Greetings, reader!
Today's post is about another amusingly specific topic: the art of the 'endgame', or final act, in a plot-heavy TV series. In most serialized modern-day TV shows, a lot of thought goes into how to end the final season, not just in terms of the final episode but the ones leading up to it as well. In the best cases, there's a clear final stage of the story, usually kicking off with the third-, fourth- or fifth-last episode, as the stakes get higher and a chain of events begins and is carried all the way to the series finale. Sticking such a landing is a form of art, and one that I'm celebrating with this list: I've ranked the very best final acts / endgames from the world of TV, based on a combination of factors such as the quality of the individual episodes within the endgame, how invested I became as a viewer, how interesting the plot becomes during the final act, and how well the endgame works in terms of bringing the whole series to a close. I hope you enjoy!
Here are my honorable mentions: The three last episodes of Game of Thrones; The three last episodes of Star Trek: Picard; The four last episodes of Succession; The three last episodes of The Newsroom; The four last episodes of The West Wing.
Oh, and a spoiler alert is in order, as I will be discussing plot details! So please be careful and skip any shows that you haven't seen yet but might want to see some day!
10. The three last episodes of Mr. Robot
Many TV buffs might put Mr. Robot even higher, as its final season was widely acclaimed, and for good reason. The reason why it's only tenth on today's list is that for me personally, the very strongest elements of the admittedly amazing final season came earlier: there were masterpieces throughout season 4, from the brilliantly directed concept episode 405 Method Not Allowed through the 9.9-on-IMDB-scoring 407 Proxy Authentication Required all the way to my personal favorite of the series, 409 Conflict. By the time we get to the very last episodes, the very best utmost Godtier material of the series was already behind, as it was more about the journey than the destination (and the storyline I was the most invested in already got its climax in 409 Conflict), so the three final episodes feel more like an epilogue.
But why does it still make into my top ten? Because it's a damn good epilogue.
One might almost wonder what story there is left to be told, when entering the third-last episode, eXit. Even the episode titles reflect this, as every episode in the series had been numerically titled until we get to the last three, symbolizing the fact that we're in a different stage of the story. However, the creative direction that the episode takes makes for a new and engaging scenario to unravel, and it's brilliantly continued in the penultimate episode whoami, and brought to a close in the series finale Hello, Elliot. All in all, a very fine endgame, but not the best of the best because the true climax to what the show did best had already come before it.
9. The four last episodes of Better Call Saul
The endgame to Better Call Saul is unusual, because even more so than with Mr. Robot, the final season feels like it contains multiple series finales for different aspects of the series. The Nacho Vargas storyline is wrapped up in the season's third episode Rock and Hard Place, while the Howard Hamlin arch gets its tragic closing in the midseason finale Plan and Execution, and a massive part of the subplots, relationships and character archs that we had followed throughout the show's 'present-day' setting come to a close in the show's fifth-last episode Fun and Games, which really feels like it could be the series finale - if it wasn't for those pesky flash-forwards.
You see, the show is largely a prequel to Breaking Bad, but throughout the season premieres, viewers had enjoyed a cryptic sequel element as well, as each season began with a black-and-white flash-forward to Saul Goodman's life after the events of Breaking Bad. In a bold writing move by the genius Vince Gilligan, the final four episodes of the series are reserved for wrapping up that side of the story, truly bringing the story of Saul (and Kim) home. Much like the case with Mr. Robot, this deserves to be on the list because it's a fantastically creative way to do the endgame and it does work, but it can't be too high because a big part of the series already felt dead-and-buried (as it was supposed to) at this point, and the very best endgames are the ones where every element of the series comes crashing down to a close in a beautiful climax.
8. The five last episodes of The Sopranos
The final act of The Sopranos doesn't feel as strongly like an endgame as many on today's list, because it's only a semi-serialized show - sure, it was much less 'episode of the week' than most of the shows in its time, but drama television has become even more serialized after it, so The Sopranos never was as narratively chain-of-events plot-heavy as the likes of Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. This can be seen from the endgame; it's not like the more modern instances, where the episodes leading up the finale are all about bringing the larger plot forward in an escalating tempo. The five last episodes are, in many ways, typical Sopranos episodes, with their own vibe and many scenes that exist only for the themes and storylines of that specific episodes. However, especially for that time and for the type of show that it was, those last episodes are the show at its most serialized, containing many big and game-changing events.
It's debatable whether the endgame encompasses the last five or last four episodes, as Walk Like a Man doesn't yet contain any huge plot turns; but it lays the groundwork, with the stakes starting to feel higher than before, especially with the rising tensions between Paulie and Christopher. The endgame fully kicks off in the next episode, Kennedy and Heidi, with Christopher's shocking death and its aftermath. The third-last episode The Second Coming has a bunch of its own stuff, but it also builds up the final episodes by escalating the tensions between the central crime families - and this all blows up in everyone's face in the penultimate episode The Blue Comet. The series finale is left to pick up the pieces, and while the unique way in which the finale ended continues to split opinions to this day, I've always been all for it.
