Top 10 Most Heartbreaking Series Finales
#10: “Fleabag” (2016-19) “Episode 6”
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“Fleabag” has to be one of the most beloved shows of the 2010s, coming seemingly out of nowhere to sweep awards seasons and bring brilliant star and creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge into the mainstream. When Waller-Bridge asserted that the show’s second season would be its last, fans were pretty much devastated, and it didn’t make it any better that we didn’t really get to see a happy ending for our main character. We guess we shouldn’t have expected everything to be tied up with a nice little bow considering the program’s tone, but seeing Fleabag be left devastated and heartbroken still kind of crushed us.
#9: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) “Chosen”
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Killing off major characters in a series finale is one way to tug at the heartstrings, and Joss Whedon did it expertly in the final episode of his badass supernatural dramedy “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. Not only did we lose Anya, who was killed during battle, but Spike sacrifices himself in order to help Buffy save the world once and for all. We see her admit that she loves him before he turns to dust. On top of all that, the setting of the show, Sunnydale, literally crumbles into the Hellmouth. The ending is bittersweet though because our fearless heroine can finally rest easy for once.
#8: “Parenthood” (2010-15) “May God Bless You and Keep You Always”
The Braverman family brought us plenty of tears throughout “Parenthood’s” six seasons, so technically we should have been emotionally prepared for the series finale, but it still just about ruined us with just how emotionally devastating it was. What we couldn’t have seen coming was the unexpected death of Zeek, the family’s patriarch, and the wrenching scene of the family scattering his ashes just like he always imagined, on a baseball field and picking up a game. We also saw flashes forward for the other members of the family, bringing mostly happy futures including more babies and graduations, but we were already crying so hard we could hardly enjoy them.
#7: “Breaking Bad” (2008-13) “Felina”
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We knew from the very beginning of “Breaking Bad” that Walter White had stage three lung cancer and his prognosis only got more dire as the seasons went on. Walt surviving the series seemed extremely unlikely, but even though we anticipated his death, it still hurt to see it take place. In the end, he is shot while helping Jesse escape and collapses in his meth lab, looking at everything he has done. It means a happy ending for Jesse, who drives off in the Camino and cries tears of joy.
#6: “How I Met Your Mother” (2005-14) "Last Forever"
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The creators of “How I Met Your Mother” set us up with high expectations from the very beginning, building up the reveal of Ted’s wife for years. Many thought that we’d only actually meet the mother in the very last episode, but in an interesting twist, we got to spend the entire final season with her. In an extremely divisive move however, the show revealed that the mother actually died six years before he told his children the story of how he met her. To see Ted finally get to be with the love of his life and then have her taken away so soon was too much to bear after all the waiting the audience did.
#5: “Boy Meets World” (1993-2000) "Brave New World (Part 2)"
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At the end of “Boy Meets World”, the gang is moving to New York, and has a series of emotional goodbyes with everyone in their lives. The most heart wrenching, and memorable, though is of course the conversation they have with their former teacher, Mr. Feeny. They all thank him for everything he has done for them, with Topanga even telling him that he has been more of a father to her than her own dad was. The kids try to get Feeny to tell them he loves them, but he refuses, asserting that he has to maintain the appropriate line between teacher and student. But once they leave his classroom, he finally admits it when they can no longer hear him.
#4: “The Wire” (2002-08) "–30–"
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While plenty of series finales make us emotional about saying goodbye to favorite characters, this one makes us feel genuinely depressed about the state of the world. Set in inner city Baltimore, “The Wire” looks at all of the institutions, both formal and informal, that make the city work. Crime is a big part of the show, and while we see people throughout the series trying to clean the city up, the finale shows us that sometimes things don’t change, no matter what you do. In this episode we see a younger generation step in to fill the shoes of the criminals before them, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
#3: “The Leftovers” (2014-17) "The Book of Nora"
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The premise of “The Leftovers” was immediately enticing to many TV viewers who desperately wanted answers to the main questions it posed. It’s set in a world where 2% of the population has mysteriously disappeared, and everyone is trying to reckon with why they were left behind. While the series finale does leave some things ambiguous and doesn’t answer all our questions, it does give us a resolution for what happens between Nora and Kevin. Kevin finally finds Nora many years in the future after years of searching, and she explains to him that despite the reality she had experienced in which 98% of the population had actually left, she chose to come back to this one.
#2: “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-96) "I, Done"
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“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was a lighthearted comedy, or so we thought. The show surprised us time and time again with emotional moments that caught us off guard. The finale fit into this vein, as Will had to say goodbye to the Banks family when they decided to leave California. While technically there were happy changes on the horizon for everyone, knowing Will is going to stay in order to finish his degree doesn’t take away from the goodbyes he has with everyone. Especially difficult to watch is his interaction with Uncle Phil, who assures him that he is his son, end of story. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Dinosaurs” (1991-1994) "Georgie Must Die!" “St. Elsewhere” (1982-88) "The Last One" “Chuck” (2007-12) "Chuck Versus the Goodbye" “Alf” (1986-90) "Consider Me Gone"
#1: “Six Feet Under” (2001-05) "Everyone's Waiting"
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“Six Feet Under” is largely about death, and seeing characters die is something that viewers had become accustomed to. But the way the creators chose to end the show was both brilliant and took your breath away with how heartbreaking it was. After Nate dies a few episodes earlier, we see the eventual demise of everyone else in the family. In flash forwards, we view how each of them will die, and while for most it’s peacefully and in old age, it tugs at the heartstrings either way. The soundtrack of Sia’s song “Breathe Me” makes this montage all the more poignant.
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