#weirdmegeddon

[appleb18]

Why Cartoon Finales Feel So Unsatisfying

With most cartoon shows coming to an end such as Adventure Time, Legend of Korra, and Regular Show but as time moves on, most finales are rushed. Shows making the same mistakes makes the ending not a very good conclusion. So I’ll be talking about the many problems that I have with finales recently. Steven Universe Change Your Mind will be mention because Crewniverse mentioned  Rebecca Sugar planned that it was finale but of course, Cartoon Network wants it to continue so it counts.

LONG POST

1)  Plot Points 

The first of many problems that I keep on seeing in cartoon finales are the unexplained plot points. When a show points that this will have a major impact later to the episode, they show it and see what will happen with the plot point but most don’t and they either leave it unanswered, out of nowhere or used but it wasn’t written properly

Examples of unexplained plots are 

Star vs The Forces of Evil 

When Marco was fighting a Corrupted Tom and Corrupted Milhorse he got stabbed by the unicorn, leaving a dark purple wound on his chest with dramatic music playing 

But then it didn’t really matter and it “magically” healed somehow 

Then there’s Star destroying The Realm of Magic which caused magic to be gone. While Omnitraxus, Heckapoo and Rhombulus are destroyed but they never showed what happens to the other realms and creatures that use magic such as the Lucitors and Reynaldo the Bald Pate. 

Legend of Korra 

When Korra defeat Kuvia and she was about to use the Spirit Beam but it misdirected to her, Korra can somehow bend spirit beam

How is there another spirit portal? I know the comics explained it but I would like to see it more in detail in the show than the comics

Gravity Falls 

The Bill Cipher zodiac keeps showing up in the opening of the show 

Been shown in the show numerous times and know a bit of its purpose as the show goes on

In the finale, it was about to be shown what it is and does but Stanley and Stanford had to fight each other which cause the zodiac to not work. I do wish what will happen to Bill when he’s in it and see its effects before they fight

Voltron

Why Allura have to die in the finale, was there another way for her to survive than just dying? 

How the hell did Lance become Altean? You can’t just transform a human into one, that’s impossible 

2) Not Enough Time 

Another main problem I’ve been seeing in cartoon shows finale is there isn’t enough time to explore the new things that have been added to the show, character development, and character relationships. Finale just shows it for a minute and then that’s it. 

Examples of this are 

Steven Universe 

In Change Your Mind, when Steven was getting his friends back to reform, aside Smoky Quartz, we get to see Pearl and Steven fusion, Rainbow Quartz 2.0

 Garnet and Steven, Sunstone 

however the main problem with this they appear only once and then that’s it. Although they’ll hopefully make an appearance in season 6 but the lack of Opal and Sugilite, I doubt they’ll be shown again. 

Gravity Falls 

When Stanford and Mcgucket reunited in Weirdmeggedon: “Take Back the Falls”,  it was really a quick reunion and they become friends again. I do wish the team give their reunion more screen than just a minute since they’re best friends for a very long time like Spider-Man and Iron Man in Endgame 

Then there’s when Stanley sacrifice his mind to defeat Bill Cipher, it was truly emotional to have him take responsibility for almost releasing him to the world.

Of course, he’ll recover from his memories but he got it back too quickly, it should’ve taken longer regained his memories. It just downgrades his sacrifice.

Samurai Jack 

Samurai Jack friends came in a minute 

Jack tells Ashi that he loves him. It should’ve taken her a bit longer to break free from Aku control than just that 

Also, there was never a moment of him interacting with his friends beside the Scottsman. He didn’t get to say goodbye nor tell his thanks to them for rescuing him before he goes back to the past! 

Then there’s Ashi fading away because, without him, she disappears which should’ve done when he destroys Aku, not during their wedding 

Voltron 

As Allura dies and saying goodbye to her friends however she never gets to say goodbye Coran, her main man, and her father-figure like why? 

3) The Lack of Main Characters 

It is always important to have the main cast of characters have their last adventure and end the huge conflict of the story but with today’s finale, the main cast doesn’t get to shine, in fact, they don't do anything at all.

An example of this 

The Amazing World of Gumball 

The Gumball family doesn’t get to appear for the finale, it’s mostly Gumball, Darwin and the school. 

Adventure Time 

Finn and Jake, the main characters and they are in the title of the show Adventure Time with Finn and Jake however they were more in the sidelines in the finale. The first half is Finn reconcile with Fern 

Jake having weird dreams 

Then in the second half things get stressful when Finn and Jake haven’t much of a roll to the last episode. Finn goes inside of Golb to save Betty and Ice King/Simon but they get stuck

And Jake gets defeated easily by the monsters. The characters that did the most are Marceline for able to stun the monster for a bit 

Princess Bubblegum finding that their weakness is harmony and she was able to find out because of BMO 

And Betty defeating Glob by using the crown and wishing to protect Simon that caused her to become Golb herself 

It’s disappointing that neither Finn nor Jake, the stars of the show for 9 years, couldn’t do anything in the finale, a similar complaint I have with Adventure Time Mini-Series Stakes but worst

Steven Universe 

Now it’s time to talk about other characters that came to help the Crystal Gems but they really didn’t help at all and it’s Bismuth, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot. They finally arrive to help Crystal Gems to get to White Diamond with Lapis and Peridot new outfits and Bismuth giving Connie a new sword. 

