# The Poochie Award for worst slapped on series finale goes to **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866 "2026-10-15T21:13:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/21 "2026-10-16T12:18:53Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The ending of HIMYM was terrible, but it was the exact _opposite_ of “slapped on” - the finale was planned from the very conception of the series They filmed (and released on DVD) an alternate ending that played out more like most people assumed it would by the time we got to the finale. Tracy doesn’t die and Barney and Robin stay together. How about the finale of Dexter? He killed Deb, left Harrison with Hannah, faked his death and became a lumberjack. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/22 "2026-10-16T12:26:50Z")
Famously the _Dynasty_ spinoff _The Colbys_ ended with Fallon Carrington getting abducted by aliens. I think it was supposed to be a cliffhanger but nope, the show ended and Fallon just disappeared into the ether to live a happy life with Chuck Cunningham or something. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/23 "2026-10-16T12:33:57Z")
I remember the series finale of “Dark Angel” (Jessica Alba & Michael Weatherly). Absolutely nothing was resolved in either the story line or the possible fate of the individual characters. It was foolishly put up against the immensely popular “Buffy” spinoff, “Angel”, and it died a hard death after only 2 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/24 "2026-10-16T13:11:34Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Currently in the middle of the book series so maybe it was an allusion to later in the series? It’s exactly this. Those scenes are crucial for the story that comes later. What’s weird is that they knew they were ending the show that season, but they kept all this anyways. If they ever make a new season, there will be a big time jump, and the setup will be useful, but the likelihood of such a new season is very low. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/25 "2026-10-16T13:29:35Z")
I’ll nominate the final episode of _Dexter_. The original series not any of the newer seasons. Dexter Morgan lives by a very specific code that governs how he murders people and who his victims are. In a nutshell, he murders bad people who won’t be missed by many people. Throughout the series, Dexter struggles with trying to balance his desire to live a “normal” life with his compulsion to murder. He interacts with people, dates even, but only to preserve a mask of normalcy so nobody suspects who he really is. But eventually he does marry, takes care of his step-children, even has a child of his own and discovers his family isn’t just a mask, he genuinely cares about them. The series finale throws all of that away. Dexter abandons his son into the care of another serial killer who doesn’t live by his code and they flee to Argentina. Dexter himself pilots his boat directly into the storm on the Atlantic Ocean, seemingly to suicide, but in the final scene we see he’s living a lumberjack somewhere in the Northwest Pacific. I suspect the producers wanted to leave the option of using the Dexter character in the future. They couldn’t have a final resolution to his story so they tacked on some nonsense that nobody was happy with. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/26 "2026-10-16T13:44:40Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It’s right in the title. We spent eight or nine seasons waiting to meet her, then meet her for a few episodes and then she is killed off and Ted ends up with Robyn? (probably) > > 200+ episodes and this is all resolved in maybe a half-dozen? Phooey. Hold up, I ended up giving up on the show around the last season, Ted ends up with Robin? I looked it up and I see that the mother dies, but what happened to Barney? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/27 "2026-10-16T13:57:50Z")
Barney and Robin divorce shortly (a few months I think) after being married. The last scene is Ted showing up below Robin’s window with the blue French Horn and they smile at each other. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/28 "2026-10-16T14:04:24Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Barney and Robin divorce shortly (a few months I think) after being married. Oh, shit, that makes me really sad. IIRC Barney marrying Robin was supposed to be this big character growth moment, where he moves beyond womanizing and finds real meaning in being with someone he loves. Maybe they handled it well, but to me it sounds like they threw all that character growth away. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/29 "2026-10-16T14:07:52Z")
Yup. I agree. Apparently it had to happen to make the Ted/Robin ending happen. As noted, the writers really messed up the ending of this show. If it helps the Barney/Robin divorce was amicable. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/30 "2026-10-16T14:14:58Z")
Everyone here is wrong. I’ve seen most shows mentioned here and the worst possible finale goes to: **The 100** It’s almost impossible to explain briefly how terrible it is. Almost everyone is raptured. They disappear and go to heaven. Except our lead character. But then a bunch of her friends reject happy immortality and come back to live with her. And this was a show with no supernatural elements until “boom rapture”. Every death was pointless. Every moment was painfully awkward. LOST and Game of Thrones have 10 out of 10 finales in comparison. Some day, I need to sit down and write out the awfulness point by point. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/31 "2026-10-16T14:17:37Z")
It still sounds kinda silly - you basically have Barney having this big realization about how the way that he’s been living his life doesn’t make him happy or fulfilled, he decides to be with Robin… And then a few months later he’s like “Just kidding, this blows, I’m outta here” 🤣 It also makes me feel pretty bad for Ted… IIRC he’s pretty miserable throughout the series, I guess he meets the girl of his dreams at the end and she has his kids but then she dies, Ted has to raise his kids alone until they are teenagers which has got to be an incredibly difficult experience, he spends a couple more years telling them the story of How He Met Their Mother (🤣), and only then is he allowed to be happy? Damn, the writers really fucking hate Ted 😛 (Maybe I’m misremembering, and obviously just because someone is single doesn’t mean that they are miserable, but it really did feel like Ted specifically _was_ miserable throughout the run of the show. He’s happy here and there, usually when he’s dating someone, but then awful shit happens and he’s back to being miserable.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/32 "2026-10-16T14:36:47Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Famously the _Dynasty_ spinoff _The Colbys_ ended with Fallon Carrington getting abducted by aliens. I think it was supposed to be a cliffhanger but nope, the show ended and Fallon just disappeared into the ether to live a happy life with Chuck Cunningham or something. I would say this doesn’t fit the thread. There are tons of shows that ended on unresolved cliff hangers because the show later got cancelled. If they quickly resolved the cliffhanger with an added 2 minute scene because they were getting cancelled it would fit. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/33 "2026-10-16T14:47:50Z")
