Welcome to the Emotional End Game

It's been about a month, is it safe for me to write about "Endgame", yet?

Don't worry if you haven't seen the last Avengers movie just yet. I don't plan on going through it point by point or relieving any major spoilers.

I do what to praise the movie for being an excellent book end to the three phase of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe for the few of you who aren't familiar with the acronym). 12 years ago, the MCU launched with "Iron Man" (2007). In 2012 the "Avengers" movie hit the big screen, tying together at least 4 other movies (the 2008 "Incredible Hulk", the 2010 "Iron Man 2", the 2011 "Thor" and the 2011 "Captain America: The First Avenger").

I'm sure historians will look back on the 2010s and find that a lot of our pop culture history will be tied to these movies. Disney has done an excellent job keeping people interested all the way through "Endgame" and making a ton of money to boot.

Though the movies were always hit and miss (I'm specifically thinking of "Thor the Dark World"), even the worst of the MCU movies was decent. There isn't a "rotten" one among them, just mediocre. They've set the standard for super hero movies and intertwining a cinematic universe which others have failed to copy (sorry Universal, no "Dark Universe" for us please).

"Endgame" managed to do what many other great series have failed: giving us a good ending. It's not perfect and I have my nit picks (but I won't go into those here).

How many times have you followed a book, or TV series, or movie series only for the ending to fall flat?

Way too many for me.

There are times where the series takes a left turn half way through and goes in a strange direction, there are times where the story just drags on way too long, and there are times where the writers decide to "jump the shark" and really mess with their fans.

I think "Game of Thrones" fans are currently going through this, but I've seen it happen to a number of stories I've loved. I'm still not over how "The Immortal Diaries of Nickolas Flamel" ended and I haven't gotten myself to watch the latest "Fantastic Beasts" movie. Heck, I didn't even realize that "NCIS" was still making new episodes.

However, every once in a while a writer is able to wrap up a story and give it the best send off possible to the fans. Books like "Harry Potter" (minus the 19 years later scene) and the "Hunger Games" have great endings that totally fit with the story. "Gravity Falls" has a nice little bow topping it's last few episodes, tying everything together in a wonderfully weird way.

Best TV show ending ever!

And "Endgame" was the movie we needed to end the 2010s MCU.

Yes, I'm aware that Disney is going to be making more movies and TV shows. This is a cash cow, so they're going to milk it until the profits run dry. But I don't feel the need to keep up with it any more. My emotional needs for this story has been met.

That's what's important. The audience's emotional needs.

Writing these long epic stories is tough. There are a lot of plots to keep track of and characters who need to have their arcs finished. When a writer or group of writers can pull it off, it's wonderfully satisfying. It's like saying goodbye to a close friend, one you hope to visit again soon.

If you haven't seen "Endgame", yet and you are familiar with the MCU, I recommend it. You'll probably want to binge the other movies before going because there's a lot of background stuff you'll need to know, but the movies are good.

Do you have any series (movies, TV, or books) that you've felt have ended well? Do you have any that you feel dropped the shoe at the worst moment (other than the ones I've already mentioned)? Drop me a comment if you do.

Until next time!

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