Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Matthew Fox in Lost
Drama Shows We have to go back: 15 years on, Lost star Matthew Fox reignites the debate over its controversial finale, declaring some fans are "missing the point a little bit"
Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, Ruth Madeley as Shirley, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge Stewart, Varada Sethu as Belinda, Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, Millie Gibson as Ruby, Bonnie Langford as Mel, Susan Twist as Susan Triad, and Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble in Doctor Who: 'The Reality War.'
Sci-Fi Shows Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
Dexter: Resurrection
Drama Shows Dexter: Resurrection star Michael C. Hall says the controversial ending to the original series made "narrative sense" but fans "didn't want to see that": "It was a rocky road to get here"
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
Drama Shows Squid Game's finale is being called a Game of Thrones-style "disaster" – but Netflix viewers are missing the point
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun with a Pink Guard in Squid Game season 3
Horror Shows Like the contestants themselves, Squid Game fans are almost perfectly divided on season 3, calling it either "the best series of my life" or "the worst show I've ever seen"
Docto Who season 2 finale
Sci-Fi Shows Doctor Who gets ripped to shreds by the BBC itself in a vicious parody: "I'm off to regenerate into Billie Piper for clicks!"
Anson Mount as Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Streaming Services The 25 best shows on Paramount Plus to watch right now
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV

10 divisive final episodes

Features
By GamesRadar published 26 May 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Goodbye to all that

Goodbye to all that

After seven brilliant, slow-burning seasons, Mad Men went out on a cautiously optimistic note last week. The decade may be over, but life goes on for (most) of the characters.

It was an ambiguous but beautifully executed end point for the series, but other shows have gone out in more controversial fashion. Some have been good, some have been bad, but the 10 here are all, at least, memorable. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
Dexter: Remember The Monsters?

Dexter: Remember The Monsters?

Dexter is a classic example of a show that went on too long. It never bettered its first four seasons and by the time it finally finished in 2013 it was actively a mess. In that sense, then, Remember The Monsters? is a perfectly appropriate finale: it's lurid, silly and ends on a hilariously open-ended note that it may as well have Dexter will return... in the end credits.

After defeating his latest nemesis and clearing his own name, things should be looking up. But sister Deb is in a coma. Heartbroken, Dexter disconnects her life support and, taking his boat, rides out into a mega-storm which he has no chance of surviving. Except he does inexplicably survive. In the final scene we discover that he's living a new life as a lumberjack in Oregon. No explanation is given for how he escaped and there's no emotional closure, simply Dex with a wispy beard, choppin' wood.

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
Blake's 7: Blake

Blake's 7: Blake

The episode that scarred a generation...

Blake's 7 started off as a gritty sci-fi drama about a bunch of escaping space convicts. It grew increasingly camp over its four seasons, but the final episode certainly went out with a bang. After being absent for the past two seasons, Gareth Thomas's titular Blake finally returned, only to be shot dead by occasional ally Avon. Federation troops then burst in and gun everyone down, leaving just Avon standing and given that the episode fades out on gunfire, it's not looking good for him either. Originally intended as the mother of all cliffhangers, it instead became a fittingly cynical epitaph for the show.

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
Two And A Half Men: Of Course He's Dead

Two And A Half Men: Of Course He's Dead

The falling out between producer Chuck Lorre and star Charlie Sheen could have killed Two And A Half Men, but instead the show endured, albeit without Sheen. Its finale, however, was polarising to say the least. It teases, right until the last few seconds that he might reappear, that perhaps the two might put aside their differences for the sake of one last scene. But no.

Instead, we see a body double get squashed by a falling piano, only for Lorre to appear on camera smugly trotting out Sheen's winning catchphrase, before also having a piano dropped on him. Two And A Half Men was never a particularly subtle comedy, but this was an especially blunt and egotistical way to wrap up the long-running sitcom.

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
Quantum Leap: Mirror Image

Quantum Leap: Mirror Image

The issues around the last episode of the fondly remembered time-hopping adventure series can be summed up with the six-word caption at the end.

