DZ-119: Final Character Choices & Great Endings

Jun 18, 2025

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How does your protagonist’s final choice resolve the plot, character arc and theme?

In this episode, Stu and Chas focus solely on the final choices made by protagonists and how that reflects their character journey and successfully, or not, dramatises the internal. We compare and contrast different uses of narrative POV in respect to these final choices, in particular whether and when the audience is made aware of the options available to the character, the act of making the choice, and the consequences of the choice. We breakdown examples from DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, FINDING NEMO, MICHAEL CLAYTON, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and TALK TO ME.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 - Opening
00:00:18 - Why Final Choices?
00:10:45 - DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES
00:19:09 - FINDING NEMO
00:28:45 - MICHAEL CLAYTON
00:53:11 - PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
01:16:38 - TALK TO ME
01:41:45 - Key Learnings
01:50:13 - Thanks awesome patreons!

RELATED EPISODES

LINKS

MICHAEL CLAYTON by Tony Gilroy
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN by Emerald Fennell
TALK TO ME by Danny Philippou & Bills Hinzman based on a concept by Daley Pearson
Michael Arndt: What makes an insanely good ending
Every Frame a Painting: Snowpiercer - Look Left or Right

RELATED EPISODES

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