Episode 24 is the finale of Kill the Dragon, Michael Deering's December 2016 Minecraft Hardcore Challenge. It opens in the stronghold, next to the End portal lit last time. "Today we're going to attempt to kill a dragon. It's been a long time coming." There's room for one more water bucket, so in it goes, and Basket sorts the hotbar, keeping an ender pearl handy "just in case I decide to ender pearl off of the island." Then it's time. "Alright, and I'm nervous, and go."
A pumpkin and no potions
The jump earns the achievement "The End?" in chat, and Basket lands somewhere awkward. "Oh, I'm inside the thing, okay, that's not good." A bit of digging gets Basket out onto the island. The plan is simple and a little thin. "I have no potions, so it's kinda silly." The pumpkin from last episode is on Basket's head so the endermen leave Basket alone, but it hides the health bar, so Basket keeps hiding the whole HUD to see the screen and then bringing it back to check on health.
Crystals first
The End crystals on top of the obsidian towers heal the dragon, so they go first, by bow. "I've used a bunch of arrows." Basket learns the dragon's habits on the fly: it swoops, it spits fireballs, and every so often it settles over the bedrock fountain in the middle. "So when she is in the middle, that gives me time." One long shot lands. "Yes, I am the best at this game." Then comes a bad discovery. "I didn't take my Golden Apple." The steak will have to do.
Water under the cages
The last crystals sit inside iron bar cages, out of reach for arrows. Basket pours water on the end stone around the towers to have somewhere soft to land. "So that'll decrease my chances of dying." The dragon doesn't help: "Oh, she took out my water." Basket pillars up with cobblestone to reach the cages, takes out the crystals and drops back down into the water. "Whee!" Then the count: "One down, or two down. One more to go."
Too greedy
With the crystals gone, Basket goes after the dragon itself. A bow shot finally connects. "Oh, my goodness, I hit her. That's amazing." When the dragon settles over the fountain again, Basket runs in and lands hit after hit, and the dragon flashes red with each one. Then it lifts off and turns straight on Basket. "Ow. Oh, my god. I'm really hurt, probably." Basket fumbles for food. "Give me the steak!"
There's no time. The screen turns red: "Game over! BasketMC was slain by Ender Dragon."
Game over
Basket picks Spectate world and talks it through. "I got all the crystals and she was low." The lesson is short: "Maybe not be as greedy when she's in the middle," since once the dragon leaves the fountain "she like immediately attacks you." Basket could have eaten "if I would have known which key my food was on."
The spectator view lands back in the village, in the room with the villagers who never would breed. "They didn't breed, in case anybody was keeping track."
"I nearly finished it and I didn't." That's the end of Basket's Kill the Dragon run: hardcore, one life, lost to the dragon in the finale. The end card follows, with no gameplay after it.