The Dark Tower Ending - Examined 

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So here’s my thought, Roland didn’t see who or what is at the tower and has been “reset” an untold, potentially, bajillion times. It’s not a time loo-so much as it is the start of a rogue like where Roland is the one who goes on to try again until some condition is met. Basically we have no idea how old Roland actually is, his memories reset back to that point in the desert every time he arrives at the tower without the horn. And in order to get the horn he has to accomplish his run with certain conditions being met. So why does he get the horn this time? Because the whole theme of Roland is death, but never for him. He willingly sacs everything he loves for the tower, it’s his curse to break. To get what he is prophesied to get he has to not only be willing to lose it, but actually attempt to do so. To trigger the emergency systems that prevent his death but not his suffering. To force Ka to step in. This time around he actively tried to prevent the necessary deaths for his tower. This time it was Ka that had to step in to sac Jake. He grieved every loss from David to Susan to Cuthbert all the way down the line to even a billy bumbler we all came to love. The one that even in the end, the unfeeling, hard cowboy archetype that is imagination-less Roland could not come to grips with his feelings towards. He grieved Oy, he loved him dearly and it hurt even more to not have fully realized it until after his passing into the clearing. Roland gave him the only honorific when approaching the tower. My belief is that this story we read is the 98th trip that Roland makes to the tower, and that it is the penultimate one. The 99th trip will be much like the 98th one, save for the fact that Roland will soften a lot faster and thus feel the pains a lot more. However upon reaching the tower this 99th time he’ll have the Horn and thus will fulfill the prophecy, and so that door with his name on it will not “reset” and will instead open, as a normal door does, to the top of the tower. Id love to know what’s up there.

I'm one of those perverse people who thought The Gunslinger had one of the best opening lines ever ... and The Dark Tower had one of the best closing lines ever. I had some quibbles with what came between, but I loved both the beginning and the ending.

I just remember when I finished the last book literally Calling out loud no. Wanting to scream, cry, laugh like The man in black and say, I told you gunslinger. Dropping the book to my lap almost unable to finish the last wordings on that page. To me for this whole entire series to have brought that much emotion , On so many levels, Told me how much I loved every word on every page the entire ride from the 1st line to the last line. Ka is a wheel long days and pleasant nights to all.

When I finished The Dark Tower I was one of those "it had to end that way." My thoughts were that throughout the tale Roland never really changed, he never reached that pinnacle that other characters of King reached. Those characters made a "STAND" they rose above what they were and became a better person in the end wether it be that they lived or died. Roland is given ample opportunity in the saga to actually change his nature, but he can't. The death of Eddie and the breaking of the katet ended any chance of Roland making a change. Even Stephen King "stands" in the saga, he changed and still he can't help Roland see what he needs to do. Even with the second death of Jake and seeing that the key world is safe. He cannot change his nature, and when he finally reaches The Tower it's somebody (Patrick) he pretty much hates who makes it so Roland can end his quest. Roland did not STAND. So once again he is made to relive that point in his life where he must change, but now he has the Horn of Eld, something to remind him of the past besides the two guns that lay at his hips. I had chills when I read that he took that second to reach down and grab that horn.

I interpreted the ending of the story, to be the ending of me reading it, thus giving Roland life, and that the return to the beginning of the journey, is a new life starting because a new reader is reading it, making him go through it yet again. That King is telling us readers, you are the tower. You keep this multiverse alive. Your eyes reading the words give Roland his journey, again and again. The fact that Roland meets King, that King meets the character he created, tells me that the story itself, is a universe all its own, and that universe, by nature is linear and finite, and can only loop with each new reader. I truly believe that King has written the final journey for Roland, with the horn of Eld, secretly, and it will be released upon Kings death.

I always interpreted the ending as horror- that Roland had to begin his journey from the beginning again, going through all the loss he went through again. But the fact that there was something different meant that it wasn't a time-loop he was caught in, but that little by little he was able to change fate.

