The very first time you went "this is bullsh*t!" after an ending of something.

[McElroy]

Similarly I read those books back when I still read for fun.

As opposed to...not reading for fun? Doesn't that kind of defeat the point (well, bar non-fiction potentially)?

I read one novel per year to make sure I can still read. :^)

 

[Hawki]

Similarly I read those books back when I still read for fun.

As opposed to...not reading for fun? Doesn't that kind of defeat the point (well, bar non-fiction potentially)?

I read one novel per year to make sure I can still read. :^)

Huh. Well, read over thirty this year, but hey, to each their own. 0_0

Anyway, going over my 2016 book list, I guess it did offer up some candidates, so I guess I can nominate the following for not quite bullshit endings, but ones that are still flawed:

-The Sword of Shannara (that 'plot twist' with the sword...I mean, what? Brona was cut by 'truth'? What?!)

-Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (much as I love Mistborn, it's still a case of the novels going 1>2>3 in terms of quality, and HoA is a key reason as to why. As in, would it be too much to ask for one of the characters besides Spook to survive? I mean, Sazed becomes a god, but Spook? Seriously? I'm not saying everyone has to have a happy ending, but with Vin and Elend dead, and Kelsier dead for a long time, who have I got left to root for in the new world that's created?)

-Peter Pan: The Neverland Wars (Got a copy in exchange for a review, in which I pointed out that the ending seems to be halfway committed to a sequel, and halfway intentionally ambiguous)

-Elfstones of Shannara (I'm not saying Wil HAD to be paired with Amberle, but Eretria feels like a consolation prize as far as pairings went)

 

[Erttheking]

I still think the ending to The Departed is a stealth kick to the groin that comes right the fuck out of nowhere. All the build up and nuance of "Rocks fall, everyone dies." And I'll happily jump on Mass Effect 3.

The Big O- It was as bizzare as the first Evangelion ending before they remake it with the movie!

Apparently the creators had been led to believe they would get a third season...

 

[CaitSeith]

Hades getting "sucked" into the vortex of souls in Hercules was always kinda bullshit.
The ending of LotR. Y'know, with the eagles.
The love story in the end of Amber Spyglass (3rd book of His Dark Materials).
The American remake of Life on Mars. That was just... oh dear.
Mr. Nobody felt like a complete waste of time right after watching it.

The Nazgul had those flying Dragon-like creatures patrolling Mordor.

Yes? It isn't that much of a stretch to come up with "Oh right, of course the eagles save them. How dramatic." when Frodo and Sam were up there getting some good ol' mountain ash into their lungs.

It's kinda of a recurrent event. The Hobbit book did it twice.

 

[CaitSeith]

I can't really recall the first either. Monty Python and the Holy Grail felt more like a joke that fell flat (maybe I'm missing some british context?), but it didn't infuriate me. The Myst good ending wasn't really something to be celebrated (especially compared with two of the other bad endings).

But the first one in my recent memory that really got me was Metriod: Other M. Compared to every other Metroid game (except Hunters, I never played that one), the final battle is bad (quicktime events are more satisfying than that crap). And then the ending isn't only disappointing. It's boring. Traveling through space, hearing a boring inner monologue while stardust forms into character's silhouettes and then dissipate.

Good thing they added a bonus section that let you explore the rest of the station and find the items that you missed (and that were completely inaccessible during up until now), a bonus boss battle and a more traditional Metriod ending sequence.

 

[WindKnight]

I can't remember the title, but it was a warhammer fantasy short story that is set up as 'kid meets cute elf girl, they flirt, cute elf girl gets kidnapped by horrible monster, kid heads out to rescue her' story which is pretty note for note on the cliche, except because this is warhammer and everything is Grimdark, by the time the evil monster is defeated the elf girls been killed and eaten, and the kid realises everything's grimdark and he has to be a stoic badass and...

I can take bleak endings (heck, about the only positive think I will say about MD Geist is the ending is jaw dropping in its bleakness, but still make sense) but it didn't really earn it. Just Grimdark for Grimdarks sake (and I really don't like the whole disposable woman cliche, even back then)

Oh, is that the one where he is a orphaned fisherman, and it turned out his dad was a famous crusader against chaos, and he'd come back as an elf eating monster?

