General Content Poll
Added 2021-07-12 15:30:04 +0000 UTCIn this poll, I am interested in your thoughts on cliffhanger endings. For those of you who want this defined, here it is:
Many series, whether television, movies, or books, use this device to maintain interest for the next installment. Those who use cliffhangers often hope fans will talk about the revelation during the off period, which helps market the show. However, cliffhangers often anger the fan base because there is delayed gratification in knowing how it turns out.
In this poll, I would like your opinion on how you view cliffhangers. I want to say upfront, I am not necessarily going to use this poll to make a cliffhanger at the end of Part 3. This is just a question I want to ask to gauge the viewpoint of my readers.
Comments
I swing mostly toward 'dislike' on cliffhangers, but only because there are so many factors that go into their continuation. I get anxious about whether the story/show/whatever will answer questions that were deliberately left out because they intend to expand on their world(s) as their project goes on. I think my biggest problem is that I genuinely hate getting completely and utterly invested in something, then it's left incomplete. I don't mean stuff going on hiatus (though that can be a little nerve-wrecking, too, because the idea of cancelation can still be tossed around -- just not as often as a full-stop announcement). I'm talking about me getting invested in a show that only has 2 seasons and was meant to go on for 4 or 5, but it got axed. Similarly, maybe a book was intended to be a trilogy, but then it was never completed, or will never be fully completed, due to various reasons, like the author simply losing steam or something like that (looking at you, George R. R. Martin lol!) In the latter case, I chalk that more up to just something that happens and you can't blame them, even if it is kinda frustrating. I mostly run into that issue with fanfiction, though, but that's more on me than the authors, who are already writing in their free time, and it's not fair for me to get overly upset if they decide not to continue. But either way, I HATE that feeling. I hate getting to know and love characters, figuring out the lore, watching backstories flesh out, etc. and then it's all just...gone. Cliffhangers are a massive hook into why the situations I mentioned above happen. It's not often that a show is able to end every respective seasons with a cliffhanger that can be left ambiguous, yet satisfying, while still being open enough to continue into a later season once it's been green lit. I hate the feeling of being "duped" (intentionally or otherwise) so much that I have a general rule of not starting a show unless it has at least 3 seasons or the show is declared complete in its intended entirety lol as you can see, I feel very strongly about this :P There's just so many good shows or books that I quickly grew attached to and then they just kinda...ghosted their readers/watchers LOL it's so frustrating!
Paradigox
2021-07-14 05:10:22 +0000 UTCCliffhangers can be a great thing, if done right. I've seen a few shows where the writers have done it for the sole purpose of pissing off viewers and for shock value (the walking dead, for example. RIP Abraham π’) and that's not a great way to go about it. Sure, it's dramatic and pulls every emotion from your heart, but whenever you look back on it, it's just a cheap ratings tactic. The season 4 finale of Dexter got it right, I think. There isn't imminent danger, nor a knowledge of a major, but yet unknown, character death. In stead, the viewer had the shock of the final scene, but is left to simmer in the grief and I believe that's better. Shock and suspense will only be a temporary feeling. But, when you're invested in the characters, wondering "what's going to happen now?" and "how will people deal with this?" is something that always comes back to me. TL;DR any ending that keeps you in suspense is only short lived and can be annoying. Waiting for how they deal with the aftermath of something tragic or shocking is slow burn nightmare lol
Sarah Winters
2021-07-13 20:25:42 +0000 UTCMy sentiments exactly! So many shows I got into only to find them cancelled.
Sarah Winters
2021-07-13 20:07:34 +0000 UTCMy biggest problem with cliffhangers in shows especially is that you never know whether or not the show is gonna be cancelled, so whenever it does it always leaves such a sour taste in my mouth.
Junesong
2021-07-12 16:07:25 +0000 UTCI think that it really depends on how big the cliffhanger is.
Tyler
2021-07-12 15:34:09 +0000 UTC
