Recent years in pop culture have really driven home the point that the ending of a series, if mishandled, can retroactively soil so much of its existing legacy. How can creators ensure that their finale doesn't flop?

Here is a short checklist to make sure it sticks the landing:
☑Reaffirm the series' central themes

☑Employ character arcs that *naturally* follow the trajectory of their growth & resolve their motivations

☑Communicate an overarching moral

☑Do NOT table flip (incongruent subversion) the narrative to undercut fans guessing the ending
Abiding these four simple bulletpoints alone will allow you to better craft a more satisfying, conclusive end to the characters' journey that feels like a more natural extension of the events prior. REALLY drive home theme. Ask yourself: What is this series all about at its core?
Re: table flipping

It bears repeating - any writer worth their salt understands that the audience should be *able* to approximate some general bulletpoints as to what the endgame looks like. Spiting your audience by leading them off that trail at the last moment is devious.
TRUST your audience. The fact that they have pieced together what the approximate ending should look like is a GOOD THING; it demonstrates the desire of the audience to receive emotional catharsis for a journey they have invested in. It's your job to help bridge that gap.
A recent finale that I really think drove home those four simple bulletpoints is #TheGoodPlace 's "Whenever Your Ready." In its hour run, it thoughtfully, hilariously, tear-jerkingly wraps up each character's story, adding to the greater whole of the theme: Betterment is a choice.
In comparison, take a look at the rush jobs, the lazeabout finales that sloppily cobble together an ending that doesn't satisfy its characters main goals, nor allows for any semblance of catharsis - a failure to communicate a cohesive vision is to do a disservice to the series.
In the case of the Game of Thrones-es of the world that drag their characters across the finish line haphazardly, look at the retroactive damage it's done to the whole of the series' name. It's harder to recommend a series to a friend if it doesn't get the ending it deserves.
So I leave you with this thought:

When a formulating a finale, really consider what it is your characters have been struggling to achieve, why it matters to them, and what they have to do to fulfill their main motivation.

And again: REINFORCE THE THEME THROUGH THEIR ACTIONS.
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