Tropescilloscope: Bittersweet Ending

An ending that's more or less happy, but still has significant sad notes. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Decoy Protagonist Meaningful Background Event Only in It for the Money Overly Long Gag Real Life Writes the Plot Our Vampires Are Different The Power of Love For the Evulz Bring My Brown Pants Monumental Damage Twist Ending Catapult Nightmare The Cameo Make It Look Like an Accident Papa Wolf Break the Cutie Bottomless Magazines Light Is Not Good Cat Scare Mistaken for Gay My God, What Have I Done? Boom, Headshot! Bloody Hilarious Honor Before Reason Shower Scene Tempting Fate Show Within a Show Artistic License – Biology Politically Incorrect Villain Demonic Possession It Can Think Anguished Declaration of Love Adults Are Useless The Load Together in Death Left the Background Music On Title Drop Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Names to Run Away from Really Fast Rousing Speech Reckless Gun Usage Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Precision F-Strike Vomit Discretion Shot Ripped from the Headlines Death by Adaptation Fat Bastard The Big Guy Fingore Rich Bitch The Starscream You Killed My Father No-Holds-Barred Beatdown My Greatest Failure All for Nothing Dark Action Girl The Ace Hypocrite The Lancer Made of Explodium Slasher Smile Toplessness from the Back Oh, Crap! Mercy Kill Mind Screw All There in the Manual Silence Is Golden Retired Badass And the Adventure Continues Deadpan Snarker Action Genre Insistent Terminology Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy 20 Minutes into the Future Naked People Are Funny Drill Sergeant Nasty Mad Scientist Rated M for Manly Villain Protagonist Black Dude Dies First Ironic Echo Deliberately Monochrome Dying Moment of Awesome Those Wacky Nazis The Sociopath Here We Go Again! Not Using the "Z" Word No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Spiritual Successor Brutal Honesty Developing Doomed Characters The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Rape as Drama Famous Last Words Major Injury Underreaction No Antagonist Armor-Piercing Question Re-Cut Faking the Dead The Great Depression Fan Disservice Nice Hat From Nobody to Nightmare You Have Failed Me Creative Closing Credits The Atoner Shell-Shocked Veteran Establishing Character Moment Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Dirty Cop Dual Wielding Foregone Conclusion Exactly What It Says on the Tin Obviously Evil Needs Wiki Magic Love The Ditz Whole Plot Reference Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas French Films Insult Backfire Groin Attack Dressing as the Enemy Heterosexual Life-Partners Villain Opening Scene I Have Your Wife Unwitting Instigator of Doom It Will Never Catch On Recycled IN SPACE! Amusing Injuries Shown Their Work Chekhov's Skill Revenge Pretty Little Headshots Celebrity Paradox Never My Fault An Arm and a Leg Mundane Made Awesome As the Good Book Says... Not What It Looks Like I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Leaning on the Fourth Wall Cruel and Unusual Death Face–Heel Turn La Résistance timeperiod German Films Not So Stoic Offscreen Moment of Awesome Broken Pedestal Almost Kiss Shoot the Shaggy Dog Dutch Angle Big Applesauce Reasonable Authority Figure "Awesome McCool" Name Well-Intentioned Extremist Foreshadowing Storming the Castle Dark Is Not Evil Guns Akimbo Truth in Television Mr. Exposition The Stinger Beware the Nice Ones Stealth Pun Moment Killer Cloudcuckoolander Getting Crap Past the Radar Casting Gag Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Arranged Marriage Amoral Attorney Spell My Name with an "S" Black Comedy Age Lift Lighter and Softer Punch-Clock Villain Fatal Flaw Fanservice Extra Japanese Films Hong Kong Films Defrosting Ice Queen Evil Is Hammy Handicapped Badass Silent Movie Be Careful What You Wish For Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Rewatch Bonus The Lost Lenore Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Heroic BSoD Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Vitriolic Best Buds Rasputinian Death Easily Forgiven My Beloved Smother Villain Song Alas, Poor Villain Ambiguous Ending Manchild Parental Neglect Adaptational Villainy Reality Ensues Insane Troll Logic Eureka Moment Morality Pet Beta Couple Serious Business Badass Grandpa The Smart Guy Soundtrack Dissonance Sequel Escalation Cool Shades Big Bad The Dreaded Our Zombies Are Different Fake Shemp Very Loosely Based on a True Story Death by Sex Dogged Nice Guy Breaking the Fourth Wall Dramatic Gun