Grand Finale: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

When a show (usually of the [[Failure Is the Only Option]] or [[Stern Chase]] variety) comes to an end with sufficient lead time, the production team may decide to go out with a bang by ending the endless chase, destroying the undestroyable foe, or in some other way definitively and permanently changing the core axioms on which the show depends. It usually resolves all the conflicts that have driven the series over its entire run, and offers some kind of resolution to the dramatic tension that they have powered.

 

 

In contrast to American television series, anime series tend to be single, continuous season-long stories that build, like an episodic novel, to a climax in the final episode. In these cases, a Grand Finale is the only fair (and the usual) way to end the show. Of course, since most anime is based on manga, occasionally the anime [[Overtook the Manga|gets ahead]] of the manga (or gets canceled before the manga ends) and the anime writers have to [[Gecko Ending|make up their own ending]], which is usually not as good as the eventual ending of the manga. Alternatively, a la ''[[Bastard!!]]!'', ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'', and ''[[Ichigo 100%]]'', the writers can just leave it hanging.

Expect to see [[Contractual Immortality]] and [[Joker Immunity]] thrown out the window.

 

{{examples}}

* The first ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' anime had a bittersweet and satisfying conclusion in its final episode: {{spoiler|Ed, knowing that it takes a life to bring back a life due to Equivalent Exchange, sacrifices himself to bring Al back - he ends up on the other side of The Gate without the arm and leg he had regained because of Al's sacrifice, and Al is found alive and human again, but at the age he was when he and Ed tried to bring their mother back, and with no memory of the adventures he and Ed underwent.}} The movie came along and followed up on that ([[Fanon Discontinuity|some fans would much rather ignore it, though]]): {{spoiler|after a madman on the other side of The Gate breaks through to Amestris, Ed follows and is reunited with Al, and the two save Amestris; Ed eventually returns to the other side of The Gate to seal it, but Al follows him while Mustang seals The Gate from Amestris' side, ensuring that the Elrics remained reunited.}} The creator of the original manga claimed that she started on the ending and worked backwards to the beginning during the planning process, we can expect a fitting conclusion to the manga version shortly.

** The manga (and ''Brotherhood'') had its Grand Finale, as well. {{spoiler|Ed finally defeats Father, even after he harvests the souls of all Amestris to bring himself to an obscenely high level of power, but it takes Al sacrificing himself to bring Ed's arm back to do it; in the end, Ed finally figures out what he can give up to bring back Al - his ability to use alchemy. The brothers are finally reunited, and after two years, they separate again to go and repay everyone who helped them during their travels.}} Also, at the end of the final episode of ''Brotherhood'', {{spoiler|Ed and Winry are shown holding up two babies, implying that the children are theirs.}}

* The final episode of ''[[Death Note]]'', in which {{spoiler|Light is finally cornered, revealed to be Kira, and eventually dies due to Ryuk writing his name in his Death Note.}} Now a scene iconic and famous enough to have spawned half of the series' [[Memetic Mutation]].

* ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'': {{spoiler|Tenma, Nina, Lunge, Roberto, Grimmer, and Johann all gather in Ruhenheim. A massacre ensues, and Johann is shot in the head by a terrified drunken bystander. Tenma saves his life again, and while Johann spends the next while comatose in his bed, everyone still alive goes back to their normal lives. [[Book Ends|Eventually, Johann wakes up and tells Tenma one final secret before leaving the hospital. Where he goes is left unknown.]] Assuming he even left and Tenma didn't just imagine him waking up.}}

** Though ''[[Maison Ikkoku]]'' did this as well, and in spectacular fashion. The entire last dozen episodes of the anime/two volumes of the manga are a combination of [[Tear Jerker]] and [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]].

* The explosive climax of ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'', where events have inevitably led the main characters, but which is nothing like they expected.

* ''[[Macross Frontier]]''. [[Department of Redundancy Department|Short version]]: The [[Big Bad]] dies. [[Happy Ending]]. Not as short version: {{spoiler|The frontier finds the Vajra homeworld, where the [[Final Battle]] occurs. The [[Big Bad]] is defeated, the humans make peace with the Vajra, and migrate to their planet.}}

* ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'' ends with {{spoiler|Orochi being destroyed permanently, meaning that Chikane and Himeko's future incarnations will not have to perform the human sacrifice ritual.}}

** Alternatively, {{spoiler|Ushio just sent him back to the point where Nagisa was giving birth. While the anime is vague on this subject, the original game makes it clear that Tomoya remeeting Nagisa is something he's seeing in his head.}}

* ''[[Princess Tutu]]'' ends with a final epic battle in which the [[Big Bad]] is vanquished and Mytho once again becomes the Prince he once was, and also resolves the main romantic tension...although not in a way you might expect. It also ends somewhat open-ended by hinting that two of the characters (who had hints of a romantic relationship but never quite resolved it) might be starting on a new story together.

