Quentin Tarantino's original idea for Pulp Fiction's ending would have made the film's conclusion worse. Although it wasn't his first film, Pulp Fiction was the movie that truly established Tarantino as a big name in the world of film. Split across several narrative sequences that don't happen in sequential order, Pulp Fiction explores the lives and deaths of several criminals, killers, and rogues in Los Angeles. After some close escapes and lethal encounters, Samuel L. Jackson's Jules finds himself increasingly exhausted with his criminal experience.

This leads to the original ending of Pulp Fiction, as revealed by Samuel L. Jackson, would have included one additional detail that was wholly unnecessary and would have been extremely distracting. Here is how Pulp Fiction almost ended, and why it's a good thing that it didn't.

Pulp Fiction's Original Ending Plan Explained

As revealed by Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction almost had a far more violent aspect that was an unnecessary addition to the climax of the film. In the ending of Pulp Fiction, Jules and Vincent stop at a diner before delivering the invaluable briefcase to Marcellus. There, they encounter two robbers, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny. Having recently gone through a spiritual crisis and deciding he wants to leave his life of crime, Jules ultimately spares the two and even allows them to finish their robbery (albeit while ensuring he and Vincent keep the briefcase).

This is functionally similar to the original ending of the film. During an interview with GQ, Samuel L. Jackson revealed that the original script called for a brief addition to the sequence. In it, Jules would have briefly imagined himself killing the pair, using Pumpkin's marveling at the briefcase to shoot down Honey Bunny and then execute him. However, his newfound sense of grace would have convinced him to spare the pair, and the ending would have continued as it was eventually released.

Why Pulp Fiction's More Violent Ending Would've Hurt The Movie

While the alternate ending to Pulp Fiction does fulfill the thematic purpose of the film, it would have been an unnecessary aspect of an otherwise well-constructed finale. The sudden visual shift and a gratuitous burst of violence would have felt redundant after a movie of better-executed turns (like the sudden death of Marvin). It would have broken up the flow of the dialogue between Jules and Pumpkin. Their quickfire back-and-forth is among the better-written sequences in the film, serving as a clever but tense cool-down after a film of horrifying and sudden murders.

The film didn't need the illustrative deaths to illustrate Jules' character evolution, thanks to some deft characterization by both the screenplay and Jackson's performance as Jules. The imagined nature of the kills would have felt like a cheap excuse to show two more kills, after a film that's sanitized audiences by treating death as dark comedy and intense horror in equal measure. What makes that ending so powerful is how Jules voices his resistance to brutality instead of showing it through physical struggle. This speaks to the impact of his inaction and the power of his explained mercy.

Pulp Fiction's Ending Needs No Changing

Pulp Fiction's ending is a thematically powerful coda to the non-chronological film, speaking to the themes established earlier in the story. Jules' decision to spare Pumpkin and Honey Bunny reflects the movie's overall idea that forgiveness is vital to one's own survival, as seen in Butch's unexpected team-up with Marsellus sparing him the crime lord's wraith. Likewise, Jule's decision to choose a new path spares him Vincent's fate, who was revealed previously to die as a result of his work for Marsellus. By refusing violence, Jules spares others and (on a spiritual level) himself.

After a movie of solving their problems with violence, Jules using his words to de-escalate a conflict is a big shift. The implication of his violent impulses is brought across by his declaration to Pumpkin that he's "trying" to become the shepherd who protects instead of takes, a memorably powerful delivery by Jackson. The vision would have been wholly unnecessary and distracting and would have softened the impact of Jules' speech being completely free of violence. Pulp Fiction has a terrific ending, and audiences are lucky the vision didn't overstuff it.

Source: GQ