# Worst Happy Ending **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508 "2018-05-03T14:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/61 "2018-05-05T05:22:04Z")
A.I. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/62 "2018-05-05T13:23:13Z")
Somewhere in Time. She dies, he sits alone until he dies. Then they reunite on a cloud or something ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/63 "2018-05-05T13:47:26Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > That’s nothing compared to the ending of _How I Met Your Mother_, which managed to piss off every faction of fandom for different reasons: > > 1. They introduced a character in the last season who quickly (and probably accidentally) became beloved, then killed her off at the end > 2. Half the audience was rooting for Barney and Robin > 3. The other half was angry Barney and Robin had gotten married in the first place > 4. Ted’s continued pining over Robin was even worse than Ross’ mooning over Rachel, AND spit on the memory of the (probably accidentally) beloved mother, AND reset the entire show back to Episode 1. Yes, I agree that the original ending was the worst ever. Luckily there is a decent alternate ending. The gorgeous Cristin Milioti survives and stays married to Ted; Robin and Barney are together. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/64 "2018-05-05T14:16:26Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Star Wars: Total Party Kill 🙂 > > I’m not sure whether this is really intended as a “happy” ending, exactly. It’s the kind of ending that occasionally occurs in war films: the mission is successful, but it costs the heroes a lot. Like in _Saving Private Ryan_, or _The Dirty Dozen_. We’re not supposed to celebrate, exactly, but to be glad that the heroes achieved their goal, while at the same time being saddened by the terrible toll it’s taken on them. and explain why none of these valuable people are ever seen or heard about again for the rest of the war. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/65 "2018-05-05T14:29:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Spider-Man 2 - the part where Mary Jane left her future husband at the alter to be with Peter. I mean, sure, twue wuv and all that, but the film never depicts her fiance - a freaking astronaut - as anyting other than a nice, decent guy who genuinely loved her. Running off without having the basic decency to break up with him in person is a MAJOR dick move. If Spidey were smart he’d have dumped the bitch on the spot. Saved him some future grief. > > (Also, the guy was an astronaut. He got his superpowers the hard way, by working for them. He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive Buzz Aldrin or something. With all due respect for Spidey, he wan’t an upgrade). John Jameson came back from outer space with a serious case of lycanthropy. So that relationship was probably doomed anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/66 "2018-05-05T16:17:27Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Jeff Goldblum’s, “The Fly.”… Another thing that I find baffling with the ending is that… … during the whole movie, old boyfriend was an evil scumbag and then you’re almost tricked into pitying him. Hey, you almost wish he’d try and get the heroin back. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/67 "2018-05-05T17:37:09Z")
^ Good point. Uneasy ending all around. Maybe that’s why it’s so damn good? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/68 "2018-05-05T17:54:37Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Which reminds me - and this is a pretty strong contender. > > _Rogue One_ ends with all of the main characters dead, up to being vaporized as they hold each other. Vader romps and stomps his way through the Rebel forces in a horrifying manner. Sure, the Rebels get away with the plans…but every sympathetic character in the flick has been shot/and or vaporized, and we see pretty well all of them die. I don’t know that that was supposed to be a happy ending - more tragic but noble. It did turn my wife off of ever seeing another Star Wars movie. She wasn’t a huge fan (mostly went to be with the sons), but that was it for her - she emotionally invested in a bunch of folks who all died and she won’t let that happen again. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/69 "2018-05-06T04:06:58Z")
Anything where boy meets girl, boy meets boy, girl meets girl or any other possible combination, learns about true love because of the other person, then ends up with someone else. _SIGH_ ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/70 "2018-05-07T01:32:14Z")
