What ending do you find is the most powerful ending?

[Varamyrr]

I'm not really fond of happy endigs or where the bad guy "redeems" himself. Either you are better off with total annihilation, or with an ending you need to think about(cfr Inception).

I'm thinking about the idea of concluding with a last battle, which in fact is just a lost cause BUT it gives the inhabitants a chance to sail away to an unknown destination.. . That way you can give some people a heroic death, evil conquers and yet a small chance of survival.

 

[kennyc]

Ok which ending do you find is the most powerful? The protagonist making the ultimate sacrifice? The antagonist turns his back on evil and saves the world? Or the classic happy ending, when everyone lives happily ever after?

(If I missed anything, feel free to mention it.) Thanks for the input, I'm working on a story but I can't decide how to end it.

It depends.

The main thing is that the ending fit the story. It can't be deus ex machina and must fit the characters/story/plot.

 

[SeverinR]

There is no magic ending that works for every story.

Each story should have the ending it needs, not a fairy tale ending, not a ride off into the sunset,
The story builds up to the ending.

Traditional endings, happy endings should not be a given. Failure must be an option, death might happen, life is unpredictable, stories should be too.

 

[Lorna]

To me the best endings are those with such a deep emotional impact you're trying to work out your repsonse for days.
As already mentioned above, they should raise questions- about the nature of the world and humanity etc.
A good ending should shift perception and inspire, make readers see the world anew.

The ending that has stood out most recently for me is the book ending to 'I am Legend.' All the protagonist's struggles for survival to find other humans and in finding out about the truth about a virus do not save him. You vouch for him all the way, hope and then he is captured and commits suicide, the last human in a world of zombies becoming legend. It isn't even a sacrifice because it is had no meaning. It struck me cold and I thought about it for days.

Also, endings should bring about a revelation. For example David Lindsay's 'Voyage to Arcturus.' 'The truth forced itself on him in all it's cold, brutal reality... Muspel was fighting for its life... The moral combat was no mock one, no Valhalla, where warriors are cut to pieces by day and feast by night; but a grim death-struggle in which what is worth than death - namely spiritual death - inevitably awaited the vanquished of Muspel.'

 

[ProfessorBrainfever]

My favorite ending is the 'mixed' ending, where the heroes have a victory but at great cost.

 

[Bear]

I like an unhappy ending most of the time. If I stray to a goodish ending then the character must go through a bit of sacrifice. The more you have to think about the ending the better IMHO.