In the aftermath of the recently aired Breaking Bad series finale, I composed a list of favorite series finales that I consider more than merely good compared to others. I also listed my reasons for enjoying them so much.
1. Six Feet Under “Everyone’s Waiting”-set the bar for series finales, partially due to its surprising montage of the characters’ future lives and deaths. It helped make the ending of my connection to the show’s characters whom I’ve grown close to easier to bear.
2. The Shield “Family Meeting”-delivered karmic punishment for the remaining members of the corrupt Strike Team that is nearly Shakespearean in scale. The silence of Vic’s final scene was profound.
3. Breaking Bad “Felina”-brought the transformative journey of Walter White and his complicated relationship with Jesse Pinkman to a satisfying conclusion. The song “Baby Blue” will linger in my mind for some time.
4. Babylon 5 “Sleeping in Light”-made me want to cry as I watch John Sheridan’s tragically shortened life come to an end and his loved ones try to come to terms with his impending demise. John and Delenn’s final scenes together were powered by the incredible performance of the actors portraying them.
5. Slings and Arrows “The Promised End”-excelled from its silent opening to Geoffrey and the gang banding together to pull off a rogue performance of King Lear to the joyful series-ending celebration. It was the perfect coda to a show about the dysfunctional theatre world and the lasting importance of Shakespeare’s works.
6. Angel “Not Fade Away”-ended the series on a rousing note as Angel and his friends fight for the good of humanity against the forces that seek to corrupt it. I consider Angel’s “Let’s go to work” line to be one of the most memorable TV lines of all time.
7. Blackadder Goes Fourth “Goodbyee”-warmed my heart with laughter and broke it at the same time as the WWI-era incarnation of Blackadder and his comrades face what might be their last charge into the battlefield. I was touched by the beauty of the war-torn battlefield dissolving into a poppy field at the end of the episode.
8. The Office (UK) “Christmas Special”-carried out the heartbreaking, realistic awkwardness of the series to a poignant conclusion. Brent standing up to Finch and Tim and Dawn’s kiss are cheer-worthy moments in my book.
9. Cowboy Bebop “The Real Folk Blues”-functioned as a moving, inevitable ending to Spike’s tragic arc of long-lost love and revenge. Spike limping down the stairs of the Syndicate building and saying “Bang” with his hand formed into a pretend gun makes me smile for some reason.
What are your favorite series finales that you think are above average and your reasons for thinking so?
1. Six Feet Under “Everyone’s Waiting”-set the bar for series finales, partially due to its surprising montage of the characters’ future lives and deaths. It helped make the ending of my connection to the show’s characters whom I’ve grown close to easier to bear.
2. The Shield “Family Meeting”-delivered karmic punishment for the remaining members of the corrupt Strike Team that is nearly Shakespearean in scale. The silence of Vic’s final scene was profound.
3. Breaking Bad “Felina”-brought the transformative journey of Walter White and his complicated relationship with Jesse Pinkman to a satisfying conclusion. The song “Baby Blue” will linger in my mind for some time.
4. Babylon 5 “Sleeping in Light”-made me want to cry as I watch John Sheridan’s tragically shortened life come to an end and his loved ones try to come to terms with his impending demise. John and Delenn’s final scenes together were powered by the incredible performance of the actors portraying them.
5. Slings and Arrows “The Promised End”-excelled from its silent opening to Geoffrey and the gang banding together to pull off a rogue performance of King Lear to the joyful series-ending celebration. It was the perfect coda to a show about the dysfunctional theatre world and the lasting importance of Shakespeare’s works.
6. Angel “Not Fade Away”-ended the series on a rousing note as Angel and his friends fight for the good of humanity against the forces that seek to corrupt it. I consider Angel’s “Let’s go to work” line to be one of the most memorable TV lines of all time.
7. Blackadder Goes Fourth “Goodbyee”-warmed my heart with laughter and broke it at the same time as the WWI-era incarnation of Blackadder and his comrades face what might be their last charge into the battlefield. I was touched by the beauty of the war-torn battlefield dissolving into a poppy field at the end of the episode.
8. The Office (UK) “Christmas Special”-carried out the heartbreaking, realistic awkwardness of the series to a poignant conclusion. Brent standing up to Finch and Tim and Dawn’s kiss are cheer-worthy moments in my book.
9. Cowboy Bebop “The Real Folk Blues”-functioned as a moving, inevitable ending to Spike’s tragic arc of long-lost love and revenge. Spike limping down the stairs of the Syndicate building and saying “Bang” with his hand formed into a pretend gun makes me smile for some reason.
What are your favorite series finales that you think are above average and your reasons for thinking so?