I know I am alone in this but to me the episode “San Junipero” of Black Mirror is not a happy ending (Spoilers up coming). Sure the couple get to be together but what happens a year from now? Ten years from now. They will live for eternity never changing. Knowing they are artificial copies of people long dead. If I ever learned I was just a digital copy and not real I would be horrified and want to be deleted immediately. It wouldn’t matter how nice or pleasant the environment I was in was. I’m not real and that is all that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/71 "2018-05-07T02:05:16Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **True Romance** _. Clarence’s shenanigans get a lot of people killed, _including his own father_, and neither he nor Alabama seem to give a good goddamn. They get away from the climactic massacre and spend the rest of their days lounging on the beach in Mexico with the cocaine money. None of the ‘good’ people die, except for the father who bravely sacrifices himself for his son and daughter-in-law. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/72 "2018-05-07T04:43:49Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > If I ever learned I was just a digital copy and not real I would be horrified and want to be deleted immediately. It wouldn’t matter how nice or pleasant the environment I was in was. I’m not real and that is all that matters. I think you’re putting Descartes before the horse. If I think I’m real, then I’m real, and I want to continue to exist. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/73 "2018-05-07T18:15:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think you’re putting Descartes before the horse. If I think I’m real, then I’m real, and I want to continue to exist. I’m pink; therefore, I’m Spam. 😃 —_René des à la Carte_ ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/74 "2018-05-07T20:10:30Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Verily. > > But I think the part that really bugged me about the whole setup was a few of the _positive reactions_, from audiences I’ve seen to the ending—like, how positive and heartwarming it was that they “redeemed” the villain instead of killing him off. What? All they did was _brainwash_ him—he wasn’t even sorry or trying to make amends or anything, he just got the magical, PG-rated equivalent of an involuntary ice cream scoop to the brain. > > Poetic justice, if anything, turning him into the mild-manner opposite of everything he was and stood for. But about as “forgiving” as a good wipe and reformat is to malware. FWIW I find it commendable to withstand the temptation of retribution. Once he was completely neutralized, hurting him would have been like hurtting an innocent person. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/75 "2018-05-07T23:50:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I think you’re putting Descartes before the horse. If I think I’m real, then I’m real, and I want to continue to exist. Particularly when the people involved all knew exactly what the deal was, and chose it for themselves. Making that choice was a major plot point of the show, and there were in-universe examples of people who didn’t make the same choice. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/76 "2018-05-08T00:39:11Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I don’t know that that was supposed to be a happy ending - more tragic but noble. > > It did turn my wife off of ever seeing another Star Wars movie. She wasn’t a huge fan (mostly went to be with the sons), but that was it for her - she emotionally invested in a bunch of folks who all died and she won’t let that happen again. You could always let her know that there’s only one, maybe two tragic-but-noble deaths in the whole rest of the series. (Three if you count Darth Vader.) ---
**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:** [May 9, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/77 "2018-05-09T16:13:09Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > You could always let her know that there’s only one, maybe two tragic-but-noble deaths in the whole rest of the series. (Three if you count Darth Vader.) Only if you don’t count \*almost everybody who attacked the original Death Star. \* ---
**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:** [May 9, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/78 "2018-05-09T16:25:58Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > It should be said that the character of Duckie was apparently heavily based on Molly Ringwald’s life-long best friend( who was on set during shooting ),who is gay :). Ringwald’s opinion( for whatever it is worth ), is that the character of Duckie is gay as well. Well, someone should have told Duckie. 🙂 They should have ended up together, rather than that smarmy asshole who is just going to cheat on her and ruin her life. At least the divorce settlement might be OK. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/79 "2018-05-09T17:28:13Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Only if you don’t count \*almost everybody who attacked the original Death Star. > \* I still cry about Porkins. And I’m not sure what **buddha\_david** counts as the whole rest of the series, but assuming it includes the OT, prequels, and latest movies, there’s at least Qui-Gon, Obi Wan, and Luke, and you should probably include Mace Windu and Queen Amidala too. And that’s before you get into more minor characters like Vice Admiral Holdo from TLJ. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508/80 "2018-05-09T17:46:48Z")
> [@Death\_of\_Rats](#): > > and explain why none of these valuable people are ever seen or heard about again for the rest of the war. Not to hijack, but there’s really no reason to assume that any we would have seen any of the RO characters in the rest of the Star Wars movies if they had survived. They were just a group of people thrown together at the right time and the right place. The only person that was actually part of the rebellion was Cassian, who was a spy, not a soldier. Most of the rebellion that we actually get face time with in the OT are either the leaders or the fighter pilots. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-happy-ending/813508.md?page=5)