What do you think of the ending of the Dark Tower?

How many times are we informed in the series that Ka is a wheel? That's why the ending was perfect

The moment I read it, i just totally felt what King himself said. Something like "I don't know if it's a good or a bad ending, but it's the *right* ending"

If you read the section when Roland sacrifices Jake to catch Walter, Roland thinks something like "maybe I could let Walter go, save Jake and raise him as a gunslinger, and then we could conquer the Tower as an unstoppable father and son duo", but he dispenses with the idea and lets him fall. I figured, maybe this time around he'll do it that way. Wouldn't that be something.

I always viewed the Tower series through the lens of Insomnia. The ability to move up and down the Tower's levels was portrayed there. So for me the cycling back was not so much a restart as him actually reaching the top of THAT Tower only to open the door on the next level up in reality where he had made one more correct choice in his life before that moment. Each time he's opened that door, he has moved one choice closer to the reality where he has made all the right choices up to that point. In the process he saved that level's beams and started the healing process for that level. With the Tower being infinite he will always travel on, but every time he will live a more perfect life than the last and he will keep the beams from falling every time he passes through. Thus he saves the Tower and himself.

I absolutely loved the ending. I think it’s King’s big “f you” to critics who say he can’t write a good ending. He essentially just didn’t give them one.

the ending reminded me of some old video games where you have to beat the game twice to get the real ending

The series is a metaphor for addiction, and the whole thing of resetting is a metaphor for falling back into addiction. The only way to break Roland’s addiction is for us as the reader to leave that last section unread. Roland needs to save the tower and rise victorious, and then not enter the Tower. IMO

Come on! 7 books. Decades of storytelling. And we end with: The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. I cried. Good tears.

One of the recurring themes of the series is addiction, how it makes one turn selfish and cold to those around them, and how one overcomes it. We see it with Eddie, we see it with King himself, and Eddie even compares Roland's quest for the Tower to an addiction at one point in "The Drawing of the Three." One could see Roland's entire cyclical story as a metaphor for the cycle of addiction, and his return to the beginning of the story but this time with the horn could be seen as a milestone on his journey to ultimately breaking that cycle. People like conclusive, satisfying endings, so of course many people are going to be pissed, but personally I think the ending serves to solidify the themes of the entire series.

The Man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed

I never read dark tower, but I'm still going to watch this and you can't stop me! *evil laugh*

Oooph man that ending. one day I hate it, one day I love it, but one thing is for sure I will never forget it. Long days and pleasant nights sai Greene.

Not read the Dark Tower yet.. but muted audio and a thumbs up to do my part for the KZfaq algorithm!

Out of all the characters in the Dark Tower, I think Susannah got the best ending She managed to find a world where she could be with Eddie and Jake It was wonderfully uplifting and gave me the feeling that the journey and heartbreak had all been worth it

I saw the thumbnail and, not knowing The Dark Tower, I thought the story was Dresden Files because of the silly hat on the cover (yeah I know he doesn't wear a hat but he's drawn with it so cool your jets)

Daniel was concerned about this video not doing so well because of spoilers, so I'm just putting it on mute because I want to read the books, but also want to show some love. 😘

I believe it is time for me to pick this up. You thus have convinced me, Goblin man!

I just finished this series yesterday this is PERFECT timing are you spying on me?!? For the record, it is one of the best endings to any series I’ve ever read. Maybe THE best.

Is it weird that Daniel Greene rants make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

I've said ever since it happened, it's literally the best ending King has written. There are things a bit disappointing about the last couple books, I agree, but the ending itself is amazing and I can't see it done any other way.

I absolutely loved that ending! I mean, yes, the book itself isn't great, but I just love the idea that Roland is stuck in this infinite loop, like a defense mechanism for the Dark Tower, while there is still hope that he might break free. It really surprised me with its originality, and really I can't imagine the gunslinger without his quest.

