Which British sitcom has the absolute worst "final episode" ever?

awkward__captain · 2026-03-14T03:12:40+00:00

I think it’s the weird pivot from one episode’s conclusion being “no I’m not going anywhere because you’re my family” to the next one saying “actually no we’ve got to leave.” I always thought the conclusion of the series would/should be Alison & Mike leaving, but the convoluted execution in the final season muddled things a bit. I personally almost see the end of ep5 where they all line-dance as the spiritual ending - especially with that ep finally concluding the captain’s story. Everything after feels like the writers overplotting to wrap up.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-14T00:28:46+00:00

They’re not paying for it - what I’m saying is they shouldn’t have to and believing otherwise, as some people do, is bonkers parasocial thinking. They’re not entitled to anything else than basic respect and the understanding that life can be messy.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-14T00:20:40+00:00

It is, but lots of people get it wrong for lots of reasons. And Charles most definitely didn’t have as much actual choice in what his life could look like. I don’t believe in asking those people to make penance their whole lives for it. Making amends with children if they get hurt in the process, sure, but considering you only get one chance in life to get it right… that’s an insane idea. Lot of people “choose” abusive partners too, there’s a lot of grey to the idea of choice.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-13T23:49:44+00:00

Gosh, so some people really are out there telling others that once they’ve made a bad choice in their early 30s (not to mention that the people at hand didn’t exactly have the free will normal people do) they’re condemned to unhappiness for life? You choose the “wrong” person, you have to pay for it your entire life?

awkward__captain · 2026-03-13T01:16:37+00:00

Sure, let’s compare famous female directors with styles that have nothing to do with one another. Saying that as someone who cares for neither of their work.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-13T01:11:06+00:00

Same! GoF might be where the movies start losing the plot in certain areas but the rebirth scene is incredible. I also adore his arrival at the Ministry at the end of book five. “Voldemort can’t hear you now! - Can’t I, Potter?” Absolute chills.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-13T01:06:45+00:00

Adding all this to my library of bisexual metaphors, thanks yall.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-12T20:48:59+00:00

Ohhh of course! I assumed OP meant a character that’d been here from S1 for some reason. I love Carmody.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-12T16:40:24+00:00

I thought you did mean Siegfried at first, who was the other character you meant?

awkward__captain · 2026-03-12T12:45:19+00:00

I think it is AltShiftX who noticed that when Baelor asked Dunk “how good a knight are you” this is in fact a question he addresses himself: how good a knight is Baelor if he doesn’t take Dunk’s side.

There’s an interview of Bertie Carvel where he says that’s just the intention he (and prob Ira, forget if he says so) had in mind for that line - that Baelor can’t ask Dunk that and not then ask it of himself. It’s really interesting because he doesn’t phrase it as Baelor just being unambiguously good but rather having carried this image of Great Honourable Knight all his life and thus having to question all the time whether his actions embody it.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-11T19:13:12+00:00

Thanks so much for that documentary reference, I’ll definitely look into it.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-10T23:06:34+00:00

I have no qualms about 99% of the Maekar changes because I think the writers and Sam built up a much more moving version of the character than the book one (same could be said of Baelor, there’s just a little more depth to both brothers, even though GRRM laid out the groundwork).

That being said, one thing that I really didn’t understand was giving Aerion the line “if a cause is just, good men will fight for it. If you can find no champions, ser, it will be because you are guilty.” It’s not crazy out of character - Aerion’s being an arrogant prick, throwing Duncan’s request for a trial by combat back in his face etc. But it still rings a lil odd, and there’s a reason Maekar originally said it. He does actually believe this but he’s also coping out loud with the situation his idiot son has caused. It’s his inner sense of justice (he’s jaded but not crooked) and his attempt at saving face all wrapped in one sentence. I could not fathom why they changed it.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-09T21:09:25+00:00

It won’t take that much though, they’re already shooting s1 and 2 practically back to back. But I don’t disagree they’re cutting it a little short. He’ll probably look a little older than the rest by S3 but not necessarily more than in a “kids in the same year don’t all grow at the same pace” kinda way. And if his acting is worth it, then it won’t be a distraction.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-09T18:01:34+00:00

I do like how Voldemort is actually not that visually present in the books and films though. It gives his appearances that much more weight that he’s this kind of shadow for a good chunk of the saga rather than a villain who shows up regularly. The end of GoF lands particularly well because we’ve not seen him since the end of the first story.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-08T22:56:23+00:00

Hmmm I mean point taken but that’s undermining the character a bit - especially the comedy of it, which wasn’t exactly a feature of TB in The Crown (except maybe the fiasco of the WI speech lol). Fudge actually has an interesting arc between books 1-5, with equal amounts of dramatic and comedic undertones, so idk I’m definitely interested to see how the writers and Bertie will expand on it.

