Even after all these years that ending still moves me to tears.

The point is that WW1 was a tragedy - millions died - they couldn't end the series on a joke - they had to end on reality and that meant death. To do anything else would be a disservice to those who fought and died. Always brings a tear to my eye when I watch it.

When George says "I'm scared sir" always gets me. The whole tone changes and all of sudden that beautiful naive optimism he represents of 1914 just evaporates from the scene and the rest of the episode just hits hard. So beautifully done.

In 1989, when this was first broadcast, there were still a fair few surviving WWI veterans. A joke at the end of that scene would have been considered distasteful and disrespectful.

Before this final critics were lambasting the show for failing to take the war seriously. Critics stopped lambasting the show after this episode.

The ending of this episode is special. There's not much like it, really. It still hits home, every time. Be well, everyone. 🙏

This is probably the most poignant episode in any comedy series, as the soldiers all clambered over the top into no-man's land, a devastating moment during World War 1 😪

I think this episode really demonstrates the tragedy and senselessness of war. You spend the whole season growing to love these characters, laughing at their jokes and their interactions and then it all gets taken away in an instant. There’s no escape, there’s no gag at the end to end on a laugh, they’re dead in an instant and it’s all over. Just like the millions of other men at the time, they were all human beings with emotions and dreams that got snuffed out in seconds for a war that ultimately meant nothing. It’s quite devastating really Good luck, everyone

When George says "I'm scared" I get choked up but Darling's monologue towards the end is what gets me.. in my opinion it's the best bit of TV ever made.

The fact that the audience expects a punchline or something to suggest they survived, but then it’s clear they didn’t and that fade to the poppy field was a stroke of genius to throw the ‘obvious’ ending out. That’s why it’s stunned audiences for over 30 years. I show this episode in class when we cover WW1 and the kids are always blown away by it, even all these years later. I saw Tony Robinson (Baldrick) at a book launch thing about 5 years ago and he said that the foam stuff they ran across in No Man’s Land was too bouncy and they were bouncing and falling over too much so it looked funny when it wasn’t meant to be. So they slowed the film down loads and used the fade to the poppies instead. And while most people at the book thing asked him questions about Blackadder and TimeTeam, we were quizzing him about Maid Marian & her Merry Men - now THAT’S a show I’d love to see people react to!

There was a first world war veteran that actually said thank you to Richard Curtis for ending this way and leaving comedy out. If you didn't already know the field of red flowers at the end are poppies that grew in Flanders Fields after the war and we wear one every November to remember the fallen

"We lived through it, the great war, 1914-1917..." - I remember watching this for the first time, and that being the exact moment where I knew what lay ahead.

An excellent ending to a super show. The writers didn't want to have any disrespect for the first world war dead. So fading away to the poppy fields was a touching, emotional finish

Best tv show ending ever. So poignant, not ruined by shoe horning in some overly cheesy falsely sentimental ending. Just honest raw emotion. Still makes me tear up. Lest We Forget. 🤘🇬🇧🤘

One of the greatest British comedies ever with a strong message in ever joke and a solemn ending. Powerful stuff!

The first time I watched this, I suddenly found that I couldn't see the TV any more because I was literally blinded by tears - such a beautiful poignant ending. And they didn't diminish it by end credits. And it all came about from mistakes and last-last-minute editing.

I was in the studio audience at BBC TV Centre when this was recorded. I remember the host and warm up man was Richard Curtis, one of the two co-writers. Compared with other sitcoms I had seen recorded, this seemed to go at an incredibly slow pace, with endless stops and restarts as actors stumbled over the wordy dialogue. The entire recording lasted for between 3 and 4 hours as I recall. It didn't help that the first two thirds of the episode was one scene - which Curtis commented was the longest in the entire four seasons of Blackadder. When we reached the final scene, when the soldiers went "over the top," the actors retired to a separate studio and the audience watched through a video link. There was just one take, and then a delay for around 20 minutes while we all sat and wondered what was going on. Abruptly, we were told the recording was over and we could go home. It was years later that the story emerged that the actors refused to do any more takes because they thought the explosions in the confined space were unsafe. This left the editors with just a few seconds of footage with which to end the episode, and led to the decision to play it in slow motion and merge into the view of the poppy fields. Thus was born one of the most memorable moments in television, history. It was a perfect tribute to the millions who never came home.