The ending chapter was the part that "broke me" more than anything else. There were plenty of tears before that. But when he finally sees _just how long_ he's been doing the same things, and it breaks _him_ enough that he begs for it to be over; that's the horror that has stuck with me for years. Though there are two things that i wanted to say when hearing you talk about it: 1. I'm pretty sure this is his 19th time going through the tower cycle. What with all the "Chassit" going around. And i'm pretty sure he has to go through the entirety of reality back to the tower to reach a new level. 2. There is an ending where we see him blow the horn and enter the tower triumphant. It's the Robert Browning poem that inspired the series. I'm of the opinion that the dark tower series is a kind of prequel to that original.

My son is named Roland, because of this series. He's only five so he won't be introduced to Stephen King for quite a while. 😬

Ka is a wheel. It had to be that way, and I think a different ending with an actual resolution would have fallen short for me.

One thing that a lot of people see as disappointing, but I think actually fits so much more upon reread, is the confrontation with Flagg. If you pay attention to the stuff we find out about Flagg in this series and the few times we see him, we realize pretty quickly that the guy isn't actually all that special. He's basically taking advantage of the unknown and many times is acting purely on luck. He even says the first time he meets Roland on the mountain he was actually afraid of him just shooting him because he wouldn't have been able to do anything. Flagg is basically shown as an opportunist and not all that scary throughout the whole series and I think instead of that making people go back and look at his other appearances, it's made them think lesser of Dark Tower because it's not what they thought of him from his other appearances.

The ending is actually what would make this story such an epic to put into a series format! The story could pick up after this point in the story, but start Roland again with the horn, so the series could actually conclude the story. It would also open the writers of the series to make some of their own artistic liberties (hopefully not bad ones) and build on to the story. And at the end when charges down the hill with his horn, his friends deciding that as much as they want the tower, it was never there’s, Roland will stop halfway down and realizes it was never his to begin with either. His work was done after his ka-tet freed the beams.

As someone who hasn't read the Dark Tower series, this ending intrigues me. I mean, I like how tragic that the MC just goes back to the start, losing his memories, his relationships with other people. He must have lost a lot more relationships in his past "lifetimes" because he must have met different people, had different relationships, all for his story to never have an end.

The Dark Tower Concordance has some great essay's in it from Robin Furth (King's then research assistant) about the nature of the Tower and the Quest Roland is on. Has a fair bit of background detail as well. Worth a read if your a fan of the series.

I tell everyone I start on the Dark Tower journey... you won't like the ending, but that's okay, read it again and I guarantee you'll like it more the more you read it and the more you get into the story... it's about the journey not the destination... it's very zen.

I love the ending. But I didn't pick up on any hints his next time through would be the last. In fact I thought the story we read was attempt 19 out of 99. The question I'm left with is since the tower itself exists out of time and space, are the beams in danger of being broken again after Roland's reset? We will never.

it's rare that you see a cyclical story where you don't get to see how the loop closes

King himself has admitted that he rushed the Dark Tower books after the accident as he realized he could've died without finishing the series. I wish he would've taken more time.

I personally love the ending! It's also a great callback to The Stand ("the circle closes", meaning the current cycle has ended but things will just repeat themselves again). We can't escape the circle of history...

My take: Roland has evolved across his journeys, and this journey in particular actually alters the timeline of what happened even before the first book. Because Roland of cycle #19 (I'm assuming) learned to value his allies along with his quest, in the next cycle, he actually paused to take the Horn of Eld before leaving Cuthbert's body behind, or somehow otherwise recovered the Horn, before following the man in black into the desert. Each cycle has been helping Roland become more worthy--which for him means growing and valuing things outside his quest--before he can really reach the top of the Tower. Each cycle has probably been a bit different as Roland has learned and grown. What we see in the books is probably the penultimate cycle, where he finally proves he's worthy. What's left is the final cycle, when he will arrive at the Dark Tower with the Horn of Eld in hand, and presumably so gain access to it in full and end the decay of all worlds. Thing is, we know from the series that somewhat distorted records of Roland's journeys are found in stories told in our world. That's also true of the ending. We didn't need to see the final cycle in King's books... because it's already been written about elsewhere. The poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is our record of the ending of the final cycle. There's a reason it's presented in the final novel after King's ending. Thanks to the poem, we know Roland does indeed finally complete his quest, blowing the Horn of Eld before the Tower. Thanks to the novels, we know what he went through across numerous cycles to do so, why it was important and what he had to become to finally be found worthy.