Though, that didn't seem that grimdark to me because she wasn't a love interest, just some random woman he happened to think was attractive and had known for like 5 minutes.

I think it was the fact that until the ending, the story had been a nice little palate cleanser from the usual warhammer grit and grottiness. The elf was nice, the kid was nice, and it felt 'nice'. The dark ending just felt like a slap in the face to remind you nice doesn't happen in warhammer.

 

[RedDeadFred]

When Ash beat Brock by setting off the sprinklers and then used the water to electrocute Onix. Even at my young age, I thought it was bullshit. Especially since Brock had just decided to be merciful, so that Pikachu wouldn't be hurt. Looking back, you can see how shitty of a trainer Ash is throughout the series, but as a young kid, this was the first time something like that stood out to me.

 

[Catfood220]

I can't really recall the first either. Monty Python and the Holy Grail felt more like a joke that fell flat (maybe I'm missing some british context)

They never meant for the film to end that way, they just basically ran out of money and had to hash together an ending out of nothing.

Other people have mentioned How I Met Your Aunt Robin ending, so I won't harp on about that bullshit. I don't need to get that angry again, I can feel it rising now just because I have acknowledged the endings existence.

No, I will mention another ending that really winds me up. Angel. There will be spoilers.

Angel got cancelled during season 5 and Joss Whedon was unable to find another network who would show it. So Season 5 of Angel ends with Wesley dead, Gunn dying and the rest of the gang not in great shape as they prepare to face the armies of Hell. Angel utters "lets go to work" and that's it. Now I have heard it said that its fitting because it shows that Angel and team will be fighting forever. No, fuck that. I can't believe that there is not one TV exec who saw the ending and thought "I need to see how that plays out" and greenlit a season 6.

Especially as the way they continued it in the graphic novels was really good. LA destroyed, Angel human for some reason and being held together with magic, Illyria struggling to contain the Fred side of her, Spike a king, Gunn a vampire and Wesley a incorporeal representative of Wolfram and Hart. Even Cordelia shows up. It just needed one more season (maybe 2) to wrap all this up. But no, because TV execs are all stupid, they thought "nope, that wrapped up nicely" and we were stuck with the really unsatisfying ending. And I'm still annoyed with it. At least Buffy got a happy ending.

Oh and my favourite cancellation was Babylon 5 spin off, Crusade. Basically ended with them going "we will continue to search for the cure for this plague" - CANCELLED!!!

 

[Qizx]

Probably Monty Python and the Holy Grail. My dad loves that movie, so I saw it at a really young age, and still remember being really put off by how it ended.

Agreed,
I think from a comedy standpoint it makes sense (and economically), but I was REALLY looking forward to that battle.

 

[The Philistine]

Oh, speaking of Gainex, how about the ending to Panty & Stocking. Literally a big fuck you to the audience with no season 2 airing ever. Amazing.

That ending was the cherry on top for a series that was about trolling anything and everything they could, including the audience. It was glorious and I couldn't stop laughing about it for days.

For just rage-inducing bullchip endings: I'll second Soul Eater as my first memorable one. The level of deus ex. arsepull was too much.

 

[Glongpre]

As I said, this has nothing to do with hating on the movies or disagreeing with whatever this and that nerd has to say about them especially now over ten years later. I was answering the topic.

But...but how can you still say that when there are clear reasons for it to happen that way?

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

And I loved that ending for it, and it made killing him in Wrath of the Lich King all the more satisfying, its like "I am finallying putting down the monster I created"

I didn't think it was a bad narrative decision, but the fact that the RTS series just ended there and it took an MMO and two expansions to finally resolve Arthas' plot makes it...well, it took a very long time to pay off.

I can't remember the title, but it was a warhammer fantasy short story that is set up as 'kid meets cute elf girl, they flirt, cute elf girl gets kidnapped by horrible monster, kid heads out to rescue her' story which is pretty note for note on the cliche, except because this is warhammer and everything is Grimdark, by the time the evil monster is defeated the elf girls been killed and eaten, and the kid realises everything's grimdark and he has to be a stoic badass and...

