8 Fantasy Series That Deserved Better Endings

Fantasy TV shows rarely get full runs, and even the ones that do aren’t guaranteed satisfying endings. Fantasy is one of the hardest genres to bring to television, as it lends itself to longer, more expansive storytelling — something that’s far from a given in the streaming era.

Many fantasy series are canceled before their time, often resulting in dissatisfying conclusions for their characters. Others see their stories through to the end but still fail to stick the landing, whether it’s because of unpopular writing choices or circumstances outside their control.

Whatever the reasons, it’s always disappointing when a beloved series is weakened by a disappointing ending. These fantasy shows certainly deserved better than the finales they got, which range from mildly disappointing to some of the worst endings in TV history.

Cursed

Netflix’s Cursed might have gotten a better ending if it had been renewed for season 2, but it stands well enough on its own — if you can overlook the ambiguity of Nimue’s fate. Cursed diverges from Thomas Wheeler’s book in this regard, as the source material confirms that Nimue survives her fall into the lake.

While her open ending might seem like a relief, given the show’s shortened run, it’s pretty disappointing that this is how her story ends. Katherine Langford’s heroine deserves better than this, and Cursed on the whole should have been picked up for a sophomore season. Its great potential feels wasted at just 10 episodes.

Merlin

13 years after Merlin‘s series finale, it’s still devastating to think about. And although a tragic conclusion doesn’t always amount to a disappointing one, that ends up being the case for the BBC show. Fans were overwhelmingly critical of Merlin‘s series finale, and it’s hard to blame them. Not only did it deliver a devastating conclusion for its characters, but it also felt unfocused and rushed.

Merlin could have gone the tragedy route if it had handled the events of the final season better. Unfortunately, they feel poorly pieced together. Given what a cult following the series had, it’s sad to see how much its legacy has been shaped by its divisive ending. It deserved so much better than that.

The Legend Of Korra

The Legend of Korra‘s biggest weakness — its lack of one, overarching story throughout its four seasons — isn’t the show’s fault, as it had to deal with uncertainty surrounding renewals (via CBR). But regardless of where the blame lies, this resulted in the spinoff’s final season being a step down from the previous one.

The Legend of Korra season 3 has high stakes and a great villain in Zahir, and it doesn’t quite live up to that with its ending. On top of that, the romance between Korra and Asami deserved to be more overt, offering true LGBTQ+ representation. Needless to say, the final episodes prove disappointing, even if they aren’t as dissatisfying as some of the other endings on this list.

The Vampire Diaries

The Vampire Diaries was strongest during its first four seasons, but things took a turn when Elena became a vampire. And after Nina Dobrev left the show, it felt like a different story entirely. This made getting Elena back for the finale a necessity, but unfortunately, her return to Mystic Falls still felt a bit awkward.

As touching as Elena’s final moments in The Vampire Diaries are, the last scene feels underwhelming for such an iconic and long-running series. Additionally, Stefan’s fate at the end of the show is a point of contention; he didn’t need to end up with Elena, but they could have given him a better fate than that. The Vampire Diaries deserved to end on a higher note, but continuing past its natural end made that impossible.

True Blood

The Vampire Diaries isn’t the only popular vampire show to have a disappointing conclusion. True Blood was a gripping addition to the subgenre when it made its debut, but the HBO series didn’t maintain its high quality all the way through. By the time its ending arrived, it felt like a hollow shell of the series it used to be.

True Blood‘s finale doesn’t resolve its romantic storylines in a satisfying way after keeping viewers on edge for seven seasons. It also doesn’t deliver on all the tensions present throughout the final outing, making it both underwhelming and inconsistent after everything that came before. It’s a shame, as it really was a great show.

Shadow And Bone

Dávid Lukács/Netflix

Shadow and Bone is another canceled fantasy show that might’ve had a better ending if it had continued — though season 2’s shift away from the source material didn’t inspire hope. Shadow and Bone season 2’s ending sees General Kirigan defeated, with Alina Starkov becoming queen and uncovering shadow powers. It’s uncharted territory, though we’ll never know if such changes would have paid off.

Viewers deserved better than to be left on a major cliffhanger that even Leigh Bardugo’s books couldn’t answer. And digging deeper, Shadow and Bone deserved a conclusion more in line with what happens in the source material. What makes its early ending even sadder is the fact that we’ll never get a Six of Crows spinoff. Needless to say, its fate is disappointing on many fronts.

Game Of Thrones

A list of disappointing TV endings wouldn’t be complete without Game of Thrones — because, no matter how you feel about the finale, there are definitely things that could have been handled better. Game of Thrones season 8 isn’t all bad, and the Starks have relatively satisfying endings. However, the way the final episodes rush to the finish line doesn’t lend itself to satisfying storytelling.

Daenerys’ Mad Queen turn could have worked with more time, but Game of Thrones doesn’t give it enough to fully sell it. There’s also the White Walker storyline, which left viewers disappointed after seasons of build-up. With Game of Thrones being one of the most influential fantasy shows of all time, it’s a bummer it doesn’t have an ending that lives up to that.

Supernatural

After 15 seasons of Supernatural, the CW series deserved an incredible sendoff — but it made some choices in the series finale that viewers are still scratching their heads over. Dean’s fate is perhaps the biggest problem with the last episode; even if Jensen Ackles’ character was destined to go out working for the family business, surely they could have given him a more epic end.

Castiel’s death also feels unnecessary — and that’s not to mention how his final moments play into Hollywood’s “bury your gays” trope — and Sam’s ending, while fitting, has proven divisive. With Supernatural boasting such a long and lasting legacy, it should have had a more satisfying conclusion than this. It’s no wonder fans of the long-running fantasy series are hoping for season 16.