BobWrites

An auspicious start
A promising beginning
A salutary commencement
A favorable origination
An opportunistic inception

It was all of these, but unhappily it also had:

A disappointing finish
An unsatisfactory conclusion
An insalubrious termination
A woeful denouement
A dispiriting resolution
A sorry ending
An unfortunate consummation
A regretful finale

What else is there to say?