Tropescilloscope: Bittersweet Ending

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

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