I personally love the ending so, so much. I actually was disappointed in the “first” ending where he speaks everyone’s name at the gate. I knew there was an epilogue but was getting nervous I was going to be disappointed. When he started to ascend the tower and saw all of his life moments flash before him I started to get really curious what was about to happen. I was literally shaking as I was reading. Then came to the part when he saw the door with “Roland” on it. My heart was pounding at this moment. As I continued to read and realized he was going back to the desert, and then read that line, I literally clapped my hands and went “YES!” It just fit so perfectly. Roland was described many times as being tired and aging. Made me wonder how many times he had “already” reached the Tower and started over again. One interpretation I have of TDT series, and there are several, is that Roland is seeking enlightenment, Heaven, Nirvana. Whatever that means to him. He’s being essentially “reincarnated” because he hasn’t passed all of tests to reach enlightenment. The horn is a symbol that he’s learned enough from his “past lives” and should be able to pass the test this go around. There are a lot of other ways I look at the story but this is my favorite version. It’s partly why I love this ending so much. I’ve always loved the endings that are open to interpretation. The Sopranos, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and others like that. It’s more fun to me to create an ending in my own mind of what happened.

I wasn’t too surprised by the ending. Roland never becomes the man who he could have been and, until he regains his heart and soul, he will never fulfill his mission. Eddie was able to overcome his upbringing and addiction to become a loving, noble man. Susannah came into being by Odetta and Detta merging, overcoming the mental illness and hatred/anger that had plagued most of her life. Jake grew from a boy into a good and honorable man-to-be. Roland never changed from the man he was in the first book. The Roland who stepped into the Tower in the last book is basically the same Roland from the first book. I don’t know if the horn plays into it or not but, for me, I believe that until Roland regains his humanity and places people over his mission, he will never blow the horn and call out the names from the top of the Tower.

My personal interpretation of the ending is that Roland is an essential function of the tower. His destiny (and those of his ka-tet) has been engineered by reality to ensure that he will eventually seek the tower and would be capable of overcoming the challenges he would face in reaching it, defeating the CK and preserving existence. This must happen continuously, and in the most basic sense he is essentially an eternal maintenance man.

I'm pretty sure Roland dies when he has the Horn of Eld. Most people don't know that even Browning's Child Roland poem is inspired by the medieval epic poem The Song of Roland. In that poem, Roland and his knights are ambushed as the rearguard for Emperor Charlemagne, but blows his horn as his last battle cry before he dies. Charlemagne hears it from a distance and later avenges him. IMO, Roland will not make the mistakes he has made the last time around and he will sacrifice himself for his ka-tet (who will have survived this time due to Roland's correct decisions) by blowing his horn and acting as the rearguard/defender and enabling his ka-tet to enter the tower. Roland was never meant to enter the tower and by sacrificing himself he finally completes his life's journey and crosses over to the clearing. FYI, Boromir's death in LOTR was also inspired by The Song of Roland.

I have always felt that the novel was a redemption story. Constantly through the book Roland battles with his own emotions about how he's sacrificed so many loved one and innocents in his pursuit for the tower. I have 2 theories 1) Roland actually dies at Jericho Hill, the situation given along with his account points to the fact that he should not have made it out alive, also once he gets to the top of the tower and goes back to the desert, Jericho Hill and the horn is the first (known) change in the new (trial). The quest for the tower is a trail now giving him the chance to make the right decision and the reward for success is a peaceful afterlife. 2) Roland is alive but with the basic trial only with this option the reward is a peaceful death and an end to his endless trial knowing he reached the top of the tower as a good man and not "a beast".

I’ve read it 3 times and I appreciate it more with each read. When someone who isn’t a King fan asks what I’m reading it’s hard for me to really put into words what it’s about. Its one of my favorite series of all time and I will continue to read it over and over again. I have to agree with the others you have spoke to it couldn’t end any other way. ❤

I was crushed by the deaths of Eddie, Oy and Jake's second or third death

“Perfection is gradual” - King’s response to questions about the loop

I finished this series through the Audible readings. I thoroughly recommend it. The narration was terrific. I was there when Mr King printed the 1st book in this series. I remember him writing that he never planned on finishing this series. This last book echoes that sentiment. The final endings with Mordred Deschain and the Crimson King was anti-climatic. It felt like Mr King just wanted to end the series the easiest way he could. Also Susanna Dean's ending seemed like fan service for people who wanted a 'happily ever after' ending. Roland's experience in the Dark Tower itself also didn't sit very well. It does seems to work but feels like Mr King could have done better.

He hasn't learned his lesson yet. He needs to focus on the journey and his friends. Not let them all die.

