10 of the worst film and TV show endings

The ending is the most important part of any story. If it’s satisfying, it leaves us with a sense of closure and an overall warm glow. If it isn’t, then these days we take to the internet with a rage the likes of which the creators have never experienced before. Or maybe they have, seeing as everything makes someone angry these days.

So, what makes a bad ending? The entries on this list of the worst TV show endings tend to have one or more of the following characteristics:

  • Unresolved plot lines: It’s never good when we’re left with questions or feel that something important was ignored.
  • Abrupt tone shifts: Something that feels inconsistent with the rest of the series or film can leave us very cold.
  • Character betrayal: A betrayal is fine if it’s believable, but not if it came from nowhere and doesn’t fit with anything that’s gone before.
  • Too much ambiguity: A little is fine, but if it’s all the show or film has by the end, it can feel very lazy and unsatisfying.
  • Rushed endings: Don’t you hate it when the ending feels forced or things are tidied up too quickly?

10 of the worst film and TV show endings

Warning: here there be spoilers.

1. Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

a blonde woman (left) faces a brown haired man (right) a blonde woman (left) faces a brown haired man (right) a blonde woman (left) faces a brown haired man (right)

Remember, after all those years, waiting for those final two seasons of Game of Thrones? The anticipation, the excitement, the… anti-climax. It was one of the most maligned endings in TV history. Critics and fans were united in the fact that it was rushed, the characters were inconsistent, and the resolutions were unsatisfying. Daenerys’s quick descent into madness and tyranny, although nodded to through the years, felt unearned, and Bran becoming king was… puzzling.

2. The Sopranos (1999–2007)

five men face the camera in a cemetery, all are in suits five men face the camera in a cemetery, all are in suits five men face the camera in a cemetery, all are in suits

This was a really divisive ending. The last scene shows Tony Soprano sitting in a diner with his family. We’re feeling the tension as a figure approaches, and then… cut-to-black. Agh. Frustrating. Some people loved the ambiguity, but many others were pretty angry. This is one of the rarer endings that seems to have become more appreciated over time.

Tony Soprano’s fate finally revealed by hit show’s creator (sort of)

3. Lost (2004–2010)

a mix of men and women are standing, dishevelled, looking at something off cameraa mix of men and women are standing, dishevelled, looking at something off cameraa mix of men and women are standing, dishevelled, looking at something off camera

Lost had such promise in the early seasons but quickly presented more mysteries than it was solving, leaving audiences dissatisfied. When it came to the ending, a lot was left unanswered, and many felt annoyed by the lack of clarity around many of the supernatural elements of the island. Some wondered whether the creators hadn’t even really known how the show would end and had gone with favourite fan theories.

4. Dexter (2006–2013)

a man (Dexter) stands toward the camera holding up a piece of cling filma man (Dexter) stands toward the camera holding up a piece of cling filma man (Dexter) stands toward the camera holding up a piece of cling film

Dexter was such a great show, with much of the tension hanging on wondering whether the serial killer (of bad guys) would be caught. The original show ended with a lot of ambiguity—he sails off into a storm and starts a new life as a lumberjack (what?), and the later follow-up, New Blood (2021), promised to answer some of the many, many questions we were left with. It didn’t, and in fact it turned out to be equally divisive, with fans finding the revival pointless.

5. How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)

2 men are about to high 5 while one man stands with his arms around two women who are in various states of shock or bemusement 2 men are about to high 5 while one man stands with his arms around two women who are in various states of shock or bemusement 2 men are about to high 5 while one man stands with his arms around two women who are in various states of shock or bemusement

Audiences were left feeling cheated at the end of the long-running comedy series when they found out that the ‘mother’ died shortly after meeting Ted, and the entire series had been about Ted and Robin getting together. The ending essentially undermined a lot of the character development over the years—particularly Barney, who had grown tons and had that wiped out in minutes!

6. Killing Eve (2018–2022)

a blonde woman holds a knife against a dark haired woman's throata blonde woman holds a knife against a dark haired woman's throata blonde woman holds a knife against a dark haired woman's throat

Four seasons of cat-and-mouse tension, not to mention some hard shipping of Villanelle and Eve, ended with one of the most lacklustre finales ever, killing off one of the most compelling characters in modern TV! It felt rushed and badly executed, not to mention giving in to the trope of gay characters falling in love only to have one of them die.