Cock Girl-on-Girl Is Hot No OSHA Compliance Not Quite Dead Cain and Abel Sealed Evil in a Can What You Are in the Dark Spanner in the Works Wham Line Neck Lift Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Biopic Authority Equals Asskicking Due to the Dead Index of Film Westerns Trailers Always Spoil Science Fiction Films Military and Warfare Films Dropped a Bridge on Him Video Credits More Dakka Based on a True Story Take That! Adaptational Attractiveness Gainax Ending Playing Gertrude Improbable Aiming Skills Bolivian Army Ending Get Out! Your Head A-Splode Punny Name Token Minority Pimped-Out Dress Neck Snap Artistic License – Law Drugs Are Bad Award-Bait Song Overprotective Dad It's Personal Freudian Excuse Eye Scream Bilingual Bonus Fiery Redhead Danny Peary Cult Movies List Break the Haughty Match Cut Author Appeal Took a Level in Badass Antagonist Title '80s Hair Pyrrhic Victory Contrived Coincidence Destination Defenestration Henpecked Husband Genre Throwback The Film of the Book Mythology Gag Affably Evil Knife Nut Karma Houdini Cool Old Guy Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Naïve Newcomer Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Scary Black Man Babies Ever After Berserk Button BFG Spiteful Spit Jerkass Has a Point Butt-Monkey In Medias Res Diabolus ex Machina Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Didn't Think This Through Hollywood Law Action Survivor "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Wounded Gazelle Gambit Historical Hero Upgrade Shipper on Deck As You Know He Knows Too Much Homage Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Downer Ending No Celebrities Were Harmed Evil-Detecting Dog No Name Given Properly Paranoid Early Installment Weirdness Costume Porn Take a Third Option Despair Event Horizon Hell Is That Noise Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Adapted Out Genre Savvy A.I. Is a Crapshoot One Steve Limit Epic Fail Meet Cute Hair-Trigger Temper One-Man Army Disney Villain Death Exact Words Even Evil Has Standards Bi the Way Book-Ends Anti-Hero Plot Hole The Stoner Film Noir Index MacGuffin Death of a Child Camera Abuse The Cavalry Dwindling Party Self-Deprecation Manly Tears Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer From Bad to Worse Artistic License – Military Your Cheating Heart Call-Back Off-into-the-Distance Ending Psychological Thriller You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Bland-Name Product Zombie Stories The Hero Small Name, Big Ego Missing Mom Eldritch Abomination Pay Evil unto Evil Deliberate Values Dissonance Christmas Movies Index Wicked Cultured Last-Name Basis Bound and Gagged Adult Fear Dies Wide Open Unreliable Narrator Car Fu Gold Digger Hidden Depths Black and Gray Morality Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Adaptation Expansion Interrupted Suicide Put on a Bus Cat Fight Sports Stories Department of Redundancy Department Artistic License – Physics Animal Title Index Heel Realization Hate Sink Martial Arts Movie Villain Ball Final Girl Would Hit a Girl Wrong Genre Savvy All Just a Dream What the Hell, Hero? Badass Longcoat Bury Your Gays Ms. Fanservice Pragmatic Villainy Killed Mid-Sentence Flipping the Bird Race Against the Clock Vomit Indiscretion Shot Kick the Son of a Bitch Belligerent Sexual Tension Rule of Funny Superhero Yandere Fish out of Water Scare Chord Obfuscating Stupidity Intergenerational Friendship Framing Device Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Madness Mantra Immune to Bullets Depraved Bisexual Apocalypse How Humiliation Conga Anyone Can Die Smug Snake Blackmail Accidental Murder Badass Bookworm Arch-Enemy Advertised Extra War Is Hell Grievous Bottley Harm Psychopathic Manchild The '70s Love at First Sight Male Frontal Nudity Never Found the Body Tagline Daylight Horror Action Girl All Girls Want Bad Boys May–December Romance Eiffel Tower Effect Gorn Kids Are Cruel Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Fanservice True Companions Evil Counterpart Fire-Forged Friends The Dragon Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Leitmotif Evil Laugh For Want of a Nail Deconstruction The '80s Foil Australian Movies After the End Domestic Abuse Dramatic Irony Flashback Beauty Is Never Tarnished Disproportionate Retribution Posthumous Character Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Hypocritical Humor Jerkass Kubrick Stare Enemy Mine Nothing Is Scarier The Bad Guy Wins Meaningful Echo Auto Erotica Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Captain Ersatz Unusually Uninteresting