Best Finale Ever

[pita]

I just watched the Community finale...
It had everything a good finale needs. It had some of the best jokes of the series, perfect resolutions to all of its characters' plots, callbacks to previous episodes by the bucket, and it remained true to the tone of the series. I have never seen a finale so satisfying and so well done. While most of the third season was disappointing, the last eight or so episodes were eight of the best episodes a fantastic show ever did, and the end was simply pitch perfect.
Wait, there's another season?
...
I think I'm going to cry.
There's no way the actual series finale will be as good as the one it had. It definitely can't be better.

[Yora]

I liked the original ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

At least conceptually. The execution was more than shoddy and looks like it was done in a single night by two people working unpaid on their home PCs because the studio was shut down. But from a narrative standpoint, I thought it was really cool.
It seems that the end of the world happened between episodes while Shinji was asleep and suddenly his consciousness finds itself in the afterlife, where he comes to terms with things. The End.
I think that's actually brilliant. :smallbiggrin:

[Mx.Silver]

I just watched the Community finale...
It had everything a good finale needs. It had some of the best jokes of the series, perfect resolutions to all of its characters' plots, callbacks to previous episodes by the bucket, and it remained true to the tone of the series. I have never seen a finale so satisfying and so well done. While most of the third season was disappointing, the last eight or so episodes were eight of the best episodes a fantastic show ever did, and the end was simply pitch perfect.
Wait, there's another season?
...
I think I'm going to cry.
There's no way the actual series finale will be as good as the one it had. It definitely can't be better.

Yeah, it was pretty good. Of course, it's been kind of soured by the news that Dan Harmon, the guy who created it, has effectively been kicked-off the show's production and writing for subsequent seasons.

[Raimun]

The series with the best finale?

Panty and Stocking.

It was definitely in tone with the rest of the series.

[thubby]

angel beats! is up there in my book.

[Sunken Valley]

Sherlock Season 2 finale.

One of the most gripping moments in TV. I don't care if they are getting a
3rd series you cannot top that.

[Sith_Happens]

The Code Geass R2 finale. Holy ****. I had to rewind the last five minutes before the credits sequence and watch it again just to make sure that what I saw was real. There are endings, and then there's that.

[Dumbledore lives]

I actually really liked the Buffy finale, I mean it was so final, and worked so well with the themes they had set up, as well as the characters. That is, the final episode of the 5th season, because they didn't make anymore, not after that perfect ending. They may have had a musical spinoff though.

[Dienekes]

Well Sherlock has already been mentioned, so other than that:

Show finales I have to go with Rome. Yeah the second season was a bit rushed, and altogether not as completely perfect as the first season, but it ended very well. Each of the main character got their definitive conclusion that wrapped up their stories, we saw the rise of Octavian and Atia got just about the coolest line ever. This isn't even getting to the endings of Pullo and Vorenus.

For just season finale, Sopranos Season 2. Tony gets food poisoning, buys a boat, and oh yeah, discovers his best friend since childhood was an informant and personally executes him.. Awesome. The Sopranos does season finales very well, but this one is my favorite. Though the Season 3 finale came close.

[McStabbington]

By far the best finale I've ever seen was TNG's "All Good Things. . ."

A distant second, but still very good, was the Season 5 ending to Supernatural. While it ended up not being the series finale, it was originally intended as such and bookends the series beautifully.

[AtlanteanTroll]

M*A*S*H has the best finale of any TV show, ever. There's a reason it has more views than any other finale ever and companies payed more for the commercials during than they did for the Superbowl that year.

[Jimorian]

Sherlock. Yes.

Martin Freeman is also involved in another great emotional finale. The Office (U.K.) Christmas Special, which came back a year after "The End" and Set Things Right. :smallbiggrin:

[Eldan]

The Code Geass R2 finale. Holy ****. I had to rewind the last five minutes before the credits sequence and watch it again just to make sure that what I saw was real. There are endings, and then there's that.

I had part of it spoiled and it was still like that, yeah.

[Terraoblivion]

Just two sentences. "Never forget, always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember her, you're not alone."

[Jimorian]

Oh gods, how did I forget "Black Adder"???

4 seasons of some of the goofiest brilliant comedy ever, to be capped by one of the most poignant moments in television history.

[pita]

Yeah, it was pretty good. Of course, it's been kind of soured by the news that Dan Harmon, the guy who created it, has effectively been kicked-off the show's production and writing for subsequent seasons.

On the other hand, it means I have the freedom to simply treat this as a finale and say "great show, ended just when it should have, and went out with a bang"

[Xondoure]

You know say what you will about the ending to Avatar the Last Airbender, that final fight with Ozai was the pinnacle of epic. If only we got more awesome magic battles in media.

[thubby]

oh, just thought of something. i always wanted to get to do this, but threads where it's applicable are so rare...

"Bang."

[Derthric]

I know I am in a distinct minority on this, or even the only person who feels this way. But I loved the final episode of Farscape. Not the mini series but the season 4 finale. It perfectly fit the tone of the show. Heck any of those season finales were some of the best I can think of.

Also the episodes for that were originally intended to be the season, and possibly series finales for Chuck, in seasons 3 and 4 were great.

[smuchmuch]

Well it's not a TV show but for an ending that definitvely brought the finality back into 'finale' in one nice blast of dark humour: 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' books.

It certainly tied all the loose ends. and then burned the rope just to be sure


The Code Geass R2 finale. Holy ****. I had to rewind the last five minutes before the credits sequence and watch it again just to make sure that what I saw was real. There are endings, and then there's that.

(Really ? I though it was pretty underwhelming, myself. I mean I saw it and I though "That was his grand plan all along ?! No way what he's 'build' is goign to last more than ten second after he's gone, they'll be all infightin in not one year and everything been for naught. It's idiotic" (very theatric, sure, but still idiotic)

[Suichimo]

The Scrubs series finale, especially the last several minutes. JD finally gets the recognition he's been wanting, almost every character that has affected JD's life comes back in a big send off(still sad that Brendan Frasier couldn't make it), and we end on the message that even your best dreams can come true as JD ends up married to Elliot and the three main families(JD/Elliot, Turk/Carla, Cox/Jordan) are all acting like one giant family. A lot of people look at seasons 6 and 7 as kind of crappy but, damn, Season 8 hit it out of the freakin' park.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1ZLQj4aBJg

[Eldan]

(Really ? I though it was pretty underwhelming, myself. I mean I saw it and I though "That was his grand plan all along ?! No way what he's 'build' is goign to last more than ten second after he's gone, they'll be all infightin in not one year and everything been for naught. It's idiotic" (very theatric, sure, but still idiotic)

Sure its idiotic. But I pretty soon realized that I was not watching Code Geass for plans that were actually intelligent. I was watching it for the huge hams pretending to be chessmasters.

And the ending fit that perfectly. It was grandiose, over the top and absolutely silly while still being emotional and somewhat touching.