Tropescilloscope: Downer Ending

Ending a story on a sad or depressing note. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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