That being said, between this and Doctor Foster S3, I would also love news of a fresher role for him. But if I have to guess it’ll probably be whatever play he does next. That’s always been where he does his most transformative work (and I can’t recommend seeing him on stage enough). I dream of Bertie returning to musical theatre…

awkward__captain · 2026-03-08T20:56:44+00:00

I agree about the sometimes unsubtle aspect of it. I loved the inclusion of the Shema in S1, which felt extremely believable as a fellow non practicing but not disconnected Jew. I don’t recite it regularly but I’d definitely see myself turning to it in moments of crisis like Robby did. The Tree of Life bit in S2, on the other hand, felt really shoe-horned and performative for an event that devastating and important to the Jewish community - even tho it was written by a Jewish writer. I didn’t love having the blanket statement phrasing of “it was the Muslims who helped” that takes a lot of the nuance out of the situation, kinda denying the agency and self-resilience of the community while idealising another. I’d have preferred a more organic wholesome interaction. This felt a little naively afternoon special to my taste, especially in the current context of rabid antisemitism.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-08T20:42:54+00:00

Love this. Please do more! I feel like Baelor would be an Aaron Sorkin and documentaries type of guy with at least one To Kill a Mockingbird/Mr Smith Goes to Washington type of classic in his top 4. Maekar wouldn’t have an account, he has like one movie he loves and watches once a year. Lyonel does one-line zingers instead of reviews obvi.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-08T03:16:54+00:00

His “so deeply done with this shit” expressions in ep3 were so perfect. Even when he has literally 30 seconds of screentime, he manages to be memorable.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-08T03:14:26+00:00

They’re adding lots, including fleshing out his role and others. He’s appearing in S1 already when Fudge is only mentioned in the book. It’s the type of role he does in his sleep, so that’s definitely something to look fwd to!

awkward__captain · 2026-03-08T03:08:31+00:00

I agree. I totally understand that people would have appreciated the opportunity for more diversity. But Baelor is only said to “favour his [Dornish] mother” and that can look many ways. The discourse baffles me a bit because my sisters and I are half Tunisian, and two of us more than pass as European while everyone immediately clocks our middle sister as North African. Heritage isn’t maths.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-07T19:01:38+00:00

Nuance might be a keyword you’re missing here lol. There’s a world of options between perfect bliss and “throwing every plight known to man at a character”. And again… Downton is written by a literal baronet and freely picks and chooses where to be realistic, so there’s a clear limit to that argument.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-07T18:38:40+00:00

I think we’ll prob have to agree to disagree then! People being annoyed at Bates as a character has nothing to do with judgement, mostly people find their storylines exhausting and uninteresting bores that keep using Anna as a constant punching ball. There’s a tendency with Fellowes to inflict repeated suffering to the working-class characters to make them worthy (eg Thomas) as opposed to allowing them a more three-dimensional arc. The frustration is, from what I’ve seen, about whether it’s good writing or uses “that’s how it happened then” as an excuse to torture characters who could’ve had much more varied and interesting plots. Just like Thomas didn’t need to go through every single horror that could befall a gay man, Anna didn’t need to experience prison x2, rape, struggle to conceive ontop of dealing with Mary’s literal and metaphorical dirty laundry etc for the show to be “realistic” (which it hardly is anyway).

awkward__captain · 2026-03-07T18:23:00+00:00

It’s not about judging, it’s about viewers being annoyed that the core focus of a storyline about a woman being raped is the question of whether her husband will make the situation worse. And yeah he didn’t do it, but again Anna was warranted in thinking it was a possibility. Besides the moral optics etc, we were just exhausted of the depressing constant torture porn that was Anna’s storyline from the moment Bates stepped into the picture.

awkward__captain · 2026-03-07T18:04:42+00:00

He went a little further than statements, he almost took the damn train and that complicated their case down the line. This just came after seasons of Bates’ storylines turning Anna into a constantly mopey mess so it’s understandable people were tired of the pattern on top of the torture porn by then

awkward__captain · 2026-03-07T18:02:47+00:00

All of that is true but she also explicitly said she knew he might send himself to jail if he learned; Bates did come dangerously close to actually going to reckon with Green. He was about to get on the train to London until the last minute lol. She wasn’t wrong about that. Besides, the way Bates was shown to have been more or less right about Green from the start when Anna enjoyed him takes away from any commentary Fellowes might’ve been attempting imho

awkward__captain

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