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. See also [[Gainax Ending]].

* ''[[Samurai Pizza Cats]]'': "The Big Comet Caper". Even though there is one more episode after it ("The Cats Cop Cartoon"), The Big Comet Caper acts as more of a grand finale.

* [[Ojamajo Doremi]] had one for the Dokkan! season. In this, we learn that {{spoiler|Hana-chan (who turns back into a baby), Majorika and the fairies go back to the witch world, Momoko moves back to New York, Onpu moves away and we see that she wrote a new book that is popular, Hazuki is going to a different middle school as Doremi, and Doremi confesses her love to an unknown boy.}}

 

== Comic Books ==

* ''[[The Dark Knight Returns]]'' provides a definitive end to [[Batman]]'s career, and ends his conflict with [[The Joker]] on the side....until ''[[The Dark Knight Strikes Again]]'' came out. After that, ''Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader'' (a direct reference to the above) became more fitting an end.

* ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)|Preacher]]'''s ''Alamo'' ended with {{spoiler|a final showdown between Jesse and Cassidy, Tulip executing Herr Starr, and The Saint Of Killers taking his vengeance against God.}}

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' closes the story line of the [[Star Wars]] prequels and sequels. {{spoiler|The [[Expanded Universe]] is another story.}}

* ''[[The Matrix|Matrix Revolutions]]''

* ''The Return Of The King'' is the Grand Finale of the ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film)|The Lord of the Rings]]''

* ''[[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]]'' can be seen either as the end of the "[[Dollars Trilogy]]" from [[Sergio Leone]], or simply as a completely independent movie.

* ''[[Transformers Film Series|Transformers Dark of the Moon]]''

 

== Literature ==

** Prior to the publication of the last book, there was much speculation as to how Rowling, on a purely practical level, would choose to end something so popular and profitable (although the ending had been planned from the humble beginnings over ten years before). Many said that, whatever she'd been planning before the title character would have to die, for example, so that the author wouldn't be hounded for the rest of her life (or that she'd better ''not'' kill him off, so that she wouldn't be hounded for the rest of her life). Another "story-ending" possibility raised by some was for him to lose his [[Magic]]. She seemed to solve the issue by implying that Harry had lived a quiet, peaceful life for at least 19 years following the defeat of Voldemort.

* [[Alan Dean Foster]]'s ''Flinx Transcendent'' is the grand finale of thirty five years worth of novels set in the [[Humanx Commonwealth]] universe. Sure enough, each and every dangling plot element is resolved, one by one, like a checklist.

* [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] tried to give [[Sherlock Holmes]] a Grand Finale three times without success. The first time, Holmes dies. The second time (after Holmes turns out to be [[Not Quite Dead]]), Holmes achieves what he considers to be the pinnacle of his career when he stops a [[Worldwar]] from happening (decades before World War I), in a story that was first mentioned as a [[Noodle Incident]] eleven years prior. The last was set years after Holmes' retirement during [[World War I]], where Holmes and Watson pull a Xanatos Gambit that gave the Germans so much false information that effectively turned them into sitting ducks against the British forces; the story also gave Holmes an age for the first time in the series. But the combo of Public Demand and [[Executive Meddling]] made him continue each time. But when the real last story came, Conan Doyle said, "screw it" and completely averts this by giving us a standard-issue mystery as the last Sherlock Holmes story.

* ''The Last Hope'' serves as the grand finale of ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', wrapping up all the plot hooks and giving all the characters one last time in the glory.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

** This was almost unheard of for a show in the 1960s, and it only came about because David Janssen wanted to quit.

* While ''[[Doctor Who]]'' hasn't ended, the end of the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors' tenures got a big finish, ending with their [[The Nth Doctor|regeneration]] and (apart from Troughton) the reveal of the next Doctor.