I personally loved the ending also. I thought it was absolutely appropriate for the story as told. I read it as a teenager, and was blown away by the twist at the end. I had never read anything like that before, and it solidified Stephen King as one of my all-time favorite authors. Another controversial point: I think that the ending of The Dark Tower series is why the Dark Tower movie was plausible. Yes, it was executed poorly, but the whole concept of other worlds and an endless loop certainly implies that what happened in the movie could have been one of the iterations.

* *spoilers* *I just re-read that ending and I guess the only remorse I had is that Roland’s hand was never healed. The new cycle was different because of the Horn but that last section never mentions his missing fingers. Is he restored or he’ll just keep losing parts of himself every round until there’s nothing left? (Because Roland will not stop even if he has no legs or arms to move).

One of the things I loved most of the series was Jake's growth. Thought he was a whinger and annoyed me to start, then he just kept growing on me and his end BROKE me. Amazing series & I so love an ending that stays with you and makes you think

Hey goblin man. I just wanted to let you know that I got introduced to a lot of great book series because of you. I'm currently reading both the witcher and the stormlight archive and love them both. So I just wanted to say thank you 😘

I saw that Doodlebob reference when talking about King Cri- The Crimson King, and it was perfect

Another aspect of this ending, is that maybe King, having little faith in himself of delivering an ending as grand as the journey(due to his accident and thoughts about not having enough time etc) deliberately left it vague. So as the gunslinger has one final chance of completing his journey, maybe King himself can have another go at truly ending the series. After all in the King Multiverse who can say that another seemingly different book of his down the line doesn't connect to the Dark Tower and give us a much more complete and meaningful ending?

I love your thoughts on the full ending of the series. To me, Roland’s journey was all about reducing and eventually removing his obsession over the tower, so that he could complete the real reason he set out for it. To blow the horn in order to complete the promise he made to Cuthbert, rather than just seeing what’s inside the tower. Roland adapts to purpose in his youth, and retains that again through the love and growth within his Ka-Tet. With the horn, which was earned via his better actions in this cycle, he will indeed break the loop and continue on with life. In my opinion too, he has the chance to save his Tet this time considering so many things happened in the series because of the inhuman actions done for the tower. Mordred may not even be born if you think about it! As for the final battle with the crimson king, I can understand your feelings in particular as to why you think it’s anticlimactic, but I personally don’t see it that way. The circumstances regarding his mental state and willingness to cripple himself in order to gain undead immunity make sense. He is obsession incarnate. He’s the reason Roland was poisoned with so much of his issue because his adversary was nothing BUT that. Maybe at some point he had a level of empathy for his own demon kin and the desire to preserve them in the prim, but that endeavor ultimately revolved around the tower. His entire life, persona, and decisions revolved around the tower. I don’t know if you’ve read the book Insomnia by king, but it is demonstrated that he DID have great power. However, what he was fighting was Ka itself. It wouldn’t matter how much strength he could muster or what reality he could teleport to, Ka would have Roland come and eventually kill him. The mere possibility of death is something he is keen on preventing, hence why he did what he did and ended up trapped on the tower. Also, Patrick Danville is a kid who’s been persecuted his entire life by the king. The king in it of itself was perpetuating his downfall for acting on killing Roland and Patrick at young ages behind the scenes, while also driving himself mad over his obsession in the face of failure. It’s not like Patrick alone just erases him, Roland adds his blood, which was the only way to end the king at that point. Roland and the crimson king are both descendants of Arthur Eld, the king being a bastard offspring of him and the crimson queen. By erasing the blood on the picture, it cancels out his immunity. Much longer than necessary thoughts, but I thought I’d give some insight into the whole ending really. Super psyched you have your book published. Long days and pleasant nights Sai Greene.

I could not agree more. When I finished the last page of the dark tower, I don't think I spoke for about 2 hours. It brought very real, raw emotion to the surface. I was VERY angry with King because it felt cheap. But, the longer I thought about it and remembered how Ka is a Wheel, I began to accept it and see the beauty in it. I've reread the entire series again and love the books even more.

