Talk:Cliffhanger
Back to page
Contents |
Cliffhangers vs. plot twists 
Edit
We need to distinguish between plot twist (twist endings) and cliffhangers; I think this page is getting a little out of hand. Cliffhangers are where someone is in immediate danger or peril and and the episode ends before the situation is resolved. Many of the examples currently listed are more like reveals or twist endings (also mind f*cks), in which we are presented with new information that challenges our previous assumptions about the nature of the show or where a storyline changes direction unexpectedly. Twist endings and reveals can also be cliffhangers, but often they are not. "Abandoned" and "Greatest Hits" are great examples where we are left wondering what will happen in the very next moments. Plot twists and reveals intrigue our imaginations, but don't necessarily require immediate resolution. In "Eggtown", it certainly changed our understanding of things to learn that Kate is acting as Aaron's mom in the future, but we aren't left wondering if they will make it out alive from that situation. So while I think all of these situations tend to produce "wtf moments", I think the clear distinguishing features to determine a cliffhanger are immediacy and danger. I also think the percentage count in the opening paragraph should be removed; whether an ending is considered a cliffhanger is not an "absolute truth". Hopefully we can agree on most of them, but many of them are subjective; I expect that we will need to reach a consensus on some of them. -- Graft talk contributions 15:05, 11 March 2008 (PDT)
- I do not think that an ending has to have characters in "immediate danger or peril" to be considered a cliffhanger. Although a situation with an unresolved peril or dangerous situation is considered a cliffhanger, a shocking plot twist or revelation should also be considered a cliffhanger. As said in the introduction, a cliffhanger serves the purpose of ensuring that a viewer tunes in for further installments. Although they did not include life-threatening situations, cliffhangers such as Libby being shown in the mental hospital in "Dave", and Ben being revealed at the end of The Economist made me want to tune in again just as much as the endings in Abandoned and Greatest Hits. Furthemore, if cliffhangers can only be categorized as immediate danger or peril, the other cliffhangers on the page would have to be removed, such as Through the Looking Glass. -- --Hco22
- Well, that's pretty much my point though, that some of these would have to be removed, including "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1" (although I see there has been some thinning down since my first post). But IMO, we can't just use the criteria that it makes you want to tune in next week. Although cliffhangers serve the purpose of ensuring that a viewer tunes in next time, it doesn't mean that any time you want to tune in next time that it is a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are a specific style of ensuring you want to tune in. In the classic sense of the term, they do typically involve danger; but despite the example I used from "Eggtown", I do not mean to suggest that they need to be obviously life-threatening situations - just that there should be some difficult or precarious situation. But I would say the most important element is a sense of interruption, where there is a situation that is unresolved. Twist endings can make you want to tune in next time, but they're not always an unresolved situation of immediate consequence. The endings of "Dave" and "The Economist" don't make me ask "what is going to happen next in this very situation?" Instead, they make me rethink my understanding of how the characters are connected. -- Graft talk contributions 20:01, 11 March 2008 (PDT)
Well, in that case i went ahead and edited out "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1", "Solitary", and "Numbers"from this article. --Hco22 16:44, 14 March 2008 (
Removed entriesEdit
"Exposé"Edit
I removed:
The episode wrapped up the storyline completely. --- Balk Of Fame ♪ talk 20:27, May 19, 2010 (UTC)
"Ji Yeon"Edit
An interesting revelation, but when an episode ends with slow music then the title card fading in silently... that's not a cliffhanger. --- Balk Of Fame ♪ talk 20:30, May 19, 2010 (UTC)
- HOWEVER, BalkOfFame from a year ago, consider "Collision". Yeah, the episode ends with a glorious musical reunion, but the absolute final shot is a standoff - Jack and And meet and stare at each other. Will they fight? Will they mate? That's a cliffhanger, isn't it? --- Balk Of Fame ♪ talk 15:13, July 1, 2011 (UTC)
- Ha! I wouldn't really consider it a cliffhanger because there isn't a "what's going to happen next" element in that reveal, it's more "well how did that happen?" which is just the same as a revelation. It's not like the ending of "The Economist" where Sayid says they know he's after them now, and you're like "who? and what's going to happen now that they know?". Although it's interesting because "Ji Yeon" was at one point considered as the cut-off point because that break in Season 4, with "Meet Kevin Johnson" being the "mini premiere" episode of the second half of the season. So we could have been left with the image of Sun crying to debate over for a lot longer than we were. To think now that episode didn't feel like it would have been a satisfying end to the run of episodes, certainly not in the same way the end of "Meet Kevin Johnson" was or in the way that "The Shape of Things to Come" was a perfect episode to return on.--Baker1000 16:11, July 1, 2011 (UTC)
