Tropescilloscope: Shoot the Shaggy Dog

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

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