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9/11/2021 3:44:17 PM
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Opinions on “timeskip endings”?
Good evening everybody! This is Aifos coming to you alive from a little town in the middle of nowhere called Bismuth! I would say it’s lovely, but frankly it’s something of a wreck!
But anyway, I’ve got a question for you! It can be from books, movies, games, whatever, but what is your opinion on timeskip endings?
A timeskip ending, for those unaware, is when the final chapter/epilogue/etc. jumps a significant amount of time into the future—for example, let’s say a year—after the conflict has been resolved, showing how things have gone since then and whatnot.
Be as in depth as you can please; what do you like/dislike about them? If your opinion on them differs between different mediums, please elaborate. So on, so forth.
[b][u]Tl;dr? Here’s my point![/u][/b]
What do you think of timeskip endings in books and whatnot? If you don’t know what that is, please read above.
Thank you for your input in advance! Jambuhbye!
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1 ReplyWhen it's an actual ending then I don't mind, depending on the situation consequences will show after a long time. But when it's used for sequel bait I have to suck air through my teeth, I can't think of a successful timeskip ending sequel from the top of my head. When a sequel starts with a timeskip it's usually thought out.
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1 ReplyIf you don't care about a game's story very much, and they allow cutscene skips, I don't see any problem with skipping the end. It lets you get to the postgame content much faster :>
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2 RepliesParks and Rec nailed theirs
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1 ReplyIt really depends Sometimes it's necessary because the characters have temporarily gone their separate ways and since nothing is happening, let's skip to where these two characters meet up again and maybe recap to see if others are in a good future or whatever [spoiler] - often times these also end with an ambiguous happy ending. It's dumb. Like those "he woke up from the dream and then years later, person that looks like (character) appears in front of him! The end." Like, there's not gonna be a sequel so why do that? It feels lazy. [/spoiler] Other times it's like "I'd rather have seen what you skipped than what you're writing" -- I personally prefer the ones that [i]don't skip[/i], and instead include an interesting in between, so the ending is much more fulfilling. [spoiler]E.g. ItaKiss, that show surprisingly went the long run and didn't skip from confession to happy family with a kid. It showed the entire in between and made it interesting. Which was a nice first. good show.[/spoiler]
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9 RepliesTo be honest I don’t remember seeing to many of them. I know I have, but I cannot recall many. Personally I think it could be cool if done right. Not really to wrap up a large amount of story threads, but just to see how the characters are doing afterwards. Show there is more to the characters and worlds besides the main story.
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12 RepliesFrom the books I have read, when the time jump shows us how the actions have impacted the future I like it. When the time jump just gives a more or less happy ending for the prominent characters I feel that it is less impactful and distracting from the ending of the book.
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3 RepliesWhat if a timeskip occurs halfway through the game?
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1 ReplyEdited by The Superego: 9/12/2021 9:31:08 PMI always love them. It makes the world feel like it exists beyond the story. Even in bad stories. I literally just finished Darling in the Franxx yesterday, and while I was severely disappointed with the quality of the show, I still liked seeing how these characters (whom I mostly didn't care for) change over time.
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19 RepliesEdited by Upperclass Bum: 9/12/2021 9:42:38 PMLazy Edit: since you're so pressed about it, I see it as being a cop out / crutch for not being able to properly consolidate your story and a means to satisfy instant gratification.
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13 RepliesIMO timeskip endings kind of rely on the quality of storytelling leading up to it. It can either leave a worse last impression on a bad anime, or it can further satisfy an already good story. Bad example: Franxx Why: [spoiler]the final leg of the show’s storytelling was no where as good as the beginning of the the show. Random plot points, cliffhanger, sudden changes in storytelling theme were some of the big problems to me.[/spoiler] Good example: FMA: Brotherhood Why: [spoiler]everything leading up to the skip was done well and few unanswered plot points. All the characters had their arcs complete by the time of the timeskip.[/spoiler]
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6 Repliesit really depends they’ve gotta have something more than just that ending or it’s pointless
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3 RepliesEdited by Cultmeister: 9/12/2021 8:23:26 AMDepends entirely on the story and how it's handled. I really hate the ones (seen a lot in lower-budget films and TV) where it's used to tell the actual climax of the story, like via flashbacks and stuff. It feels really cheap because i've been asked to spend however much time investing emotionally in the characters and then i don't even get to see the climax in real time. But as an epilogue in a book i actually kind of expect it. My brain is wired to think of fiction books to automatically have prologues and/or epilogues and i like they way a timeskip rounds out the story; they normally work better in books i think anyway because the format of chapters makes the break between times feel not so abrupt, in visual media the transition has to be explicit else people will get confused, but that can also make it feel out of place and separate from the rest of the plot. I feel like they need to be short though. Ideally all of the loose ends are already tied up , this is just something to say farewell to the characters or possibly introduce a teaser for the sequel. If it's too long you might as well just continue the story for another few chapters yeah?