I loved it, I thought it actually made sense for Roland and the rest of the story. It allowed me to continue the story even though I couldn’t follow it anymore.

ahhh yeah, hey congrats on the book release my goblin dood. I liked the ending enough because I agree I felt the tragedy of his memories and growth being ripped away. BUT this was not THE ending, there are no endings

Ah... A Daniel rant... Quality Content I See ;';

When I finished it a year or two ago I wasn’t a fan of the ending, but your interpretation is making me reconsider it. I think you’re right that there is something so quintessentially Stephen king about it all and that makes me respect it more even if it wasn’t what I might have expected.

That sounds fascinating! ... That moment when the rant makes you want to red the book

Just came here to say hello, havent even read the dark tower

Fine I’ll read it, happy now!

I LOVED the Dark Tower right up to the end of Wolves of the Calla. I even kinda predicted the ending (Ka is a wheel). But man if Song of Susanna and The Dark Tower didn't feel like King was hate writing the series just to finish it up. That said, while I do not like the last two books, I love the ending, and it rekindled my love of the series overall. But man, what did the villains ever do to King to deserve the send out that they got?

The way it should've ended was Roland flinging open that final door to find his own reflection in a mirror.

Haven't watched video yet. In my opinion, it's the greatest ending to any work of fiction I've ever read or watched. It answers questions, resolves much, yet leaves you yearning for more. It is the literal embodiment of 'it's about the journey, not the destination.' It's beautiful. It's perfect. I totally get why people don't like it, but it's my holy grail of an ending. Ka is a cycle, ya ken? Roland had a ton to learn, and Ka is making him go through it over & over. Who's to say that the next one is even the last one? Maybe he'll have to keep going over and over again, always learning more... and maybe in 2 trips or 2,000 trips he'll get it all right and can finally rest. Maybe the final trip he doesn't sacrifice his friends. They all make it to the tower, take care of the CK, and then ride off into the sunset, being satisfied with reaching the goal and spending the rest of his days with the ones he loves. Maybe they all get there, say the names of those they met/lost on the way, and enter together, and as they enter it's a gateway to a new dimension / the afterlife / whatever. The ending we got makes all of those potential endings possible. It is the greatest ending because it provides infinite endings. And while that is technically THE ending, I really consider Roland shouting the names of his friends & the gate opening for him kind of the end. That moment, even sitting here now typing, makes me tear up. It was so fucking beautiful. What came after was epic as all get out, and as I said above, to me, the perfect ending because it's such an ending with endless possibilities, but yeah. Now to watch the video and see what you say. I thought the Crimson King part was fine. I loved using Patrick to take him out, but not being able to completely take him out because of the eyes. Roland's true battle was with the call of the roses. He had to resist temptation, resist the drug (ie his version of heroin aka THE PRISONER) long enough for Patrick to do what he must, all the while shooting the snitches out of the air to keep them safe. I thought the fact that we didn't have a showdown between Roland and Flagg was the only real letdown. Mordred was cool af, but I really needed a showdown between Roland and Flagg. Maybe next cycle! I pretty much agree with everything else you said, except for my initial reaction at the end was the opposite of yours. I loved it from the moment I realized what was happening. I set the book down and said aloud, "Wow. That was the greatest thing I've ever read. That was the perfect ending that (my writing professor) said strive for: resolve yet leave the audience wanting more... asking more questions..." The ending of DT made the series, to me, the 1b to my 1a, another series I know you're intimately familiar with, WoT, whose ending I also loved, yet many people hate. I think many people just don't like endings, for one reason or another.

If you're watching the whole video, there are obvious spoilers for the Dark Tower here, but if you are checking the comments and find this one before that reveal. Spoiler alert anyway. The Dark Tower's Ending is one of my favorite endings to any series full stop for reasons you have articulated. My favorite thing about the ending is that it is so...hopeful, without being saccharine, and that it's foreshadowed in the 2003 Gunslinger on the first page. But also, what I really love is that it creates this uncertainty that the loops are entirely identical. It is likely that Roland Meets his merry Ka-Tet in each iteration, but how they meet, how they interact, and what ultimately happens to them is not fixed, given that each loop potentially changes. That means, on some level, that you could argue to a degree that there is a loop in which you imagine the characters as Headcanon being potentially a canon loop that's just not written down. It's a way in which fanfiction and fiction intersect that is rare in most stories. And finally, although the Dark Tower film was a pile of boring dicks, I was so excited to see it approached as a sequel to the original story capitalizing on this meta-fictional component to the story even though King himself despises metafiction. That Roland is played by Idris Elba had so much creative potential in exploring how the Dark Tower exists on two layers of reality as both fiction and reality, that it would have been amazing to have actually capitalized on the potential of that idea. That's just my thoughts on it, though.

