Image via NBC
Published May 17, 2026, 2:49 PM EDT
Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres.
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Fantasy shows are known for their immersive worlds and engaging character journeys, taking would-be heroes from simple beginnings through magic and mystery to reach unimaginable heights. However, though they say it’s the journey — not the destination — that matters, a bad ending can still spoil an otherwise excellent experience.
Far too many otherwise-great fantasy shows have been ruined by divisive, underwhelming, or just plain terrible endings (looking at you, Game of Thrones), but there are still some series that have successfully pulled off a genuinely perfect conclusion at the end of their multi-season sagas. So, with that in mind, here’s a look at some of the most satisfying fantasy show endings of all time.
1 ‘Lucifer’ (2016–2021)
Image via NetflixDeveloped by Tom Kapinos and loosely inspired by the DC Comics character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg, Lucifer is an urban fantasy police procedural that revolves around the former king of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis). After leaving Hell to run a nightclub in Los Angeles, Lucifer encounters an intriguing mystery that convinces him to become a consultant for the LAPD, undergoing some profound life changes as a result. The series also features Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D. B. Woodside, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Rachael Harris, and Aimee Garcia in supporting roles.
Lucifer was not particularly well-received by critics when it premiered in 2016, but it developed a sizable fan following, who fully embraced the show’s campy yet deceptively philosophical style. By the final season, the series fully transforms into a touching love story between its devilish hero and his fated love, Detective Chloe Decker (German), with the last episode delivering a beautiful, happy ending for the star-crossed couple. It’s a touching finale for a series that nobody expected to be so emotionally compelling, and a satisfying conclusion to its six-season narrative.
2 ‘Penny Dreadful’ (2014–2016)
Image via ShowtimeCreated by John Logan, Penny Dreadful is a Gothic horror drama series that combines the classical canon of 19th-century horror fiction into a gorgeous new period horror story. Beginning in London in the year 1891, the show follows adventurer Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) and medium Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) on a quest to save Murray’s daughter from a mysterious evil master, finding allies in Wild West showman Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and rogue scientist Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway). Reeve Carney, Rory Kinnear, Billie Piper, Danny Sapani, Helen McCrory, and more star in other key roles.
A genuine horror TV masterpiece crafted from iconic works like Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and more, Penny Dreadful has been widely praised by critics and fans alike for its writing, production values, and performances. The show’s three-season story culminates in an appropriately tragic ending, one that holds true to its Gothic spirit and delivers powerful character moments. And though the series ended with "The Blessed Dark," its world would live on in the short-lived spin-off show Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, which was released in 2020.
3 ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2005–2008)
Image via NickelodeonAn animated fantasy action series, Avatar: The Last Airbender was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and explores a world divided between four nations that each control one of the classical elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Only one individual, the titular Avatar, has the power to wield all four, and the show follows the latest Avatar, 12-year-old Aang, as he sets out on a journey to master the elements and stop the Fire Nation from conquering the whole world. The voice cast stars Zach Tyler Eisen as Aang, with Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena, Dante Basco, Jessie Flower, Dee Bradley Baker, Mako, Greg Baldwin, Grey Griffin, and Mark Hamill voicing key characters.
An enduringly popular children’s animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender is arguably the most beloved Nickelodeon show of all time, and it’s been universally acclaimed for its unique combination of anime influences, a Chinese-inspired world, and classic cartoon action. After an engaging three-season journey, the show ends with the four-part finale, "Sozin's Comet", which sees the characters enter the final stages of their resistance against Fire Lord Ozai, and Aang struggles with maintaining his pacifist ideals in the face of genocide and war. It all culminates in an ending that’s hopeful, triumphant, and surprisingly mature, all at the same time.
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz
Which Lord of the Rings
Character Are You?
