Tropescilloscope: Shoot the Shaggy Dog

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

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