Save the Cat Breakdown Series - Final Image

In the previous article, we explored the Save the Cat story beat of the Finale, where your protagonist acts upon the realisations they had in the Break Into Act 3 story beat and finally succeed (or fail) at their ultimate goal, fully acting in line with their need, as opposed to just their want. In this article, we are exploring the final story beat of the Final Image, which is a final snapshot of the protagonist’s new world.

What is the Final Image story beat?

The Final Image is usually the last chapter, or maybe an epilogue, where we see how the world has changed as a result of the protagonist’s actions. In a romance, we see the protagonist living happily (even just for now) with their beloved. In a thriller, we see the bad guy put behind bars. This is the moment where we give a sigh of satisfaction and close the book, content in the knowledge that all is well.

The Final Image is also, often, a reflection of the Opening Image. Where the Opening Image shows what the protagonist is missing from their life, whether they realise it or not, the Final Image shows that the protagonist now has what they were missing, sometimes in the same setting as the Opening Image to really show the contrast.

Finally, this is our chance to sow the seeds of a cliff hanger if we are writing a series. This is where we see that the conflict of this book has been wrapped up, and then… Something happens or something is discovered which once again threatens this new equilibrium and makes the reader instantly want to read the next book to find out what happens.

Final Image in Disney’s Mulan

The Final Image in Disney’s Mulan shows Mulan returning to her home and her family. She presents her father with the sword and the emperor’s medalion, only for him to toss them aside in order to hug his daughter.

“The greatest gift and honour is having you for a daughter.”

This is a reflection of the start of the movie where her father is almost obsessed with family honour and sacrificing himself and the happiness of his family for that honour. Now, both he and Mulan have realised that acceptance for who you are is more important than any trinkets.

The Final Image in Flewelling’s Luck in the Shadows

Flewelling’s Luck in the Shadows and its sequel Stalking Darkness were originally written to be one book before the publisher told her that it was too long and had to be split. As such, the Final Image isn’t as nicely concluded as it is in her later books. However, it is still there, wrapping up the events in this book nicely. And it is a fantastic example of the cliff hanger setting up the events in the next book.

Seregil and Alec return to Nysander’s rooms where he needs to cover up Seregil’s scar from the disc earlier in the book. In doing so, Nysander touches the scar and sees the following:

The streak of a falling star; a flash of the mysterious blue; the faint roar of the ocean; the hint of an unfamiliar profile. Then nothing. p475

Then the last three pages are from Nysander’s point of view, a change from the rest of the book, in which he sees a vision of what is to come, the events in the next book. This leads the reader to want to continue reading, to learn the rest of the story.

Final Thoughts

The Final Image is the satisfying sigh at the end of the book. It is where things come full circle for the protagonist and everything is wrapped up nicely, or at lest hinted that that will happen with the next book.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we wrap up our Save the Cat breakdown series. Thank you for being here for it. The next in-depth articles will be exploring the Enneagram system and how it can be used to create deep and rich characters.