Goodbye yellow brick road...
Have we ever had the 'what would your ideal ending have been?' discussion here? I feel like we must have, but maybe it's time for a jumping_off refresher.
Some time last year I came to realise that I would never have had an ideal ending, because of the way the show was constructed.
I love Gene, Annie, Chris, Nelson, Phyllis, hell, even Ray --- and even though I feel like Sam going back and making something of his life having learnt from his 1973 experiences was the right ending, narratively and ethically; it would have broken my heart. I was steeling myself for it, which is why I inititally reacted the way I did, because it didn't happen, Sam was now with them, and yeah, I was overjoyed.
We were convinced, early on, to love these characters - to want to be with them, in some way. It was a necessity to keep us watching, but I feel it was unfair, if the writers then wanted to turn around and tell us they weren't real. All we ever had to suggest that they weren't was Sam saying it - "you're not real". And he then acted like he believed he could affect the future.
At the same time, 1973 being real wouldn't have gelled well with the general lack of science fiction throughout the series. They could/would have handwaved it, but I know part of me would want to know how Sam had time travelled. I'd want to know why as well. And whether or not Sam was seriously cocking up his future. I think this one would have been more workable, with some careful thought - but not just in the last episode.
Then, the other ending would have been something completely left of field - and that would have been jarring and disconcerting for the same reasons as the above and a myriad others.
So, for me, it isn't just the ending that went wrong, it was the manipulation throughout the entire show. And I still love it, I still think it got lots of things right, but it still leaves me feeling dissatisfied. The show had all of these elements that could have worked, have told us something about ourselves. But in the end, we got rampant indulgence with an added theme that is highly disturbing.
And, yeah, it's just fiction - but apparently it's okay to go land yourself into a fictional reality until the end of time, so, you know, who's judging?
Some time last year I came to realise that I would never have had an ideal ending, because of the way the show was constructed.
I love Gene, Annie, Chris, Nelson, Phyllis, hell, even Ray --- and even though I feel like Sam going back and making something of his life having learnt from his 1973 experiences was the right ending, narratively and ethically; it would have broken my heart. I was steeling myself for it, which is why I inititally reacted the way I did, because it didn't happen, Sam was now with them, and yeah, I was overjoyed.
We were convinced, early on, to love these characters - to want to be with them, in some way. It was a necessity to keep us watching, but I feel it was unfair, if the writers then wanted to turn around and tell us they weren't real. All we ever had to suggest that they weren't was Sam saying it - "you're not real". And he then acted like he believed he could affect the future.
At the same time, 1973 being real wouldn't have gelled well with the general lack of science fiction throughout the series. They could/would have handwaved it, but I know part of me would want to know how Sam had time travelled. I'd want to know why as well. And whether or not Sam was seriously cocking up his future. I think this one would have been more workable, with some careful thought - but not just in the last episode.
Then, the other ending would have been something completely left of field - and that would have been jarring and disconcerting for the same reasons as the above and a myriad others.
So, for me, it isn't just the ending that went wrong, it was the manipulation throughout the entire show. And I still love it, I still think it got lots of things right, but it still leaves me feeling dissatisfied. The show had all of these elements that could have worked, have told us something about ourselves. But in the end, we got rampant indulgence with an added theme that is highly disturbing.
And, yeah, it's just fiction - but apparently it's okay to go land yourself into a fictional reality until the end of time, so, you know, who's judging?