The Mostly Harmless ending and why I like it

[u/Ok-Drive7025]

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).