5 Reasons The 'Predictable' Happy Ending Should Never Be Viewed As Poor Storytelling
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5 Reasons The 'Predictable' Happy Ending Should Never Be Viewed As Poor Storytelling

Everyone deserves a happy ending.

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5 Reasons The 'Predictable' Happy Ending Should Never Be Viewed As Poor Storytelling

I am a girl who watches a lot of movies and television, and I often appreciate when the entertainment's storyteller catches me off guard by throwing in something unexpected. It keeps the plot thriving and its characters on their toes, as well as the audience. Like I said, it keeps the entertainment… entertaining. However, that doesn't condone to going as far as to change the whole ending of hope for a mediocre "shock factor." It's honestly degrading to the work's integrity. And I'll explain why.

1. Rom coms have ruled cinema since the beginning

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Yes, I started with a basic one. Romance has sometimes been the laughing stock of the entertainment industry. But recently, I've come to the realization that romantic comedies are the way to go when you just want to have a relaxing night away from all the stress in the world. No matter which cheesy and corny classic you sign on for, whether it's "The Proposal" or "You've Got Mail," it will always have two leads who both have amazing comedic timing and fall in love. And there's a comforting sensation to that for an audience member.

It's nice to see the characters you've been rooting for have their happy endings because it feeds into the hope that you may get that someday. But even if you don't like romcoms because of their overall cheesiness, you have to admit that at least one of those satisfying, predictable endings filled your heart with joy.

2. We try to find ourselves in the characters we watch on-screen, and what person doesn't want their own happy ending?

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Let's take the predictability out of the equation for a second and just focus on the arcs that characters go through in either movies or television. There's always a beginning, middle and end. The same goes for a human life. We all want to be happy by the time the clock of life stops to tick, so why not want that for the characters as well? Yes, they do have a lot more life to live, in most cases, when the final credits roll but that's the last time you're going to be engulfed in their story. It's important to want happiness for yourself and I think one way of showing that is wanting it for other people as well, even if they are fictional.

3. Shakespeare's "predictable" tragedies are viewed as "timeless"

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Everyone has their respected opinions of the famous writer, but I was always in awe of his creations and dedication to detail. How he found a way to express the ultimate downfall for different characters through the same setup of five acts was impressive. But upon simplifying it, I found that people often praise him for his work with tragic endings, and never found the expected demise as a poor storytelling tactic. So why glamorize the work of a known tragic end and degrade the known happy end?

4. The characters are treated like real people

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It's always a shame when a story is filled with so many characters with so much potential but it gets overseen by the writer's need to shock his or her audience with a death or cliffhanger. There comes a point in every story where the writers have to let the characters tell the story. In other words, these fictional people have to be treated like three-dimensional people. Otherwise, their actions will seem unauthentic because the audience won't understand who they are as people. They won't connect to them if they don't understand them. So letting your characters make decisions based on their core being will lead to the audience's understanding which ultimately leads to a want of a happy ending. Let the audience build to that want, instead of throwing curve balls that throw off the whole story.

5. You should want the protagonists to be happy in the end

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I will admit that sometimes, I can't stand the protagonist because of their entitlement or arrogance. But for the most part, I want to see them get what they've been working towards. They are usually pretty deserving of that happiness because of all the catastrophic fails that they had to endure throughout the story.

What I've been trying to get across is that happy endings for characters, although predictable, are what pull the whole story together with a satisfying bow. And that should be the goal for a storyteller.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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