Hello my friend how are you? I recently found your videos and enjoy your content very much. I am in exactly the same place as you are too. I love this story so much but i am not sure about the ending. Especially his battle with the crimson king. One topic of discussion i would love to hear is about the good man john Farson. What happened to him? I dont think it is randal flag and i would love a resolution. It is the good man who really starts Roland on hiscquest by takeing everything from him. I would love a standalone story about Roland finally catching up to him. Anyway mate great videos keep up the good work take care

Besides all of what you said I have some additional problems with this final chapter. I loved the addition of the captive, mute, artist with the charmed sketch pad. It was a perfect opportunity to “draw in” SOOOOOO many climactic Easter eggs. He could’ve/ should’ve been played off as the child version of an artistic personification of the writing artist, Stephen King. A tortured, bullied embodiment of grief and talent, OPPOSITE of a writer (or tale-spinner, which Roland holds in low-esteem but could’ve been made the “eye-opening artist-type” that helps Roland accept the value of the artistic-type). 1. Draw Susan back her legs!!!! 2. Draw Roland back his hand!!! 3. Draw back HIS OWN TONGUE!!! 4. Instead of erasing, he should’ve drawn bars on the door, forcing a dual-type showdown between Gunslinger and Antagonist. I am nearly riled up enough to write my own final chapter, building off of King’s obvious reluctance to finalize his lifelong character and inability to close loops in an otherwise incredibly built multiverse story.

When king told us that Ka is wheel I didn't expect him to be so literal. I guess we got soft locked into a bad ending maybe something will change if he brings the horn.

I loved the ending. It, I believe, left an opening for another book, a final quest to reach the infamous tower. Man, I sure hope so. I'd love to read a new dark tower book.

I took the end of the story and going back to the beginning that the power at the top of the tower, the power that holds the universe together is... hope.

I'm stuck on wondering if Roland's dreams had significance concerning the horn and his arrival at the Tower. When he is close to the door, he hears the sound of a horn and Roland thinks to himself that in his dreams of the arrival it was always him blowing the horn. Have the dreams been projecting how it was supposed to go, giving him the "right answer" to the puzzle, or are they dim memories of his earlier arrivals to the Tower, the same way he feels to have been "somewhere else, perhaps even the Tower" when he has entered the desert again and seemingly not remembering anything of the previous journey. This idea, of course, is a depressing one and only takes us to a cul-de-sac. If he had been there with the horn earlier, how could he fix it? I'd like to believe the former. In any case, in the course of the series, we've learned that the dreams are seldom insignificant... Also the voice of the Tower/Beam/Gan points out that picking up the horn wouldn't have taken him more than three seconds, almost as if it was a lesson to him. But if Roland had made a mistake by not picking it up, why wasn't he sent to fix it himself and instead the horn has just popped back to his possession at the beginning of the next iteration of the journey?

The Dark Tower is one of the those stories where when you finish it you know it could never have ended any other way. Love it, hate it, whatever, its ending is the only one that would ever have fit. Stephen King tells us that the journey is more important than the destination, and with The Dark Tower, the destination literally *is* the journey. Genius. Simply genius.

The cyclical nature is foreshadowed in the first book "death but not for you-life but not for you". Only mid worlds time constantly pushes forward, with roland reaching the dark tower the only thing to reset the timeline so the rest of the world's can live on. If he ever abandons his quest the universe would end. Its so awesome

The ending makes rolands entire story so much more sad. He's destined to live this nightmare journey like a sick groundhog day with small chances of hope.

I have some questions: did King not establish a rule that in the Dark Tower world and keystone earth, time only goes forwards? What happens with the author Stephen King in the book? Does he need to keep writing the same story - I don’t think so because time in that world keeps going forwards. If the man in black is revived, does that mean everything is reset to the beginning of book 1, everyone who’s died is back including the Crimson King? Will he draw the same three each time? If he now has the horn of Eld, does that mean that the past is re-written too? As we know Roland didn’t pick it up. The ending could have made sense if more of the loose ends had been tied up.

I just finished the series last night and I am still reeling from the ending...the amazing ending that is definitely ka and could never have been any other way. It did leave me with some questions though - like how much of the journey repeats? Will the others live through the same thing? Are the Beams in danger again? Or is it just Roland's quest that goes back to factory settings and he has to find his way through to fulfilling the prophecy?

The Dark Tower IS the story/book called 'The Dark Tower'. The rooms are books and chapters from the series. The 'loop' is the book being picked up and re-read, and the 'differences' alluded to are different readers taking something different from the book...that's the power. At least that's how i interpret the series as a whole, for now.

The Dark Tower series I couldn't tell you how many times I've read and listened to them via audio books is simply the best. I friend at work introduced me to the books ,we worked night shift so we rented them from a public library and listed to them at work .

