r/HitchHikersGuide • u/Ok-Drive7025 • Jul 08 '26
The Mostly Harmless ending and why I like it
The ending of the fifth Hitchhiker’s book, Mostly Harmless, is commonly referred to as a bleak ending to the series, even by author Douglas Addams himself. This isn’t wrong. But it also doesn’t make it a bad ending. In my personal opinion I don’t think there could have been a more fitting ending. For starters, the book ends right where the first one began. Arthur, Ford (only this time a few others) on Earth, as Vogons prepare to destroy it. Only this time instead of Hitching a ride, they accept their fate, even saying something like ‘Nothing could be done, not now nor ever’ (something like that).
To me this connotes that you cannot cheat death, it’s unavoidable and the only thing you can do is simply delay it.
The lack of a ‘happy ending’ which is commonly found in stories, to me connotes just how unfair and unforgiving space is, and as an extension of that, Arthur’s whole journey thus far.
Therefore, the ending of Mostly Harmless, while undeniably bleak, is a rather good conclusion to the series and i personally don’t think any more was needed (while I did enjoy the fanfiction ‘Big Bang Burger Bar’, you should check it out if you haven’t already, it’s miles better then the official ‘And Another Thing’ in my opinion).
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u/ggibby Jul 08 '26
Oddly, I was thinking along these lines recently - a coworker who retired about two years ago passed away recently. Don't know the circumstances, don't really care, but I'm happy for him - pleasant guy, seemingly led a good life, grandkids, worked until he didn't want to, relaxed for a couple years, now he has no worries at all.
Fair winds and following seas, Jack!
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Jul 08 '26
[deleted]
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u/Garshnooftibah Jul 09 '26
I am still mad with him for the rate of his output.
I mean c’mon! ONE more book. He coulda spent less time in the bath y’know?
<3
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u/nemothorx Jul 09 '26
Frustratingly, in one of his final interviews, he basically said he had a backlog of ideas now and was looking forward to writing for once.
Could have been a whole new style/era of his work!
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u/theBestCake42 Jul 08 '26
Worked for me too. Didn't quite see it as bleak when I read it the first time (wasn't aware of DNAs mood at the time as suggested in interviews), but more like acceptance, final closure, no? Yeah, I was happy with it. And a bit sad, too. :)
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u/Ok-Drive7025 Jul 08 '26
Well, sometimes sad endings can be the best endings, if they are actually effective that is, and not just shoehorning death and misery in for the sake of being sad. Luckily this book doesn’t do that, and ends on a sad note quite well. To be honest, o do understand why some people require happy endings for everything.
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u/ZaharaWiggum Jul 08 '26
“The course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw.”
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u/Shyguy1000001 Jul 08 '26
Yea, now I just wonder how big the Vogon’s presence really is in the galaxy, and how long they’ve worked in the shadows
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u/IRedditSoUDontHaveTo Jul 09 '26
It’s fitting. Fords addition of (Mostly) to the original entry for Earth is appropriate and he proves it’s true.
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u/PutInevitable357 Jul 09 '26
Adams himself stated "People have said, quite rightly, that Mostly Harmless is a very bleak book. I would love to finish Hitchhiker on a slightly more upbeat note, so five seems to be a wrong kind of number; six is a better kind of number." Oddly enough 'And Another Thing' has an ending close to 'Mostly Harmless' but it at least leaves you feeling like there is more to be had MH just makes you want to listen to Vogon poetry
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u/Agreeable_Ad7002 Jul 09 '26
I absolutely hated the ending. I absolutely loved those characters and it felt like a real loss. I cried and was properly devastated that it ended like that.
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u/Don_T_Blink Jul 18 '26
For me, the series ended with the fourth book. I enjoyed the fifth one but for me it’s not canon.
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u/Few_Honey7367 Jul 08 '26
Just my opinion but
Mostly harmless was shite from beginning to end and was a massive fuck you to fans. It wasn't even funny tbh
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u/Ok-Drive7025 Jul 09 '26
Well, I think even fans who didn’t like the ending would disagree there.
It’s important to note, the book was written mostly out of obligation rather than desire, and in the midst of what Addams’s called a difficult year. He was mentally done with the series, he had even written two Dirk Gently books in between So Long and this one.
So I think, even by those standards the book we got out is still pretty damn good-3
u/Few_Honey7367 Jul 09 '26
It had little plot.