Another reason George admitting he's scared is the turning point is because that's the moment that Blackadder stops being mean to any of them. And his final lines to Baldrick are even complimentary. At that point, they're all in it together.

I watched this when it went out in 1989. I loved the show and can remember clearly seeing this on TV. I must have watched it 50 times since and it gets me every time. From the moment George says “I’m scared, Sir” and his little timid face, this stops being a comedy. This is people you’ve got to know and care about with all their personalities and likes and loves and lives - and they are all about to be killed for no reason at all. Cannon fodder. Expendable tommies. As if they don’t matter. But we knew them. They DID matter. All the young men who died were real people. Real Baldricks. Real Georges. Real Edmunds. What a perfect ending. It will never be bettered.

I was 14 when this came out on the BBC. Every Friday morning at school my friends and I would laugh our heads off, remembering the jokes from the latest Blackadder episode, aired on Thursdays evening. The Friday after this final episode there were no jokes. We didn't even want to discuss it, we were only teenage boys, and we had no way of expressing this kind of sorrow. It still brings tears to my eyes when I see it. My great grandfather was a survivor of the Great War. In Britain we remember the fallen, we wear poppies every November. Lest we forget.

After 30 years, I still shed tears at the ending..

Doesn't matter how many times I watch the end of this, it always chokes me up. A field of poppies is all that remains of the characters you learn to love over the series.

This is by far and without a shadow of doubt the best series finale in the history of television.

Not sure if it's been pointed out, but for reference, Blackadder's medal ribbons (left to right): Queen's South Africa Medal, King's South Africa Medal, 1914 Star, Croix de Guerre. George's ribbons (l to r): Military Cross, 1914 Star, Croix de Guerre Captain Darling (l to r): Military Cross, Queen's South Africa Medal, 1914 Star, Croix de Guerre The Croix de Guerre was awarded by the French to their own, or allied soldiers cited for valourous conduct. The 1914 Star (also known as the Mons Star) indicates that all 3 saw active service in France or Belgium between August and November 1914. The Military Cross is awarded for "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land", and roughly equivalent to the US Silver Star. So for all the jokes about Captain Darling as a desk jockey, he's been neck deep in shit, and come out the other side.

This is the most beautifully written episode of comedy ever. Perfect.

Last episode of Blackadder cuts deep. I tear up no matter how many times I've seen it.

Will never forget watching this episode when it was first broadcast, hit like a sledgehammer, truly brilliant piece of art.

Breaks my heart every time I see it. So beautifully done and respectful to all in WW1. the cast and crew were scared that they ruined the ending, as they wanted to be respectful to the veterans and those who lost their lives. Now watch the last minute again and focus on darlings face, look how scared he is. What an actor. The showrunner said he wanted to drive home the tragedy of WW1 and purposely made it get more and more sombre as the episode went on.

I shiver every time I see the Blackadder logo and the poppy field and hear the birds singing, accompanied with the doomed drum beats. One of the most powerful TV moments ever.

The bit where he says "The Great War... 1914 to 1917" probably went over some people's heads. Obviously the war ended in 1918 so you knew they were still going over the top. I live in a small village in England and out of a population of 400 at the time, 87 of them died in WW1 and 13 of them died in the Somme. A group of 8 friends from my village went together and none of them returned. Most of the deaths came from disease and hypothermia in the trenches. Rats eating dead bodies and cholera doing the rounds. My grandads uncle was shot in the head and it took him 2 days to die.

The final scene where it fades to the poppy fields had to be included at the last minute. The director wasn't happy with the way the cast were dying when they went over the top and all the cast said there was no way they would be willing to film it again so they made the decision to face to the poppy field

This episode still moves me after, what is it, 34 years 😢. My Son’s history teacher used this series during his GCSE lessons and that remains with him now, as an adult. The senseless slaughter of war still goes on today. Millions die, whilst the ruling class sit comfortably… “35 miles behind them.”