6:36 It is probably the case, as in the first book, when Roland speak with the man in Black he has some cryptic lines like this "I hope this time you will understand" or "You get back to your quest, finaly" (sorry for the not accruate translation, I'm french) the ending is a bit lazy and frustrating, but after the years, I've enjoyed to speulate on what this final journey, with the Jericho's horn would be like. Will Roland draw the same cards on the beach? Would he still let jake fall into the abyss in the Gunslinger?

I believe the meaning of the ending is, that after defeating the Crimson King Roland should've joined Susannah and not have gone into the tower.

No no no..."Ka like a wheel" . The idea that life repeats was telegraphed throughout the entire story.

My interpretation for the ending is that Roland was supposed to die fighting the crimson king at the end but something stopped that from happening and I think it has to do with Patrick Danvers. I think that the crimson king knew this and that's why he tried to kill Patrick in insomnia, and I think that's why Roland is in a time loop cause he was supposed to die but Patrick stopped that from happening.

Great video, awesome T-Shirt!!!

I wish he would have done more of a backstory on the crimson king. I would also like to read a book on Walter and his story.

Interesting you see it as a time warp. This sort of makes the assumption that everything is linear. One of the things I take from The Dark Tower is the idea of infinite realities, stacked up on top of one another. Once I started thinking about this, there could really only be one ending to the series, the one we were given. I loved the reassuring yet sinking feeling that everything just goes on and on, around and around. On and on. Forever and ever. It's the journey. Not the destination. Isn't that life?

Great video! I personally interpreted it that gan was the 1 who sent Roland back 2 the desert and not a time-warp. I always thought that Roland had saved the tower and completed his quest but because he damned his soul by letting Jake fall Gan was punishing him but giving him a chance 4 redemption also. I still love this series despite its flaws and the ending has also grown on me over time and after re-reading.

Well, Ka IS a wheel...

We, The Constant Readers, are Roland. We go through the series wondering and obsessing , just like Roland, about whats in the Tower. When we find out, after our disappointment, we re-read the series, and go through everything again, just like Roland but this time with the knowledge ( horn of Eld ) and find all those mysteries and understand them.

The ending was perfect imo. Went through the door marked Roland.. entered into an alternate version of himself just like the other doors along the beach. This time with the horn.. this time with maybe a tiny bit more knowledge and understanding. Also his last thought before he entered the tower was about the horn. I like that Susannah Eddie and Jake had their happy ending. I thinks it’s obvious through the book that Roland is built for this. I think throughout the book when Roland just has that intuition to make a choice it is his vague memory of his past treks to the tower. I also think that the poem at the end of the book is considered his final trip to the dark tower in which he blows the horn. Ka is a wheel. There are definitely some issues people can have with this series.. I just don’t think the ending is one of them.

I cannot believe that you left out 'OY Roland even stated that 'Oy is a part f the Kah-tet.

Oh my fucking god. I am the pickiest person in the world when it comes to clothing...most everything I wear is niche or custom...usually having something to do with squid or Cthulu....but that shirt you are wearing is bad ass. I need it.

I stopped reading the series after Wizard in Glass (just after it came out). I realized then that King had two choices when it came to Roland actually arriving at the tower at the end of the series: 1) He could have Roland actually meet "God" or a god of some kind and get super interesting with the dialogue, the true history of his universe and what really happens at the end of Roland's journey (we didn't get that). 2) A cop-out where he puts himself into the story or something more contrived than that (He often wrote short stories about stories coming to life or a writer entering their own stories in some way, psychologically or literally). As I was already familiar with his previous works of the time, I was already able to guess the convoluted ending he would inevitably choose to write and completely lost interest in finishing the series. The time warp makes sense, but it was hardly a surprise either. He clearly set something like that up with his first encounter with the boy Jake in the desert in the first book and its aftermath. I truly believe though that King missed a huge opportunity here though. He should have had the journey start over at the point when he woke up next to the burned out camp fire after having caught up with the man in black and the vision/dream he had a that point following their conversation about the universe. Just my opinion.

I think it's like a repeated memory, that gets a slight change or two, every time it's remembered.