7. The five last episodes of Twin Peaks (the original run)
With Twin Peaks, there were two endgames to choose from, because the show ended with its second season in 1991, and then again with The Return in 2017. While I'm a huge The Return enjoyer, I never saw its fantastic set of final episodes as an endgame at least in the conventional sense, because of how wonderfully disjointed and narrative-rule-breaking the structure of the final episodes is. The original 'final' season, however, has a final act that is surprisingly conventional structurally, even if the substance of the episodes is as unconventionally obscure as you'd expect from the series.
After multiple episodes of low-stakes vibing and oddball subplots in what Twin Peaks fans know as 'the slump', the pace is picked up for the last five episodes. Starting off with On the Wings of Love, it isn't one of those cases where the endgame starts with a bang, but rather it begins a slow crescendo - suddenly there are more intriguing mysteries going on, and storylines that don't feel like sidequests but rather like something deeper and more important. The crescendo continues with Variations on Relations, which is still a relatively chill and atmospheric episode but with the sense of simmering build-up towards something big. This escalates further with The Path to the Black Lodge with its high-stakes cliffhanger ending, and the penultimate Miss Twin Peaks is all escalation and build-up. And this all leads to Beyond Life and Death, one of the greatest TV episodes of all time, which may not be a conventional climax but still feels like a proper culmination to what was built up in the previous four episodes.
6. The six last episodes of The Office
Bravo to the only sitcom to make it onto this list! Many sitcoms have somewhat of an endgame, usually starting to wrap character archs and relationship stories up an episode or two before a two-part series finale (F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Frasier and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are perfect examples), and while those final acts are most definitely good enough and just what the series needs, they aren't all-time-top-10 worthy because drama shows tend to have more reason to do a big, dramatic endgame. However, The Office is an interesting exception to the rule.
First of all, it technically starts already before the six last episodes - as is often the case, the specific beginning of the final act is somewhat debatable, as many final seasons have one episode that works as a 'soft launch' for the endgame, and then another even closer to the finale that kicks off the full-steam final stage. Technically, the endgame of The Office could be seen to begin from the ninth-last episode Promos, because pretty much all of the wrap-ups for the character development, love stories and other long-build plotlines start to reach their final stage there. But where it really starts to come to a close is the six last episodes, consisting of three consecutive two-parters that should really be viewed only as a two-hour mini-marathon.
Starting off with Livin' the Dream, the two-parter already feels like a series finale even if there are two more two-parters to go, because it's full of sweet payoffs and fan service, as so much thought was put into the events and their pacing in the show's final season. Jim and Pam finally manage to work on their marital issues that had served as the final stage of TV's perhaps greatest love story in the final season, and seeing them working through the rough patch and starting to feel happy together again is a big payoff. Also, Dwight's dreams finally become true as he becomes the Regional Manager - and the moment where Jim is offered the job but he thinks Dwight should have it, and is visibly proud of him, feels like such a sweet culmination after nine seasons of love-hate frenemy dynamics.
Things feel even more final in the next two-parter, A.A.R.M., as the fictional documentary that has been shot throughout the show's duration is wrapped up and ready for release, while Dwight proposes to Angela, and P.B.&J get one of their best moments (Jim proving his love to Pam by asking the documentary crew to put together a montage of their sweetest moments - tears, man). And then, we finally get to the actual finale, a two-parter taking place one year later, where all still-loose plot threads are tied up in addition to a heavy dose of fan service (Michael Scott's return is the cherry on top of this delicious sundae). Fantastically built, especially for a sitcom.
5. The seven last episodes of Lost
Okay, arguably the endgame is only the four last episodes, as that is where it really picks up the full-steam no-going-back mega-high-stakes approach. But it can just as easily be argued that it begins with Happily Ever After, the show's seventh-last episode, in a brilliant example of the 'soft launch' of the show's final act. After five and a half seasons of relentless mysteries upon mysteries, Happily Ever After is where we finally start to get some answer, little by little, while connecting various storylines in a profound manner befitting the emotionally driven final season.
Then, we get Everybody Loves Hugo and The Last Recruit, which continue to slowly add the right pieces to the puzzle, giving the viewer more and more of a sense that it's all coming to a beautiful close. This sense escalates with The Candidate, one of the most shocking episodes in television history - not one, nor two, but three beloved major characters who had been with us since the beginning are killed off, while the plot escalates to completely set the stage for the final act.
Now, the third-last episode Across the Sea is an oddball addition in the midst of the endgame, as the entire episode consists of flashbacks to the island's lore and deep-end mythology, giving our final keys to the show's enduring mysteries - someone might say that it breaks the rules of the endgame as the present-day plot doesn't advance, but I think that thematically it's actually the perfect extra piece, making the stakes and power dynamics of the upcoming final showdown even clearer. Then we get the two last episodes - while the ending of Lost is divisive to this very day, I've always been on its side, vehemently believing the showrunners did the best possible job in bringing such a bizarre and magical journey of mystery television home.