Sight Dark Reprise Knight Templar Card-Carrying Villain Irony Ass Shove Paper-Thin Disguise Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Bait-and-Switch Chiaroscuro Tap on the Head Even Evil Has Loved Ones The Remake Badass Normal The End... Or Is It? B-Movie Idiot Ball Retirony Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Television Movie Index Romantic Comedy Unresolved Sexual Tension Taking You with Me Offscreen Teleportation Suspiciously Similar Substitute Hooker with a Heart of Gold Thriller Chase Scene Arc Words Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Stuff Blowing Up Shout-Out Gratuitous English Death by Irony Made of Iron Jitter Cam Fourth Date Marriage Rule of Cool Animal Motifs Expy Dark and Troubled Past Only a Flesh Wound Brother–Sister Incest Not So Different Conspicuous CG Tranquil Fury Covers Always Lie Married to the Job Demoted to Extra Reality Has No Subtitles Jerk with a Heart of Gold Ascended Extra Frame-Up A Date with Rosie Palms Wretched Hive Riddle for the Ages Room Full of Crazy Instant Death Bullet Pretty in Mink Big-Bad Ensemble Pet the Dog Sinister Minister Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Music Stories Historical-Domain Character Cold-Blooded Torture Alliterative Name Undying Loyalty Corpsing Imagine Spot Creator Cameo Stalker with a Crush Plucky Comic Relief Crapsack World Does This Remind You of Anything? Villainous Breakdown Novelization Took a Level in Jerkass Would Hurt a Child Shirtless Scene Loophole Abuse Public Domain Feature Films Kick the Dog Chekhov's Gun You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Good Is Not Nice Let's Get Dangerous! Improvised Weapon Visual Pun Dirty Coward Better to Die than Be Killed The Casanova Slasher Movie Narrator I'm a Humanitarian Historical In-Joke Sassy Black Woman Friend to All Children Grey and Gray Morality The Vamp The Faceless Green-Eyed Monster A Minor Kidroduction Four-Temperament Ensemble Five-Man Band As Himself Fatal Family Photo Hope Spot Death Glare Training Montage I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Bare Your Midriff The Brute Red Right Hand And I Must Scream No Ending Curb-Stomp Battle Big Damn Heroes Only Sane Man The Smurfette Principle Smoking Is Cool Greater-Scope Villain Bar Brawl Canon Foreigner Call-Forward An Axe to Grind Fun with Acronyms Canadian Movies The Mafia The X of Y Cool Old Lady Bittersweet Ending I Need a Freaking Drink Gone Horribly Right Air-Vent Passageway Stepford Smiler Outrun the Fireball Villain with Good Publicity Curse Cut Short Drowning My Sorrows Improbable Weapon User Noodle Incident Adorkable Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Awesome, but Impractical Ship Tease Lock and Load Montage Dirty Old Man Abusive Parents No-Sell Non-Indicative Name Real Life Camp Gay The Oner Children Are Innocent Sadistic Choice Big Bad Duumvirate Ambiguous Disorder Evil vs. Evil Stock Footage Hollywood Darkness Screw the Rules, I Have Money! This Is Gonna Suck Disney Death Man on Fire Black Comedy Rape The Place Mama Bear Red Shirt Too Dumb to Live Romantic False Lead The Bully Meaningful Name Those Two Bad Guys Maybe Ever After Corrupt Corporate Executive Deus ex Machina Evil Sounds Deep Poor Communication Kills Manipulative Bastard Evil Is Petty Works Set in World War II NO INDOOR VOICE Woman Scorned Stylistic Suck Hoist by His Own Petard The '50s Drives Like Crazy Random Events Plot Wham Shot Betty and Veronica Continuity Nod Bad Boss Broken Bird Extreme Doormat Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Anti-Villain Reality Is Unrealistic Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Author Avatar Agony of the Feet Double Entendre Mood Whiplash Crazy-Prepared Artistic License – History Ghost Fiction Kill 'em All What Happened to the Mouse? O.O.C. Is Serious Business Comically Missing the Point Central Theme Cassandra Truth Intrepid Reporter Scenery Porn Sexy Discretion Shot Anachronism Stew Gory Discretion Shot Historical Villain Upgrade Once More, with Clarity! Accidental Misnaming Does Not Like Shoes Serial Killer There Is No Kill Like Overkill Setting Update Male Gaze Facial Horror She Cleans Up Nicely Failed a Spot Check Blatant Lies Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Evil Brit All Men Are Perverts Darkest Hour Defiant to the End Genre Shift Adaptation Distillation Never Trust a Trailer I Did What I Had to Do Crucified Hero Shot Happily Married Those Two Guys Determinator aka: The Determinator Sir Swears-a-Lot Brainless Beauty Fainting Aluminum Christmas Trees Black Best Friend