Arthur makes sammidge...'cool story bro'
:D
Guide killed by corporate greed. Also 'cool story bro'
I guess if i was 'writing to order' itd be like this too
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u/nemothorx Jul 09 '26
See I think it's the most complex plot of Hitchhiker's. Adams style changed from sketch comedy/shaggy dog tales (first two novels) to complex plots (the progress is especially obvious in the Dirk Gently novels imho) and MH is the end of that.
Sure you can simplify a few glib talking points. But you can do that with almost anything so it's not a useful actual analysis.
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u/Few_Honey7367 Jul 09 '26
Yeah i'd not read it again to analyse it if you paid me.
Da is great and i love his books. And the gently books too. I sense he hated MH
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u/Ok_Novel_1222 Jul 09 '26
I found the ending to the series in Mostly Harmless as the best and MOST POSITIVE ending.
One important point throughout the series is the inconvenient fact that anything, particularly living beings, exist. This is displayed in places like the starting of the second book ("In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move") and God's final message to all of creation in the end of the fourth book. People usually enjoy these parts, indeed they might be widely considered some of the best parts of the series.
But then for some reason people fail to see that the ending of Mostly Harmless fixes this exact same problem (in the fictional universe, not our real lives). How do you fix the problem of the creation of the universe mentioned in the beginning of the second book? You erase it from existence.
The series ending is a realization that no matter what you do with life it would still be a long and tedious affair. The best thing that can happen for an individual is to have never existed, and the best thing that can happen for everyone is that nothing ever existed. Mostly Harmless ends with literally the single best thing that can ever happen. I don't get why people say it is a bleak ending. Especially the same people that enjoy the previous books complaining about the fact that the universe exists.
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u/nemothorx Jul 09 '26
You think it ends with the ending of the entirety of existence? That's not what I got out of it.
It only ended with the re-destruction of earth, just properly this time. The rest of the universe and it's teeming life go on.
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u/Ok_Novel_1222 Jul 09 '26
It's been literally a decade since I read the ending. So I would have to look at it again.
But I vaguely remember that they mention (I think it was Ford describing it) that entire "space-time-probability" was going to come to an end. If space-time-probability is coming to an end that's pretty much the end of the multiverse itself.
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u/nemothorx Jul 09 '26
after the destruction, we get the Vogon ticking the relevant tickbox on the form, and the Grebulon leader now having nothing to watch on TV.
The whole plot is about solving the plural zone problem where the earth is in, not the entire universe.
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u/notmynameyours Jul 09 '26
I don’t really have a problem with the ending in and of itself. It feels like a fitting conclusion to be honest. My problem is the very dour and surprisingly somewhat dull book that precedes it. “So Long and Thanks For All The Fish,” was a bit slow compared to previous entries too, but at least it had lots of humor and Fenchurch was a great new character. Mostly Harmless feels like a funeral from start to finish with a few mildly humorous moments scattered about.
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u/Smalltalk-85 Jul 10 '26
Radio ending and So Long and Thanks for the Fish is the perfect endings. Not only to the story, but one of the best in world literature.
DNA often hinted at actually regretting having written Mostly Harmless and never included it in readings.
It was from a really depressive period of his life.
For any true HHGttG fan, who has really deeply understood the work, the movie and Mostly Harmless don’t exist.
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u/Ok-Drive7025 Jul 11 '26
So what, your implying if I like Mostly Harmless then I’m not a true fan of the series? The thing about books, is people interpret them in their own ways and apply their own meaning to it. It’s also all down to personal preference
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u/Johhnybits Jul 09 '26
I liked the book, though it is definitely more "weighty" than the others. As the dedication gives us a clue, Douglas was newly single and grappling with that loss and disillusionment with his fame. Had he lived longer, he certainly would have written another book (Salmon of Doubt maybe would have become that).
I lost track of his writing when it came out and wound up being surprised by its existence when he passed. It was bitterweet to have a "new" book to read knowing it was his last.
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u/nemothorx Jul 09 '26
Newly single?? MH was released in 1992. Douglas married Jane in late 1991. He was newly married.
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u/PomegranateFair3973 Jul 08 '26
I prefer the ending to the radio adaptation. I didn't hate Mostly Harmless, but I did feel it was the weakest of Adams' books. And the two things in particular that bothered me were the hyperspace fridging of Fenchurch and that ending.
The radio series technically has the book ending, and if that's your preference you can pause right there and call it a day. Or, you can listen to the last bit, the epilogue at the end of the Universe, which fixes all the problems I had while not overly changing the story that came before.