** ''The End of Time'' was a send-off for both the Tenth Doctor and showrunner [[Russell T. Davies]].

* As usual, ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s "Chosen" had to top everyone else, with a triple play — closing the Hellmouth, defeating the First Evil and its army, ''and'' permanently changing the magical rules that define who becomes a Slayer and how. And completely destroying the entire city of Sunnydale, leaving only an enormous crater. Sadly, it still wasn't as powerful as the [[Heroic Sacrifice]] which closed Season 5.

* On the other hand, the final episode of ''[[Angel]]'' was Grand, but not Final, ending just as our heroes launched into a [[Bolivian Army Ending|doomed charge]] against a demonic army. The message here was not "It's over, go home", but a final statement that the battle would ''never'' end.

* ''[[Northern Exposure]]'': "The Quest"...if one is willing to apply some [[Canon Discontinuity]] to the episodes after Dr. Fleischman's departure.

* ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' had a Grand Finale both for when it was canceled on Comedy Central (necessitating a [[Post Script Season]] when it returned), and later, when it was canceled on the Sci-Fi Channel.

* All of the three 24th-Century ''[[Star Trek]]'' series each had one, in ascending levels of awesome.

* Many seasons of ''[[Power Rangers]]'' end on a grand finale, usually following an episode that had very little relevance to the overall arc, leading to a somewhat hilarious incongruity of, say, ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'' where a battle against the random [[Monster of the Week]] was immediately followed by what many fans consider to be the definitive ''Power Rangers'' finale, wrapping up no less than six seasons of stories, wiping out every major villain the series had ever had by that point, and showcasing the heroic sacrifice of Zordon to make all of the above happen.

* The ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV series)|Honey I Shrunk the Kids]]'' TV series ends after 3 seasons with the episode "Honey, I Shrink, Therefore I Am". After the shrink ray has been downplayed since season 2, it finally appears for the finale as Amy accidentally gets shrunken again. Meanwhile, Chief McKenna wants to propose to Trudi, but fears that she doesn't love him as much as he does her, and she thinks the same thing. In the end, Amy is brought back to normal size with Wayne's help, The Chief works up to courage to propose to Trudi, Diane announces that {{spoiler|she's pregnant (most likely with Adam from the movie sequels),}} and they all live happily ever after... {{spoiler|and then, they all get shrunken.}}

** Oh, and the Galactica? {{spoiler|It's superstructure is so heavily damaged from the [[Final Battle]] that another jump would tear the whole ship to shreds. So she's evacuated by everyone except the hybridized Anders who then [[Tear Jerker|pilots the whole fleet into the Sun]] so that the new human civilization can start over from scratch and not make the same mistakes as the previous ones.}}

* ''[[Scrubs]]'' "ends" with "My Finale". Even though it has apparently been renewed, this episode is the finale of the series in its current format as well as the swan song/goodbye to JD as the main character. {{spoiler|The episode features JD's last day at Sacred Heart before leaving for a new job to be closer to his son Sam. He manages to get goodbyes from most of the cast, even getting to part with the Janitor on good terms and getting to hug Dr. Cox. JD is left somewhat disappointed by his ending and imagines a line-up of guest stars from past seasons seeing him off, including dead characters such as Mrs. Wilks and Jill Tracy, but this fantasy ends when JD sees the futility of living in the past, so he instead decides to look forward to his future due to inspiration from a patient about taking control of one's future. The final montage shows JD imagining his future life to Peter Gabriel's "Book of Love". JD and Elliot are shown marrying and having a child, then reuniting with Turk, Carla, Dr. Cox and Jordan for Christmas in a peaceful setting. Sam and Isabella are even shown being engaged in another fastforward. The montage ends with visions of JD and Elliot kissing, and Dr. Cox willingly walking into JD's hug. In his final narration, JD feels that his fantasies should come true, just this once. Cue the ultimate sitcom [[Tear Jerker]]}}

* The last NBC ''Columbo'' from the 1970s ended on a nice note. Columbo drinks a toast with his last murderer (an Irish gunrunner) and his last words are a quote referring both to the amount of whiskey they'll drink, and the show as a whole — "We'll go this far, and no farther." Little did they know then that ABC would take them farther a decade later.

