Though there are merits to both the final ending and the alternate ending of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, they both also miss the point of the film. At the start of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (based on the graphic novel series of the same name by Bryan Lee O'Malley), 22-year-old Scott (Michael Cera) is dating 17-year-old Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). However, he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and is instantly smitten with her. Rather than break up with Knives, he ends up going out with both girls at the same time.
This leads to the crux of the film: Scott fighting Ramona's seven evil exes. He eventually does break up with Knives, and she blames Ramona, seeking revenge against her. Meanwhile, Scott's attitude leads Ramona to break up with him. At the climax of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Scott apologizes to both Ramona and Knives for how he treated them. He seems to learn his lesson and accept his own wrongdoings. Then he and Knives defeat Ramona's final evil ex, freeing Ramona from his mind control.
Scott Pilgrim's Original Ending Didn't Work
In the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ending that audiences saw when it was first released, Ramona decides to leave town after the final battle. With Knives' urging, Scott goes after Ramona and they walk hand-in-hand through her door together. But this ending doesn't make sense for Scott's or Ramona's character arcs. At the start of the final Scott Pilgrim fight, it seems as though Ramona has chosen Gideon over Scott. While it turns out that Gideon is controlling Ramona, Scott doesn't know this when he challenges Gideon to fight for Ramona. This frames Ramona as the damsel in distress that Scott has to "win" at the end of the film.
Scott spends Scott PIlgrim vs. the World pursuing Ramona, and ultimately hurts her enough that she decides to leave him—twice, if counting the ending before he runs after her. Even if Scott is, as Ramona says, the nicest guy she's ever dated, she's still been through several bad relationships and should take a step back to focus on herself. And after all he did and learned, Scott should have known better than to keep chasing after Ramona. Ending up together isn't good for either Scott or Ramona.
Scott Shouldn't Have Ended Up With Knives Either
The alternate ending to Scott PIlgrim vs. the World was actually the first one filmed. The filmmakers later decided to change it after divisive reactions from test audiences and the release of the final Scott Pilgrim vs. the World graphic novel, which was released after production ended but before the film premiered. In this ending, Ramona does leave by herself. Meanwhile, Scott and Knives walk hand-in-hand to the arcade and dance together again, reigniting their own romantic relationship. However, this doesn't work with Scott and Knives's stories either.
Putting aside their age gap, which makes Scott's friends uncomfortable, he treats Knives terribly throughout the film. He ignores her, avoids her, and cheats on her with Ramona. Knives' story has her learning that all of this wasn't Ramona's fault, it was Scott's. Scott, meanwhile, learns that how he treated Knives was wrong. Yet the two apparently decide to try dating again anyway. The Scott Pilgrim vs. the World alternate ending shows an unrealistic and unhealthy fast track from Scott's apology to Knives' forgiveness.
What Scott Pilgrim's Ending Should Have Been
Scott Pilgrim shouldn't be in a romantic relationship with either Ramona or Knives at the end of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. In fact, he shouldn't be in a romantic relationship with anyone. His ending should have seen him realizing his selfishness and understanding that he needed to work on himself before trying to be with someone else.
This potential ending is even hinted at in the final battle of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Gideon first kills Scott, but he comes back thanks to an extra life he gained earlier. He then declares that he's fighting Gideon for himself, not for Ramona, and gets the "Power of Self-Respect" sword. This is a great moment of character development for Scott, and self-respect is precisely what he, Ramona, and Knives all needed to gain during the story of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Any of them ending up together at the end undermines this message – yet this is exactly what both of the movie's endings manage to do.
