Tropescilloscope: Bittersweet Ending

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

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