glycerin or in future tech much worse. hence a bigger expected kaboom. The implication in the Romulan Ambassadors case was it was a small smuggled in concealed explosive device. So just enough to destroy the ship and kill its occupants. Not enough to vaporize the contents. It makes sense when viewed in context.

But wouldn't a saboteur intent on killing someone make sure that he couldn't survive the blast of the explosion wherever he was on the ship when it happened. Wouldn't such a blast cause the warp core to breach and the ship to be volatilized? In which case there wouldn't be anything left of the rod.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Final Mission: Wesley leaves forever!

@locutus101

Garak wanted to make it look like a saboteur trying to make it look like an accident, so the investigators feel like they outsmarted someone by discovering it. That feeling of superiority combined with the obvious apparent narrative could easily stop them from asking questions.

 

[The Old Mixer]

^Not forever, but for my money, that's a good entry...I always liked the bonding moment between Picard and Wesley at the end.

 

[locutus101]

Liaisons: When we discover that the woman that was trying to have sex with Picard was actually a guy!

 

[Zonker]

Suprised only one person has mentioned The Inner Light. Picard staring out that window and playing the alien flute gives me chills every time.

 

[USS Firefly]

Tough question because there are so many good endings.

The Inner Light and The Visitor, just for that perfect roller coaster they take you on. They leave you right where they need to.

The Best of Both Worlds. That look on Picard's face as he stands at the window holding his tea.

And possibly the best end scene in all of Star Trek. In the Pale Moonlight. Sisco's ending monologue/report. Damn that stays with you.
"So... I lied. I cheated. I bribed men to cover up the crimes of other men. I am an accessory to murder. But most damning of all... I think I can live with it... And if I had to do it all over again... I would. Garak was right about one thing – a guilty conscience is a small price to pay for the safety of the Alpha Quadrant. So I will learn to live with it...Because I can live with it...I can live with it. Computer – erase that entire personal log."

Those are indeed one of the best.
"The offspring" and "Call to arms" when we see for the first time a fleet of starships.
And "Inter arma enim Silent leges"

 

[Tracy Trek]

I think it was the end of Tin Man. Data is looking out the window at the stars and I guess contemplating their last mission. Deanna comes to find him and they talk and I think she embraces him. It just seemed like a nice moment that showed how the rest of the crew cared for him.

 

[locutus101]

Suprised only one person has mentioned The Inner Light. Picard staring out that window and playing the alien flute gives me chills every time.

Does anyone realize that since that flute was there before Picard met the probe that means that he didn't freely choose to play it but was forced by the program of the probe to do so, IOW his "free will" in the simulation was likely an illusion and the program was like a holographic film where the appearance of the aliens were altered so that they would look like humans. For all we know they all looked like lizards.

 

[Nightdiamond]

Yep, In the Pale Moonlight was awesome. Garak's speech, Sisko's closing scene, on the edge, risqué, a classic.

And also true in COC with Picard defiantly saying, "there...are.... FOUR lights!" after he gets rescued was one of the greatest.

Have a look at the ending of Balance of Terror - after Kirk talks to the widow of a crewman killed during the battle, he walks out into the main corridor as the credits roll.

There is something really modern looking about this scene.