Does a SOAP Ending have to be tied up in a neat BOW?

[darraholic]

I do think there should be some sort of a wrap up. And then maybe do a cliffhanger with it.

For example, If DAYS were to end soon, I'd like all the storylines wrapped up. Then maybe end the show with everyone celebrating and then the camera zooms to a mysterious figure where it's revealed to be Kristen Blake promising to make everyone pay.

[Bright Eyes]

DAYS has stories?

[quartermainefan]

I think you want an end at some point, and a lack of an ending is a cop-out. Every story has an ending, and imagine if OLTL goes off without telling us who killed Victor. Erica vowing to get Jack back is not much of a cliffhanger though. On Dynasty they ended the series with Alexis falling off a balcony while Blake was dying from a gunshot wound. That is not an acceptable ending. On Knots having Abby move home and implying the story will begin again is an acceptable ending. You just want to be left satisfied. Ending a show "And the killer is....." would be horrible.

[juniorz1]

They sure do. In fact, they have A LOT going on right now. If you stopped watching, you should check it out. It's a good time to be a DAYS fan.

[R Sinclair]

I know that some useless woman is pontificating about Friday Night Lights, however, a good storyteller understands that every story deserves a conclusion. If you've watched characters go through angst, drama, turmoil every day for the last 10-40+ years, you want to see them get some kind of resolution to their issues. I know the useless woman is trying to appear irreverent and intellectually advanced in her desire to see stories end on melancholy notes, but that's not the idea of escapism. Viewers don't invest 30 years of their lives into the storytelling of these characters to wind up having a depressing, sad ending. "Oh, well, that's life -- life doesn't always end happily." Yeah. No sht, Sherlock! That's why people are watching these fictional characters -- to escape the unhappiness of every day life. They enjoy the idea of "Gee... no matter how rough it is, Reva, who I identify with, is gonna come out strong!" They don't watch a show to feel "Wow! After years of rooting and hoping for JR, he kills himself!" -- no matter how trendy it is to have an unhappy ending.

I think the thing is that when you end a story, it's best to end it with hope. Ending it with despair is "realistic" but not appropriate for genres that pride themselves on "escapism."

[Soapsuds]

LOL...I agree..not much happening at Days story wise.

[glatwt]

i think that DAYS is just stalling cause of the producer switch that happened way too fast! it seems they want nothing major going on until lisa's material starts airing that way the focus doesnt have to change so much, even though noel maxam never deserved to be fired! just seem's that there's no HW changes coming so they're just waiting for lisa to go full throttle again. would hate to accept the fact that darryl and marlene just never had ANYTHING planned?

[R Sinclair]

Because, after all, this thread is a debate about DAYS storylines.

[RomeAt50]

I agree. The cliffhanger with Jack and Erica was good and it made sense. The ending with JR was dumb and not needed.

[~bl~]

I double posted and the second one had the full text...ignore this one sorry...

[NorrthCafe]

I don't know if it's necessary to choose. I think writers have been successful giving fans both of those things. GL's ending reminded me a lot of AW's ending. There were the 'happy moments' where fan fave couples got together, but there were still a few moments that left you wondering what life would be like for GL residents today, had the show not died. Reva and Josh rode off into the sunset with her son, but Jeffrey was still alive and fans were left to wonder, what if?

Could Lizzie and Bill survive Jonathan's return? He came back a single man who seemed to be ready to move on with his life.

Alan's death was one plot I didn't see coming, but it made sense that so many other people could be happy together, with him gone. It was bitter sweet considering the fact that he gave his life for his son. Yet, who would become the 'new Alan' in time (if there was time and Alan's death stood as GL history)?

I like seeing long suffering characters happy at the end, with a hint of mystery for everyone else.

[~bl~]

When a show ends, I don't think every character needs to be paired up together like it is Noah's ark. To me Jack saying he had enough of Erica didn't bother me, as no couple is happy all the time. I think it also depends on the style of the soap opera.

[EricMontreal22]

I don't agree at all, I think people (well, me) watch soaps for the continuing drama, and it doesn't make sense to want an ending.

[dragonflies]

It's not about couples being paired up, but there should be some kind of payoff in general for all the years people invested

I agree with Cheap about Port Charles, I'm still ticked that they got no ending, and as a viewer of PC from the first episode, I felt robbed

[~bl~]

dragonflies if it feels like the main thrust of a show ending is everyone needs to be matched and have babies unless they are already grandparents...that's what GL felt like to me (as everyone in Springfield other than Jonathan were given a love interest). I found it annoying and sexist like Shayne and Marina had to be a couple because they had a kid. They had months to work on wrapping things, but a lot of it was resolved in the last week. ATWT was somewhat similar though less bad. AMC I didn't feel like it felt like everyone was matched just to be matched as it was done more slowly (and they had the late edits to deal with too)...AW had a short time to wrap so I give them more leeway in content. What happened with Port Charles stank...and I gave up that show years before it ended.