I just finished the entire Dark Tower cycle so it's very fresh in my mind. When I saw that Roland simply entered the Dark Tower and Philip noticed that time was flowing normally again, I was kind of shocked. That's it, huh? It felt so right, though. Then I got to Susannah's epilogue and cried hysterically. Then, I chose to keep going despite the warning and I'm so glad I did. It just felt *right*. It reminded me of James T. Kirk's quote from 'Star Trek Beyond': "We change. We have to. Or we keep fighting the same battles." Maybe in this new cycle, Roland now in possession of the Horn of Eld won't let Jake fall? Who knows? Oh, I wish I could experience that new cycle, but it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Ka is a wheel and all things serve the Beam.

I remember finishing the Dark tower a few years ago when I was halfway through my undergraduate degree and it blew my mind. To me the ending felt very complete. His return to begining felt perfect. As Daniel said he still needed to grow to be able to set things right. I found it oddly hopeful, all the suffering Roland caused during the series he could put right. Hell thanks to timeline shennagins and the presence of horn he likely made better/more human decisions that set him on a better path. Roland suffered and inflicted suffering but now because he has grown as a person. Instead of bringing nothing but hatred and pain to the tower. He would bring hope, love and all the best parts of humanity to help it rebuild what was destroyed by human/old one arrogance. At that's how I interpreted the end. Great series ♥️

I’d love to see another run through. The last one. It’s be great

I really struggled with gunslinger I'm a king fan but could get on with it sadly i did finish it. But cant like everything

I saw this theory on the Dark Tower subreddit that really caught my interest and essentially it was saying that the ending of the series is reliant on the reader themself. Sure that may sound weird but hey, the man put himself in his own series, of course it’s gonna be weird. Anyway, Roland going back to the desert isn’t truly *the* ending, but rather one of two endings. The “final chapter” comes after the final chapter and epilogue, King wraps up everything in a nice bow. The reason why the coda says essentially “you won’t enjoy what I have to write” is because it’s done, over, the only thing keeping Roland from finishing his journey is us, if you want to see the journey done, you must leave him to witness what is at the top of the Tower on his own. King even says, “After that came the sound of a horn. It simultaneously chilled Patrick’s blood and exalted him. The echoes faded into silence. Then, perhaps a minute later, came a great, echoing boom: the sound of a door being shut forever.” And in the epilogue he says, “And will I tell you that these three lived happily ever after? I will not, for no one ever does. But there was happiness. And they did live. Beneath the flowing and sometimes glimpsed glammer of the Beam that connects Shardik the Bear and Maturin the Turtle by way of the Dark Tower, they did live. That’s all. That’s enough. Say thankya.” He even says to close the book and have your last memory be of Eddie, Jake, and Susannah in New York, living happily. The end of Roland’s journey is only the ending that we decide for him. Long days and pleasant nights

The first time I read this series was in juvi, and I had turned my best friend onto it before I began. He finished the series when I was on Wizard and Glass. He swore he wouldn't spoil it for me, but let me ask one question. I guessed the end of the series successfully, with Roland back in the desert following the man in black. What I didn't know is that the fates of all the other characters that made up the Ka-Tet would bring me to tears. You're right, Stephen King's ending to the Dark Tower series punches your expectations right in the face. And it strikes a sound blow. Still easily my favorite book series.