* ''[[The West Wing]]'' {{spoiler|ended on the day of Santos' inauguration, with creator Aaron Sorkin making a cameo in the swearing-in scene. Jed Bartlet left office but not before finally signing Toby's pardon in the last second, and in a [[Tear Jerker]] moment, gave his own little book of the US Constitution to the soon-to-be-in-law-school Charlie ("You're going to need it more than I do"). All the cast (old and new) are on deck, with Josh and Donna moving into their respective office as chief of staff for POTUS and FLOTUS, CJ gave Josh a slip that says "WWLD" ("What would Leo Do?") before leaving the White House and heading to California and Danny. Kate and Will Bailey don't know what to do in the afternoon now that they are not working at the White House anymore. Finally, on Air Force One heading back to New Hampshire, Bartlet opens the gift that Leo's daughter Mallory left him — the framed cocktail napkin on which Leo wrote "Bartlet for America" that started the journey so many years ago}}. Industrial-strength [[Tear Jerker]].

* Given that David Krumholtz has moved on to other projects, this season's finale of ''[[Numb3rs]]'' was probably the Grand Finale. Charlie and Amita get married before their move to England to teach at the University of Cambridge. Larry seems to have found what he was looking for, and plans to take over for Charlie.

* The writers of ''[[Lost]]'' knew their finale's end date three years in advance, they certainly made theirs epic. The source of all the show's mysterious happenings was revealed for the first time - and was promptly turned off, risking the island's imminent destruction. And then... was turned back on again. The lead character had a final knife-fight on crumbling cliffs in the rain with the [[Big Bad]] - a villain who'd appeared in every season and in the very first episode and who'd taken the form of another main character, the lead's philosophical rival. Several characters escaped the island once and for all, flying off in a 777 as the runway disintegrated beneath them. The season's flashes were revealed to show the characters in the afterlife, letting the final scene reunite almost every main character after death. And the final shots were an exact reversal of the show's opening shots, with the lead character returning to the show's opening spot, falling there, and closing his eyes as he died.

* The sequel series ''[[Ashes to Ashes]]'' had to wrap up multiple storylines:

** Alex finally put all the pieces together about the numbers, the ghost copper, and the grave in Lancashire — {{spoiler|6620 is the serial number of the dead copper who's buried up in that farm in Lancashire (the one with the weathervane that she's been seeing all season, and that was on the TV report in her hospital room in 3.01)...aka Gene Hunt. Gene was a 19-year-old PC in 1953 when he surprised a burglar in a barn on Coronation Day, and was shot through the head. His will was so strong that he didn't pass over, he created a Purgatory for coppers with issues like himself and remade himself into its guardian — the badass Gene Genie, Manc Lion, head-bashing sheriff, like John Wayne or Gary Cooper. His job is to help the coppers that end up in his realm work through their issues, then help them cross over, only he forgets every single time what's really going on}}.

** Meanwhile, everyone — including Alex — is {{spoiler|already dead. Alex died in her hospital room in the present day/reality. Shaz was a copper during the 1990s who surprised a carjacker and was stabbed to death with [[Chekhov's Gun|Chekhov's Screwdriver]]. Chris followed his superior officer into a shootout in the 1960s and was shot in the line of duty. Ray [[Driven to Suicide|committed suicide]] on Coronation Day as well, after murdering a young kid and his DCI covered it up. Each of them are made to rewatch the circumstances of their deaths by Keats, who, by the way, is [[Satan|the Devil himself]] — or at the very least, a high-ranking minion. Keats tries, and almost succeeds, in tempting the team away from Gene, actually ''breaking the world'' (destroying CID) to peel back the construct and reveal the star-covered sky everyone's been seeing. Alex's loyalty to Gene still holds, and she reforms the office.}}

** The final scene is {{spoiler|1=Gene taking the team to what is revealed to be the Railway Arms pub, where [[Magical Negro|Nelson]], the bartender from ''[[Life On Mars]]'', is waiting as a Saint Peter figure to help them cross over. Ray, Chris, and Shaz reconcile and cross over. Alex and Gene finally kiss, but it's goodbye, and she crosses over, leaving Gene to go back to CID where the newest dead copper [[Book Ends|comes barging in, shouting about his iPhone, and Gene offers him some friendly advice — "a word in your shell-like, pal"]].}}

** Then again, for something that was originally meant to be a [[Season Finale]], the final scene, with all the detectives and D.A.'s gathered in the same spot, enjoying a round of drinks, and having a pleasant time (rather than reflecting on the crime) brings a nice close to the series. Especially since this episode was a rare (for the series) straight, unironic example of [[Everybody Lives]].

* ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' wrapped up its 7th and final season with one. Blanche, having set Dorothy up with her uncle Lucas in order to go on a date that night, is gotten back at when the two decide to fake an engagement to freak her out. However, Dorothy and Lucas actually fall in love, and then marry in the final episode. The last moments of the episode are that of Dorothy, giving the girls her last goodbyes, and, after returning twice immediately after walking out the door, finally sets off on her honeymoon. The last three girls simply come together into a hug, sobbing as the credits role.

* ''[[Quantum Leap]]'' ends with [[God]] Himself telling Sam that he has always been the master of his own fate and that, contrary to what he believed, Sam has done a lot of good by helping people throughout history one at a time. The lives he touched, touched others, and those, others. Realizing something of his own value, Sam gives up a chance to go back and saves his friend Al's marriage to Beth (Al's first wife and true love). The ending consists of a few text lines confirming that Al and Beth have their [[Happily Ever After]] {{spoiler|[[Tear Jerker|and Sam Beckett never returned home.]]}}

* ''[[Smallville]]'' has the [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|fittingly titled]] "Finale". Clark finally flies for the first time and finally becomes the [[Superman|hero]] he's destined to be.

* The original [[Concentration]] ended its 14-year/7 month run on NBC daytime with an apropos puzzle to its fans ("You've Been More Than Kind"). Musicians Milton Kaye and Tony Columbia strike up "Auld Lang Syne" during the closing credits.

** Once the last adventure is over, there are a lot of little character resolutions: {{spoiler|Casey leaves Burbank to find Verbanski and leaves his apartment to Morgan and Alex, who are moving in together; Jeff and Lester are offered a record contract and leave the Buy More; Ellie and Awesome get new jobs in Chicago and move there with Clara; [[Running Gag|Subway takes over the Buy More]]; and as Sarah's memories slowly return, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|she start falling in love with Chuck all over again]].}}

* [[Punky Brewster]] ended its four-season run (2 on NBC, 2 in syndication) with her dog Brandon getting married to a girl golden retriever named Brenda. The final shot is a photo of the cast during the ceremony as the show's logo is superimposed on the bottom right.

* ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' had a [[Bittersweet Ending|bittersweet]] grand finale, featuring major changes in the lives of all the main characters: Mrs. McCluskey {{spoiler|saves Bree by falsely confessing to the murder she is on trial for and later dies of cancer}}. Bree {{spoiler|marries her lawyer, Trip Weston, moves to Kentucky, and becomes a politician}}. Lynette {{spoiler|accepts the CEO position that Katherine offers her in her company, moves to New York with Tom, and later becomes a grandmother of six}}. Gabrielle {{spoiler|starts her own fashion website and TV show, and moves to California with Carlos, where they buy a mansion}}. And Susan {{spoiler|moves away with Julie, MJ, and her new grandchild as the ghosts of Wisteria Lane watch her leave}}. However, {{spoiler|Mary Alice informs us that the women never again get together as a group}}.

 

== Music ==

* ''Abbey Road'' was probably intended to be this for [[The Beatles]], being their final recorded album, closing out with a big medley of short songs, including a song titled "The End". However, circumstances led to ''Let It Be'' being the band's final album.

** The song that ends ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,'' "A Day In The Life," concludes with all four of the Beatles striking the piano in a final chord that runs 45 seconds. Music critic Greil Marcus called it "an ending that will never be matched."

 

== Mythology and Religion ==

* The [[Book of Revelation]] is this for [[The Bible]] and could be for reality as we know it according to SOME Christians. {{spoiler|The book ends with all the evil thrown away to the lake of fire and the good people live with God with the last passage is "The grace of Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."}}

 

== Puppet Shows ==

 

== Radio ==

 

== Video Games ==

* The good endings of the ''[[Castlevania|Sorrow]]'' games mark the conclusion of the battle between Dracula and the Belmont clan. In the first, Soma Cruz manages to defeat the evil of Castlevania that sought to turn him into Dracula again. In the second, he refuses the mantle once again despite being told that the [[Balance of Good and Evil]] demands that he become the King of Evil. So even if the universe truly needs a [[Big Bad]], it won't be Dracula again. To keep the franchise from dying, all subsequent games take place ''before'' the Sorrow series. Though those games also break the pattern by featuring non-Belmont protagonists who don't specialize in whips (Jonathan being a borderline example since he uses a variety of weapons).

** And ''right before'' the Sorrow series, the Dracula saga ends with a bang in 1999, as Julius Belmont killed him off for good. Hopefully, they'll get along to making that final battle into a game eventual-oh, wait, they're rebooting the series with ''Lords Of Shadow'', aren't they? Damn it, Hideo Kojima.

* ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' will end Shepard's storyline and involve the war between the sentient species of the galaxy and [[Eldritch Abomination|the Re]][[Sapient Ship|apers.]]

** [[Gainax Ending|Or not]]

* [[Mortal Kombat Armageddon]] was the Grand Finale for the original [[Mortal Kombat]] canon. It gathered literally ''every single playable character'' up to that point, and set them all in a gigantic battle intended to prevent the apocalypse. As [[Mortal Kombat 9]] shows, it ends up being a [[Downer Ending]], as everyone aside from [[Big Bad|Shao Kahn]] was killed in the battle.

* Similar to ''Halo 3'', ''[[Gears of War]] 3'' ends on a very epic note and gives a final conclusion to the game universe's central conflict. One of the most major characters dies in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], most of the plot threads are resolved, and the [[Big Bad]] is finally killed. However, a few questions regarding the backstory and the truth behind the causes of the war are [[Left Hanging]].

* In a unique example, [[Fallout: New Vegas]] gives a grand finale to it's DLC. Dead Money, Honest Hearts, and Old World Blues hinted that the events were set in motion {{spoiler|due to the actions of the Sixth Courier, Ulysses. And this isn't the first time he is mentioned, in fact, he's been mentioned several times in the vanilla game.}} All of this build up leads to Lonesome Road. Not only do you get to {{spoiler|confront him}}, but the DLC itself also resolves plot holes from the main storyline of the game.

* The Sacrifice DLC for ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' wraps up the story and struggle for survival for the survivors. The group reaches Georgia and plan to use a boat to sail to the Florida Keys for safety away from the zombies, but a drawbridge is in the way and it needs to be raised by activating three generators. Each generator that is turned on attracts a horde and then a Tank. Once the bridge is down, it can be raised high enough to let the boat through. However, the bridge stops halfway and one survivor has to jump off the bridge and restart the stalled generator to get the bridge moving again while they face against a horde plus [[It Got Worse|three Tanks!]] The survivor then winds up sacrificing their life after they fix the generator and get the other survivors to safety.

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Narbonic]]'' ended its original run with a final episode that showed several possible futures for the main characters. This was one of only two Sunday episodes that were canon (the very first Sunday was the other).

* ''[[Bob and George]]'' concluded with a full-scale battle against Bob. Bob and George themselves get some final [[Character Development]] too, culminating with {{spoiler|George finally having the will to use his blaster}}. The Author shows up one last time to wrap up the comic, the final revelation being that {{spoiler|everybody faked their deaths in the Cataclysm thanks to Zero telling Dr. Wily about it, so they all lived [[Happily Ever After]]}}.

* ''[[Girly]]'' ended with a sufficiently grand finale, featuring at least a cameo from pretty much everyone. You'd think Chris was trying to get every single character into the last page of his comic.

* ''[[Walkyverse|It's Walky!]]'' had a truly spectacular epic finale, wrapping up everything, with every villain so far crashing into each other on SEMME's doorstep, including the long-foreshadowed martian invasion.

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Kate Modern]]'' ended with a 12 part finale, "The Last Work", which resolved most of the show's plotlines surprisingly neatly.

** ''[[Lonelygirl15]]'' attempted something similar with "The Ascension". It fell somewhat flat due to being much shorter than the ''KateModern'' finale (or, for that matter, the ''lonelygirl15'' season one finale) and [[Left Hanging|failing to resolve any of the main plotlines]], being apparently a [[Poorly-Disguised Pilot]] for ''[[LG15: the resistance]]''.

* ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'': Revelation's final episode definitely feels like a grand finale, although a ninth season has been confirmed. In any case, it was the grand finale of the Recollections [[Story Arc|arc]], just as much as episode 100 was for the Blood Gulch Chronicles.

* The [[Chaos Timeline]] has a really Grand Finale: Nothing less than a [[World War Three]] {{spoiler|1=which is prevented, and the world being taken over by the Logos (hackers) and AIs.}}

** It should be noted that the title is a reference to the notorious movie ending of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' had possibly the grandest of grand finales: a four episode/two hour movie special that had been built up to for three seasons. Besides the {{spoiler|ultimate fate of Zuko's mother}}, most plot threads were tied up neatly, and it finally put a definitive end to the [[Shipping Wars]] for the primary pairings (or at least what's canon) with a [[Big Damn Kiss]] as the final shot of the series. In the Extras version, it even says, as the last Extra of the entire show, "Kataang wins!" How's THAT for grand.