7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

a man (indy) holds a crystal skull. We can see someone else from the back on the edge of the framea man (indy) holds a crystal skull. We can see someone else from the back on the edge of the framea man (indy) holds a crystal skull. We can see someone else from the back on the edge of the frame

Oh no, they made classic Indy adventures weird. The 2008 film featured a turn to science fiction so sharp we got whiplash. Although there have always been fantastical elements to the franchise, they were always rooted in a particular period of history, so pivoting to aliens just felt, well, weird. The ending had none of the charm or emotional weight of the previous films and left many of us pretending the film had never existed! Don’t get us started on the Dial of Destiny, either…

8. Spectre (2015)

three people are walking towards the camera, a man on the left in a suit, a man in smart clothes in the middle, and a woman in a smart dress to the right three people are walking towards the camera, a man on the left in a suit, a man in smart clothes in the middle, and a woman in a smart dress to the right three people are walking towards the camera, a man on the left in a suit, a man in smart clothes in the middle, and a woman in a smart dress to the right

This was the fourth Bond outing for Daniel Craig (one of our favourite Bonds, it has to be said), and it had all the makings of a classic Bond adventure. And yet. Blofeld is revealed to be Bond’s half-brother, he’s captured incredibly easily, and Bond sort of slinks off to give up the spy life for a bit of domestic bliss. As the Independent said, the end was ‘somehow both overblown and witheringly anticlimactic’. Ouch.

9. Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)

a man in a flat cap looks towards camera, with a table light in the foreground making the lighting atmospherica man in a flat cap looks towards camera, with a table light in the foreground making the lighting atmospherica man in a flat cap looks towards camera, with a table light in the foreground making the lighting atmospheric

Gritty storytelling, historical backdrop, fantastic performances… Peaky Blinders had everything—except a satisfying conclusion. The show left a lot of plot threads dangling loose, partly a deliberate choice as there’s a planned film coming, but it still frustrated fans. The finale was also a bit lacklustre, with no dramatic, charged moments that had defined the previous seasons.

It got a bit weird, too, with a strange plot about Tommy being misdiagnosed, realising, and riding off on a white horse. As The Guardian put it: ‘It was a narrative decision that undermined what should have been a full stop to a nine-year relationship and left you questioning the integrity of the franchise.’

10. The West Wing (1999–2006)

the cast of the west wing are standing in front of a US flag for a promo photothe cast of the west wing are standing in front of a US flag for a promo photothe cast of the west wing are standing in front of a US flag for a promo photo

The West Wing was cancelled by the network, so it was never going to have the ending that it could have had if it had been allowed to run its course. Oddly, though, the show’s creators opted for a jump forward in time, which left a lot of the characters’ stories feeling incomplete. After some in-depth character-building for seven seasons, the last episodes felt like a rushed, tying-up-loose-ends approach.

Greatness is hard to sustain

We’ve seen from our list of the worst TV show endings that there tend to be more ‘bad’ endings in TV than film, or at least ones that are widely discussed. One of the most difficult things about a series is maintaining the magic over many years and seasons. The longer the show runs, the trickier it can be to keep it feeling fresh and exciting.

Expectations are hard to keep up with, particularly when a fanbase has grown exponentially and people have very strong (and differing) ideas of what should be happening. With a long-running show, there can be a lot of storylines that need closure and compromises, and you’re never going to be in a situation where everyone is happy all the time. You just have to hope not everyone hates it!

Why do bad endings stick in our throats (and our minds)?

We can become a bit haunted by a bad ending, can’t we? Probably because there’s a huge investment in time—more so, of course, with a long-running TV show than with a film. There’s also our emotional investment. We buy into these characters or stories and have a relationship with the show, so if that ends poorly, it can feel as if we’ve been betrayed.

With the many and varied discussions that now happen online immediately after the end of a show or film, it hangs around a lot longer than it used to, so we’re reminded of it constantly in forums, as part of lists and articles about the worst TV show endings… oh. Sorry about that.

Of course, not all controversial endings are bad, and one person can love what another person hates. Sometimes it takes a bit of time and space, or maybe a rewatch, to appreciate an ending more. A lot of effort goes into crafting a story and its conclusion, and no creator is setting out to annoy or disappoint the audience. Sometimes they’re pushed because of cancellation, or maybe a key character quits and the storyline has to be reimagined. Sometimes, though, they just don’t stick the landing!

More free film articles

About this page

This page was written by Marie Gardiner. Marie is a writer, author, and photographer. It was edited by Andrew Blackman. Andrew is a freelance writer and editor, and is a copy editor for Envato Tuts+.