I can take bleak endings (heck, about the only positive think I will say about MD Geist is the ending is jaw dropping in its bleakness, but still make sense) but it didn't really earn it. Just Grimdark for Grimdarks sake (and I really don't like the whole disposable woman cliche, even back then)

I don't know, man. That's par for the course with Warhammer. I mean, it might not be your thing, but saying "this Warhammer story is too dark!" is like saying "this cupcake is too sweet!"

If you want some less-dark (I don't want to say light) Warhammer Fantasy fare, I recommend The Vampire Genevieve omnibus by Kim Newman. It was written fairly early on when the fluff was still settling into shape, so it's all non-canon, but it's a neat blend of the typical Warhammer dark fantasy with a somewhat more optimistic end note.

 

[WindKnight]

I don't know, man. That's par for the course with Warhammer. I mean, it might not be your thing, but saying "this Warhammer story is too dark!" is like saying "this cupcake is too sweet!"

If you want some less-dark (I don't want to say light) Warhammer Fantasy fare, I recommend The Vampire Genevieve omnibus by Kim Newman. It was written fairly early on when the fluff was still settling into shape, so it's all non-canon, but it's a neat blend of the typical Warhammer dark fantasy with a somewhat more optimistic end note.

Read that, Drachenfels, and Beast In velvet (my fave), the Inquisitor books and Deathwing... With this particular story I was reading it a collection WFB short fiction, so it was at first a nice break from the grim - I would say I was pleasantly surprised that the elf and the kid were nice people having a nice time together, and I was just enjoying the story as a warm break between the grim, which is why I so negatively reacted to what felt like a needlessly grim ending. (plus, I hate the disposable woman trope, so really Irked the elf is there so the kid can be sad she died and be stoic and grim and crap.)

 

[Remus]

I can't remember the movie. It was an old war movie I found flipping the channels one day, about an American and I think Vietnamese soldier, locked in a room together, both without ammo. So neither knowing how to speak the other's language, they eventually get over themselves and become friends. They find some booze and get wasted. Then one finds a grenade and accidentally sets it off. BOOM! The End. Two hours of emotional investment gone in a plume of fire and smoke.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

I would say it was the ending to Halo 2.

I have never played a game with such a blatant sequel hook, and Halo 2 is the first one I distinctly remember. I make it back to Earth on the Covenant flagship, spout some drivel about "finishing this fight", and then...credits.

Halo 2 was still great, but I was more than a little pissed because it didn't feel like the game had actually reached a conclusion.

 

[Breakdown]

I'm not sure about the first time, but the Prestige got a fairly loud bullshit reaction from me. After expecting some kind of fiendishly clever explanation for how Hugh Jackman's teleportation trick worked, the film just resorts to an actual teleportation machine.

???
It is a cloning machine, not a teleportation machine. He had been literally killing himself by drowning (pure agony), just to one-up Bale, and become famous. It doesn't teleport him at all.

It teleports the clone into an empty box though. The real issue is that it's a ridiculous device in a very serious film about plausible illusions.

I mean, Hugh Jackson doesn't even need to kill himself. Once he's got one clone, he could just do the trick the same way as Bale.

 

[Glongpre]

I'm not sure about the first time, but the Prestige got a fairly loud bullshit reaction from me. After expecting some kind of fiendishly clever explanation for how Hugh Jackman's teleportation trick worked, the film just resorts to an actual teleportation machine.

???
It is a cloning machine, not a teleportation machine. He had been literally killing himself by drowning (pure agony), just to one-up Bale, and become famous. It doesn't teleport him at all.

It teleports the clone into an empty box though. The real issue is that it's a ridiculous device in a very serious film about plausible illusions.

I mean, Hugh Jackson doesn't even need to kill himself. Once he's got one clone, he could just do the trick the same way as Bale.