One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
💍Frodo
🌿Samwise
👑Aragorn
🔥Gandalf
🏹Legolas
⚒️Gimli
👁️Sauron
🪨Gollum
BEGIN YOUR QUEST →
01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
AAccept it. Someone has to, and running changes nothing. BStay by the side of whoever carries it. They shouldn't go alone. CStep forward and lead. This is exactly what I was made for. DIt's mine now. I won't let anyone else have it.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
AFollow them without hesitation. I'd rather die beside them than live without them. BRally others and forge a plan to help — strength in numbers. COffer wisdom and guidance. My counsel may save them where swords cannot. DLet them go. Only the strong survive, and sentiment is a weakness.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
ADestroy it. Nothing good comes from power this absolute. BUse it to protect those I love — just this once. CWield it wisely. I have the will and the knowledge to do good with it. DSeize it. I have waited long enough. It belongs to me.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
What does "home" mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
AA simple, peaceful place — green hills, good food, no adventure required. BWherever the people I love are. Home is a feeling, not a place. CA kingdom I must earn before I can truly claim it as mine. DI lost it long ago. That loss is what drives everything I do.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
ASurvive by any means. I'm not a fighter — but I'll do what I must. BFight for the person beside me, not for glory or honour. CLead the charge. Nothing inspires an army like a king at the front. DStrike from range, fast and precise — never let them get close.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it's knowing which questions to ask.
AListen, then offer honest encouragement. Sometimes people just need belief. BGive them practical help — words are fine, but action is better. CSpeak carefully. I have seen much, and I know what counsel can cost. DTell them what they want to hear. Trust is a tool like any other.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
ASmall and ordinary — but perhaps that's exactly why I was chosen. BDefined entirely by who I serve and love. I am nothing without them. CForged by hardship into something the world has not yet fully seen. DDiminished from what I once was — and consumed by the need to reclaim it.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
AI find peace in it — forests, rivers, open skies. Nature restores me. BI prefer the earth underfoot — stone, mines, solid and real things. CI have watched the world change for longer than most can comprehend. DNature offers hiding places, cold water, raw fish. That's enough for me.
NEXT QUESTION →
09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
AShow mercy. Even the most broken souls deserve a chance at redemption. BPity them — but never trust them. They made their choices. CSee them as a tool. Their knowledge or skills may still serve a purpose. DDestroy them before they can cause more harm. Mercy is a luxury we cannot afford.
NEXT QUESTION →
10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
AThat an ordinary person did an extraordinary thing — and came home. BThat I never abandoned the person who needed me most. CThat I was worthy of the crown — and everything it demanded. DNothing. I don't need songs. I needed it, and now it's gone.
REVEAL MY FATE →
The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
💍 Frodo
🌿 Samwise
👑 Aragorn
🔥 Gandalf
🏹 Legolas
⚒️ Gimli
👁️ Sauron
🪨 Gollum
You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don't have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you'd do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don't do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you're not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
4 ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1997–2003)
Image via the WBEasily one of the most iconic fantasy shows of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a supernatural drama series that serves as a sequel to the 1992 film that inspired it. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as Buffy Summers, a young woman who is the latest in a long line of Vampire Slayers fated to battle the forces of darkness, and the show follows her various adventures as she struggles to balance monster hunting with a normal life. Besides Gellar, the series also stars Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, and more in notable roles.
A highly acclaimed and enduringly popular fantasy series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is easily one of the greatest fantasy shows of all time, winning the hearts of generations of fans with its combination of supernatural horror, sharp wit, and character drama. Ultimately, though, despite its generally fun tone, the show doesn’t shy away from painful moments either. Appropriately, its finale, “Chosen,” ends with a final victory that comes at no insignificant cost, but when the dust settles, Buffy finally gets to feel a much-deserved peace, which is a triumph in and of itself.
5 ‘His Dark Materials’ (2019–2022)
Image via HBOAdapted from Philip Pullman’s book series and written by Jack Thorne, His Dark Materials is a fantasy drama show set in a multiverse linked by an invisible cosmic substance called Dust. The series follows a young girl named Lyra (Dafne Keene), who is from a world where souls manifest outside the body as animal companions and a corrupt theocracy controls everything, and her search for a missing friend reveals forbidden secrets about Dust and her own destiny. The ensemble cast also includes Ruth Wilson, Jame McAcoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anne-Marie Duff, Clarke Peters, James Cosmo, and more in supporting roles.