"Dr Sam Becket never returned home.

Sure, that casually fatalistic and depressing tone isn't much in keeping with the series, but more pressingly, "Becket"? Becket? With one t? Nah, mate. It's Beckett, meaning that entire last episode isn't canon and Sam got home just fine, okay?

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
The Prisoner: Fall Out

The Prisoner: Fall Out

Well it was never going to be simple, was it? Fall Out, the last episode of Patrick McGoohan's head-scratching psychedelic spy-serial ends with the Village being destroyed, but not before the baffling reveal of the mysterious Number One.

The show had started out as a surreal spy-thriller, but "Fall Out" moves fully into the realms of symbolism. So when Number Six confronts his nemesis, we're not confronted with a bald man stroking a white cat, but Six himself, wearing a monkey mask and laughing like a goon.

Whether this was McGoohan's intention all along is debatable, but there's a honking great clue in the opening sequence. As Number Six solemnly asks Who is Number One? The answer he receives is You are Number Six.

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
Life On Mars (USA): Life Is A Rock

Life On Mars (USA): Life Is A Rock

The last episode of the original UK Life On Mars is a fine example of a finale that's satisfying on a visceral and emotional level. The last episode of the little-seen US remake is a hysterical mess that sacrifices sense for cheap shocks.

Yes, it turns out that title is to be taken literally. Lost-in-time cop Sam Tyler is actually an astronaut on a mission to find life on the planet Mars. Both his present day and 1970s personas are fictions created by his ship's computer to keep him entertained while traveling through space. Harvey Keitel's Gene is, in reality, his father Major Tom. What's the mission? Well, it turns out that they're all on a wait for it gene hunt. No, really.

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak, part 3

Battlestar Galactica: Daybreak, part 3

Battlestar was beloved by both sci-fi fans and "serious" drama types for its action, politics and nuanced characterisation. Many, however, were left baffled by the epilogue to the final episode.

Where most of "Daybreak" had done a pretty good job of wrapping up the show's loose ends, the decision to end the series with a Twilight Zone style "gotcha!" moment caught fans off guard. Battlestar, it turns out, is actually set in our distant past. Mysterious saviour child Hera is a direct ancestor of humanity, meaning that we all have a little Cylon in us. Setting the final scene some 150,000 years in the future and more or less our present, was either a brilliant twist or rather hokey, depending on who you talked to.

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
Lost: The End

Lost: The End

Let's clear a few things up about the Lost finale. The island was real, everything happened and the only scenes that took place in an afterlife were the ill-conceived flash sideways in season six. Got that? Good.

Lost's finale isn't massively complicated, but it is muddled a situation not helped by the daft decision to overlay the remains of the crashed Oceanic 815 on the end credits, leading some to assume it had all been Jack's dying dream. And after six dazzling years, where the show often looked like the smartest thing on TV, Jack defeating Locke by beating him up and the island's power being restored by, effectively, turning it off and back on again was far too prosaic and conventional.

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
Twin Peaks: Beyond Life And Death

Twin Peaks: Beyond Life And Death

Peaks' second season was already controversial, thanks to the early reveal of who murdered Laura Palmer, and the reduced input of David Lynch and Mark Frost. Thankfully, both returned for its final episode.

With Annie kidnapped by evil Windom Earle, Cooper, Harry and Hawk finally discover a way to the mysterious Black Lodge and a chance to rescue her. It all culminates in Earle's defeat, but a cluster of cliffhangers have kept us fretting for the last 25 years. Was Audrey killed in the explosion? Is Ben Horne really dead? And, most pressingly, what's happened to Coop? The last time we saw him he was smashing his head against a mirror, his body now inhabited by the spirit of Killer BOB. Come on 2016, we need answers!

