All good things must come to an end but exactly how they end is an epic saga in itself.
TV finales can induce all manner of emotions. Should the loose ends be tied up in a neat, fairytale bow? Or should those closing credits leave us with questions to ponder?
After we’ve invested hours in a show and its characters, what makes the perfect conclusion?
Following Saturday’s divisive climax of the BBC ’s Killing Eve spy drama after four series, here are our top 10 telly endings that we think got it bang on.
And because we all love to hate, five of the most disappointing that made us scream at our screens…
1) Friends
Could the Friends finale be any more special? Shown on Channel 4 in 2004, it offered a big, saccharine bow – and we lapped it up.
Ross (David Schwimmer) confessed his love for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and they kissed when she returned from the airport, Monica (Courteney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) adopted twins and moved to the ’burbs, and all six had one last coffee together in Central Perk.
Sure, it was all nauseatingly perfect but if it hadn’t been there would have been protests and the need for counselling hotlines.
2) Breaking Bad
Walter White’s journey from chemistry teacher to drug lord was wrapped up in a satisfying, stellar series finale in 2013, which did service to a superb AMC/ Netflix drama.
In the face of huge pressure, fans were thrilled when Walter (Bryan Cranston) went full-on Scarface, taking out his enemies with an M60 machine gun rigged to the boot of his car. He also tackled Jesse (Aaron Paul) to the ground to keep him safe.
In the final scene, as the police arrived, a wounded Walt spent his dying moments on the floor of the meth lab. Epic.
3) The Good Place
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This Netflix comedy about life, death and being a good person was excellent from its 2016 start to its pretty perfect end in 2020.
The final episode had lots of sentimentality as the friends all said their last goodbyes before moving into the after (after) life.
Chidi (William Jackson Harper) left Eleanor (Kristen Bell) with a beautiful metaphor about people being waves returning to the ocean.
Then they walked through the door at the edge of existence, right. Michael (Ted Danson) became human and had the final words: “Take it sleazy.” If you know, you know...
4) Blackadder
Blackadder Goes Forth was the final series of the BBC sitcom. Its last hurrah in 1989 has Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), Baldrick (Tony Robinson), George (Hugh Laurie) and Darling (Tim McInnerny) about to head into enemy fire and certain death.
“We’ll be sucking sausages in Berlin by teatime!” quipped George, before admitting: “I’m scared, sir. I don’t want to die.” Sadly, there is no time for Baldrick’s cunning plan.
As they charge into the fog, the action switches to slow-mo and the scene fades out. A masterclass in storytelling.
5) The Sopranos
Half will applaud The Sopranos’ place in this list, the other half will say the finale was one of the worst in history.
It’s divisive but we’re still talking about a superb HBO series, which ran from 1999 to 2007, aren’t we?
Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) meets his family in a diner. He puts Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ on the jukebox, they eat onion rings.
But a mysterious man lurks, strangers enter. It is perhaps the most tense scene ever. Meadow can’t park her car but finally enters. Tony looks up, the show cuts to black. That’s it. He died, right? Didn’t he? The absolute don of “leaving open for interpretation”. Genius.
6) Only Fools and Horses
Del Boy (David Jason) and Rodney (Nicholas Lyndhurst) spent their whole lives trying and failing to get rich quick, so when they finally did it was the perfect twist.
Ignoring the less-impressive 2001 revival, Time On Our Hands was the finale of the 1996 Christmas trilogy, which was watched by some 24.3 million on BBC One.
The pay-off comes when they find an old watch in the Trotters’ garage and end up getting £6.2million for it at Sothebys.
Moments later, as the life-changing result sinks in, Del and Rodders celebrate wildly in their three-wheeler.
7) Poirot/ Morse
How to choose between two of the greatest TV detectives? Both Poirot and Morse drew their last breath in their final episodes, leaving a nation bereft.
In Curtain, the 2013 finale of ITV ’s Poirot, the great Hercule, played by David Suchet for 24 years, cracked his final case, shot a murderer and wrote his story. He then succumbed to heart problems after ceasing to take his medicine.
Back in 2000 and also on ITV, Inspector Morse (John Thaw) suddenly clutched his chest and had a heart attack just after solving his final case. He then died in hospital.
The end of an era. Twice.
8) Mad Men
This BBC/Sky Atlantic saga of the cutthroat world of a 1960s American advertising agency bowed out in 2015 with one of the smartest final scenes in TV history.
We saw Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the charismatic ad exec, stoop lower and lower over the years. Finally, he heads to a meditation retreat. It’s calm and peaceful by the ocean, they start chanting. A new Don?
Just as you start to wonder, Don – eyes closed – smirks. This has given him an idea for a money-making Coca-Cola ad. Stay cynical, people.
9) The Office
After two series watching Tim (Martin Freeman) and Dawn (Lucy Davis) never quite getting together, the 2003 Christmas special send-off of this hit BBC show was everything the nation wanted – and needed.
It’s the annual Yuletide party, Dawn is still with her moronic boyfriend Lee.
In the taxi home, she opens her Secret Santa gift from Tim, an oil painting set with a note saying “Never give up”.
Flooded with feelings, she ditches Lee, walks back into the party and kisses Tim. They clutch hands and leave. No, you’re crying!
10) The West Wing
Ranked among the best shows of all time, this Channel 4 political drama ended with a nostalgic tying up of loose ends.
The 2006 climax had Santos (Jimmy Smits) sworn in as President after a tense campaign and Leo (John Spencer) die of a heart attack on election night.
As the Bartlet administration came to an end, Jed (Martin Sheen) opened a gift from Mallory, the “Bartlet for America” cocktail napkin framed, the object that started them all on the road to the White House.
And we all still wish he was President…
... and the five worst
Most recently, BBC’s Line Of Duty ’s (potentially) final season gave us the answer to the mystery of “H”. But when he was exposed as bumbling DSU Buckells our hopes for a next-level twist were “definately” dashed.
Channel 4’s Lost wins the award for the most misunderstood finale ever, with some characters having been in limbo in the afterlife. Or something.
C4’s Desperate Housewives fell flat, with happy endings all round. No one even got divorced or murdered.
Sky Atlantic’s The Undoing had its own undoing in its final moments when the psychopathic killer was revealed as… shock, horror… the prime suspect all along, Jonathan. Fuming.
And Game Of Thrones (again on Sky Atlantic) left us bemused with an over-hyped finale of devastation and a pesky dragon. We’ll never get over it.