* ''[[The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh]]'' got "Winnie The Pooh & Christmas Too". By this point, Paul Winchell had retired from the role of Tigger (Until Pooh's Grand Adventure), and they got him to come back for this last episode, and a very heartwarming one it is.

** Interestingly, this was the show's '''third''' Grand Finale: The writers had believed that ''[[Justice League]]'' was to be canceled after the second season, and therefore ended it with a three-part episode involving an alien invasion, a traitor in the League's ranks, and shattering a romance that had been built up throughout the series... among other things. Then the show was renewed and re-tooled as ''Justice League Unlimited''. It was believed that it was to be canceled again in its second (or fourth depending on how you look at it) season, and thus a four-part episode was created to end things with a bang, followed by a lower-key episode that served as a coda for the entire [[DCAU]]. Of course, it was [[Post Script Season|then renewed]] for a second and final time, eventually resulting in the two-parter mentioned above.

*** In an interview, the writers remarked that they wrote every season finale with something that could work as a Grand Finale, since in the business they had little guarantee of getting another season.

* The American animated series based on ''[[Street Fighter (animation)|Street Fighter]]'' had a definite ending. The last story arc of Cammy being brainwashed by M. Bison ended after Cammy came to her senses and freed her comrades, culminating in a final battle between Guile and Bison (Guile was made the main character of the cartoon instead of Ryu, the franchise's usual lead character). Guile finished Bison off once and for all by, bizarrely, blasting him into a computer, at which point his powers cause it to overload and the wires and insides of it seemingly begin to ''eat him alive'', before the computer then explodes. There is then the obligatory walking into the sunset of the five characters present, although there is no get-together with all the other characters or any other sense of closure. All that is known is that Bison, their eternal enemy, is definitely dead once and for all.

{{quote|The computer: [[Memetic Mutation|This is delicious!]]}}

** Not to mention the fact that Scoutmaster Lumpus {{spoiler|turned out to NOT be the camp's scoutmaster}}. Samson, the [[Butt Monkey]] of the series said it best: "I think it just got to the point where things can't possibly get any weirder."

* The final episode of ''[[Animaniacs]]'' originally aired as an hour-length program titled ''The Animaniacs Super Special''. Among the segments included was a seven-minute music video titled "The Animaniacs Suite", featuring an orchestral medley of the show's theme music pieces synced to [[Clip Show|various clips from previous episode]]. However, there were some indications, especially in the credits gag, that the staff didn't expect the show to end there. ''[[Wakko's Wish|Wakkos Wish]]'' ultimately served as more of a Grand Finale, as it defies the series [[Status Quo Is God]] and actually gives most of the character's stories ''endings''.

* ''[[The Emperor's New School|The Emperors New School]]'' had a Grand Finale that ended with Kuzco becoming Emperor and getting an actual ''date'' date with Malina.

* ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy|Ed, Edd n Eddy]]'' ends with a [[Drama Bomb Finale]] [[The Movie|movie]], where Eddy's big brother appears. It ends with the Eds actually getting a happy ending rather than getting royally screwed over like they usually do. It even breaks the fourth wall to make it clear to the viewers that this IS the end.

* ''[[King of the Hill]]'' averts a flashy Grand Finale, but in the last episode, {{spoiler|Hank and Bobby find a common ground (grilling beef) and [[So Proud of You|finally start bonding like father and son]]}}.

** The actual last episode before ''Leroy and Stitch'' also counts, as it involves Lilo and Stitch recovering the experiments stolen from Gantu, who was planning to reconvert them to evil using Angel.

* The animated ''Conan the Adventurer'' which was vastly underrated, had an awesome Grand Finale. It was actually the first show that built up a plot and had the heroes defeat their ultimate Big Bad. {{spoiler|Not to mention restore Conan's family back to normal after Wrath-Amon turned them to stone.}} I couldn't believe it actually ended, and loved it... opened new possibilities.

* ''[[Gummi Bears]]'' had "King Igthorn", which ended with Igthorn losing his castle and army of ogres, Gummi Glen is destroyed, or at least severely damaged, and the Great Gummi's are confirmed to return.