4. The four last episodes of Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan sure knows to stick a landing, seeing as both of his best-known shows are in today's top ten. Breaking Bad has one of the most complete, fully realized archs I've ever seen, with the escalation of the plot starting from the very first episode making it clear that it's an antithesis to the "Let's make one season at a time, milking out as many seasons as we can" TV culture. The amount of foresight and planning that went into the show's larger narratives can be felt, to the point that the entire sixteen-episode-long fifth and final season feels somewhat like an endgame. But even more so, it's the second half - and even more so, the second half's second half.
In the fourth-last episode, To'hajiilee, the already-high stakes spike up to an astronomical degree, culminating in a massive cliffhanger with massive implications. This leads to Ozymandias, the show's most famous and acclaimed episode, and that's where everything truly comes to a head - Walt goes on the run, Walter Jr. learns the truth about his father, Jesse is taken captive, and nothing is ever the same. That leaves just enough time for the two final episodes, Granite State and Felina, to tie up the loose ends and bring to a climax those storylines that didn't culminate with Ozymandias. It all goes down with a poetic feel, paced just right.
3. The five last episodes of 24 (the original run)
The two endgames ahead of this one have it barely beat due to factors like emotional investment, genius writing and epicness. In terms of pure intensity, nothing hits quite like the final act of 24's original eight-season run. I can't wait to re-watch this set of episodes in *checks notes* January 2035, as a part of me and my best friend's real-time mega-marathon that we started in 2020.
But, yeah. The fifth-last episode ends some subplots and puts the main narratives of the final act into full focus, while the fourth-last one stirs the pot with delicious additions such as the dramatic return of fan-favorite villain Charles Logan into the mix, because of course he had to be involved in the endgame. The third-last episode is pure-fire adrenaline, and the penultimate one brings events to the point that the show's main character is at a window with a sniper, and with the President of Russia at gunpoint. That leaves things wide open for the series finale, which maintains that "No fucking idea how all this will shake out" intensity until the very last minutes, after which it gives just enough time to wrap things up in a beautiful bow.
2. The nine last episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
The fact alone that the endgame lasts nine episodes, instead of the usual three or four, is cool as shit. Deep Space Nine is one of the most deliciously plot-heavy shows I've ever seen, with tens and tens of long-winding narratives having been built across all seven seasons, in addition to all the storylines added with each season. They all lead up in a clearly planned, well-built manner, to this majestic chain of events that manages to pull off the mission that would scare the hell out of any writer - sticking the landing for such a mess of many, many story archs in a manner that balances them all without feeling rushed.
I definitely see the ninth-last episode Penumbra as the beginning of the end, even if it might not feel completely that big at the time for first-time viewers. With the retrospective of all that happens next in mind, it's easy to recognize that Penumbra is the push that shoves things into motion in a wonderfully escalating way. The events of the episode feel small-scale, but when Worf's subplot isn't resolved and ends in a cliffhanger, it leaves you with the sense that it might be leading to something big. The next episodes, 'Til Death Do Us Part and Strange Bedfellows, unravel the implications of this subplot as it begins to connect to bigger and bigger things - and the sixth-last episode, The Changing Face of Evil, really hits hard in terms of what a point-of-no-return is going on with regard to all the storylines.
Then, we get When It Rains..., where the plot continues to thicken as every narrative continues to progress in a naturally rapid pace, followed by Tacking into Wind, with its bombastic turns-of-events and mega-high stakes. The episodes leading up to the finale, Extreme Measures and The Dogs of War, continue the satisfying crescendo, bringing everything forward but leaving everything just open enough, leaving it to the masterful series finale What You Leave Behind to perfect the climax.
1. The five last episodes of Person of Interest
Yeah, it doesn't get better than this. The entire fifth and final season of Jonathan Nolan's underrated sci-fi crime drama Person of Interest is a work of art, in many regards but particularly the art of the narrative and building a perfect climax to a story. With the stakes already damn high when arriving at the fifth-last episode Sotto Voce, we are treated to a final set of building blocks that truly set the board for the final act in a dynamic, crystal-clear fashion. What follows is the show's 100th episode, The Day the World Went Away, which escalates the plot with dramatic perfection, making for a strong sense of no going back - every long-term storyline built across the series is now coming to a head, with rapid-tempo perfection.
Then we get Synecdoche, with its brilliant balance of nostalgic fan service as the end nears and advancing the high-stakes plotlines further, and .exe, which is a high-concept gimmick episode (quite a bold move for the penultimate episode of a plot-driven series), but manages to use its concept to further flesh out the stakes and make the viewer realize the complete extent of their emotional investment to an unforeseen degree - while also just being a damn memorable concept episode. Finally, we get Return 0, my favorite series finale of all time. The culmination of the show's plotlines and themes throughout the finale is perfection, and without taking anything away from it as a magnificent individual episode, I must say that it wouldn't hit half as hard if the endgame leading up to it hadn't been so ingeniously built. The payoff is off the charts here.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I begin my long-awaited Grey's Anatomy theme month (yes, I finally finished all 20 seasons that are available on streaming), with a ranking of the beloved medical drama's 20 seasons.
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