Finale Season

It's that time of the year everybody! What time is that? Finale season! The most exciting, cliff-hanger-filled, and quality infused time of the year in television. A finale in the television world is the last episode of the season. The writers always try to make it one of the best, if not the best episode of the season. After the season finale airs, the show goes on a long (and depressing) hiatus, usually over the summer. After the hiatus, the show comes back and starts a new season. These episodes are usually pretty anticipated because finales have a tendency to end with some kind of loose end to make viewers excited for the next season.

Dexter had its season finale quite a while ago (December perhaps?). After seeing the episode, don't worry I won't spoil it, I literally freaked out. I wanted to see the next episode so bad! In fact I told my mom basically the premise of the entire show just so I could explain to her what happened and why I could not wait until September for the next season. Although season finales might not be this extreme, they do seem to make us want more.

Dexter season finale

So if season finales are a big deal, what about show finales? Show finales, as I assume you know but I'll explain anyway, are the last episode of the entire show. Although most people would think show and season finales are pretty similar, I find these two kind of episodes to be quite different actually. With season, there is really good writing with one of the best story-lines of the season. With show, the whole episode is concentrated on ending the show. Tying up all the loose ends, making sure I get some crying time in (drama OR comedy... seriously), and of course still trying to make a really good episode. A finale is hard, but a show finale is very very difficult.  Think of how many episodes they have already written. One of the main reasons they are coming to a close is because they are out of ideas! The characters have traveled their arcs and the plot has climaxed and it's time for a denouement. Oh gosh, my AP Lang senses are tingling.

The Mary Tyler-Moore Show finale

In all honesty, show finales are kind of overrated. They're depressing, sometimes kind of boring, and again, they make me cry! House, a show I used to watch obsessively in middle school, will be airing its show finale sometime soon. The show has already been on somewhat of a downward spiral. Of course it was really good, but there are only a few shows in history that can constantly put out quality material every episode year after year. Dramas are the hardest because they focus more on the plot and characters. With comedies, as long as they still produce good jokes and the characters are still interesting, the show can run for decades. The Simpsons and SNL are two great examples.

May is the finale season. Most seasons begin around August or September, which is interesting because this show schedule is exactly like a school year. With two important schedules in my life running in a year format that is different from the traditional calendar system is kind of annoying because I constantly confuse people when I say last year and mean "in 10th grade," but I digress. Finales are so exciting. They have so many great entities and continue to surprise me every year with the overall quality. You would think the writers would run out of amazing ideas, but you would be surprised. So, enjoy the finale season. I know I will in a couple weeks when I actually have time to watch them.