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3 RepliesEdited by Seraph: 9/12/2021 10:47:05 PM[i]Time skip endings can be amazing when they are executed right, for example: Uncharted 4. Time skip endings are a great way to bookend a particular story. It's like adding a 'full stop' at the end of a sentence. I play a lot of narrative heavy games like RPG's and Adventure games, and when you spend a lot of time with a Main Character, or a group of characters, you become invested in what happens to them. And more often than not, most games end so abruptly that noone gets enough closure. One of my biggest complaints about the Mass Effect Trilogy is that there isn't a time skip ending that reveals the fate of all of Shepards past and present squadmates. ME3 was more interested in discussing its big themes than giving its main characters closure, and as such, its a very empty and impersonal game. I know that these game don't really count as having 'time skip' endings, but I've always loved how the Suikoden games end, where they give you a litle summary of what each of the 108 stars of Destiny ( recruitable party members ) does after the war is over. The Gears of War franchise also offers up another interesting approach to how you should, and shouldn't end a storyline. Having read all the Gears of War books, I became heavily invested in all the characters, and the Gears Universe in general. Gears of War 3 ends in way that doesn't really give us any insight as to what happens next ( they destroy all the lambent, which was emulsion, their main source of fuel, thus rendering all of their civilisations technology inoperable, sending everyone on the planet back to the stone age. I wanted to see the repercussions for such a drastic act ), it just ends abruptly. Fortunately, there's a significant time skip between GOW3 and GOW4, and that time skip answered a lot of the lingering questions that I still had.[/i]
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2 RepliesI’m not sure… what’s an example of a popular one that’s been done really well? Other than real life stories. With those I can see the value of skipping to the end and bringing everything to the present.
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2 RepliesEdited by big papa gayzo: 9/12/2021 6:09:13 AMi mean timeskips are really nice since they make things a little more real. i think theyre inherently a little worse since normally the ending happens immediately which means a series of important events lead up to that one point at the end making it more exciting [spoiler]I fear my perfume has worn off before our meeting tonight...[/spoiler]
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11 RepliesI enjoy knowing what happens to characters in the future, but as long as the timeskip doesn’t really affect the mood of the resolve. Most skips I’ve seen in fiction appear abrupt, empty, or very drawn-out, so the emotion I had for the ending was cut short. The best significant timeskips I’ve seen are the short ones that don’t interrupt the resolve and leave the audience satisfied in some way, even if it isn’t happy. However, I tend to prefer endings that leave us with good assumptions of what happens in the future, like in the LotR movies where we can guess that Sam lives happily with his wife and Bilbo and Frodo are at peace in the Undying Lands.
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9 RepliesEdited by CommonBlueberry: 9/12/2021 3:52:47 AMAs with most plot elements, it really depends on the story. My favorite thing about timeskip endings is that they put a damper on the writer creating sequels that probably shouldn't exist. If the audience already knows how the character's life turns out after resolution, then it'd be really awkward to throw in a sequel in between the resolution and timeskip ending. I really don't like it when writers use a timeskip ending to introduce a new problem; it's basically just a form of a cliffhanger. It creates this tantalizing effect where the resolution doesn't feel like a resolution because the audience knows there's another conflict looming around the corner. However, i do like it when writers use a timeskip ending to set up the next season/sequel of the story. That way, the next part of the story can kick off very fluidly since the writer doesn't have to stop and explain what happened between seasons. The way i like to think about it is that with every end, there is a new begining. Whether a timeskip ending is appropriate depends on how turbulent the new beginning is. The more mundane the next part of the character's life is after the story, the more appropriate a timeskip ending is. The audience wants to know what a character's life is like after a resolution, but they don't want to miss out on any more adventures. I think it's worth noting that timeskip endings work worse with kid and teen characters than adults because adults tend to settle down easier than kids/teens. I also think a timeskip ending is a great way to reinforce themes. They show how a character not only learns something throughout the story, but also how they applied to their life going forward. Imo, Uncharted 4's timeskip ending is probably as close to perfection as you can get witha timeskip ending. Thank you, Mr. Aifos, twas' quite a thought provoking post.
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5 RepliesI tend to like them as they often give a sense of closure you can't get in the immediate aftermath of the climax. It's reassuring to know that while their "story" was over, their lives weren't. It's like saying goodbye to a friend who's moving away vs seeing that friend years later. It's hope vs knowledge that they're OK.
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5 RepliesNot a fan. My last memory of the characters should be the celebration after they won... Not the 20 years after it. I feel the loss of seeing them grow gradually is a misstep, as I now have quickly decifer the old from the new.
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2 RepliesI think they’re good if they’re in good taste. The author of it has to make sure he gives enough time to the final chapters to resolve all the character arcs so then everyone is happy in the timeskip.
