Demesnedenoir
Myth Weaver
Not all interest in a story has to do with not knowing the ending... otherwise, romance and mystery, at least these two powerhouse genres would not exist. Still and always one of my favorite examples for many things is Columbo... the fun and entertainment of Columbo is not whether he will get the killer (he will, and we know who it is!) it is how he's going to put it to the dumb ass who thinks they pulled off the perfect murder and the arrogant upper class mouse vs the working man's cat game that they play. It's a perfect formula and a helluva lot of fun.
In fact, in romance and mystery, solving the crime or the couple getting together aren't really the story. That is more or less a prop of the formula, the real story is how this "happy" ending is achieved against what is most often great odds against a bunch of barriers that can range from a super genius criminal to social status differences to personality conflict, etc. The ending really isn't whodunnit or throwing a bouqet, it's the final piece of the puzzle in the mystery, or the final barrier overcome for love in romance... and in many cases, there are subplots assisting in carrying the story, giving it momentum and additional interest, as well as serving as obstacles.
In fact, in romance and mystery, solving the crime or the couple getting together aren't really the story. That is more or less a prop of the formula, the real story is how this "happy" ending is achieved against what is most often great odds against a bunch of barriers that can range from a super genius criminal to social status differences to personality conflict, etc. The ending really isn't whodunnit or throwing a bouqet, it's the final piece of the puzzle in the mystery, or the final barrier overcome for love in romance... and in many cases, there are subplots assisting in carrying the story, giving it momentum and additional interest, as well as serving as obstacles.