Uploaded November 2016 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
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"The key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not the way it expects". - William Goldman, as quoted in Robert McKee’s “Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting”, Harper Collins, 2010
Films used in this episode:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 2002, dir. Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003, dir. Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001, dir. Peter Jackson
Acclaimed author and screenwriter William Goldman addresses closure in a really interesting way: "the key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not the way it expects".
I think this is a really great rule for creating a satisfying conclusion to your story, and a really good example of this is the death of Gollum at the end of "The Return of the King".
By the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gollum is definitely a villain, and so his death at the hands of Frodo is totally deserved.
But despite being evil, Gollum was still an audience favourite, and having him just fail and die could be seen as a rather unceremonious death for the fun and quirky character.
However, in his last moments alive Gollum's character ark is fulfilled as he finally holds the ring he has been coveting for so long, and both die together.
I think this is such a great conclusion for Gollum, because the part of us that actually likes the character is at peace in the knowledge that Gollum finally achieved his goal, even if it was just for a moment.
We the audience are given what we want: Gollum's valiant send-off, but not in the way we expect it: a death that both satisfies the character and serves the story.
CULT POPCORN! 60 second video essays which focus on film, television and any other type of media we consume and devour handfuls at a time.
All external media in this video is used for educational purposes.
VISIT THE WEBSITE ► cultpopture.com
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK ► goo.gl/9EFEIa
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ► goo.gl/tuixnW
FIND US ON ITUNES ► goo.gl/7VuQ6L
FOLLOW US ON SOUNDCLOUD ► goo.gl/YGC7oK
EMAIL US AT ► cultpopturemedia@gmail.com
"The key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not the way it expects". - William Goldman, as quoted in Robert McKee’s “Story: Style, Structure, Substance, and the Principles of Screenwriting”, Harper Collins, 2010
Films used in this episode:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 2002, dir. Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003, dir. Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2001, dir. Peter Jackson
Acclaimed author and screenwriter William Goldman addresses closure in a really interesting way: "the key to all story endings is to give the audience what it wants, but not the way it expects".
I think this is a really great rule for creating a satisfying conclusion to your story, and a really good example of this is the death of Gollum at the end of "The Return of the King".
By the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gollum is definitely a villain, and so his death at the hands of Frodo is totally deserved.
But despite being evil, Gollum was still an audience favourite, and having him just fail and die could be seen as a rather unceremonious death for the fun and quirky character.
However, in his last moments alive Gollum's character ark is fulfilled as he finally holds the ring he has been coveting for so long, and both die together.
I think this is such a great conclusion for Gollum, because the part of us that actually likes the character is at peace in the knowledge that Gollum finally achieved his goal, even if it was just for a moment.
We the audience are given what we want: Gollum's valiant send-off, but not in the way we expect it: a death that both satisfies the character and serves the story.
CULT POPCORN! 60 second video essays which focus on film, television and any other type of media we consume and devour handfuls at a time.
All external media in this video is used for educational purposes.
