Do you like Open Endings?

[Saelune]

I like endings that end what it has to, but has room to continue if it wants.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

No.

I prefer my epilogues that take me years later into the future. I like TOTAL closure.

 

[LittleChone]

I WANT TO SHOT THAT FUCKING TOP!!!!!!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[robotam]

I do enjoy them from time to time.
Lost, for example, would have been horrible if they tried to explain all the weird stuff. But they closed the story of the characters (mostly) and so I was pleased.

 

[drbarno]

I'm fine with it as long as it's not a cliffhanger.
Has anyone seen the ending of My Name Is Earl?
It's fucking stupid.

well to be fair, I don't think they realised it was going to be the last episode until fox decided to cancel them (it did have "To be continued")

 

[PureChaos]

i don't like too many questions to be left unanswered. the ending to Inseption was great, did the thingy fall over or not? was he still in a dream? we will never know. the ending to Monsters was out of the blue and i had SO many questions when the credits rolled there could be a Monsters 2 to answer them all...oh god PLEASE NO!!!!

 

[Qtoy]

I like them, but I absolutely HATE the people who can't keep quiet about the ending and what they speculate.

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

Sometimes its very nice to have open endings, like Inception. Other times I like to have closure. Pretty much it comes down to this, if its a tv show, or a movie/game series, I won't some damn closure. But if it's just a single movie or game, or a mini series, then open enidng is fine.

 

[drbarno]

I'm fine with it as long as it's not a cliffhanger.
Has anyone seen the ending of My Name Is Earl?
It's fucking stupid.

well to be fair, I don't think they realised it was going to be the last episode until fox decided to cancel them (it did have "To be continued")

I guess, but it's only common sense that you end the season in a respectable manner if you're not entirely sure you won't get cancelled.

you know how TV writers are. They assume that once they get past the first couple of seasons they won't get cancelled until a long way down the line. (This may or may not be only applied to writers that appear in my head)

 

[DirgeNovak]

If a sequel is assured? No problem.
Dexter Season 4's ending made us wonder what was going to happen in season 5 for almost a year, but since the show had already been renewed for season 5 when they wrote the cliffhanger, it's all fair game. But when they pull shit like Beyond Good & Evil, Psi-Ops, Sphinx & the Cursed Mummy, etc, writers can go fuck themselves.

 

[Dfskelleton]

Depends on how the ending is pulled off. If it's a stupid open ending that you feel like you're missing something, no. However, in a good open ending, you don't really have to think about what happens. Your oppinions on the film/game/book will automatically fill in the blank. I enjoy a good open ending, but when done poorly, they can ruin everything building up to it.

 

[Woodsey]

Rarely, since people can rarely pull them off.

If we looked at something like Enslaved for example (which is a waste of time really since hardly anyone played it):

Spoiler

Its main focus is the characters for two thirds of the game, before suddenly, the story shifts so that its actually about something that was previously presented as background information. The ending tries to end 'philosophically', only to completely ignore the characters' growing relationship or what happens to them.

Its terrible, and annoying. And the point they were trying to make wasn't even an original one, or done subtly.

 

[pearcinator]

Inceptions ending pissed me off...

Yeah, I really hate open endings. I came to watch your movie to see what you made but you dont even finish it...making people come up with their own unofficial ending annoys me.

 

[LittleChone]

I WANT TO SHOT THAT FUCKING TOP!!!!!!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

To me that wasn't an open ending at all. The totem started to lose it's balance, in a dream it wouldn't. Inanimate objects don't regain balance on their own.

Yes, I know it started to topple. My problem is that they don't give a clear enough ending to whether it was a dream or not, and for that I want to KILL THAT STUPID TOP, AAAAAAARG!!!!

 

[SilkySkyKitten]

Depends,
If it's well done and leaves me with an overall feeling of closure (Inception, Shutter Island), I'm okay with it.

If it isn't well done and doesn't leave me with a feeling of closure or the ending is simply a cliffhanger (XIII! Goddamn XIII!!), then I am likely to be pissed.

 

[WorldCritic]

I hate open endings. They piss people off, they don't give closure, and they give the impression that the writer was too much of a lazy ass to think of a proper ending.

 

[tzimize]

Its BAAAAAAAAAAAAD.

Not finishing a story is a rude move toward everyone interested enough to follow your creation to the end. It is cheap and imo often a sign of poor craftsmanship from the writer. He is effectively making the audience imagine an ending. If I wanted to create my own story I wouldnt read other peoples stories.

You mention all the people tuning in wanting an ending, but what if they all want a different ending? You can't please em all son, no matter how hard you try. You can however give them an ending that let's them continue the story themselves, not necessarily making it canon, but atleast valid.

David Chase understands this, and i don't feel he is a bad writer by any means.

Off the top of my head I dont know who mr. Chase is, but this is why I said "often a sign of" instead of "always a sign off". An open ending doesnt ALWAYS have to be a bad thing, but in MY opinion, usually is. Even if I get an ending that is unsatisfactory I at least get an ending. Closure is important, if you dont get that you might as well continue the story.

 

[Grivahri]

I hate open endings. I can't see how anyone could like them. Especially if it involves characters you care about or an intriguing mystery.