This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Marie Gardiner

The ending is the most important part of any story. If it’s satisfying, it leaves us with a sense of closure and an overall warm glow. If it isn’t, then these days we take to the internet with a rage the likes of which the creators have never experienced before. Or maybe they have, seeing as everything makes someone angry these days.

So, what makes a bad ending? The entries on this list of the worst TV show endings tend to have one or more of the following characteristics:

  • Unresolved plot lines: It's never good when we’re left with questions or feel that something important was ignored.
  • Abrupt tone shifts: Something that feels inconsistent with the rest of the series or film can leave us very cold.
  • Character betrayal: A betrayal is fine if it’s believable, but not if it came from nowhere and doesn’t fit with anything that’s gone before.
  • Too much ambiguity: A little is fine, but if it’s all the show or film has by the end, it can feel very lazy and unsatisfying.
  • Rushed endings: Don't you hate it when the ending feels forced or things are tidied up too quickly?

10 of the worst film and TV show endings

Warning: here there be spoilers.

1. Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

a blonde woman (left) faces a brown haired man (right) a blonde woman (left) faces a brown haired man (right) a blonde woman (left) faces a brown haired man (right)

Remember, after all those years, waiting for those final two seasons of Game of Thrones? The anticipation, the excitement, the… anti-climax. It was one of the most maligned endings in TV history. Critics and fans were united in the fact that it was rushed, the characters were inconsistent, and the resolutions were unsatisfying. Daenerys’s quick descent into madness and tyranny, although nodded to through the years, felt unearned, and Bran becoming king was… puzzling.

2. The Sopranos (1999–2007)

five men face the camera in a cemetery, all are in suits five men face the camera in a cemetery, all are in suits five men face the camera in a cemetery, all are in suits

This was a really divisive ending. The last scene shows Tony Soprano sitting in a diner with his family. We’re feeling the tension as a figure approaches, and then... cut-to-black. Agh. Frustrating. Some people loved the ambiguity, but many others were pretty angry. This is one of the rarer endings that seems to have become more appreciated over time.

Tony Soprano’s fate finally revealed by hit show’s creator (sort of)

3. Lost (2004–2010)

a mix of men and women are standing, dishevelled, looking at something off cameraa mix of men and women are standing, dishevelled, looking at something off cameraa mix of men and women are standing, dishevelled, looking at something off camera

Lost had such promise in the early seasons but quickly presented more mysteries than it was solving, leaving audiences dissatisfied. When it came to the ending, a lot was left unanswered, and many felt annoyed by the lack of clarity around many of the supernatural elements of the island. Some wondered whether the creators hadn’t even really known how the show would end and had gone with favourite fan theories.

4. Dexter (2006–2013)

a man (Dexter) stands toward the camera holding up a piece of cling filma man (Dexter) stands toward the camera holding up a piece of cling filma man (Dexter) stands toward the camera holding up a piece of cling film

Dexter was such a great show, with much of the tension hanging on wondering whether the serial killer (of bad guys) would be caught. The original show ended with a lot of ambiguity—he sails off into a storm and starts a new life as a lumberjack (what?), and the later follow-up, New Blood (2021), promised to answer some of the many, many questions we were left with. It didn’t, and in fact it turned out to be equally divisive, with fans finding the revival pointless.

5. How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)

2 men are about to high 5 while one man stands with his arms around two women who are in various states of shock or bemusement 2 men are about to high 5 while one man stands with his arms around two women who are in various states of shock or bemusement 2 men are about to high 5 while one man stands with his arms around two women who are in various states of shock or bemusement

Audiences were left feeling cheated at the end of the long-running comedy series when they found out that the ‘mother’ died shortly after meeting Ted, and the entire series had been about Ted and Robin getting together. The ending essentially undermined a lot of the character development over the years—particularly Barney, who had grown tons and had that wiped out in minutes!

6. Killing Eve (2018–2022)

a blonde woman holds a knife against a dark haired woman's throata blonde woman holds a knife against a dark haired woman's throata blonde woman holds a knife against a dark haired woman's throat

Four seasons of cat-and-mouse tension, not to mention some hard shipping of Villanelle and Eve, ended with one of the most lacklustre finales ever, killing off one of the most compelling characters in modern TV! It felt rushed and badly executed, not to mention giving in to the trope of gay characters falling in love only to have one of them die.

7. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

a man (indy) holds a crystal skull. We can see someone else from the back on the edge of the framea man (indy) holds a crystal skull. We can see someone else from the back on the edge of the framea man (indy) holds a crystal skull. We can see someone else from the back on the edge of the frame

Oh no, they made classic Indy adventures weird. The 2008 film featured a turn to science fiction so sharp we got whiplash. Although there have always been fantastical elements to the franchise, they were always rooted in a particular period of history, so pivoting to aliens just felt, well, weird. The ending had none of the charm or emotional weight of the previous films and left many of us pretending the film had never existed! Don't get us started on the Dial of Destiny, either...

8. Spectre (2015)

three people are walking towards the camera, a man on the left in a suit, a man in smart clothes in the middle, and a woman in a smart dress to the right three people are walking towards the camera, a man on the left in a suit, a man in smart clothes in the middle, and a woman in a smart dress to the right three people are walking towards the camera, a man on the left in a suit, a man in smart clothes in the middle, and a woman in a smart dress to the right

This was the fourth Bond outing for Daniel Craig (one of our favourite Bonds, it has to be said), and it had all the makings of a classic Bond adventure. And yet. Blofeld is revealed to be Bond’s half-brother, he’s captured incredibly easily, and Bond sort of slinks off to give up the spy life for a bit of domestic bliss. As the Independent said, the end was ‘somehow both overblown and witheringly anticlimactic’. Ouch.

9. Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)

a man in a flat cap looks towards camera, with a table light in the foreground making the lighting atmospherica man in a flat cap looks towards camera, with a table light in the foreground making the lighting atmospherica man in a flat cap looks towards camera, with a table light in the foreground making the lighting atmospheric

Gritty storytelling, historical backdrop, fantastic performances… Peaky Blinders had everything—except a satisfying conclusion. The show left a lot of plot threads dangling loose, partly a deliberate choice as there’s a planned film coming, but it still frustrated fans. The finale was also a bit lacklustre, with no dramatic, charged moments that had defined the previous seasons.

It got a bit weird, too, with a strange plot about Tommy being misdiagnosed, realising, and riding off on a white horse. As The Guardian put it: ‘It was a narrative decision that undermined what should have been a full stop to a nine-year relationship and left you questioning the integrity of the franchise.’

10. The West Wing (1999–2006)

the cast of the west wing are standing in front of a US flag for a promo photothe cast of the west wing are standing in front of a US flag for a promo photothe cast of the west wing are standing in front of a US flag for a promo photo

The West Wing was cancelled by the network, so it was never going to have the ending that it could have had if it had been allowed to run its course. Oddly, though, the show's creators opted for a jump forward in time, which left a lot of the characters’ stories feeling incomplete. After some in-depth character-building for seven seasons, the last episodes felt like a rushed, tying-up-loose-ends approach.

Greatness is hard to sustain

We’ve seen from our list of the worst TV show endings that there tend to be more ‘bad’ endings in TV than film, or at least ones that are widely discussed. One of the most difficult things about a series is maintaining the magic over many years and seasons. The longer the show runs, the trickier it can be to keep it feeling fresh and exciting.

Expectations are hard to keep up with, particularly when a fanbase has grown exponentially and people have very strong (and differing) ideas of what should be happening. With a long-running show, there can be a lot of storylines that need closure and compromises, and you’re never going to be in a situation where everyone is happy all the time. You just have to hope not everyone hates it!

Why do bad endings stick in our throats (and our minds)?

We can become a bit haunted by a bad ending, can’t we? Probably because there’s a huge investment in time—more so, of course, with a long-running TV show than with a film. There’s also our emotional investment. We buy into these characters or stories and have a relationship with the show, so if that ends poorly, it can feel as if we’ve been betrayed.

With the many and varied discussions that now happen online immediately after the end of a show or film, it hangs around a lot longer than it used to, so we’re reminded of it constantly in forums, as part of lists and articles about the worst TV show endings… oh. Sorry about that.

Of course, not all controversial endings are bad, and one person can love what another person hates. Sometimes it takes a bit of time and space, or maybe a rewatch, to appreciate an ending more. A lot of effort goes into crafting a story and its conclusion, and no creator is setting out to annoy or disappoint the audience. Sometimes they’re pushed because of cancellation, or maybe a key character quits and the storyline has to be reimagined. Sometimes, though, they just don’t stick the landing!

More free film articles

About this page

This page was written by Marie Gardiner. Marie is a writer, author, and photographer. It was edited by Andrew Blackman. Andrew is a freelance writer and editor, and is a copy editor for Envato Tuts+.


This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Marie Gardiner


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