Thanks for your analysis. I agree the final battle is anticlimactic. I wish it didn't come down to a character who was so minor in the DT series as a whole. I think the ending itself is perfect, and I'll tell you why. It has to do with an important detail you didn't mention in the video: there are two endings, which play on the metastory that begins in the author's note way back in The Gunslinger. The first ending is when Roland enters the Tower. King tells us directly that this is his preferred ending, but he goes on to narrate what Roland finds inside for fear that Constant Readers will lose their minds. This builds on decades of dialogue between King and Constant Readers about this story. Personally, I connect with that metastory because I read the books as they came out. When I finished the series for the first time, I felt incredible sadness that it was over. I had been on the journey with the ka-tet for years, as many fans had, and it felt like losing a friend. To me, Roland restarting his journey is a signal that I can always go back and relive it as well, and it will be slightly different each time. In a way, the Dark Tower (the fictional structure) and the Dark Tower (the real books) are one and the same. This idea is a natural corollary of the presence of King in the story. The Horn of Eld is a wonderful device that allows King to leave us with the ambiguity he intended while still giving us the interior view of the Tower that most of us wanted.

Throughout the books, the number 19 was always coming up, so Roland just went up to the next level of the tower, 20th level

I finally just finished the series!

So, a story about a journey that repeats is best understood after re-reading it... Almost like a gunslinger who has to relearn his journey each time he repeats it. Seems fitting to me.

Ka is a wheel.... First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.

“Ka is like a wheel.” I interpret the ending as the repetition of lives, which can even be interpreted as hell. There was a StephenKing short story with a couple riding to the FL Keys and they slowly realize they have done this trip over and over and over and that they are in hell.

being a pantser, not a planner, he had no clue how he was gonna end it, he whined about how "the story is about the journey not the end" and then gave himself the easiest fcking out in the world with an "it was all a dream, didn't happen, better luck next time" ending, a good writer would have set his book at the final time Roland made his trip. And also, if he made a mistake by losing the horn, shouldn't the door have opened to that moment and he (hopefully being a more worthy version of himself) wouldn't make mistakes and lose it? Instead the tower just gives it to him for free.

Im glad I took that pause King suggests before Roland got to the top of the tower. I sat and thought about everything for 10, 15 minutes before I concluded.

that is one of the coolest shirts i've seen in my life I missed the detail that he has the horn when I finished it. I wonder if any of King's newer works have hinted towards The Dark Tower?

My thought is that perhaps Roland is Gan. The perfection of himself is the goal where only when he is flawless can he take his throne of power. Somewhere in the series is a speculation on taking the throne but losing your humanity. Roland, in the course of several hard battles, regains his ability to love, to regret his choice in letting Jake fall and to be punished and accept it. He professes to follow Ka, but does he really? I think not until Eddie dies. That breaks his heart and the pain is the true beginning of his feeling something beyond his own plodding thoughts. The horn is another point of regret which he has to regain and prove worthy of. That his friend Cuthbert went with it into battle with not a care for himself, only for justice. All while Roland survived. Guilt is a heavy weight and tends to make one withdraw from humanity. Now that Roland/Gan's shell is cracked, he can become the one who is needed in that high aerie.

The dark tower ending definitely shocked me I didn't see that coming but I still enjoyed it

So when I finally finished these books and read that I was like BULLS***! lol

My brother Roy was not a reader, but i used to Read parts of the story to him ( only books 1 through 3 where out at the time) One day i asked him, what do you think they will find at the Tower. He says " its a time loop" and i was like thats ridiculous!! Then years later when the dinal book came out and i got to the last page... I was like 😑 how he knew tho... And yo this day he hasn't told me how he knew

I saw it as The fact that he didn’t learn the sacrifices that matter. It makes sound as if it was his 19th tried he just didn’t remember.

Awesome shirt Sai!

Roland is the wheel? His never ending journey is the glue that holds everything together, in the story, in his universe, as well as the book. He brakes the 4th wall by being the hero we follow again and again through reading the book over and over. Each telling a little bit different than the last, just as a second or third reading is always different than the first. Nice video by the way. :)

I don't think the Crimson King is on a quest for the Tower. He wanted to bring it down, and not to let the Gunslinger reach it, not to get to the top.

I just finished the last book for the very first time yesterday. The last book was full of gut punches. All the loss that Roland suffered, and us as the reader, was pretty brutal. And then the end came and i was completely shocked. I just sat there in silence for awhile trying to process it all. I have to be honest though. Deep down in my heart if hearts i too knew it could not have ended any other way. Im already ready to start again with Roland, and i wonder if maybe he too this time will retain some knowledge of the past. And that is the truth.