Your art is the prettiest art of all the art

Couldnt get passed book 3. Ill try again someday. This review kind of makes me want to try again soon though 💚🤘🏽

I loved the ending. There are SEVERAL hints throughout the entire series that everything is cyclical. Also, I think the man in black is all behind this. He is the one who made Roland think that the Dark Tower is so important, and I feel like every time Roland makes it to the tower, there is something he missed a long the way. Just because he's got the horn now, doesn't mean that this is the last time, once he gets there again, there will be something else he forgot to do or get and has to do it again. I don't think Roland is dead, I think he is just trapped in a horrible spell, cast by Randal.

I hadn't read any Stephen King before reading the Dark Tower series based on a rec and I felt what you felt. Incredible sadness that Roland went through all that only to have to do it again. I saw his arc in a similar way to how you did: the entire story is the humanization of Roland. I see if as kinda like a "Edge of Tomorrow" time loop where he has to keep repeating it until he gets it right. What is right? I think maybe just not sacrificing people for his quest. I don't think he necessarily will do it next time, and that's why I'm sad. But seriously, great story.

So if he's stuck in a repeating loop, does he finally get to kiss Samanta Carter? Where my SG1 fans at! 🤣

**grabs popcorn**

Was I mad after waiting for this book and then finding out that Roland's tale was not complete? Yes. But: 1. King writes Horror novels and this is a horror. It's Groundhog Day with a punch in the nuts. 2. If the Browning Poem at the end is The End, then we know Roland eventually succeeds even if we don't get the details. 3. Roland has mistakenly believed that his unwavering pursuit was the key to success in unlocking the highest levels of the Tower. Instead, it is implied that to reach the pinnacle of the Tower, he must arrive at the Tower with the Horn and with his Ka-Tet intact. To succeed Roland must prioritize relationships over relentlessness. 4. The Constant Reader gets to make up their own head cannon about who Roland will Draw for the next go round. Maybe Seth Wyler from The Regulators? Perhaps Abra Stone from Dr. Sleep? Maybe it will be reincarnations of Alain, Cuthbert, and Susan for his last chance at the Tower.

It's one one my favourite endings. It has tragic, mythological feeling, as if you are watching the wild west equivalent of Sisyphus. It's kind of poetic in that way and that makes it memorable.

The Dark Tower was my intro to fantasy/sci-fi. Started when I was 12. I thought the ending was pretty great. Journey before destination lol.

The Dark Tower is the only King I’ve ever read. When I read the end of the story, I decided I would never read another King novel...

I always kind of got the impression that part of the original idea for the Dark Tower was supposed to mirror Dante's Inferno a little bit; there are some similar elements in the structure of the books, how the Ka-Tet travels deeper and deeper into the dying world filled with suffering people that are kind of trapped as the world continues to move on. I love stories that can make you wonder about a world's past like that as the characters progress deeper and uncover the remnants of old civilizations that have decayed beyond recognition. Also if you've ever read 'The Talisman' by King and Peter Straub the story's structure is exTREMELY similar, and I think on purpose. I can't remember if it ties in directly with the greater Dark Tower universe (I think it does) but I like to think it's simply a different multiversal incarnation of Roland's story playing itself out

After the absolute cluster that is the 7 books, I thought the ending was perfect. It was only years after reading TDT before I learned that the books were never edited, and I developed a bit more appreciation for them. It's a wild ride and the payoff of not having a payoff was perfect

I absolutely LOVE the ending of DT. One of my favorite endings to a fantasy series.

Stephen King's connected universe is, indeed, the Cosmere on coke.

I need to reread the Dark Tower soon. I loved the ending. It's almost comforting to me to know that Roland is still out there, fighting his way to the Dark Tower, even if his failure means the end of the universe.

I was sobbing while I was reading those last few pages. What a poetic ending! The whole story to me, at the end, was about choosing what's right over what's easy, accepting the second chance when it's given to you, when you've reached the bottom, walking through the door, accepting to save your soul and then the world (because everything is connected) and just not fucking it up. Whatever that means to anyone. For Eddie Dean, it's putting down the heroin. For Calvin Tower, it's as simple of an act as protecting a single beautiful rose from being vanished. For Stephen King himself it's about overcoming his addictions and finishing what he started. For the reader, is about sticking till the very end. The most corruptive thing one can do to oneself in this story is be lazy and not follow the path. That's ultimately what makes the tower fall. For Roland, it was about walking all those miles, traveling all this distance, waiting for so many years, being quiet and strong, to save the world from falling apart and learning how to love in the process, only to do it again. And again. And again. For eternity. Cause that's what he has to do. This is a story that stays with you forever.

