Warning: Major Spoilers For Halloween Ends BelowHalloween Ends brings the Michael Myers vs Laurie Strode saga to a close, and in doing so, solves a recurring franchise issue with the latter. Halloween was neither the first slasher movie nor the first to feature a "final girl," but it defined the blueprint for the entire genre. Pretty much every slasher film that followed has some Halloween DNA in it, and the relationship between Michael and Laurie has evolved in bizarre ways over the years. Jamie Lee Curtis' desire to move on to other kinds of roles meant she ducked out on many sequels - but she kept being drawn back in later years.
Halloween Ends appears - for now, at least - to be her final battle with Michael Myers. The sequel also gives Laurie a true, unambiguous victory over her tormentor; Michael Myers is truly, irretrievably dead by the time the credits roll. Halloween Ends closes on a hopeful note for Laurie, and in doing so, overcomes the series' recurring issue with the character. In past timelines, a desire to continue the franchise led to various iterations of Laurie dying - be it offscreen in Halloween 4 or onscreen in Resurrection - so Michael could continue slashing. With no plans to continue the Blumhouse series, Halloween Ends give Laurie the victory she deserved.
Halloween And The "Final Girl" Sequel Problem
Halloween isn't the only horror franchise guilty of killing off an iconic final girl so it can continue with a new batch of victims. Friday The 13th Part 2 almost immediately offed original survivor Alice, while A Nightmare On Elm Street knocked off Heather Langenkamp's Nancy in the third instalment. Since these series were sold on their killers like Freddy or Jason, producers saw little value in bringing back surviving characters again and again - which would also mean salary increases. The simple solution was to kill them off and introduce younger (and cheaper) replacements.
Not every franchise did this, with Scream's heroine Sidney (Neve Campbell) always managing to live another day. Laurie and Michael killed one another a few times throughout differing timelines, though the death of the latter - outside of maybe Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 - was always ambiguous. Halloween Ends was seemingly built on the idea of giving fans the ending for Laurie they always wanted. Since Michael is thoroughly pulped in the 2022 sequel, it's hard to see how another entry could even happen - though it gives it some wiggle room, considering Michael Myer's mask itself wasn't destroyed.
Halloween Ends Should Be Laurie's Last Outing
Laurie Strode has appeared in most of the Halloween franchise's 13 outings. She's lost friends, family and her life in various timelines, but Halloween Ends feels like a full stop on the character's journey. She's defeated her demons (literally, in Michael's case) and learned to reconcile her grief and trauma. Moving forwards, the franchise itself should move beyond Laurie and find another new adversary for Michael. For instance, Dr. Loomis never got closure with Michael in any of his timelines, so maybe he should take over the next entry and let Laurie have her rest.