💔 What Should Have Happened After Tangled — And Why Flynn Deserved Better
Disney had so many options for how to give Rapunzel and Flynn a realistic, romantic, and satisfying ending. Instead, they went with the lazy, unrealistic “everyone’s fine with it now” route — and then let the TV series drag Flynn through years of humiliation, rejection, and classist nonsense.
Here’s how it should have gone:
1️⃣ The Anastasia Route — Eloping
In their historical time period, it’s laughable to think Rapunzel and Flynn could:
Date for years without being married
Or marry without royal approval
Especially since her parents had literally sentenced him to death without a trial for stealing a crown. The idea that they’d just “accept him” is absurd.
They could have run away together, married in secret, and lived free — showing:
Flynn’s transformation into an honest man working to support them
Rapunzel’s willingness to give up royal privilege for love
2️⃣ The Aladdin / Little Mermaid Route — Fighting for Love
Faced her parents’ rejection head-on
Proved to the kingdom that their love was real
Earned the royal blessing after showing courage, loyalty, and sacrifice
That would’ve made their marriage feel earned, not handed to them in a convenient fairytale shortcut.
3️⃣ The Sleeping Beauty Twist — Prince Reveal as the Key
Instead of Rapunzel spending years calling marriage a prison until Flynn turns out to be royalty, the story could have:
Had her parents forbid the marriage
Then had the “Flynn is secretly a prince” reveal win their approval
That way the “title” reveal comes from the world’s prejudice, not Rapunzel’s own shallow classism.
4️⃣ The Bitter Greens Approach — Marry Before Returning
They could have married before going back to her parents, securing their bond before any royal politics could tear them apart. This is actually common in Rapunzel retellings (where the prince marries her before taking her to his kingdom), and it makes sense:
Ensures no one can separate them
Shows Rapunzel’s commitment to Flynn the man, not Flynn the title
5️⃣ The “Forget the Palace” Option — Leave the Kingdom
Honestly? The healthiest, most in-character choice would have been:
Not returning to parents who condemned Flynn to death
Building a life together somewhere far away
Living free of the crown and choosing love over status
That would’ve been the ultimate arc:
Flynn proves his growth through hard, honest work to take care of her
Rapunzel proves her love by choosing him over power
Rapunzel returns to strangers who almost killed the man she loves without ever questioning that cruel sentence
Immediately acts like titles matter more than love
lies to him, lets everyone insult him, draws his face on a freaking punching bag for a toxic friend, rewrites his personality through time travel without ever feeling guilty about it
Spends years calling marriage to him a prison, a trap, a nightmare
Only changes her mind when he’s revealed to be royalty
This is after he literally died for her freedom.
The message? “Love is only worth it if your partner is royal.”
It’s insulting. It’s classist. And it completely destroys the love story of the original movie.
Flynn Rider deserved better.
He’s the sweetest, most selfless Disney male lead. He gave up his life for Rapunzel, gave up his old ways for love, and was ready to commit fully. And in return, he got years of rejection, humiliation, and abuse from someone who once called him her “new dream.”
Disney could have given us a love story for the ages.
Instead, they gave us a cautionary tale about how to ruin one.
Which option would you have preferred?