So far anytime an artist sets out to subvert my expectations it turns out bad to me. Dark towers ending sucked for me. Its as unsatisfactory as if odysseus never made it home. The book about Roland's past was the best thing I've read from Stephen king so the series has its merit.

So I suffered through almost all of the series for THAT to be the end? Yikes.

From what I understand The Dark Tower movie and Amazon Prime show were suppose to be another loop within Roland’s journey. But the movie didn’t do well and the show was cancelled before release.

“Death, but not for you gunslinger, never for you” Walter Paddick aka Randall Flagg aka The man in black AKA the ageless stranger.

dang it second like

I agree with you totally. I liked the ending since the first time I read, now years ago, thought it was masterful. As another author says "Journey before destination" which is a quote that I think fits a lot this story in all of the characters, so we have to appreciatr to be able to makr part of this journey with them. Also, the hint that the next loop could be thr last leaves totally open that he can succed or fail and I strangely also liked that. And made me wonder if in a reread maybe you can pick up things related to the previous loops? That would be cool, need to reread is one of these days.

I think it also had to do with the constant readers' expectation or morale of the journey. It transcended mere literature and became in a way our favorite of all his work by encompassing a good portion in it. It's become modern mythology, most books rarely come close. It's by far my favorite fandom

That ending was a total kick in the nuts. Stephen King has admitted that he doesn't believe in happy endings. It's one thing to have read all the books in a row, but I can't imagine what it would be like for someone that started from the beginning of publication, & the huge gaps between earlier books, especially 3 & 4. To build up to this long anticipated ending & that to happen...wow. You bring up some valid points, but it was a bad ending and it was certainly unforgettable in its shock value. SK always hypes up enemies and they usually end up in an unexpected, mediocre fight at the end. When you write something "beyond the imagination", something like "It" is very hard to explain when it's fully revealed.

The word "Roont" is misspelled on your thumbnail

I have this notion: At some point previously in the cycle, Roland led a literally blood-soaked path to the Tower, guns blazing all the while, and dragged himself, missing even more of his body, on through the Tower and looped. Even absent direct memories, the idea that simply cutting a swath to it stood as a bad idea, but it was easy to fall back into, which he did for many cycles, while trying to resist that simplistic urge. We come to the story we actually read, and now these rampages are reserved for no-choice situations like Tull and the Callah and maybe Algol Siento. But while it is still too much abuse of people and spilling of blood, the hard realizations have set in, and now in the new story we will never see (because there is no movie - NO MOVIE! Love ya, Idris, sorry you never got to play that role) it is more than just him having the horn. He has become the man, even in the past, who would keep such a seeming trinket - a man who values his lost friends, and will value those he gains a bit more. Perhaps this man will note the clouds' travel as a sign of the Tower. Given Walter's trap, I'm not sure he can avoid Tull, though maybe he can get out of Dodge before it gets dodgy. A man who would retain a keepsake is not the man who can let Jake go, and having Jake means no timeline split and no deadly beach nap. If Jake is alive, Susannah does not have to 'take on' the demon that produces Mordred, and that miserable life is prevented. I can't say everything goes their way, and he still needs to be deadly to do his job. The Crimson King stays disembodied, but is now even more dangerous and a mind-whisperer like to the lunatic in 'Insomnia' - yet he makes the mistake of whispering to his still embodied self in the new timeline, driving him so far over into insanity Todash eats him and ends his part in the loop. Maybe Roland even pulls a Boimler and keeps going through till a final scene of all his allies and innocents on horseback riding to the Tower and hearing a voice saying 'So the sins of the Great Old Ones are undone. Heil, Gunslinger. One last thought: Why the hell didn't King use the songs 'Spanish Harlem' and 'Do It Again' by Steely Dan in there? By lyrics, they are nearly perfect for this.

