Tropescilloscope: Pyrrhic Victory

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

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