The great power at the top of the dark tower is the way you live your life. We see the gunslinger so stuck on something he hasn't seen or something he really doesn't believe. He's so focused he brings his friends to their deaths and the tower is trying to stop him and make him do the right thing. Think of him as a ghost doomed to forever chase something he will never reach.

Dark tower is broken timemachine that try to repair itself, timeloop end when one of Roland random companions is Kronotecnician who know how to repair timemachines and gets there alive.

The reason the Red King was trapped on that balcony was because he did not have the proper tools to access the tower's power. You need Roland's smooth sandalwood guns with the sigil of the line of Eld as well as the horn. Most likely the crimson king saw what Roland saw on his way up the tower, his own past and upon entering one room led him to that balcony. Mayhap he marooned himself there to try to stop Roland from reaching the tower, that's why he brought the explosives. Roland walking through the door resetting to the beginning was because he didn't have the toold either. The horn of Eld was lost with Cuthbert at the battle of Jericho Hill and he gave one gun to Susannah who took it through a door to meet with Eddie and Jake. That gun then rusted shut and she threw it in a garbage can.

Was a heartbreaking ending that poor old soul has to keep going and going, nice tad Williams in the back by the way!

My two cents: We went on Roland's penultimate Tower quest -- but damn, I want to see the horn blow, and Gilead rise from the dust, surrounded by a dense hedge of roses. *AND* that going back to cram the 19 significance into the early books was unnecessary, detrimental to the ruthless killer Roland"s character was before the changes *and a 100% dirty-bird move on par with retroactively letting the robbers jump out of the car before it went over the cliff.* By reworking what was perfect, I feel like we lost the "at all costs, damn the torpedoes" Roland. To me, the changes gummed up the works, paid no dividends, and tied a dumb little bow on a force of nature. To me the ending was glorious, sad, and inevitable.

I remember commenting on your video I think Drawing of the 3 saying how good your videos are and that I was watching the first 2 to get me back up to speed where I left off.....I think it was in January I did that. This is jut an update to let you know I've not completed the DT series and it was WILD. I loved it and a little conflicted on how it ended. I liked it but also thought it was cruel.

The number of times Roland must reach the Tower to complete his travel, (I bet) is 19.

Read The Eyes of the Dragon but that’s the only tower book I can get into. I thought it was an excellent book though.

I threw the book into the fireplace demanding all the hard earned money I spent on these ridiculously expensive paperbacks. King never had an ending. Sticking us right back to the beginning is a cheap cop-out. And the warning from the author that the ending was going to be shitty was bizarre. After 5,000 pages of reading he says maybe you don't want to finish, it's the journey that matters most. We'll fuck that. I vowed to never spend money on a king book ever again.

Two years late, but while I love The Dark Tower series and felt absolutely satisfied by the ending, I can definitely respect a contrary opinion. It's a wild ending, one that's built up over dozens of hours of reading (and, for those reading them as they came out, decades of waiting) and, honestly, took a huge chance. Ultimately, the answers I got from the ending of the series satisfied me more than the new questions it brought up. It's a time warp in the sense that all books are time warps; the TV trope "Bookends" literally indicates a series ending the way it starts, and The Dark Tower is, in every sense of the word, a book. So while it's true that we just end up in the same place we started, that's just how books work sometimes. I didn't put together until I saw your video that when Flagg talks about "death, but not for you", he's really in essence talking about KA. KA, which I loosely interpret as "the element that makes a story more interesting", would protect Roland from death, because a sudden unceremonious death before Roland reaches The Dark Tower would make for a worse book. I hadn't really thought of it before, but it makes sense -- and I think Flagg knows that it protects him too. Edit: Also, this is maybe a contradictory feeling (just because it's so SAD), but I for some reason got the impression that the horn wouldn't make a difference. I imagine Roland in previous incarnations has gone through it before, and the flowers cried out "oh no, you didn't do X!" "oh, no, you don't have Y!" and the horn is just one iteration of this. I imagine he'll go through whatever series of events lead him through "The Dark Tower But With The Horn of Eld This Time", and at the very end they'll say "ah, no, you're missing your cowboy hat, you must go through it all again..." Because I think Roland can't really reach the top of the tower. I can't say for sure why. I think it's because The Dark Tower is like a link between the fictional and real worlds, and if Roland ever reaches the top, he'd just become, like... an actual living person, in our world. Obviously, this can't really happen, and maybe the Tower itself knows that. And so Roland is forever trapped in the pages of text, subject to the whims of KA in the way that only fictional characters are.