It teleports the clone up into the rafters where he will emerge for the prestige of the magic trick. The Hugh getting cloned drowns himself.
I don't understand why scifi elements are an issue for you. It is a big part of the plot and Hugh's character.
No, he doesn't need to kill hiimself, but it is part of his character. He wants the fame all for himself, and he can't even share it, ironically, with himself.
Hugh doesn't have the dedication that Bale or the "old" chinese man have. He relies on a crutch, he would be nothing without the cloning machine, just another amateur magician.

EDIT: The clone isn't really teleported per se, that is just the destination of the clone. Like how you see at Tesla's lab, all the top hats and cats that have been cloned, but have appeared in a single area.

 

[bastardofmelbourne]

I mean, Hugh Jackson doesn't even need to kill himself. Once he's got one clone, he could just do the trick the same way as Bale.

I thought the point was that Angier never didn't think that Borden's magic trick could have such a mundane explanation. Essentially, he fell for it the same way the audience did; he thought there had to be some grand secret behind it, instead of something dumb.

And then the film plays with that by having Angier actually discover something supernatural, but when his method is revealed, it's terrifying rather than fascinating. That leads to the "you want to be fooled" line that closes the film; the audience consents to being deceived by practical effects masquerading as magic, because once you learn how the trick works (whether it's mundane sleight-of-hand or killing yourself with every performance), you wish you'd never asked.

I don't know. I think of the cloning machine in The Prestige the same way I think of the dream machine in Inception. It's a fantastical element inserted into a cast of realistic characters in order to spur the narrative. If that ruined your suspension of disbelief, then that sucks, but it worked for me.

(And didn't Angier try using a body double earlier in the film?)

 

[Saulkar]

Probably Monty Python and the Holy Grail. My dad loves that movie, so I saw it at a really young age, and still remember being really put off by how it ended.

The first one that really pissed me off was Mass Effect 3. I've never been so invested, and so let down. Also, any ending that somehow manages to undue the character development, or which sets everything back to the ending. The worst ones are the ones that give all the characters amnesia.

I remember getting the game on release, and beating it in a day or two. I was among the first wave of people to experience the ending, and it wasn't until after the first weekend that I saw the responses really start to flare up. I knew it was coming.

Like you, I wasn't angry at first. I didn't know what to make of it. Given how invested I'd been just ten minutes ago, I mostly felt sort of numb. I didn't feel much of anything. It was surreal. I just sat there for a few quiet moments before getting up, turning the tv off, and going to bed. And with that my love affair with Mass Effect was just sort of over. I don't even like going back and playing the old games. I'm just done with Bioware.

So MUCH so these two. I felt genuinely cheated out of a film with the Holy Grail's ending and the ending to ME3 genuinely hurt. I cannot even play the game after finding out what happens.

The earliest I can remember is the movie version of Stephen King's The Mist.

Believe it or not but that is one of my favourite endings to a horror movie with how wrenching it was for me.

 

[Fox12]

Probably Monty Python and the Holy Grail. My dad loves that movie, so I saw it at a really young age, and still remember being really put off by how it ended.

The first one that really pissed me off was Mass Effect 3. I've never been so invested, and so let down. Also, any ending that somehow manages to undue the character development, or which sets everything back to the ending. The worst ones are the ones that give all the characters amnesia.

I remember getting the game on release, and beating it in a day or two. I was among the first wave of people to experience the ending, and it wasn't until after the first weekend that I saw the responses really start to flare up. I knew it was coming.

Like you, I wasn't angry at first. I didn't know what to make of it. Given how invested I'd been just ten minutes ago, I mostly felt sort of numb. I didn't feel much of anything. It was surreal. I just sat there for a few quiet moments before getting up, turning the tv off, and going to bed. And with that my love affair with Mass Effect was just sort of over. I don't even like going back and playing the old games. I'm just done with Bioware.

So MUCH so these two. I felt genuinely cheated out of a film with the Holy Grail's ending and the ending to ME3 genuinely hurt. I cannot even play the game after finding out what happens.

Holy Grail ended on a bit of a mess. I'm willing to let it go, though, since they redeemed themselves with the genius ending to Life of Brian. One of my favorite film endings ever.