Spoiler alert: Watch the ending before reading this blog post.

I got a new blog post. Don’t read it, as it spoils Washington Black’s ending. 

Washington Black and the Problem With Disney Endings

I just finished watching the mostly delightful series Washington Black, a beautifully made miniseries, based on an inventive idea, that could have been a perfect classic. Unfortunately, it ended on the most Disney whimper imaginable. 

If you don’t know the Disney ending, you do, because it’s been inside you all along. If that makes no sense, maybe you aren’t as high as all the people writing this nonsense. Most Disney projects amount to a character learning to believe in themselves. It’s why Disney loses favor every few years (because it takes a bit for something worn out to come back into favor). Washington Black has a similar ending, where the main character learns nothing of value, but to do things for himself, and he never needed anyone else to affirm him, and blah, blah, blah. 

I feel like the ending of Washington Black should have been so obvious of an answer, I’m surprised they didn’t go for it. Someone might counter that they didn’t go for it because it was obvious. My counter point is, if you don’t have a better idea, just go with the one that makes the most sense given the setup. 

To recap the premise of the series, George Washington Black is a young boy raised as a slave in a brutal plantation. He catches the eye of an inventor who happens to be the brother of the owner of the plantation. This character, Titch is a mentor figure to our hero, but also a dark reflection of what he can be. What the show glosses over is that he is an abolitionist who asks to use slave labor to build his flying machine. Titch is a man with ideals who is too selfish to live up to them. 

A contrasting mentor figure is Medwin, who is taking care of everyone. His arc is related to him being afraid of becoming like John, his dark mirror. Episode 3, which focuses on John is probably the best of the series, as we see a selfless man devolve into depression, and then utter selfishness. 

The theme building seemed to be about Wash overcoming the selfish pride of his mentor Titch, and embracing the selfless nature of Medwin, while inspiring him to trust that he won’t end up like John. Given that, there’s only one ending that made sense. 

In the second to last episode Wash has his invention stollen by his future father in law, finds out who his mother is, and that she died in slavery. This should have led to only one conclusion. Wash should have made the new and improved flying machine, but used it to free escaped slaves. 

A character arc of a young man told the whole series to look after himself instead risking it all for other’s is the ultimate character arc for Wash. it is the thing necessary to bring every character’s story to a close. Titch sees the man he could have been through Wash. Medwin regains his faith in people and the future that John made him almost lose. Tanna embraces the risk her father desperately tried to shield her from. All characters come full circle. 

Overall, Washington Black is a unique, well produced, well acted show that is surprisingly wholesome and sweet. I just wished it had focused more on delivering the character arc setup from the first episode. The lack of payoff for the setup really hurt my feelings for it. I wish somebody could reshoot that finale and give us the ending we deserved, or give us a season 2 that gives us closure, as the ending rang so hollow.