Tragedy > Happy Endings? Don't All the Best Stories End in Tragedy?

As much as some folks like happy endings? Yours truly has always felt the most meaningful/consequential stories end in tragedy!

We've been given very little concrete Lore, thus far.... My hopes?

The Return is a mis-leading venture that will reveal the Goddess of Creation to be allied with the dark gods! Perhaps she is ever-empowered by every death upon Verra, as opposed to next-to-nothing consequence by deaths upon Sanctus? Can gods not change their minds - even in the face of personal empowerment?

Maybe I'm wrong.... My fav Star Wars movies (it's May the Fourth, so it's not odd to post Star Wars references, today!) were the Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One.... BOTH tragedies, and BOTH the best SW movies/stories!

Am I wrong? What's better: Happy Endings, or Memorable Tragedies?

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

George_Black

I would say the best stories are shown through the actions of the characters. Good ending, bad ending, let me see them go through the story, instead of the writter lecturing the audience on concepts of common sense and humanity.

Oh ye.. and tokenistic characters are bad. Give them a real place in the story despite their personal traits. Dont make the story focus on their traits.

Dygz

Not all.
You take the good, you take the bad, and there you have the facts of life.
Tragedy is often more memorable.

CROW3

Stories don’t end, they just become something else.

Voidwalkers

Gonna go with the boring answer "It depends".

Yes tragedies are often more memorable, but sometimes I feel like some stories get twisted to have a bad ending just for the sake of having a bad ending, often in the name of "art" or "creativity", and that's just terrible.

Btw I found myself preferring happy endings recently. Reality sucks in recent years (coz politics & covid & war & inflation & meh), I could use something upbeat ...

btw speaking of SW & tragedy, I'd say the existence of the sequel-trilogy is a tragedy in itself ...
I guess we have a new genre. \o/ meta-tragedy \o/

AidanKD

I have to agree with the sentiment that both are needed! Tragedies allow for a smoother transition into a redemption ark - setting the stage, motives for whatever might follow. If we will be in a world that is ever growing, then yes I think it would be cool for them to be some disasters with catastrophic consequences - both now, in the past and even in the future.

Rialus

I will say that I've always been a fan of "the gray area" where the heros are imperfect and sometimes do bad things and you are always able to understand where the villian is coming from. It makes for happy endings where no one smiles and tragedies where your happy it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. I think Brandon Sanderson has always been really good at that if you have read any of his stuff.

JustVine

Tragedies are only impacting if you like (edit: or like to hate) the characters involved. Same for happy endings. Strong narrative and character writing are what matter not the outcome.

Goalid

Bittersweet is usually the best kind of ending in my opinion.

Child Item