I have a few thoughts in regards to the complaints some of the fandom has about the end of Trollhunters season 3 (there aren’t many, it’s by and large been very well received).

In short, the ending was masterfully done, the narrative stayed true despite what some people are saying, and it’s a lot more nuanced than some people are giving it credit for.

Spoilers below the cut!

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Please allow me to preface this with something very important: There are always going to be many ways to write a great story. There are several routes you can take that are considered objectively good storytelling practices, and subjective personal taste will always wind up ensuring you never please everyone.

So the only beef I have is people saying “this is just bad writing!”. You can dislike it, you can point out the flaws (nothing is perfect!), but boy does it grind my gears when someone tries to pass off an opinion like the writers really messed up. As someone who works in the animation industry, I can assure you that the finale of Trollhunters took one of the many possible routes for a good, solid story. Whether or not it’s your taste is up to you though, and that’s a valid enough reason to be unhappy with it!

So this brings me to the biggest complaint I’ve been seeing: Turning Jim into a half-troll destroys the message of the first two seasons, and takes away what made Jim special.

This was my knee-jerk reaction too, until the final episode fully came to a close. I was driven emotionally to have distaste for it since it was a bittersweet ending, so I understand the sentiment.

But the overarching theme of Trollhunters (and the message behind the first two seasons) is NOT that Jim is special because he is human. He’s special because he’s Jim.

We had more antagonizing characters push him towards being more Trollish, and supporting characters pushing him to rely on his humanity. So it was a rather clever choice to make the true message of the series not fall in line with what those supporting characters believed in–it showed that even the “good guys” can be misguided for all their good intentions.

It’s easy to fall on Jim’s humanity being his defining characteristic. There’s never been a human Trollhunter before. But the amulet didn’t choose Jim because he was human–otherwise it would have chosen just any ol’ human! It called to Jim because of what was in his heart, beneath his skin.

Jim didn’t toss away his humanity when he became half-Troll, despite what he, and the audience, is meant to think at first. Being told he’s “neither” Troll or human, being told he’s not human by the river rock Trolls in the forest. This was meant to happen. We’re supposed to feel like he lost something far more important than initially thought. We’re supposed to be with him in spirit when he runs away, when he hates himself, when he’s torn and upset and confused. We were right there with him.

The whole point of the scene where he accepts himself, is for both him and us is to realize he still retained what made him him. Human or Troll, or goblin or alien or whatever, the amulet still would have chosen him.

Being half-Troll didn’t allow him to be what he was meant to be, but it sure made it easier. I personally would have liked that bit to be emphasised more, but the narrative was still pretty clear with saying that there was no other way to defeat all three Big Bads in the finale. Jim was thrust into a situation he wasn’t fully prepared for, but they still needed him, regardless. Jim has been in countless situations that he was ill-equipped for, and ended up taking metaphorical bullets for the greater good. It wasn’t so much his tendency for self-sacrifice that made him a hero, but that he was willing to do anything to help those in need.

He did the same at the very end. He made a very heavy decision, one that fell in line with his character on a scale not seen before, one that really showed us why the amulet chose him. He’s kind, selfless, and courageous.

So as much as all the downfalls hurt, they needed to be there to drive that message home. Jim lost one of his greatest passions, the ability to taste human food (though he can arguably still cook at least from memory). He can’t graduate high school. He can’t be out in the sun anymore with his mom and his human friends. He can’t return to the life he once knew.

It’s sad, but it’s supposed to be. Without that sacrifice, Jim’s decision wouldn’t have struck us in such an emotional way. It’s not a hopeless ending, it’s not full of despair or grief. It’s just heavy enough to support the most important messages, without leaving the audience feeling unfulfilled.

Jim can adapt. Not to say it will be easy, but Jim will survive and find new passions. I’m actually a huge fan of this particular message, as it’s one we don’t see very often, but everyone feels at multiple times through their life. It could be losing a loved one, moving homes, developing an illness or disability, moving away for college and losing touch with old friends, getting older and confronting new drastic changes and challenges. They’re all hard and upsetting and can be absolutely devastating, but they’re never without hope.

A bit of a tangent, but as someone who sustained a major life-changing injury that directly interfered with my greatest joys in life, seeing Jim lose his ability to taste human food… I liked it. It gave me some hope. Jim can find other things in life to be passionate about–heck, he could learn to cook Troll food now! He can find new ways to enjoy life. It made me feel a little more optimistic about my own predicament.

Anyway, thanks for reading! If you’re not a fan of the ending, that’s fine. You can even say you outright hate it. Just please don’t try and say it was bad or lazy writing, because this show really has followed a lot of conventionally strong narrative styles, and the writers very clearly had a great deal of heart in this work.