#and ending when they destroy the hellmouth and so they're finally free from that danger. and with season one

[oveliagirlhaditright]

I think another reason KHIII kind of ended the way it did--with the love story of Sora and Kairi we saw in I, that really took place there the most, finally taken that next step further with the paopu and all... but not only that: Sora and Kairi being separated again, though this time being somewhat better and worse than it was last time: better, because Kairi is more active now and has a better chance at finding Sora than her last attempt. But worse because Sora’s fading away now was because of his death, unlike when they were just torn worlds apart before--is because of book ends.

For those that don’t know, “book ends” essentially means that something you saw in the beginning of your story is there in the ending. And it’s some unspoken writing rule that you want to do this. IDK why, exactly. I think it just makes it feel better that way? That your whole story is connected, and that maybe you planned it all from the start? Or maybe it’s done to make sure that a feeling you got in the beginning, that first hooked you, is there at the end? Or to be certain that if some questions got answered by the first one, they’re hopefully answered by the last one, in a sort of Chekhov's gun kind of way?

But some examples of this that I can think of off the top of my head are

1. Twilight and Breaking Dawn.

And yes, I know: everyone hates Twilight and think it’s bad... but since most people--love it or hate it--know this fandom, it’s actually a good example for that reason, and I actually think it did this right. So bear with me for a second.

Breaking Dawn, in some ways, is perhaps moreso a sequel to Twilight than even the two books that came between them were, because it actually ends Edward and Bella’s love story and answers some of the questions we had about it. Like, I think most everyone by the end of Twilight--for obvious reasons--thought Bella would have to become a vampire eventually, but the question was when it would happen, how/why it would happen, what it would be like for her, etc. Breaking Dawn answers all of these questions. Also, the director of it has the song from their prom in the first movie play during their wedding scene, as even he says that this is the true sequel to that movie, in a lot of ways, and continuation/resolution of the prom conversation.

I guess this would be a good time to mention that book ends are also sort of parallels? But with some differences to show that things aren’t exactly the same and just how far the characters have come. They can also be opposites, like you’ll see at the end of my next example.

2. The TV show: Dark Angel: another one where even the writers say the ending of season one book ends the Pilot (using that exact terminology for it). The show starts with our protagonist, Max--who is a created human being, who was made to be a super soldier, but escaped her captors as a nine-year-old, alongside some others like her--sitting on the Space Needle, thinking about her past and the “siblings” she left behind and feeling like sometimes she thinks all this happened to someone else or that it was just a story she heard... but knowing that that isn’t the case, and just hoping that the siblings are out there somewhere and that they’re okay. And it ends with her love interest, Logan (who’s a normal human, who got involved in her life. There’s actually more to it than that, but I won’t get into it), in thinking that Max is dead... is sitting on the Space Needle she loved, even though he’s afraid of heights, and echoing her exact words from the Pilot... in believing that his story with Max maybe happened to someone else, or that it was a story he heard... but knowing that it wasn’t; and despite everything, wishing that she’s somehow out there and alright. Also, episode one began with an escape and season one ended with a capture.

3. Harry Potter - It started with Voldermort tried to kill Harry, but failed--and caused this crazy bond between them and created a “neither can live while the other survives” thing--and ends with him doing so again... and him still being unable to do it, and Voldermort essentially dying because of his own choices/actions again (if he hadn’t tried to kill Harry the first time, the Killing Curse wouldn’t have rebounded--through Lily’s love for Harry--and left him a husk. If he hadn’t tried it a second time, the Elder Wand wouldn’t have turned against him in trying to kill its true owner). Also, both times the love magic that Lily left on Harry was involved.

4. The Phantom of the Opera (the musical) has Christine go to the Phantom’s lair at the start of Act 1 and she goes there again at the end of the show... though things are much different that time. And there’s an unmasking in Act 1 and in Act 2. And both times, the removing of his mask leads to us seeing just how unhinged he really is.

5. Les Misérables (the musical)... just compare Javert’s “Stars” at the end of Act 1 with his Soliloquy at the end of Act 2, that takes place in the same area. And is a somewhat reprisal. Basically, in Act 1, Javert is convinced that Valjean is an evil man, and that he’s doing God’s work in trying to bring him to “justice”. But by Act 2, he finally sees Valjean’s goodness--and that he was wrong. Always had been wrong: that Valjean was just a man, no better or worse than any other. Though, really, he’s probably better than most, and better in a lot of ways than Javert himself--and Javert got so used to seeing the world in a certain way, he couldn’t handle it when it got upended on him... and so, he commits suicide.

6... While I still hate what Game of Thrones did to Dany’s character--and don’t buy it. And will complain about it until the day I die--they were at least trying to do a book ends thing here (even if I hate it), with how eventual mad queen Daenerys (ugh) coming to Winterfell played out exactly as it had when mad queen Cersei had come there years earlier... And I guess with how the series started with a mad Targaryen having to be killed and ended the same way (ugh). And, perhaps, with Jon having to deal with whether what he did to Daenerys was right his whole life, like Jaime had to with what the did to the Mad King (ugh ugh ugh). I should also probably mention that George R.R. Martin says he’s going to book end the novels in some way, too. And man, do I hope it’s not like how the show did it. But if nothing else, it just goes to show the importance of this and that it does seem to be an unspoken writing rule. XD

Yeah...

And there are probably a ton more I could think of.