The greatest ending to a series EVER! The poignancy and impact of the transition to a poppy field after they go over the top will never be matched.

Comedy and tragedy are different sides of the same coin and can be written to produce a roller coaster of emotions. This episode was very well done, and is often shown to British high school History students studying WW1. It has been repeated several times on tv around Remembrance Day in November. Poppies are the red flower that grew wild on the battlefields in the mud after the war, and became our symbol of remembrance.

I've been to the Somme battlefield, seen the petrified trees and the trenches. I was a teenager on a school trip to France and Belgium at the time, but I was raised on shows like Blackadder. The end scene went through my head as I was walking around, and I just started crying.

I'll never forget seeing this for the first time... About mid-way through I remember getting this weird feeling of dread that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Up until that point I'd felt sure that they would make it out somehow, and then the creeping realisation that the situation is hopeless, and they aren't going to make it.

For Europeans the loss in the First World War / Great War was overwhelming and casts a very long sad shadow. To put into perspective the Brits lost 60,000 men in one battle (the Somme) - 10,000 on the first day.

"That's it? Damn dude, that's F'd up dude. Jesus Christ. I thought maybe they'd have a little joke or something at the end" I have to say that I've never seen a reaction to the ending of this like that before.

Christ. Tears all over again.

I'm an actor, and I chatted once with Tim McKinnerny about this episode. The reason the writers were adamant to end on a bitter sweet note was that at that time, there were still men alive who had served in World War One. I think out of respect for those old chaps, it was a good call.

The ending was a surprise for the actors themselves and is one hell of a gut punch after all the laughter. I remember the first time I saw it I just sat there for a while and thought about the horrors of the trenches and awful battles like the Somme.

Makes me cry every time. This time no exception.

This ending was surprising, but powerful. I don't think a straight drama could have had the same impact because of the humor and sharpness of these characters. You mentioned the specials, you'll enjoy the Christmas one immensely.

British comedy has a tradition of being able to turn from hilarious to deeply poignant in the space of a moment, and to let the audience really feel it. It’s one of my favourite things and this is one of the greatest examples.

That’s pretty much how we all felt when it was first broadcast, there was a stunned silence across the country. Very powerful ending that, once you’ve had time to think about it, you realise was probably the perfect way and an appropriate message about the futility and cost of war.

This is one of the most powerful sense that I've ever seen ❤. It really hits home just how many heros gave everything

Great reaction as always my man. I love this episode but it's so bittersweet. I don't know how many times Ive seen that last scene but to this day it gives me chills and makes me choke up. I have never been so moved as visiting the WW1 battlefields and cemeteries in Belgium & France while at school. Standing in the middle of Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium surrounded by 12,000 pristine graves was one of the most poignant moments of my life and that end with the birdsong takes me right back there.

The Great War touched so many families. War had never been like this. Death and carnage on an industrial scale. Every town and village has a war memorial. This was a brilliant ending, we connected with the characters over the episodes then they were mindlessly killed... Like an entire generation of young men...The poppy is a symbol of that war. When the fog of war clears and we see Flanders with poppies and birdsong it touched something deep in the British psyche. I don't think there was a dry eye in the British Isles when this first aired.

The ending, which is one of the best endings from sitcom history, was actually an accident, originally they looked at it with it in real time and none of them were realistic in dying as it had to be done in quick time due to them having to be out of the studio, so in post they slowed it down and then added the music, then the lovely touch of the end cutting to the field where many soldiers did lay down their lives makes it such a touching and emotional finale

Everyone involved was aware that there were people who would be watching who were involved in WWI. Throughout the series, they tried to respect them, whilst mocking the generals who killed so many of their comrades. This was probably the most difficult comedy series to end, since they wanted to be funny, but also show the reality and horror of war. After it aired, survivors of WWI thanked them for ending it that way. Many of us watch it around Remembrance Day.