In my opinion, Roland is kind of Dark Tower tool. The guardian, whos life purpose is to guard and repair the Tower. This is like KA, its something You gonna repeat, like wheel repeat move around

excellent summation. I believe another book is coming, though.

Compelled to ask about the shelves (very off topic) are the bricks just stacked?

Makes you wonder how many times has he been to the tower already

I think it’s not a start of another quest for the dark tower but rather a completion because he’s done this numerous times before and having the horn shows that he’s completed his quest rather than do it all over again there is a time loop probably because the mortal mind can’t handle the power that is up there so the tower gave him a portal to protect his mental stability

My theory is that he must come to realize that while the tower is important, it's not as important as his relationships with the people he loves. Even though he's part of multiple ka tets that we know of, he makes himself the loner even though it's supposed to be tight knit group. He discounts the importance of items and trinkets that symbolize those relationships, my guess the horn being a very important one. As well as Jake's first life in midworld. He casts lives and things away frivously and he needs to go against his natural instincts to do so one time around for that perfect, happy ending.

The end was bitter-sweet. Doomed to repeat the cycle (with Roland and us, the readers not knowing how many times Roland has done this), but with a possible difference next time around...a small glimmer of hope. He reminds me of Judge Dredd in his unrelenting pursuit of his perceived duty.

I thought it was great. I giggled. And now that I'm reading them for a second time, all the hints in the first book made me giggle even harder. They were too subtle to catch on a first read. And I think they prove that, while it COULD have ended another way, it's clear how King meant to end it. Which is funny because he seems to have debated when and how, or even if, he would actually get there. But the destination seems to have been clear, subject to those caveats.

I think a thoroughly pervasive theme in the Tower books is infinity. You, the reader, see the world mostly from the eyes of Roland. That is, from the perspective of his fragile but deeply honor-driven person. This is to contrast with the Great Unknown, which, in the style of legends and epics, takes the shape of some greater cosmology that frankly cannot be comprehended. And as you remind me once again of that Dark Tower, and talk of Roland ascending it, what comes to mind is two things. One, the tower is not really a tower at all, but an entry-point into something infinite. We might interpret the story itself as a continual and infinite one, of, the finite being (Roland) experiencing the infinite. (In his case The Tower or even just ultimate reality) and anyway not to go too far left with it, I'm just thinking that as he ascends the tower, he might, in a way, simply be following an ever-ascending loop, and, where he gets off is at the beginning of his own story. The act of Leaving the tower might be synonymous with breaking free of the infinite and landing back into the finite. So he, like all finite beings, is trapped in the finite, in an infinite loop in his case. Yet it is his fate to do so. Like a crumb of infinity. And readers such as you and I peek in on him, making his journey over, and over again. The meta-narrative, then, is how we are gods, and, Roland is the creature of one of us. And we say to that god that created Roland, "hey, that's pretty amazing! Wish we could do that!" But do we? And, is it sadistic to create a being that simply must iterate over and over in a story? It's very grim, that his story has to begin all over again, but, in a way, it would also be grim for it all to be over. Because without more story, how does Roland continue to exist? When we finish his story, he suddenly loses reality. By putting the end of his story back into the beginning, he grants Roland immortality, albeit not by any stretch of the imagination a pleasant one. Unless, after having made this journey so many times, Roland is, in fact, pleased with the experienced. Is it true, "for better or worse, a person can get used to anything?" In the end maybe it Isn't about any "real" infinity, but that whatever is out of reach may as well be infinite, because, we don't know where it ends. At the end of the day, for King, it makes no difference if the end is satisfying or not. Those who have made this journey with Roland are so invested that, in a way, it doesn't matter to them either. Because it's about the journey.

I had an epiphany this morning! No offense to mr. king but I think I know how the dark tower should have ended. I’m no writer so I’m sure someone could do a better job putting my finale into words but here me out. And yes I’m a huge dark tower fan they are my favorite books in the world. I’ve read them many times. Ok here we go. Roland breaches the tower, he starts climbing but he soon realizes reaching the top isn’t as easy as he first imagined. Even with the guns of eld. The tower covers an infinite amount of universes the inside is beyond human comprehension. He opens doors to other worlds on his way to the top eventually he sees a door just marked as eld he thinks he has reached the top but really Gan, the tower, Ka have one last trick for Roland Ka is a wheel is it not? Roland scared it’s a trick by the crimson king but still needing to see what’s on the other side puts his hand on the pistol and steps through the door. As he does a great gust of air comes shoves him through the door and off the side of a cliff. As he’s falling he’s overcome with images of all his Ka-mates. He sees his life like a face on the water and realizes he has fulfilled his destiny and he is at peace. He hits the ground and Roland takes his last breath. As he does a baby squalls the first cry of life. A king is born again. Boom that’s my ending that’s the ending I choose. I don’t hate Stephen kings ending but eh I think sometimes he’s to quick to go with his first idea and should take a second and consider other alternatives. But he created these amazing books I love with all my heart so who am I to criticize. But I still like my ending more.

