What do you all think of twist endings?

[Canadamus Prime]

I think they're done far too often in certain genres to the point where it'd be more unexpected for there NOT to be some sort of twist ending. You all know which ones I mean.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

One thing I want to ask. I'm currently writing a fanfiction and at the end of the fic the main character is climbing up a mountain to get an ingredient for a cure that will help her daughter. But she is buried under an avalanche with the ingredient in hand. I'm putting in a scene where a mysterious black figure helps her out of the snow then the next chapter starts with the character in a hospital. Everything is fine, the daughter's illness is cured and everyone is happy. But then the daughter's dead blood parents walk in.
May I ask, is this a good twist?

I don't know, the way you describe it it sounds really like a shocking swerve where you have nonsensical (in the context of what has happened so far) thing happen for the sake of it being nonsensical and twisty.

I'm more trying to make the ending an, everythings fine until a sudden realization hits ending. The two main characters are dead, the reader just doesn't know it until the final line.

 

[DoPo]

One thing I want to ask. I'm currently writing a fanfiction and at the end of the fic the main character is climbing up a mountain to get an ingredient for a cure that will help her daughter. But she is buried under an avalanche with the ingredient in hand. I'm putting in a scene where a mysterious black figure helps her out of the snow then the next chapter starts with the character in a hospital. Everything is fine, the daughter's illness is cured and everyone is happy. But then the daughter's dead blood parents walk in.
May I ask, is this a good twist?

I don't know, the way you describe it it sounds really like a shocking swerve where you have nonsensical (in the context of what has happened so far) thing happen for the sake of it being nonsensical and twisty.

I'm more trying to make the ending an, everythings fine until a sudden realization hits ending. The two main characters are dead, the reader just doesn't know it until the final line.

Ah, that's better. I just didn't get that from the short description. That would be better.

 

[Hipsy_Gypsy]

Snoppity snop

I have never liked that 'It was all just a dream' plot twist. It would simply ruin the entire film for me no matter how wonderful I found it. You know whenever you really get sucked into a film and really feel what's going on, how the characters feel and like you're really there with them? It's just ruined once they play that card. That's what irritated me about the film The Wizard of Oz and its sequel. In the book, it was real; in the film, it wasn't. Although that was technically the audience's fault, if I remember correctly, haha.

 

[Ben Agar]

I think it was someone said it's better for a twist to be midway through the story than at right at the end, I forget who but I agree. I don't mind twist endings but unless it's warming up to a sequel it's better to be half way through.

 

[Darks63]

They can definately make a movie interesting Not sure if it counts but fight club definately throws quite a twist in there that makes you "wait what?"

 

[devilofthemist]

i like twist endings if there is some build up to it, like some subtle hints or somthing

 

[Robert Ewing]

They rarely surprise me. But they can be necessary.

I hate it when they add a twist ending just for the sake of having one though.

 

[Woodsey]

I thought Arkham City's was very well-played. Too often I can see them coming though.

 

[Semudara]

They can definately make a movie interesting Not sure if it counts but fight club definately throws quite a twist in there that makes you "wait what?"

I suppose that doesn't count because it's not at the very end, but it's still a great twist.

 

[darkcalling]

A good twist ending like The Sixth Sense can be amazing.

There are two kinds of twist ending I almost ALWAYS hate. It was all a Dream, and the related "hero's been in a madhouse the whole time".

This always just feels like a cop out to me. Like the writers wrote themselves into a corner and couldn't come up with anything better.

Trust me authors, ANYTHING is better.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Twist endings definitely have their place, but the story itself needs to suit that sort of ending, for the most part. If executed right, a twist ending can still leave a sense of awe and wonder in the viewer/reader/player time and time again. But, twist endings are tricky, and need at least a few things:

1: Foreshadowing. Yes, even if it can be a little obscure, there needs to be either events, facts, or something pointing to what the ending is going to be like. Without foreshadowing, the ending feels like it was pulled out of a dirty ass. But, with proper foreshadowing, a viewer/reader/player can go back, see the evidence and have that, "Oh wow! I can't believe I didn't see that coming! Thats amazingly clever!".

2: Proper execution. I cannot stress enough that it needs to be executed right. If you half-ass a twist ending, you not only cheat yourself, your story, but your audience as well. This much goes without saying. Not only that, but depending on the property, and the quality of the ending, you can end up with a massive uproar from those that loved the book/game/movie/series in general, like a recent video game that shall remain unnamed in this post.

3: Consistency. As well as the above point, consistency is key. Not just in storytelling, but in a lot of things, but storytelling most of all. You need to keep with the themes of your story, make sure the characters don't suddenly change their personality and do something out of character, and above all, keep true to the style of the story. Don't start with a lighter, more cheerful fantasy story, only to end it as a dark, horrifying sci-fi epic would. Extreme example, yes, but if you start the story one way, you ought to keep to it, unless the change is gradual and steady. You don't want to give your audience emotional and mental whiplash.

