Tropescilloscope: Shoot the Shaggy Dog

A tragic ending where the protagonist's efforts are All for Nothing. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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