* When the original run of ''[[Futurama]]'' was cancelled, they ended the show with "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings". in which Fry made a [[Deal with the Devil]] to get the talent to play the holophonor and express his feelings for Leela. A [["Friend or Idol?" Decision]] took it away, but Leela stayed saying that she wants to see how it ends, and Fry mustered up a crude ending to his performance, symbolic of how the staff wanted to give [[Will They or Won't They?|the Fry/Leela angle]] a proper conclusion, but couldn't. Like [[Family Guy]], reruns on [[Adult Swim]] and high DVD sales got it [[Uncanceled]]. While [[Family Guy]] now airs on both [[FOX]] and [[Adult Swim]] ever since its uncancelation, Futurama's came after [[Adult Swim]]'s licence ran out in the form of a season of four [[Made for TV Movie|made for TV movies]] on [[Comedy Central]], which proved successful enough for a full-on revival [[Channel Hop|exclusively on]] [[Comedy Central]].

* ''[[Ben 10]]'' had "Secret of the Omnitrix", a 3-part episode/TV movie that had Ben learning more about the Omnitrix, meeting its creator, ending his feud with his cousin Gwen at last, and defeating Vilgax. The end, right? [[Ben 10: Alien Force|WRONG.]]

** ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'''s ''The Final Battle'' resulted {{spoiler|in the Omnitrix being completely destroyed, Ben getting the Ultimatrix from his [[Evil Twin]], Kevin turning back to normal as a result of the Omnitrix exploding, Ben unlocking upgraded forms of his initial aliens (though it just shows Ultimate Swampfire), Vilgax being defeated one more}}, and it ends with Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Max having a [[Group Hug]]. [[Happily Ever After]], right? [[Ben 10: Ultimate Alien|Again, WRONG.]]

* Although ''[[Loonatics Unleashed]]'' was [[Cut Short]], it did end with the [[Five-Man Band]] ascending from protectors of [[City of Adventure|Acmetropolis]] to protectors of the universe, and relocated their base to Planet Blanc for convenience.

* ''[[Chowder]] Grows Up''. What better way to wrap up a weird series than with a weird ending.

* The three-part ''[[Gargoyles]]'' episode "Hunter's Moon" was effectively this for the show; while technically only the second season finale, neither [[Word of God]] nor most of the fanbase considers season three canon, while "Hunter's Moon" was epic in scope, brought the story full circle, had lots of callbacks to eariler episodes, and culminated in thwarting [[Big Bad|Demona's]] master plan. Of course, the release of a shortlived but canon comic continuation somewhat muddies the waters.

* The final story arc in ''[[Trollz]]'' had the BFFL sealing Simon and Snarf away for 1,000 years, reaffirming their friendship, and ending with a Farewell Luau.

* The final of ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' is a two-parter about Omi freezing himself using the Orb of Tornami and waking up in far future to discover that while he was gone [[Harmless Villain|Jack Spicer]] has [[Bad Future|conquered the world]] and [[Future Badass|defeated not only the other Xiaolin monks in the process, but also recurring villains Wuya, Chase Young, and Hannibal Roy Bean as well]]. After Omi frees his comrades he tries to acquire the Sands Of Time - Wu allowing to travel back in time- which he does, but at the cost of his friends' lives. He then goes back in time to realize his original goal - [[Set Right What Once Went Wrong|preventing Chase Young from ever turning to]] [[The Dark Side]]. However, by doing that [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|he creates another timeline]], in which Chase is good...but Master Monk Guan has took his place at Heylin and become even worse than original Chase ever was, which resulted in bad guys taking over the world, death of Master Fung and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|Jack being turned into a good person]]. Omi, figuring out his counterpart from this reality would be doing the same thing he tried to do leads the Monks to the place he originaly has frozen himself...which now is in the middle of enemy base. Heroes got themselves captured and Chase [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices himself to evil]] to get them free. This results in a big final battle and Omi creating a time paradox that resets everything to the original status quo...only with everyone remembering what happened. Raymundo, because of proving himself to be a competent leader in both alternate timelines gets promoted to team leader. And the episode ends with ''[[Villain Team-Up|every single villain the monks have ever faced joining forces to attack the temple]]'' for some reason and our heroes getting ready to beat them all up. Whew.

* ''[[Recess]]: Taking the Fifth Grade''. Also a [[Book Ends]] ending.

* [[No Export for You|Outside Japan]], "The Rebirth" was the grand finale for ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]''.

 

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[[Category:Ending Tropes]]

[[Category:Plots]]