# Do season-ending cliffhangers piss you off? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170 "2016-04-04T15:03:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/21 "2016-04-04T22:49:00Z")
New X-Files cliffhanger. No reason to think it will **ever** be resolved. If it is resumed, I won’t watch. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/22 "2016-04-04T23:00:02Z")
It beats the hell out of [_series_-ending cliffhangers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_America_%28The_Sopranos%29#/media/File:Sopranos621.jpg). 🙂 I don’t mind them so much. At the very least it’s a promise that the series will return. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/23 "2016-04-05T06:10:20Z")
In theory there’s nothing wrong with cliffhangers. By its very name, the “cliffhanger” is a venerable plot element in popular entertainment. The “serials” that accompanied feature films, back in the early 20th century, commonly showed Our Hero tied to the railroad track or heading to a nasty encounter in a sawmill or hanging from a cliff by his fingernails–only for the “Tune In Next Week!” story card to appear. But the concept is older–didn’t Scheherazade invent it? More recently, how about the end of the 3rd episode of _Sherlock_, back in Series 1? Then we all had the endless wait for Series 2… _However_, I’ve read some critiques of the last episode of\* The Walking Dead\*, a show I do not watch. Where it appears that the cliffhanger really, really sucked… ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/24 "2016-04-05T07:13:53Z")
…Leverage didn’t have cliff-hangers: the show-runners were never quite sure if they were going to get another season so they made sure they ended each year with a complete story. Which worked really really well, and when they actually got cancelled in Season 5 it ended with the perfect ending. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/25 "2016-04-05T09:16:38Z")
_sings_ Cliff Hanger hanging from a cliff! And that’s why he’s called Cliff Hanger! Can’t… hold… on… much… longer! My first experience with a cliffhanger (indeed, where I learned the term) was “Best of Both Worlds” from _Star Trek: The Next Generation._ Man, that was annoying. But gripping. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/26 "2016-04-05T12:55:07Z")
Will they ever get off that island?! ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/27 "2016-04-05T13:56:57Z")
Bad ones do. Indeed this week’s Walking Dead was a good example. Hiding away information just to tease people (and as such telling an incomplete story) is just manipulative BS. There is a difference between telling half a story and telling a story with loose ends. An example of a good cliff hanger would be The Best of Both Worlds in Star Trek TNG. It told a story, ended in a way that said “WTF is going to happen now?!” but didn’t feel like a cheat. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/28 "2016-04-05T13:57:17Z")
Beware series cancellation! I used to like the UPN sitcom “Half & Half”, which starred the lovely Essence Atkins and the equally lovely Rachel True. The season ended on a cliffhanger about which of two man True’s character would choose, then the series got cancelled. True’s poor character (Mona Thorne) deserves better than to be stuck in eternal TV purgatory torn between her two different lovers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/29 "2016-04-05T16:56:56Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Bad ones do. Indeed this week’s Walking Dead was a good example. Hiding away information just to tease people (and as such telling an incomplete story) is just manipulative BS. There is a difference between telling half a story and telling a story with loose ends. > > An example of a good cliff hanger would be The Best of Both Worlds in Star Trek TNG. It told a story, ended in a way that said “WTF is going to happen now?!” but didn’t feel like a cheat. They showrunners mentioned “Best of Both Worlds” on _Talking Dead_, doubtless in anticipation of complaints like these. And I thought it was bullshit. BOBW wasn’t padded the way the other night’s TWD was. And, as you say, the cliffhanger left you thinking, “Man, I can’t WAIT for the next season to start! This is gonna be awesome!” as opposed to “Fuck this shit. At most I’m watching the first five minutes of the ep.” ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/30 "2016-04-05T17:30:00Z")
Well, at least the second season cliffhanger from Twin Peaks is going to be resolved. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/31 "2016-04-05T17:30:54Z")
Schrodinger’s cliffhanger? Cliffhangers in cinema have been around since the silent era’s The Perils of Pauline. They continued to draw audiences with the Saturday matinees such as Flash Gordon and the original Batman. The most famous was probably Dallas with it’s Who Shot J.R… The format works if they do it right, and don’t over do it. As related to TWD - Oh My, did Glenn die at the end of season 5? That seems to have worked better than this seasons “somebody died and you get to guess who” shtick. Is it someone I care about, or is it someone who hasn’t spoken 100 words of dialogue during the series? _They killed Glenn. Those basturds!_ vs _They killed what’s her name. Who is she again?_ ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/32 "2016-04-06T00:09:40Z")
I only hate them when the show doesn’t get renewed for another season. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/33 "2016-04-08T23:14:21Z")
Depends how they’re done, if well, it’s fine. If badly, of course it’ll piss the shit out of me. I thought the Walking Dead one was fine, for the record. I’d rather have hope for a few months that it was stupid Aaron dead instead of someone like Glenn or Abe. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/34 "2016-04-09T15:04:07Z")
To be honest, as weak as the rest of the episode was, TWD would have worked better if they had just showed who he killed. Hiding the victim’s identity was the BS, manipulative part. Showing it would have made the audience more invested and still been a fine cliff hanger because you have no idea how Rick and Company are going to deal with this New World Order. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170/35 "2016-04-09T20:37:59Z")
I posted about this in the relevant TWD thread, and instead of rehashing I will just post that it was the cliffhanger that killed the show for me. The incredibly inconsistent writing on that show was already hard to put up with, the fact that they simply could not decide if they were going to go for good writing over cheap crappy writing from episode to episode was already the worst part for me. This episode was balls deep in the crappy episode camp. There was zero good reason and plenty of cheap reasons to go the route they did. It’s almost as though they honestly thought the Glen Dumpster Miracle Escape was some sort of sublime and now the show needs to just keep on that route and its all good. I am not even going to complain, I have been on the fence with the show for a long time and they just gave me the push I needed to walk away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-season-ending-cliffhangers-piss-you-off/751170.md?page=1)