Let’s get real—ending a favorite TV or anime show is practically impossible. It’s like balancing on a tightrope with flaming swords. In the middle of an earthquake. Some finales are like landing a triple axel, and others flop and burn down in flames, creating memes, think pieces, and decades-long fan anger. Perhaps not all of those ‘bad’ series endings deserve that hate, though. Were they bad, or were we just too invested in the backlash?
Get a snack, get comfortable, and let’s go back through 10 of the most miscued TV and anime finales ever—beginning with the ones that still hurt the most and going way deep into our shared pop culture baggage.
10. Snowpiercer
If you thought the show went completely off the tracks, you weren’t alone. Snowpiercer’s conclusion left viewers frostbitten, with many of them declaring it dull, cringeworthy, and lacking the fire that once made the series so good. Critics noted that Nima’s world-saving arc ended in something disappointingly rudimentary, with poorly matched character combinations and uninspired visuals not helping. But perhaps the bleak, desperate tone was the intention—after all, this was always a tale of survival on a desolate planet. It’s a resolution that left readers polarized—and still arguing.
9. Younger
After seven years of releasing drama and romance back-and-forths, Younger concluded on a finale that left audiences. Perplexed. The love triangle that served as the defining trope of the series concluded on an awkward note, and fan favorites either disappeared (RIP Diana’s screentime) or made inexplicable decisions. Critics complained the finale relied too much on nostalgia without providing characters with adequate closure. But there’s something strangely real about its refusal to provide tidy solutions—life doesn’t always tie up loose ends so neatly either.
8. Stranger Things 4
Season 4 of Stranger Things brought ginormous thrills, emotional highs, and then. A conclusion that left some scratching their heads. Even though it had epic scope, many felt the final episode didn’t have a payoff, particularly after this prolonged build-up. Unfinished threads, a confusing cliffhanger, and exhaustion from the inflated runtime left people more annoyed than pleased. Yes, it set up Season 5—but was that enough? Perhaps the actual Upside Down was the wait.
7. The Bear (Season 4)
The Bear is infamous for its nail-biting realism, and its Season 4 closer brought that to a place no one saw coming. No dramatic kitchen showdowns or death-defying feats here—it centered instead around Carmy taking a step back for his mental health, a move that felt anticlimactic to some but deeply genuine to others. Critics labeled it a courageous, if unorthodox, move. It may not have given us “TV fireworks,” but it did deliver a raw, human moment of transformation.
6. Neon Genesis Evangelion
No anime ending provokes controversy quite like the original Evangelion series conclusion. For Western audiences, episodes 25 and 26 tend to come across as muddled or underwhelming. Yet for Japanese viewers, they were welcomed for their profundity of emotion and interiorized storytelling. Budgetary and production constraints compelled the staff to be abstract—but what was restrictive became innovative. The later film The End of Evangelion retells the conclusion with more clarity, but the TV version still holds a haunting, philosophical power. Maybe it’s not about understanding it—maybe it’s about feeling it.
5. Sherlock
When Sherlock concluded with “The Final Problem,” hopes were high—and some felt the show fell short. The story was more melodrama than mystery, and the surprises were implausible. Nevertheless, it gave the audience a bittersweet feeling of closure, having Sherlock and John poised to look forward together. It may not have been the brain-shattering finale viewers had in mind, but as a sendoff for characters, it was spot on.
4. ALF
ALF’s last episode didn’t just leave viewers in limbo—it left them stunned. The alien sitcom concluded with its goofy star taken prisoner by the government, with no closure in reach. That was because the series got canceled before filmmakers could shoot a proper ending. Frustrating then, the dark, unforeseen conclusion has since become cult legend for being strangely appropriate for such an offbeat show. Occasionally, never finishing something makes it more memorable.
3. Two and a Half Men
The Two and a Half Men finale went nuclear on the fourth wall—literally. Charlie dies off (again), a piano drops, and creator Chuck Lorre signs off with a “Winning!” in-joke and an explanation-filled vanity card. Fans were divided: some despised the absurdity, while others enjoyed the destructive final swipe at a notoriously messy behind-the-scenes soap opera. Love it or hate it, you can’t say it didn’t make its mark.
2. Lost
Lost has become the poster child for polarizing finales, forever remembered (incorrectly) as a show where “they were dead the whole time.” But it isn’t. The flash-sideways purgatory was a metaphorical realm, not the entire story. Everything that occurred on the island did occur. The emotional ending provided characters with closure and respected the show’s core themes—connection, redemption, and release. Perhaps it didn’t solve all the mysteries, but perhaps it didn’t need to.
1. Game of Thrones
The final season of Game of Thrones still triggers rage in group chats across the internet. Rushed plotlines, unexpected turns, and lost potential plagued its final run. But was the ending itself really that bad? Critics have argued that the conclusion made logical sense for many characters—it just needed more room to breathe. As time has passed, some fans are beginning to view the finale as not an absolute disaster, but as a flawed conclusion to an otherwise revolutionary series.
So the next time someone trashes a series finale, take a deep breath. Perhaps it wasn’t as terrible as you recall. Or perhaps it was—but either way, some finales just deserve a do-over (or at least one fewer angry Reddit post).