In both film and television, several of pop culture’s biggest franchises came to an end in 2019, but which grand send off was the best? Over the course of this decade, the ever-expanding use of social media and technology has not only driven the ways in which major productions are now marketed and designed, but the ways in which fans can interact with the material as well. This practice has sparked an integral movement in the motion picture business: one that takes into consideration – and perhaps too much consideration – the audience’s potential reaction to the project.
Therefore, the reception or rejection of the slam dunk finales offered by blockbuster movies and television series is a harrowing and pulsating moment for studios. In one violent wave of cynical comments or tumultuous tweets, the work of countless and otherwise consistently fantastic hours of creative intuition can be immediately dropped and degraded as those of amatuers. But on the other hand, a positive review sends an overwhelming shockwave of support, often catapulting the definition of the blockbuster into the next level of the atmosphere. In 2019 alone, eight out the top ten highest grossing films of the year were somehow intertwined within a franchise, be it a sequel or a remake – and this stat will more than likely bump up to nine, given that at the time of writing, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, after only two weekends of contention, has secured the #12 spot on that list.
But even so, this entertainment climate has provided a radiating amount of content for fans to ingest and enjoy. While it may seem that by the time they reach their final sequels, the more popular series sometimes outstay their welcome, it’s always bittersweet when a long-lasting franchise has to end. Here, ranked, are the finales to four said franchises, pieces of art which will remain in the realm of pop culture long after their production has ceased.
4. Game of Thrones Series Finale – “The Iron Throne”
Warning: This section contains spoilers to Game of Thrones.
The overly contentious final season of the HBO juggernaut Game of Thrones met the fandom communities with little more than scorn and outrage. But ever since the fantasy series came to a close earlier this year, the specific reaction to its bloody finale, “The Iron Throne,” has been incredibly hostile – with fans, more often than not, rejecting the episode (a viral fan petition on Change.org requesting that HBO redesign and resubmit GOT’s eighth season has nearly garnered 2 million supporters), and the creators and stars of the show doing their best to justify their creative decisions.
However, “The Iron Throne” itself did provide audiences with several avenue of closure, especially and importantly, for each of its major characters. To contextualize this, when speaking to the ending of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) story arc, it is important to consider that its gruesome conclusion, while perhaps inappropriately rushed, was the result of a diverting path of leadership: one tyrannical and merciless, the other sympathetic and merciful. While this debate may never tire out, the stories do come to an end during Game of Thrones. The answers, for the most part, are there; they just weren’t necessarily the ones fans wanted, or at least weren’t presented in a way they liked.
3. The Skywalker Saga – Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The Skywalker saga is the broad narrative behind the expansive Star Wars franchise. Comprised of the nine major motion pictures – better known as “Episodes” – it has also become the benchmark of all film franchises. That being said, the final episode, designed to seal the tale visionary filmmaker George Lucas set sail in 1977, had a lot to amount to.
Released in the final weeks of 2019, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker encompassed nearly all of the formulaic pop culture patterns generated throughout the decade: director J.J. Abrams, consumed by the heavy responsibility, sought to make a feature which incorporated aspects from the entire saga, while seeking to close an already jumbled plot. The result, though incredibly divisive amongst Star Wars fans and critics (a byproduct of the Mouse House’s apparent lack of organizing when it came to the new trilogy), is rather entertaining and epic in scale.
Yes, the film has more than its fair share of faults. A persistent sense of desperation is coated atop the production, which also includes several deus ex machinas, nonsensical ventures, and otherwise unexplainable decisions. But, on the other hand, the nostalgia Abrams and his team are able to dig up is enticing: this, however, is not as much a compliment to The Rise of Skywalker as it is to the entirety of the Star Wars franchise.
2. Toy Story Franchise – Toy Story 4
It’s safe to say that Toy Story 4 was a film nobody was expecting – and perhaps one that only a few more even wanted. 2010’s supposed conclusion to the franchise, beyond being a financial success (the highest grossing Pixar movie at the time) felt like a perfect sendoff: the toys, after battling with the idea that their owner is going to college, find joy and purpose once again in the cusps of a loving little girl. Beyond that, the conclusion of their emotional arc is further enhanced by that of Andy’s own, which ends, after years of dedicated and wholly imaginative playtime, with him realizing the capacity of joy which his childhood toys can bring to others and selflessly departing with them.
But nevertheless, 11 years later, Pixar and Disney collaborated one last time on its pioneering franchise, seemingly setting out to finish what most thought had already finished. Upon this announcement, the atmosphere was trepidatious, to say the least. The idea that the Toy Story franchise, one of those rare gems where improvement came with each and every installment, could be compromised by one production too many was rather frightening.
To the film’s credit, this was not the case with Toy Story 4. The movie, helmed by first-time director Josh Cooley, was perhaps even better than fans hoped. Gorgeously designed by Pixar’s consistent crew, the film is beautiful to watch, and entertaining to experience. Following Woody (Tom Hanks) interact with a new band of toys (and reuniting with an old one with Bo Peep) is enjoyable and emotional, though the rest of the regular cast, for the most part, gets a little left behind. And in many respects, with the continuing narrative concerned with toys and their fear of abandonment, many aspects of the film rehashed from 3. With that said, however, especially compared to the fourth film entries in other well-known franchises, Toy Story 4 is yet another fitting and touching ending for the series.
1. MCU Infinity Saga & Avengers – Avengers: Endgame
If there is one overarching narrative that has defined not only 2019, but this entire decade, it is that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Initiated in 2008 by Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, this comic book franchise has, in and of itself, regenerated not only a genre, but a storytelling medium as well.
So by the time Avengers: Endgame had released in theaters – following a decade-long succession of over 20 other films – and went on to earn unprecedented sums of money, its success expanded far beyond box office rankings and broken records. So, without going into the story, without getting into the nitty gritty of the performances, or the culminations of the intricacy interwoven plots, Avengers: Endgame sits atop the rest as the most outstanding filmgoing experience of the decade simply because it exists. There has never been, in the history of filmmaking, a more ambitious and fundamentally adventurous series of movies, and Avengers: Endgame is an almost perfect ending to that.
More: 2020 Winter & Spring Movie Preview – The 20 Films To See
