There are times that TV shows go on a little too long. The networks enjoy the money coming in, without thinking about where storylines can go. Sometimes it’s best for TV shows to go out on a high, rather than getting dragged through the mud in the hope of some sort of resurrection. With “Quantico’s” season 2 finale working well as a series finale, here’s a look at others that were similar.

‘Once Upon a Time’ season 6 finale

The day before “Quantico,” ABC aired the season finale of another of its shows. “Once Upon a Time” season 6 wrapped, with fans knowing that they would say goodbye to the majority of the main cast.

Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Dallas, and others were saying goodbye to their characters, meaning a complete reset for the confirmed season 7. Because of the complete reset, the show was beautifully set up for a series finale, wrapping all the fairy tales and giving everyone a somewhat happy ending.

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ season 5 finale

Did you know “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” turns 20 this year? The WB drama ended on its seventh season, but it could have ended two years earlier. The network didn’t want that to happen, of course. Neither did the fans, although they will agree that the season 5 finale would have worked beautifully as a series finale. Buffy managed to save the world (again) but sacrificed her life to do it.

It was fitting that Buffy was ready for this, after her fear of dying for so many years before it.

‘Supernatural’ season 5 finale

Arguably, the season 5 finale was supposed to be the series finale. This was as far as Eric Kripke had planned “Supernatural.” All the episodes in the first five years linked together extremely well, with foreshadowing happening from the very beginning, rather than working on a year-to-year basis.

“Supernatural” season 5 wrapped with the big apocalypse: Michael vs. Lucifer. As Dean watched, Sam chose to sacrifice himself to stop the world being destroyed. Dean was able to go off to a normal, apple pie life with Lisa and Ben. The show is still running and has been renewed for season 13.

There is hope for “Once Upon a Time.” While “Buffy” could have ended with season 5, it did have two fairly strong seasons.

“Supernatural” has had weaker seasons since the season 5 finale, but it is coming back to where it started.

Do you agree with the list? Which season finales do you think worked better as series finales for your favorite shows? Would you have been happy seeing any finish earlier, feeling like the stories had come to an end?
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