Beautiful ending respect to all who had fallen xx

It's the only way to end a comedy about WW1, a stroke of genius by the writers. The poppy field at the end a fitting image of the insanity of war.

I've been waiting ages for this can't wait to see your reaction to the end. I cry every time. The ending is the best part of any series, so strong and emotional. Just realising that's how your great grandad must have felt.

The writers agreed to write the whole series set in WW1, on the proviso that the ending was as shown. At the time, many WW1 veterans were still alive, now none are alive from WW2. It was a great and appropriate deference to the memory of a chapter of horror and misery for many in the UK, around Europe and across much of the world.

I remember this episode from when I was a child and it first aired, it stayed with me all these years. They just kept throwing men into that meat grinder the bastards.

I cry every time I see this ending.

I am German, and everytime i watch this episode, i can´t hold back the tears, because it reflects both sides.

I saw a Blackadder play before the pandemic hit which mirrored this season. The acting was excellent even down to each of the characters nuances, the final scene was also a sombre experience as instead of the poppy fields shown at the end they showed all the names of the young men that lost their lives in the town we were in.

The futility of the Great War, and the symbolism of the barbed wire, and the act of "going over the top" and the fields of poppies has worked its way into the British psyche, and incorporating this into the ending of a superbly funny comedy series really struck home with the viewers when this was first aired on TV. It still has the power to bring a tear to the eye and a lump to the throat, no matter how many times you see it.......one of British TV's finest moments......

oh man. this day had to come

"who'd notice another madman round here???"

I have watched this dozen's of times and it cuts me up everytime to no that this was the reality of what these brave men had to endure in ww1

Hands down the best episode of all the blackadder series. Always makes me cry

The lines that got me was when Georges says He is scared. Also when Capt Darling talks about what he hoped to do after the war

Only two sitcoms have ever made me cry. This Blackadder episode, and well, an episode of Only Fools and Horses (I won't mention the episode because I don't want to spoil it in case Josh hasn't seen it yet. The grandad funeral, yes, but I'm thinking of a later one). The fade to a poppy field is just so touching. And George, of all people, being scared really underlines the brutality of war. Beautiful ending with such heart.

Most of our great grandparents fought in WW1 ENTIRE villages joined together abd were wiped out together. 🤬. My grandfather was in the battle of the Somme and made it back. Too many didn't

Been awaiting this with both antipation and trepidation for obvious reasons Around 1 Million British military personnel died in the First World War. The final moments of this episode brought home the scale of loss and sacrifice of a generation in such a. powerful way that decades later it is still rightfully regarded as one of the most powerful moments of UK TV . Thank you for doing it justice

The perfect ending to a perfect comedy.

Goosebumps every time I watch this finale. Absolutely astonishing series

From such a hilarious series comes the most poignant moment in UK tv history, still brings a tear to my eye today. Great writing indeed 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

"Goodluck everyone" at the end always get me.

I remember watching this with my parents when it was first broadcast, I think I was about 8 years old. I didn't really understand the ending at the time, but I remember my mum crying

It was a perfect and respectful ending. When it originally broadcasted not a single complaint was made to the BBC. One of my great great grandfather died as a result of that war, although it was a few years after the war had ended that he succumbed to the injuries he had received during it.

Many times voted the best ever tv show ending

I've watched the whole Blackadder series at least 30 odd times over the years. I've watched this espisode once.

A pleasure to watch this with you, Josh. The end still brings a tear to the eye every time I watch it. As others have aluded, the original filmed parts for the end were awful (available to see in the Blackadder documentary). There's true genius in how they made the end they did from the ingredients they had. It's still probably the best end to a series ever IMHO.

Perfect ending for me! Has me in tears every time. I think that's something that make british comedy stand out and that's when a series really cares about its characters it doesn't shy away form being serious when it needs to be...

Its a Sad Ending but that was Reality and as much as there was Laughter there was nothing Funny when it truly comes to War especially when these Brave Soldiers never had a chance...I shed a Tear every time I watch this Episode...George saying he was Scared was the moment for me 😢

That's the thing with gallows humor. For all the jokes, it can only end one way.

