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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45374
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45374
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You absolutely can do this, but there are two very important points to consider.

1. **What is your purpose in choosing this ending?**
2. **In what way will this be a satisfying conclusion, from the reader's perspective?**

In your question, you're describing a particular sequence of events as being an _unexpected_ one. That's great, but what makes story isn't just the sequence of events, it's what those events _mean_.

There are _lots_ of stories that end with the protagonist failed and crushed. Those are Tragedies, from _Oedipus Rex_ to _Hamlet_ to _Watchmen_. But these works all are tragedies long before their final scene -- the protagonist losing is the _culmination_ of the tragedy; but its seeds have been planted and growing from the very start.

There are also many stories about how the universe is uncaring and capricious; how empires rise and fall based on bad luck and human perversity (_Catch 22_ comes to mind, as does _A Series of Unfortunate Events_). But that capriciousness doesn't begin in the last chapter -- it's baked in right from the start.

The reason I'm making these comparisons is because you're mostly describing this conclusion in terms of **shock value**. In terms of "being surprising."

But: A good story surprise isn't just "The reader wasn't expecting _this_." The reader doesn't expect the protagonist to suddenly die of a heart attack, or win the lottery, or be elected President by spontaneous write-in votes. It's _easy_ for an author to do _something_ the reader isn't expecting; the question is whether that twist works in service of a coherent story, or not.

That's why the two questions I opened with are so important:

1. **What is your purpose in choosing this ending?** The ending shouldn't be shocking _just_ for the sake of being unexpected. (_Unless_ shocking twists are part of what makes your _whole_ story interesting! In which case it's totally on-brand!) There should be _some_ reason you consider this a good and interesting ending, _besides_ that it's not what the reader was expecting.
2. **In what way will this be a satisfying conclusion, from the reader's perspective?** The _reader_ needs to feel the conclusion is _satisfying_. That it answers their questions; closes things off; fits with the rest. That, _in some way or another_, this is where the story was headed all along; that in retrospect, _this_ is the fitting capstone for the entire story. You need to understand why this is true (or _make_ it true, by making your story build up to it).

Knowing the answers to these questions will keep you focused on _building towards_ your ending; on knowing _how_ it's meant to work and how to accomplish that. That'll help address your questions on foreshadowing and effectiveness as well -- which depend heavily on what, exactly, you're trying to accomplish :)

Original score: 43