When the Animaniacs reboot premiered Animaniacs season 3 in February 2023, viewers were disappointed and shocked by the last scene of the series. Based on the animated comedy series of the same name, which aired in the 1990s, Animaniacs follows the Warner siblings Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Each episode is made up of various segments exploring the adventures of the Warner siblings and other wacky fan-favorite characters like Pinky and the Brain.

Since its release in 2020, Animaniacs has garnered mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. Rotten Tomatoes deemed the series to be "a delightful revitalization of a beloved series," and gave it an 81% critic score. However, Animaniacs has not totally avoided criticism, especially when it comes to diverging from the original series, and Animaniacs season 3 definitely received some flack for its ending.

Related: Animaniacs Reboot Unintentionally Mocks Justice League Snyder Cut

Animaniacs Season 3's Abrupt Ending Was Jarring To Viewers

Animaniacs Season 3 Trailer Wakko Yakko and Dot

In the final scene of the finale of Animaniacs season 3, the Warner siblings are hit by a meteor and instantaneously killed. The series does not continue after that, only including a title card that reads "Stay safe, sweeties." For Animaniacs viewers, this ending was not only upsetting, but completely unexpected.

Following the release of Animaniacs season 3, many went to Twitter to express their feelings about the ending being incredibly abrupt and therefore jarring. After so much anticipation and excitement, fans felt cheated by the fact that their favorite characters were seemingly killed at the end of the series. While some audience members cited the meteor ending as so random as to be funny, others were much more upset and wondered if the Animaniacs reboot should even be considered canon in the Animaniacs world. Notably, this is not the first controversy for the Animaniacs reboot after its Johnny Depp joke.

Why The Animaniacs Season 3 Ending Was Always Going To Feel Abrupt

Animaniacs Reboot Trailer Brings Back Pinky & The Brain

Unfortunately, Animaniacs season 3 was inevitably going to have an abrupt feeling to its finale because the season included three fewer episodes than in Animaniacs season 1 and season 2. This season offered less time for the Warners and Pinky and the Brain to get into antics - and even worse, decreased the ability to tie up cliffhangers and other mysteries. Unfortunately, because of the removal of three episodes, Animaniacs season 3 was always going to lack the familiar feeling of past seasons, which most likely added to the shocking ending.

Although many Animaniacs fans have hope that Animaniacs season 3 won't be the last season of the reboot, continuing bits like Brain's plan for world domination in Animaniacs, so far Hulu has stayed true to its word. This means that audiences are stuck with the meteor ending for now unless another company decides to pick the series up. If this happens, hopefully the Warners and other beloved characters will get the chance to continue their adventures.

More: Animaniacs: 10 Differences Between The Reboot And The Original '90s Show