A masterful adaptation of Pullman’s complex, intricately crafted fantasy series, His Dark Materials received near-universal praise throughout its three-season run for its visual effects, music, performances, and story, which takes viewers on an immersive and ultimately bittersweet journey. The show’s ending captures all the complexity of its source material, wrapping up the story on a heartbreaking yet beautiful note. It’s easy to see why the series is frequently ranked among the best fantasy shows of the 21st century.
6 ‘The Magicians’ (2015–2020)
Image via SyFyAdapted from Lev Grossman’s titular novel trilogy, The Magicians is a fantasy series developed by Sera Gamble and John McNamara that revolves around Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy, a college specializing in magic. The series follows a newly-admitted graduate student who learns that the world of his favorite childhood book series is both real and deadly. The show’s cast is led by Jason Ralph and Stella Maeve, with Olivia Taylor Dudley, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil, Rick Worthy, Jade Tailor, Brittany Curran, and Trevor Einhorn in key roles.
Taking a uniquely academic approach to the mystic arts, The Magicians was a highly acclaimed fan favorite throughout its five-season run on Syfy, earning praise for its mindbending storytelling and thematic maturity. The final episode, "Fillory and Further," completes its ensemble’s emotional and magical journeys with the destruction and renewal of its magical world, making it a satisfying ending that opens the door to a brave new future. The episode was very well-received by critics and even better by fans, who largely found it to be a satisfying conclusion, even though the show had technically ended prematurely.
7 ‘Charmed’ (1998–2006)
Image via The WBAn iconic and long-running fantasy drama series, Charmed was created by Constance M. Burge and revolves around the Halliwell sisters, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), Prue (Shannen Doherty), and Piper (Holly Marie Combs), with the later addition of their half-sister, Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan). Phoebe, Prue, and Piper discover their magical heritage after reuniting at the family manor in San Francisco and learning that they are the Charmed Ones, destined to protect the world from evil. The show also features T. W. King, Dorian Gregory, Greg Vaughan, Karis Paige Bryant, Brian Krause, Julian McMahon, Drew Fuller, and Kaley Cuoco in supporting roles across seasons.
Charmed was one of the most popular shows on television from the time it began in 1998, all the way to the finale in 2006. Known for its combination of supernatural fantasy and melodrama, the series’s final episode, "Forever Charmed", neatly wraps up all loose threads for a happy ending, but what makes it special is that it goes beyond that to reveal a sneak peek of its characters’ future destinies and the generations to come. The episode was the highest-rated of the season and is easily one of the most satisfying series finales of the 2000s.
8 ‘The Good Place’ (2016–2020)
Image via NBCA fantasy sitcom created by Michael Schur, The Good Place follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), a lazy, cynical, and selfish woman from Phoenix, Arizona, who dies after an altercation with a line of shopping carts. When she finds herself in a paradisical afterlife called “the Good Place," Eleanor quickly realizes there’s been a mistake and sets out to cover up her less-than-perfect life by becoming a better person. The show also stars William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, D'Arcy Carden, Manny Jacinto, and Ted Danson in lead roles.
A truly unique fantasy comedy that combines hilarious jokes with intelligent storytelling, The Good Place is widely regarded as a television masterpiece. Over the course of its four seasons, the show explores the many intricacies of the afterlife and introduces several memorable characters, evolving into a touching and philosophical journey for its deceased heroes. And it all culminates in a stellar two-part finale, “Whenever You're Ready,” which gives these characters a chance at a whole new journey.
Release Date 2016 - 2020
Writers Andrew Law, Dylan Morgan, Josh Siegal, Matt Murray, Cord Jefferson, Kassia Miller, Kate Gersten, Dave King, Demi Adejuyigbe, Lizzy Pace
English (US) ·