You have to remember this was broadcast in 1989 - a fair number of WWI veterans were still alive. I remember watching this the day it was broadcast. Those last few moments have stuck with me as being some of the best television ever created. And here we are again - on the bring of a third world war :(

I think all British (or at least all English kids) are taught about the Battle of the Somme at some point in their lives. British forces I think lost like 19,000 men in the first day. There was about 40,000 injured. All in the first day. (I don't remember exact figures but know it was worst day in the British military history for losses). Knowing that they're at the Somme and going over the wall for the big push, you know what's gunna happen to them. And I think that's what makes the episode emotional for many people here - you know exactly what's going to happen to them at the end. There's no shocking twists/turns involved

Great reaction man! And yeah, the ending definitely didn't pull any punches. I doubt it is anymore, but they used to show this episode in History lessons in the UK. Very good way of engaging teenagers with the humour without retracting from the utter cluster WW1 was. Seen this so many times and that ending still hits me hard (yeah, George saying he is scared is kind of chilling).

I don’t think it was messed up, they did the final scenes as a respect to those brave poor men who died going over the top. 😕 love your reactions, keep up the good work 😃

Like others have mentioned, I’ve been waiting for your reaction for this one as well…. This is considered one of the greatest moments in British TV history. I was a young soldier at the time this was first broadcast so it touched home pretty deeply! Keep up the amazing work, Brother!

The poppies are a perfect ending. Great, classic episode and a great tribute. ....and honestly, I don’t get how series one gets so panned. There are some great episodes in the first season, and some great characters. It’s always good to get the origin story and go back to the beginning. Hell, it’s worth watching alone just for Brian Blessed. Fresh horses!

Imo, this is the best ever episode of a British sitcom. It's perfection.

The first day of the Somme was the deadliest day in British military history - 19,240 killed. In one day.

Virtually the entire country was in shock, i remember it well.

It was Captain Darling's longing for the simple, happy life that he knew could never happen. That was a punch in the gut. Although not shown in this clip.

It was kept "heavy" because the writer Ben Elton's dad or grandad, I forget which, was not happy Ben was making a joke about war. Ben promised that by the end, people would see it as it was. I thought that was done beautifully.

At 13:27, you see Capt. Darling's reaction of hopelessness. Really great acting.

A museum in England ran an exhibit of poems by the common soldier. It was up for months before they realized someone had slipped Baldrick's 'Boom Boom Boom' poem into it.

the first four lines, in particular, of the poem "The Soldier" which Blackadder paraphrases in episode three are of course relevant here...published in 1915, but prescient for the final scene and the needless circumstances behind so many deaths "If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed"

I remember, it stunned everyone at the time. Very poignant.

Still brings a lump to my throat,beautiful,touching and emotional finale…

I think there were questions raised about doing a comedy show in the setting of the horror of the trenches of WW1. It was deemed insensitive by many. The writers got it absolutely spot on though. The final scene is arguably the best and most poignant bit of telly ever written. All the more hard hitting because of the build up.

I grew up on Blackadder. After many years of joy, laughter and lessons in history, watching our boys go out like that was devastating to watch. I remember watching the premiere of the finale with my eldest brother, and us just sitting in stunned silence, staring into a poppy field. George the optimist unexpectedly scared, Baldrick who’s cunning plan we’ll never hear, Darling humbled into marching alongside his nemesis, and Edmund who’d finally accepted his fate... “BUGGER!”

When this was first aired, you just sat and stared at the screen for a while.

The ending is beautiful. I find it all funny but of course a comedy about such am awful war and such loss and suffering is a difficult thing. The ending is beautiful because you see them goings over the top, probably to die. You see the muddy battle field blending into a peaceful poppy field with birdsong. Nature heals, life returns. We remember the fallen with poppies. The poppy celebration is a way of reconnecting with that time. And, ultimately, the comedy isn't making fun out of the war but in a way is an act of testimony to it. Beautiful.

Proper touching ending