Yet they were nothing more than accessory, just there to show that they are in finale, only serving as fan-service 

Then just when they finally showed up to help Steven, it was already over so they don’t have any value in the finale. 

4) Final Villain 

Recently, the last antagonist/final villain has many issues that I’ll be breaking into two parts. 

A. No Build Up 

It’s always important to have the final villain to appear in multiple and show how threatening they are but as I’ve seen, they appear only a few times with little interactions and not a lot of depth of their depth. 

Golb from Adventure Time first appeared in “Puhoy” at the end of the episode and was mentioned a few times in the last two seasons and he randomly appears as the final villain with no proper introduction and he doesn’t have any history with the main characters 

White Diamond from Steven Universe appears in the background from season 1 - 4

Her only appearances are in two episodes, “Legs From Here to Homeworld” and “Change Your Mind”. At first, she was overjoyed that Pink Diamond is alive inside of Steven 

Then she becomes a dictator? How we get from this to there? Do we miss something? 

B. The Final Battle 

The endgame, the final conversation between two opposing sides and they’ll settle their score once and for all. Unfortunately, their final moments aren’t satisfying and it very anti-climatic of how they were defeated. 

Aku and Samurai Jack never fought each other in the finale. It’s mostly Jack slashing him 

Steven talking to White Diamond like how always does it

Mina Loveberry gets defeated by a Corrupted Milhorse and we don’t see until the end 

The final villain should’ve gotten a great final showdown with the main protagonist but it was sadly rushed 

5) Leaving it in a Cliffhanger/Open-Ended 

The most problematic I have with finales is they leave it in a cliffhanger/open-ended. It doesn’t feel like a satisfying end to the show, more than an episode and or another season

The Amazing World of Gumball ended with Rob going into the void and that’s it. 

and Star vs The Forces of Evil ending with the Earth and Mewni cleaved together and Star and Marco look at each other than the credit rolls.

The series finale should NEVER end with a cliffhanger nor open-ended, it just leaves an poor conclusion to the series, leaving too many questions unanswered! 

Conclusion

Modern cartoon finales aren’t easy. It requires a lot of planning, work and thought to conclude a series and not many got it right. The only finales that did a good job and made me feel satisfied are 

Regular Show 

Over the Garden Wall

And the only show left that’s coming to end and I hope it doesn’t make the same mistakes is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 

Overall I don’t hate nor I say good finales expect for Samurai Jack, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Voltron, their pretty average endings that could've done better.

[idrawstuff]

Another animation made for the project!

[idrawstuff]

This is going to be the second image of Dipper overlooking the town in the project I'm doing

[coffeeandconspiracies]

FAREWELL BREAKFAST CHAT

Hey guys! It’s been a great ride - but come Monday, it is for all intents and purposes, over. There will be no more pre-episode chats to speak of, as there will be no more episodes! So, in a way, this is sort of a special occasion. And to celebrate, we are hosting an UBER AWESOME SPECIAL AM COFFEEANDCONSPIRACIES BREAKFAST CHAT

It’ll be a wild time. We’ll talk about theories, headcanons, AUs, any loose ends we wish to see tied up/fear won’t be (and we’ll establish our own endings, if that is the case!). All cards are on the table, and the power is yours - we’ll talk about anything and everything! Feel free to bring your own coffee and conspiracy theories and jump in, or just sit back and watch us make fools of ourselves! 

When: Saturday, Feb 13 @ 10am EST

Where: TBA (link will be posted here!)

Hosted by: yours truly! And Adina

This is our last real chance to talk to you guys about the show while it’s still running - we’re sad and excited! And if you have any discussion topics you would ESPECIALLY like to get to, feel free to reserve them by shooting us an ask! It’ll be like one of the primary debates, and we’re the moderators. Only instead of politics we’re talking about cartoons.

- Ally

[coffeeandconspiracies]

In narrative, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.

We’re all familiar with the reoccurring image of Stan on fire, but now we’ve got this lovely image of Ford being ripped away from his loved ones - several times, we’ve seen him get caught in something (be it the portal, the alien drone, or Bill’s explosion), toss whatever piece of his work he’s holding to a family member (once Stan, twice Dipper) and tell them to carry on with the mission, without him. 

So, what’s that all about? 

Well, let’s start with Stan because that’s easiest. Any lit student can tell you that fire is always meant to represent one of two things - life, or death and destruction. I know the two sort of sound contradictory, but listen: the phoenix always rises from the ashes. Fire cleanses, fire purges, fire sustains. I know the image of Stan burning is a scary one, but it doesn’t necessarily mean bad things. 