 

[Heaven's Guardian]

I hate twist endings. It seems to me like a cop-out where writers acknowledge that they can't make us really think about the ending unless they surprise us. Mid-story twists are nice, but if your ending is completely different from what I was thinking, I'm just going to think that your decisions were stupid and I won't waste me time thinking about them. You can change perspectives without having a twist, and endings should be thematically related to major themes in the earlier parts of the story. Foreshadowing through some throwaway line doesn't help.

 

[BreakfastMan]

I thought Arkham City's was very well-played. Too often I can see them coming though.

Which one? The reveal of what Protocol 10 really is, or

Spoiler

the reveal that Ra's was running it all?

'Cause I thought the later was weak as hell.

OT: Like everyone else said, they are perfectly fine when done well. When not done well, they can be incredibly lame. Just make sure it is forshadowed properly and fits in well with the themes of the story. Basically, it should feel like it should fit in the story and not come entirely out of left field.

 

[Something Amyss]

One thing I want to ask. I'm currently writing a fanfiction and at the end of the fic the main character is climbing up a mountain to get an ingredient for a cure that will help her daughter. But she is buried under an avalanche with the ingredient in hand. I'm putting in a scene where a mysterious black figure helps her out of the snow then the next chapter starts with the character in a hospital. Everything is fine, the daughter's illness is cured and everyone is happy. But then the daughter's dead blood parents walk in.
May I ask, is this a good twist?

I think we need more context.

 

[requisitename]

I liked.. it was the end of season 4 of House, I think? (The one the year of the Hollywood writer's strike.) House's Head/Wilson's Heart I believe were the episode titles. It was well done, in my opinion.

I also liked Sixth Sense and Fight Club. And I think the name of the movie was Drag Me To Hell? It made me go, "OHMAHGAWD WHAAAAT??" So, I liked that one.

Sleuth was a good one. So was Nobel Son, though I almost figured it out. It's funny that people are talking about figuring stuff out and trying to do so. I never do, much to the annoyance of one of my exes who would CONSTANTLY ask, "So, do you know who/what/when/where/why/how yet?" "Have you figured it out?". I honestly think that's why I don't really like watching movies anymore. Too much fucking pressure to figure shit out instead of just enjoying it.

I didn't like Mulholland Drive at all. To this day I have no idea what the hell happened.. nor does anyone who was watching it with me. I classify it as "dumb," though other people's mileage will certainly vary.

Edited for sense-making.

 

[Indecipherable]

A twist doesn't necessarily make a good story, nor does it necessarily break one either. So long as the writing is quality it's fine. Too many times people try to be clever, tricky and write outside of their abilities and the ending just sucks massive dick.

 

[chimeracreator]

Twist endings can work as mentioned above if they are properly foreshadowed and stay consistent. One thing that was left out is that a good twist is not possible if the audience is overly invested in the existing narrative. This causes the audience to attempt to scramble to recover what they think the story should be rather than following the story that you are trying to tell.

A good twist is something that allows the audience to experience the story again from a new perspective by fundamentally changing the context of the narrative. As mentioned before, Six Sense was a well made twist ending and once the viewer is aware of the ending rewatching the film lets us fit everything into place. Memento provides a similar experience with its ending.

A classic example from one of Isaac Asimov's short stories, Segregationist where a doctor talks about performing a medical procedure on person to install a synthetic heart.

Spoiler

The story starts off with a conversation between the surgeon and a medical technician a few paragraphs in they are talking about the patient being nervous:

The surgeon said, "I'll see him right in here, I think. It is small enough and personal enough to be comforting."
"It won't help. He's nervous, and he's made up his mind."
"Has he indeed?"
"Yes. He wants metal; they always do."
The surgeons face did not change expression. He stared at his hands. "Sometimes one can talk them out of it."
"Why bother?" said the med-eng, indifferently. "If he wants metal, let it be metal."
"You don't care?"
"Why should I? The med-eng said it almost brutally. "Either way it's a medical engineering problem and I'm a medical engineer. Either way, I can handle it. Why should I go beyond that?"

The surgeon then talks to his patient and tries to convince him use a non-metallic heart instead of the metallic one and fails.

There you are. What is it anyway, doctor? Are you afraid I'm making myself into a robot... into a Metallo, as they call them since citizenship went through?"
"There is nothing wrong with a Metallo and a Metallo. As you say, they are citizens. But you are not a Metallo. You're a human being. Why not stay a human being?"
"Because I want the best and that's a metallic heart. You see to that."

The patient then leaves and the surgeon talks to the med-engineer who points out that Metallos are also trying to become more organic now which the surgeon also objects to. The story then ends as follows.

"You'd get a hybrid," said the surgeon, with something the approached fierceness. "You'd get something that is not both, but neither. Isn't it logical to suppose an individual would be too proud of his structure and identity to want to dilute it with something alien? Would he want morgrelization?"
"That's segregationist talk."
"Then let it be that." The surgeon said with a calm emphasis, "I believe in being what one is. I wouldn't change a bit of my own structure for any reason."

...

He had finished now and had to prepare for the operation. He placed his strong hands into the heating oven and let them reach the dull red-hot glow that would sterilize them completely. For all his impassioned words, his voice had never risen, and on his burnished metal face there was (as always) no sign of expression.