Welcome to my dark side. Ranting starts now.

If all is well that ends well, does that mean that all that ends badly, is bad? Exhibit A: LOST.

For 6 years, I invested myself emotionally into the TV series LOST. I enjoyed the symbolic references, the in depth character development and the intricate plot lines. There was such a build up for the finale of LOST. Jonathan and I treated it like it was a holiday. A few months ahead of time we rewatched seasons 1-5. For the finale we bought our favorite snacks, bought a nice bottle of wine (aka more than $8) and watched with anticipation, waiting for all of the mysteries of LOST to finally be explained. While Jonathan was satisfied with the lackluster touchy feely ending, I was infuriated. I steamed over it for weeks, identifying greatly with this video .

There were just too many unanswered questions. It seemed the writers dragged the series out, backed themselves into a corner and then ignored 90% of the questions they posed. They developed everything so well and then they (in my eyes) ruined it by rushing the ending. Afterward, they defended their disregard for the disregarded storylines, explaining that they wanted the audience to create their own answers. You know what I call that? LAZY. Cowardly. Maybe even a little bit unethical. Now I could reveal my mega-nerdness by writing 20 blog posts on the subject, but the point of this blog post is possibly even more distressing. Exhibit B: The Hunger Games. Oh, my sweet and perfect Hunger Games, what did your author do to you? When I read book one of the trilogy, I couldn’t wait to read books 2 (Catching Fire) and 3 (Mockingjay). However, with an extreme amount of self-discipline, I waited to indulge myself in the final 2 books during my trip to Hawaii. (Reading a great novel by the pool with a perfect view of Molokai was truly a life affirming experience. You should try it sometime.) Catching Fire (Book 2) was a great book. Not quite as tailored and poised as the first, but still among one of my favorite books of all time. Mockingjay, the final book, almost made it there. Almost. If it just weren’t for the last chapter.

After all the effort Suzanne Collins went through to weave a perfect story and create authentic, vulnerable characters, the end just felt rushed in comparison. In a trilogy that seemed so effortlessly written, I couldn't help but feel like the ending was forced. I wondered to myself if Collins had the pressure of a deadline causing the abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion to the Katniss Everdeen story. Maybe she just got sick of it. Maybe she just got lazy.

But I just have to imagine, that with as attached as I felt to her characters, she must have been that much more involved. I won’t spoil it for you, and it definitely was not as infuriating as the ending of LOST, but the ending feels simply incomplete. She could have made an entire book out of the last chapter of Mockingjay, and maybe she plans to. I just can’t imagine that she would just “give up” at the conclusion of the series.

And if that weren’t bad enough, examine Exhibit C : The LSU tiger football season. After what was being hailed as the best SEC season of all time, the undefeated Tigers failed to perform at the National Championship game vs Alabama, a team they had already defeated in the regular season. And LSU didn’t just get beat; they were humiliated.

The Tiger offense only got past midfield once during the entire game. I’m used to rooting for the team that does the humiliating, not the other way around. It was humbling to say the least.

Sorry to be such a bummer today.

Maybe it’s like Ben F.’ The Bachelor’ said to Ashley Hebert when she rejected his proposal “Good things don’t end unless they end badly”.

Maybe so, Ben F., maybe so.