The last dance *spoilers*

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Andy1963

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May 2, 2016
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After having read the alternate ending, I still liked the ending published in the book. Of course, it wouldn't be what I wanted for Jake and Sadie, but the ending is just one of the things that makes it a great story

Not what wanted either, and I expect no reader wanted either, but powerful, Oh so pwerful.
 

Andy1963

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May 2, 2016
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I've been thinking about this ending quite a lot these last couple of days, I even dreamed about it last night! For what it's worth here's my insight.

We have all loved and lost at some point in our lives, it's how we handle that loss that matters once it's all over. In his heart, Jake loves Sadie and always will. Does she remember him? Not really but as we have experienced there's that dejavu moment, who's to say that's not a reset? Sometimes we dream of what has been and I think Sadie has these dreams whether she can remember them or not, after all the reset doesn't return everything to how it was, there are changes that echo and linger. Jake is just such an echo to her.

Does Jake keep in touch? I hope so. Does he tell Sadie? Perhaps, after all he told her before and she believed him. Dreams can be powerful and perhaps something he says resonates in her dreams.

Do they get back together? Not the way they did before but a deep close friendship is possible. I do hope so.

I am happily married to someone I love very much and wouldnt change her for the world, but every now and then I do think of past loves and wonder where they are now, are they happy, do they remember me... all the things Jake wonders about Sadie. That is life, that is love, that is what it is to be human.
 

Andy1963

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May 2, 2016
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I preferred the alternate ending that Stephen King posted to this site. It took some of the sting out.

Heartbreaking love story. That was the horror aspect to the book, the most unsettling part.
Yes, it took some of the sting out, but isn't the real ending oh so... powerful. Got me thinking about them for a long time afterwards which I don't think the alternate ending would have done. As I said elsewhere in this thread, not the ending most wanted but the tears that flowed from us all. Masterful
 
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TheRedQueen

And Crazy Housewife
Dec 3, 2014
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Fernley, NV.
Just finished reading this book again for the second time, and remember now why I don't like this book. I hate the ending. I hate it like Mad Madam Mim hates sunlight. It isn't fair. And yeah, I know the old saw about how life ain't fair, but love is the only thing that makes life worth living. And so few get to know real, true, soul-deep love. Jake and Sadie knew it, knew it very well, and to have fate or time or plain old ka tear them apart was just so cruel.

But then, ka brought them back together, didn't it? Maybe some things really are meant to be. In their own time. In the right time.

Think about it. Sadie never remarried, and probably never opened up to another man the way she did Jake. There is no indication of it, at least. And some part of her knows Jake still. Who's to say they didn't rekindle their romance? It wouldn't be impossible, not in this day and age.

It's a nice thought, anyway. A little what-if.
 
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Jason ML

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Jul 17, 2016
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There are other worlds than these. In my head, one day there will be a new adventure in the land of Midworld in which versions of Jake and Sadie will be chosen to form a new ka-tet. It is there and with those versions that they will truly get to be together.
:)
 
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Alternate Reality

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Apr 4, 2014
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This is my first post and will contain spoilers. I was extremely surprised at my response to the ending of ‘11.22.63’. Never have I felt so emotional about two characters from a story, but I’ve cried for days afterwards whenever I thought about Jake and Sadie. I thought I was going crazy to have such a reaction and it was a relief to read some of the posts here that showed other readers having similar experiences. Being familiar with a number of King stories,
I knew Jake would not get to have his (pound) cake and eat it too, even as he was telling the dead Sadie he knew what he had to do. I cried along with Jake (the man who never cries) as he realised his true love was a butterfly and that he would let her go. For Jake to describe himself as a man with no particular prospects and no expectations from life was devastatingly sad. To think there was no dancing left in his life, at his age, was cruel. Finally, I’m not sure what to make of his dance with the 80 year old Sadie. I felt sad for her too, as there appeared to be no ‘true love’ as she remained single and childless. Did she ever find someone to get rid of the broom? I had hoped so, but maybe not with her dedication to civic life. I interpreted the final dance of the book as a means for closure for Jake and that they wouldn’t see each other again.
What did other readers think? This may have been discussed in earlier posts, when the book was first released, so I apologise if I’m going over old territory.

I agree that Sadie didn't find true love after Jake either. To me, for there only to be a couple of years of this true love for them is cruel. This is part of the reason why I believe that Jake should have gone back to live his life with Sadie, only without trying to stop the Kennedy asssasination this time.