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
The Sopranos: Made In America

The Sopranos: Made In America

Is The Sopranos finale the most controversial of all time? It may well be. With most of the series' loose ends tied up and Junior Soprano a shadow of his former self, Tony and his family meet at an ice cream parlour. But the shadow of violence hangs over the scene as we see an unnamed man pause and notice Tony. "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey comes on the jukebox. The man gets up and goes into the restaurant's restroom. Tony looks up and then black. Long, confusing seconds of black that leave you wondering if your telly has packed in. Then the credits roll...

Did Tony die? That's surely the implication (and the scene is visually referencing the conclusion of The Godfather), but creator David Chase smartly leaves it open to interpretation. The scene is both utterly innocuous and somehow filled with menace. Many were furious, but it's a perfectly appropriate note to end this most surprising of crime shows on.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
GamesRadar
See more TV Shows Features
Read more
Matthew Fox in Lost
We have to go back: 15 years on, Lost star Matthew Fox reignites the debate over its controversial finale, declaring some fans are "missing the point a little bit"
Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, Ruth Madeley as Shirley, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge Stewart, Varada Sethu as Belinda, Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, Millie Gibson as Ruby, Bonnie Langford as Mel, Susan Twist as Susan Triad, and Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble in Doctor Who: 'The Reality War.'
Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
Dexter: Resurrection
Dexter: Resurrection star Michael C. Hall says the controversial ending to the original series made "narrative sense" but fans "didn't want to see that": "It was a rocky road to get here"
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
Squid Game's finale is being called a Game of Thrones-style "disaster" – but Netflix viewers are missing the point
Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun with a Pink Guard in Squid Game season 3
Like the contestants themselves, Squid Game fans are almost perfectly divided on season 3, calling it either "the best series of my life" or "the worst show I've ever seen"
Docto Who season 2 finale
Doctor Who gets ripped to shreds by the BBC itself in a vicious parody: "I'm off to regenerate into Billie Piper for clicks!"
Latest in TV
Guy Gardner Green Lantern in Superman
Nathan Fillion promises Green Lantern Guy Gardner will turn the air blue in Lanterns after Superman: "I've dropped more F-bombs in that project than I have in, I think, my entire career"
Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams in Ironheart, along with her suit.
Marvel fans are digging into the implications of the Ironheart ending
Scrubs revival ordered to series, Zach Braff and the original cast officially returning
Dexter: Resurrection
Dexter: Resurrection star David Dastmalchian says it’s an "honor" to play eccentric villain roles like Mr. 3 in Netflix's live-action One Piece: "They [all] inhabit me differently"
Dexter: Resurrection
Dexter: Resurrection star Krysten Ritter says her vigilante serial killer is nothing like Jessica Jones: "I'm excited when I get to play a role that can be dark and playful and delicious and glamorous"
Dexter: Resurrection
Dexter: Resurrection star Michael C. Hall didn’t want Dexter to die – and he found a way to bring him back: "I mean, the bullet didn't hit him in the head"
Latest in Features
David Corenswet as Superman with Krypto the dog and a robot in the Fortress of Solitude.
James Gunn's Superman has finally found the cure to superhero movie fatigue: just make them more like comics
David Corenswet as Superman
Superman’s surprise message from Krypton twist changes everything we know about Kal-El’s origins in the DCU
Abraham's Boys: A Dracula Story
New indie horror Abraham's Boys: A Dracula Story is Frailty meets There Will Be Blood with a haunting focus on family – and I have no complaints
Superman shows off his strength on the cover of Superman Unlimited #2.
Here's how to start reading Superman comics once you've seen the new movie
David Corenswet as Superman in James Gunn's Superman
Superman ending explained: your biggest questions answered on Lex Luthor, the Justice Gang, and what it sets up for the DCU
The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature
After 16 years of The Sims 3, The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature might just be the whimsical expansion pack that pulls me away from EA's iconic 2009 life sim for good
  1. Zion Wright grinds along a wooden balustrade in in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4's San Francisco level
    1
    Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: "A nostalgic, must-play hit for fans"
  2. 2
    College Football 26 review: “Thanks to rivalries and dynasty, this is the greatest show on turf”
  3. 3
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  4. 4
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  5. 5
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...