‘Poldark’ season 2 finale: Should there be a cliffhanger?
Cliffhanger endings are firmly woven into the fabric of how shows tend to wrap things up at this particular era, and the temptation to go in this direction is, for the most part, understandable. If you are a showrunner, your top priority is undeniably going to be trying to figure out the proper way in which to ensure people stay talking about your show. Sometimes, there are significant ratings benefits that come with doing this: While “The Walking Dead,” for example, may have infuriated many with their decision to hold off on their key Negan reveal at the end of last season, they nonetheless managed to get their second-biggest ratings total ever in the season 7 premiere.
Therefore, there is some logic in a show like “Poldark” wanting to create some sort of shocking moment to continue to have viewers talking. There is already a precedent for the series wanting to do this that began at the end of season 1 following Ross’ death and he and Demelza putting their child to rest. While you certainly wanted to assume that he would be okay — and there was information from the books / the past version of the show that he would be — the interest was still there in watching in order to see precisely what would happen next.
The benefit of a season 2 cliffhanger mostly is geared around generating buzz, and there are some ways to do that. (Note: We’re not someone who reads the source material or is familiar with the original series, so this is all speculation.)
1. Leave Ross and Demelza’s marriage on a precipice – Maybe she, rather understandably, makes a move to figure out how she can never see him again, and he needs to figure out a way to win her back.
2. Great peril – Ross will be considering a military future in the finale, so maybe he reenlists and realizes that this plan is not all it is cracked up to be.
3. A change in fortune – Perhaps Ross’ mining operation continues to accelerate after finally receiving some good news, and we are left to wonder precisely what his future could potentially look like in the months to come.
There are all cliffhangers that could work organically if you are to include one; we don’t think crafting one around any character other than the title one would be worthwhile, given that so much of this world is seen through his eyes. The only request we have is that the producers not try to create one simply for the sake of doing so, since the characters do not need to be exploited in such a cheap and obvious way.
Do you think “Poldark” needs a cliffhanger for season 2? Share in the comments!
Also, be sure to head over to this link to retrieve some further information regarding Sunday’s finale. (Photo: BBC.)
LostInTranslation
November 5, 2016 @ 4:25 pm
I don’t think ‘Poldark’ needs a cliffhanger ending but I predict we’re going to get one anyway. And the most obvious one, too, i.e. they’ll drag the reconciliation between Ross and Demelza over to s3. In my opinion it’d be more surprising and daring not to have a cliffhanger ending, at least not the aforementioned, especially when there was the Ross-and-Demelza-torn-apart cliffhanger already in s1.
I believe that at the end of the finale of s2 Ross’ll come to his senses and ask for Demelza’s forgiveness and tell her that he loves her and her alone, but Demelza won’t be ‘ready’ to reconcile yet. I suspect the showrunners are tempted to do this (among other reasons) because this way they’ll be able to make (in their opinion) a clever (but to a viewer actually very predictable) analogy to the final scene of s1 in which Ross was walked away from Demelza. This time it’ll be Demelza that walks away from Ross.
(A mild spoiler: My prediction is partly based on what I’ve seen elsewhere in the web. There have been pictures of a Poldark s2 scene that hasn’t been shown yet. In this scene, that non-surprisingly takes place on a beach, Ross can be seen on his knees in front of Demelza, then Demelza walking away, leaving behind a devastated looking Ross. I can’t see this scene makes sense any other way than being the final scene of s2. I hope I’m wrong but fear I’m not.)