However

Stan is still yet to have an on-screen encounter with Bill, but we know he’s gotta know about Cipher because a) he read the journals and b) the “A” of the ‘Mystery Shack’ is Bill’s image. I know we’ve always written off a majority of the Bill-stuff in the shack as remnants of Ford, but Ford was absolutely not around when that sign was made. 

Maybe Stan was just imitating the design from Ford’s many shrines, maybe it’s just a coincidence, maybe Stan skipped those pages about Bill in journals 2 and 3 . . . but probably not. All I’m saying is this - we still haven’t gotten Stan’s eyes as an end card. 

As for Ford, the repeated scene of Ford being pulled away from his family and his work, of him surrendering the mission to a surviving relative, of him essentially allowing himself to be sacrificed so that a “greater good” may be achieved is a negative no matter which way you spin it. It begs to suggest that Ford will not make it to the end of this story - that he will be ripped away (perhaps permanently) before the enemy is defeated; before the task is complete. He will never finish his work.

There are two major parts to this foreshadowing that we should concern ourselves over. First, the part where Ford is being physically pulled away from either Dipper or Stan. These are the only two characters Ford has trusted after Bill. Ford called Stan after 10 years of silence because Stan was the only person he had left in the world - he even gave Stan one of the presious journals, and trusted him to keep it safe. Stan, as we know, was a major disappointment in Ford’s eyes - he held on to the first jounral for 30 years, yes, but he also went agains Ford’s direct instructions to not reopen the portal (honestly, I think this is the real reason Ford seems so ungrateful about being saved; he understands that Stan did him a huge favor by bringing him back, he even uses the words “saved me” when describing the event to Dipper - the issue is that Ford doesn’t value his life over his work; stopping Bill and keeping the world safe are his main objectives. He would rather have died alone inside the portal than have Stan risk releasing Bill - and that’s the sort of thing that does make Ford a hero). Ford has also specifically stated that he now feels Dipper is the only person he can trust. 

So, three times now, we’ve seen Ford being yanked away from the only person he trusts. You pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? 

The next scary thing about this is the pulling away in general. Let’s think about all of Ford’s “missions” thus far - his science project was ruined before he could use it to get into college; he did finish the portal, but Bill betrayed him before he was able to carry out whatever purpose he’d intended it for; he never finished Journal 3 (remember, it cuts off half way? Yes there are pages with invisible ink, but the pages we’ve seen all have other writing on them, so it seems like the blank pages are entirely blank); and now he wasn’t able to defeat Bill before being turned to gold. If this pattern holds, Ford won’t survive Weirdmegeddon (and no, I don’t think he’s completely out of the game just yet; Bill didn’t kill him, which to me makes it look like he still needs him). 

Now let’s talk about the gold thing for a second, since I have 0 self control and brought it up. Ford being turned to gold suggests a lot of things. For one, it could be calling Ford a false idol - like the Golden Calf. Like Dipper idolizing him is wrong (what I’m saying is, it could be hinting that Ford is actually a bad guy. I dislike this theory, but the evidence is there). Another possibility is that it’s meant to represent his wisdom and devine purpose. Going back to a different relgion, the Golden Fleece of Greek Mythology was used to save Phrixus and Helle (who I still associate with Dipper and Mabel; or maybe even Stan and Ford) - so maybe Ford will end up being our savior? Gold is also used to portray wealth in literature - but I don’t really think that’s relevant here. Ford hasn’t worked in like, 30-odd years. I don’t think he’s exactly swimmin’ in riches. Generally though, gold is used to mean good stuff. Riches, wisdom, happiness, the sun, whathaveyou. On the other hand, my boy F. Scott Fitzgerald definitely liked to twist that positive connotation of gold to mean some pretty negative stuff - as did God, apparently, because we all remember what happened to those peeps worshiping in Golden Calf. 

Last thing I’m gonna over-analyze tonight is what Bill says when he does capture Ford. Do I have a screen shot? Aw, of course I have a screen shot. 

Good old Six Fingers! I’ve been waiting an eternity to have a chat face-to-face!

Hold up, wait a minute. Bill has been waiting an eternity to meet Stanford? Thirty years may be a long time for us mortals, but to Bill (who is older than the universe itself) it’s nothing more than the blink of an eye. Not to mention, Bill is a pretty literal guy. He says some crazy stuff, but he never really exaggerates or stretches the truth - which is funny, simply because the other elements of his personality would suggest differently. He’s an egotistical guy, he’s got a sick and twisted sense of humor - you’d think to see a little hyperbole here and there, but it’s not. He’s always literal. So when he says he’s been waiting an -emphasised- “eternity” to have a chat with Ford, I think he means it. I smell a prophecy - a nice, ancient, Ford-is-the-Chosen-One prophecy. Give me Pines legacy. Give me fate vs free will. Give me an oracle. Ohhh yes, it is writing like this that I live for. 

- ally

[coffeeandconspiracies]

my brain: you know you should really stop swearing so much when you talk about this kids show

my mouth: fUCK DID YOU GUYS CATCH THAT DIPPER/STAN PARALLEL HOLY SHIT