As I’ve said many times, I am an unsophisticated consumer of entertainment. So what follows may well be bunk. I toss it out here for whatever consideration you care to give it. I wonder about this as a general idea, not about _Dexter_ specifically: > [@Odesio](#): > > I suspect the producers wanted to leave the option of using the Dexter character in the future. They couldn’t have a final resolution to his story so they tacked on some nonsense that nobody was happy with. Hollywood is infamous for ignoring trifles like continuity if there’s money in it. IMO … Assume they had absolutely positively killed off the Dexter character in the final episode of the cancelled series. Now two years later somebody wants to revive the series (“reboot” in the argot). OK, Dexter comes back to life with a new actor under his clothes and the v2.0 show goes on as if nothing had happened. Because in-world, nothing did happen. It’s a new show. The audience who saw the first version doesn’t care enough about continuity to boycott the second version. And the suits sure don’t. Heck, they might even get some promo / viral buzz mileage out of the inevitable “Which version do you prefer?” controversy. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/34 "2026-10-16T14:53:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The audience who saw the first version doesn’t care enough about continuity to boycott the second version. While that’s probably true… > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Assume they had absolutely positively killed off the Dexter character in the final episode of the cancelled series. Now two years later somebody wants to revive the series… They could’ve done it with Harrison taking over Dexter’s role. They even could’ve brought Michael C Hall (as Dexter’s ghost) back to give him advice, the same way Harry gave Dexter advice. They sorta kinda started heading down that road in the reboot, but…I don’t remember, I think Harrison decided that wasn’t the life for him and killed Dexter…something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/35 "2026-10-16T14:56:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > What? He does find his daughter, but IIRC not his wife and no afterlife. You’ve got your season enders crossed. 🙂 Season 7’s finale, Limbo, basically had Magnum getting seriously shot and in a coma, while trying to protect Michelle, Lily, and…some guy played by John Beck (Michelle’s news husband, who also looks like Marlboro Man). While Magnum is in a coma, his friends talk to him, like they talked to TC when _he_ was in a coma. Anyway, the astral projecting soul of Magnum wanders around, guided by the soul of the late Mac, and (in an obvious homage/ripoff of _Always_) saves Michelle &co from hired assassins, and then realizes that he is dead and can now “cross over”, and the last scene has him hear Higgins yell “Magnum get back here!” but instead he smiles and walks off to a grey infinity (not a car) representing the afterlife, where he and Mac can eat jelly donuts together and Mac can tell Magnum how much it hurts to be blowed up by a car bomb. The end. It was a shock! But, there was money to be made, and hence Season 8. Magnum realizes there is unfinished business so he come back to life (at the point Higgins yelled at him) and spends a couple episodes mute before he gets down to business. During the season Michelle, Marlboro Man and Liiy get blowed up real good by a Vietnamese general (or _does she?_), so he decides to terminate the general with extreme prejudice, but then decided against it, then starts writing letters to Lily, Higgins says he is actually Robin Masters (contradicting oh at least 20 episodes of canon) when Mag finally deduces Lily escaped the bombing and is still alive, blackmails Buck Greene into letting him raise her, and she shows up in the actual series finale at Rick’s wedding as a flower girl while Mags wears his Navy uniform, surprising everyone that he reupped and Higgins said he lied and really isn’t Robin Masters after all and the episode ends before Rick can say “I do”, leaving hope that this stupid plot distraction never goes anywhere and Rick comes to his senses. All in all, still better than that reimagined pile of crap that CBS shat into the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/36 "2026-10-16T14:57:38Z")
You might not like the ending of _How I Met Your Mother_ in either concept or execution but it’s pretty much the opposite of having an ending slapped on. They filmed the kids part 7 or so years before the finale because they knew that’s how they wanted to end it. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/37 "2026-10-16T15:32:57Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I would say this doesn’t fit the thread. There are tons of shows that ended on unresolved cliff hangers because the show later got cancelled. I’m still feeling salty over the way _My Name Is Earl_ ended. Or didn’t end. Let’s say “the way it stopped.” ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/38 "2026-10-16T15:40:53Z")
True Blood. A stupid thoughtless finale. The only good thing about the last show was the Led Zeppelin song playing. Sookie was shown to be…married? To who?? The death of another major character was oddly emotionless, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/39 "2026-10-16T16:07:43Z")
So they had a target to aim for over seven years and totally missed it? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866/40 "2026-10-16T16:10:01Z")
I guess if they knew that this is how they wanted to end, they shouldn’t have drifted so far away from a plotline where that ending would have made sense. Like, if you know that you eventually need Robin available for Ted, maybe _don’t_ make Barney’s entire arc over the series culminate with him realizing he wants to be with Robin when you _know_ you’re going to have to throw all that away? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poochie-award-for-worst-slapped-on-series-finale-goes-to/1033866.md?page=3)