Tropescilloscope: Pyrrhic Victory

Victory so costly it feels like a defeat. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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