Extremely Short Timespan A Father to His Men Abhorrent Admirer Same Language Dub Epic Movie Manic Pixie Dream Girl Jerk Jock Italian Films Vacation Films Animated Credits Opening Chewing the Scenery Asshole Victim N-Word Privileges Heel–Face Turn Hero Antagonist British Films Woman in White Film Series Cool Guns Adaptation Name Change Affectionate Parody "Well Done, Son!" Guy Protagonist Title Guile Hero Dissonant Serenity Retcon Rule of Three Dumb Blonde Crazy Jealous Guy The Dog Bites Back Market-Based Title Soft Glass Vampire Fiction She's Got Legs The '90s Batman Gambit Large Ham Red Oni, Blue Oni Karmic Death Humans Are Bastards One-Word Title Taking the Bullet Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Worthy Opponent Ungrateful Bastard Deal with the Devil Mooks Daddy's Girl Badass Boast In the Back Running Gag Throwing Your Sword Always Works Parental Incest Roaring Rampage of Revenge Bavarian Fire Drill Eyepatch of Power Blood from the Mouth Pre-Mortem One-Liner Everyone Has Standards The Stoic Action Prologue Heroes Want Redheads Big Fancy House Say My Name Horror Films Adaptational Badass Did Not Get the Girl Laser-Guided Karma Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Mr. Fanservice The Alcoholic Bunny-Ears Lawyer Really Gets Around Malevolent Masked Men Loads and Loads of Characters The Alleged Car Police are Useless Red Herring Redemption Equals Death Unusual Euphemism Empathic Environment Important Haircut Suspiciously Specific Denial Bowdlerise Mugging the Monster Actually Pretty Funny Back from the Dead Adaptation Dye-Job Calling the Old Man Out Freeze-Frame Bonus Dull Surprise The Voiceless Shut Up, Hannibal! Have a Gay Old Time Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Annoying Younger Sibling Super Strength Ax-Crazy Sole Survivor Composite Character Slashed Throat It's All About Me Death Seeker The Chessmaster Brick Joke Cluster F-Bomb World of Ham An Aesop Product Placement Every Car Is a Pinto The Reveal Only One Name Kill It with Fire Spared by the Adaptation As Long as It Sounds Foreign Hero of Another Story Rule of Symbolism Beard of Evil Driven to Suicide Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Mighty Whitey Sci-Fi Horror Love Triangle Mystery and Detective Films Adaptational Heroism Ominous Latin Chanting Redshirt Army All There in the Script Bloodier and Gorier Red Eyes, Take Warning Bad "Bad Acting" Peek-a-Boo Corpse Documentary "The Reason You Suck" Speech The Mole Determinator Bald of Evil Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Word of God Disguised in Drag Straight Gay Logo Joke Artistic License – Gun Safety Police Brutality Film Noir Character Development Body Horror Russian Films Older Than They Look Half the Man He Used to Be Femme Fatale Anachronic Order Not So Above It All Fantastic Racism Slap-Slap-Kiss Artistic License – Geography Big Eater Face Death with Dignity Parental Abandonment Blood Knight Country Matters Sequel Hook Implacable Man Totally Radical Aside Glance Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Unspoken Plan Guarantee Becoming the Mask Disappeared Dad And Starring Victoria's Secret Compartment The Hero Dies Race Lift Bloodless Carnage Sacrificial Lion Alpha Bitch folderlabel Mexican Standoff "Shaggy Dog" Story Bond Villain Stupidity Early-Bird Cameo Jump Scare Suddenly SHOUTING! Off with His Head! Bullying a Dragon Leave the Camera Running Star-Crossed Lovers Coming-of-Age Story Men Are the Expendable Gender Psycho for Hire Funny Foreigner Parental Substitute Obstructive Bureaucrat Chekhov's Gunman Stealth Hi/Bye The Quiet One Scenery Gorn Not Even Bothering with the Accent Heroic Sacrifice Attempted Rape Translation Convention Refuge in Audacity The Ghost Fantasy Films Darker and Edgier Combat Pragmatist The Musical He Who Fights Monsters Faux Affably Evil Cowboy Cop Evil Plan Up to Eleven Horror Comedy Distracted by the Sexy Dramedy Gender Flip Fate Worse than Death Skewed Priorities Motor Mouth Ambiguously Gay Expository Hairstyle Change Closed Circle Badass in a Nice Suit Eagleland Funny Background Event Captain Obvious Pragmatic Adaptation Big Brother Instinct Laughing Mad Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor A God Am I Broken Aesop Bond One-Liner Double-Meaning Title Informed Ability Damsel in Distress Credits Gag How We Got Here In Name Only Cool Car Time Skip Big "NO!" Creepy Child The Un-Reveal Sanity Slippage The '60s Gilligan Cut Earn Your Happy Ending Only Known by Their Nickname Actor Allusion Lampshade Hanging The Chick Nice Guy Catch-Phrase Line-of-Sight Name