That said, this ending of which you so strenuously disapprove....

[ He flops down, across the moth-eaten arm of Oz's chair. ]

It's a bit what life feels like, when you get older. You can devote your life to something, and make the most meticulous plans. But somewhere along the way, the world changes, in ways you could never have anticipated, and often hardly noticed. And then you realize that the goals you've been striving for, all this time, have moved.