I know year later lol BUT I had same feelings after finishing it... I think it would be epic if Rolland after reaching the top of the the tower became Walter and he chased himself .. Who knew secrets of the universe and went insane.. Idkn but i think its good that that harsh realistic slap of real life in the face is included.. Life is just like that. Its not the end that matters after all but the journey and the moments we live in. Always waiting for. Something grant while missing the miracle of now.

I just finished book 7 a few hours ago. I'm so disappointed and disgusted with that ending I can't even put it into words. And the death of Oy was damned near traumatizing.

And may you have twice the number lol I liked the ending just wish I knew what would happen this time around when he makes it

Ka is a wheel. And it just keeps on Roland, Roland, Roland, Roland!

The first time I read the series the ending definitely pissed me off. After giving it a few days and thinking about the series as a whole it made total sense that it ended that way. My copy of the Gunslinger was the revised edition and during a reread I didn’t realize the first time that he has a momentary dizzy spell and has a thought of the horn

i remember reading the ending for the first time.... and i was just in shock that it was a time loop.. it was the perfect end.. and i felt that way because it meant that i could read the series over and over again and never get the feeling that it actually ended.. the story continues.. always.. and honestly thats a perfect way to end it.. I did feel sad for Roland.. stuck in a loop he can't remember... as the force pulls him through the door and he realizes exactly whats happening but can't stop it.. that made me sad for him.. he didn't want to go through that door because he knew at that last second what it meant.. then boom... the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed..

I don't like the ending but I'm so thankful King gave us that feel good story with the Ka-tet.... I needed that.... in my own mind they are all living happy together WITH Roland and he is happy. IDK everyone in my mind ends happy. Time to start over. :). Thank you for this!

Stephen king probably watched this video and snickered at your enthusiasm.

I think at the top of the tower lies Roland's death. He is finally allowed true rest, and id assume that he'd finally be allowed to be back with the ones he loves in the clearing at the end of the path. The wheel of Rolands Ka would finally be allowed to be still.

Sweet shirt! "nineteen" lol

In a way no matter what Roland finds at the end of the journey to the tower he must like the rest of us let go of the past and live in the moment. I think by dwelling on his past shortcomings and mistakes he again falls victim to survivor's guilt. In reference to a culmination to the story King knew more than any of us that no matter what the ending was he would have disappointed his fans. The expectation of illumination or divine wisdom never comes to those who search it out only by finally living through a life well lived that we find the secret meanings of life. It's in retrospect or hindsight that we realize the journey is always more important than the destination. Thank you for your insights.

I was fine with ending. He picked up the horn that was lost on the first play through. I like the idea of a game plus mode for Roland.

Absolutely love this series. I’m on my 3rd time reading them again (currently on the Wastelands). To me I believe Roland is meant to continually seek the tower, sadly… Ka is a wheel. Roland is the only one fit to do it. There’s always going to be good & evil in the world…Roland is the beam that holds it all together unfortunately.

I thought it was a great ending. I thought the battle with the Crimson King and how he was bested was creative. I like that the author gives you a chance to stop reading when he first enters the tower and the door shuts. And I agree that the horn throws that interesting twist that makes us wonder if it will be different next time. I re-read the series, too, and appreciate the Easter eggs along the way.

Its scary true on what Stephen King said to those eagerly wanting to know what Roland will experience at the end. Ive also been wondering if Roland’s salvation and redemption lies not in reaching the Tower but follow in what Susannah chose to do instead🤔

I don't think the time warp was the power in the tower. I think it's just not allowing him to see it yet and is resetting him until he is allowed, until he does what he's supposed to do.

So I just finished this story and I feel like he’s in purgatory, as a punishment for his selfishness through this life looking for the tower that got so many killed. When he walked through that door he died. So he has to keep repeating this until he changes,which of course he never does.