El Fin

The ending of each telenovela is met with both excitement and sadness; excitement to finally discover the fate of each character and sadness about having to say goodbye to characters that you have grown to know and love. However, like many good things the relationship between the audience and the telenovela must come to an end. The characters, once strangers, are now apart of the lives of the audience and the audience is not ready for things to change. The ending of this relationship is not always received happily, for many the final episode of their beloved telenovela leaves them with nothing but disappointment. Therefore, the responsibility for this "break-up" with the audience falls to the director. The director is left to try to leave the audience content and bring them to terms with the way everything ends. All of his choices from film-style to music contribute to the audience's final view of the telenovela and how they remember it. The director wants to reach the audience one last time in the final episode, and may make decisions based on the intended audience. In the final episode of La Reina del Sur there were two possible endings with only one slight change, the music. The music in one ending reflected the Mexican audience it was aimed toward, however, the music in the final episode that aired in Spain was more symphonic, appealing more to the Spanish audience. This musical choice successfully appealed to both audiences. The ending of a telenovela, like most relationships, is remembered by the way it ended, and a good ending means the difference between being forgotten and being remembered as one of the greats.