It's absolutely an ugly concept. And I'm not sure how the story could have ended in a satisfying way with everyone happy, because... well, nothing about the story is happy-making. But for me, I prefer the idea of the ending being shaped by someone's choice rather than a random accident. (Not to say the movie ending does it well, of course. It's just as easy to flub the reaction to the choice made. Which it sounds like the movie did?)