Hile, Sai Daniel! Long days and pleasant nights to you and yours. I can empathize with your rant entirely. I was so frustrated after reading that final chapter in 2004. I had been making the journey with Roland and his Ka-tet since the early 1980s After rereading it three more times, I've made peace with it. I've been looking for an opportunity to discuss the series, character arcs, symbolism, connections to other King novels (all things serve the beam) the essence of storytelling within each story, Why Gilead was doomed before the world moved on, etc. Daniel, if you decide to set up a series of podcasts, I'd like to be a guest. I've got the tech. It could be fun.

Loved the ending... IMO the strength of the DT is the characters. I've always read King as a character driven storyteller. His plots range from completely engrossing to -------. I always connect with his characters in some way.

I LOVE it, and think it's genius! Maybe my favorite all time ending. What other _looong_ fantasy series has the hero FAIL in his main quest. But then the author gives the readers/fans a bone by setting up a success in the next *head-canon* go around? Plus, if they still don't dig it, then they can go with the first ending instead if the second one bothers them too much.

Exceptionally well analysis. Expect nothing less from you daniel. It seems thats the very thing I wanted to write in my blog about it but couldn't complete it. You are very good to express your emotion about a book you read. Your videoes and analysis help me a lot to write something about the books I read.

Missed that detail about the horn. Thanks.

G'day mate 👍 great vid! I side with you on this one. I should qualify this by saying I'm a DT tragic lol. I'm covered in tattoos of Susan Delgado, Aileen Ritter and Cuthbert Allgood. LOL I own the hardcover editions of Marvel comics DT run etc. I absolutely loved the ending, and I must have read the entire series at least 3 times. Some entries more than others. "Wolves of the Callah" and "Wizard and Glass" are probably my favourites. Ka is a wheel right? Great review, can't wait for more. Oh I've also got an "All hail the Crimson King" hoodie and a bowling T-shirt that says "Nothing but strikes at Mid World Lanes" Told you, tragic

I have recently reread the series, and I don't believe I have seen one clue suggesting that Roland's story is anything other than cyclical. There is no ending; Roland is the ageless (literally) archetype of the hero, going through the journey to save his metaphorical father (i.e. the ideal his father stood for: the White). 'You'll wear out a hundred pairs of boots on your road to hell.' Although the horn, at the end, provides some hope for less suffering in Roland's next journey, I find it highly unlikely that it would turn out to be the key to break his cycle. I believe the narrative King added the horn for this reason, just as he used his "power" to aid Roland before. But narrative King does not have the power to break Roland's cycle, either. Real King probably added the horn as a band aid, to soften the blow of the ending for the reader. Last time I read the series, probably more than fifteen years ago, the ending more or less traumatized me. But this time around, I have been able to put it into perspective more: Roland is a slave to the tower, and his road is suffering. Which is why all his companions leave him, one way or the other. Realizing this made me appreciate Roland's character much more. I agree with the interpretation of Roland being stuck in what is basically a half-assed attempt by the Tower to save itself. But it doesn't really care about his suffering, I think, which is why I hold to the horn hypothesis above.

Roland as Sisyphus. The eternal trial. His punishment for being a hardass gunslinger. This is what I get from the struggle of Roland.

I love how King had to add a note after the ending addressing the fact that he knew lots of people would hate it... Hahaha. I thought it was masterful. Just noticed you said "before" in my version of the book it was right after. So I was mad, turned the paged, and found King telling me "I know you are mad, I don't care, don't write me about it". And I laughed.

The anime Wolf's Rain did something similar where the world restarts and the next time may be when the characters succeed in saving it

I started this series when I was like 12 and lost interest during I believe the 2nd to last book because for some reason I really did not like King's self insert into the story. From the first book onwards though I always had the feeling like this has happened before and will happen again in some way. Until recently I never really learned how the series ends but throughout the whole story I always kinda knew we're in a Loop and probably in the process of setting up for the last run. I can't really explain it but something in his writing just unconsciously made this concept click in my brain super early on to the point where it was just kind of a given.

My expectations were completely subverted for the last Jedi. I expected it to be good.

Agree with everything you said. I'll add that the fact that he picked up Cuthbert's horn on the next cycle shows that he has retained some of his lessons from the cycle we read on the importance of the people he loves.

The Dark Tower 7 ending was beautiful