History Main / BitterSweetEnding

* The [[KarmaHoudini bad guys get away now]], but their current plans have fallen through. The heroes will have to face them again, and know it.

->''"How can everything be so amazing and so horrible all at the same time?"''
-->-- '''Dipper''', ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''

Victory, at last! The BigBad has been vanquished, the day has been saved, the [[DamselInDistress damsels in distress]] and {{innocent bystander}}s have been rescued and the heroes are ready to [[StandardHeroReward reap their reward]], kiss their LoveInterests and [[RidingIntoTheSunset walk away toward the setting sun]]...

* The protagonists are the [[SoleSurvivor only ones left alive at the end]]. [[KillEmAll Even the likeable guest characters get mercilessly killed]].

* The good guys accomplish what they set out to do but on a personal level, there is an overarching feeling that they [[IdiotBall put on a "bad show" this time.]]

Bittersweet Endings can fall on either end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. They also work well when the characters are at a loss about [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow what to do now]]. They come up frequently in HighFantasy, for obvious reasons -- an epic that ends with the hero triumphing over the ultimate BigBad and bringing peace and prosperity to the land, but at the same time defeating the ultimate BigBad does always come without sacrifice, whether or be him dying in the end or having him at a lost as for [[SoWhatNow what to do now]]. Sometimes these are worlds and stories where you can EarnYourHappyEnding, though it won't be ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

In short, if the characters are worse off than when they started, it's a DownerEnding. If they're better off (or at least status quo is preserved), but the work still ends on a melancholy note, it's a Bittersweet Ending. Another way to think of it is that if the story's main conflict is resolved in favor of the protagonists, but at great sacrifice, it's a Bittersweet Ending, and a DownerEnding requires the heroes to fail, and the conflict to be resolved in the favor of the antagonists.

Bittersweet Endings are frequent in stories on the cynical end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. They also work well when the characters are at a loss about [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow what to do now]]. They come up frequently in HighFantasy, for obvious reasons -- an epic that ended with evil winning would usually mean the end of the world, and the mother of all {{Downer Ending}}s, but at the same time defeating the ultimate BigBad without paying some kind of price would be awfully unsatisfying. Sometimes these are worlds and stories where you can EarnYourHappyEnding, though it won't be ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

Contrast with RayOfHopeEnding, where the villain prevails but not all is lost.

->''"How can everything be so amazing and so terrible all at the same time?"''

->''"Sometimes there are no happy endings."''

->''"How can everything be so amazing and so terrible all at the same time?"''
-->-- '''Dipper''', ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''

->''"How can everything be so amazing yet so horrible all at the same time?"''

Sometimes the story's {{Aesop}} requires a bittersweet ending in order to be effective. For certain issues, this is [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped the only way]] to get the point across without the effect being undermined by other tropes such as the EverybodyLaughsEnding.

* The good guys accomplish what they set out to do but there is an overall feeling that they [[IdiotBall put on a "bad show" this time.]]

In short, if the characters are worse off than when they started, it's a DownerEnding. If they're better off, but the work still ends on a melancholy note, it's a Bittersweet Ending. Another way to think of it is that if the story's main conflict is resolved in favor of the protagonists, but at great sacrifice, it's a Bittersweet Ending, and a DownerEnding requires the heroes to fail, and the conflict to be resolved in the favor of the antagonists.

Victory, at last! The BigBad has been vanquished, the day has been saved, the [[DistressedDamsel damsels in distress]] and {{innocent bystander}}s have been rescued and the heroes are ready to [[StandardHeroReward reap their reward]], kiss their LoveInterests and [[RidingIntoTheSunset walk away toward the setting sun]]...

* DidNotGetTheGirl: when the OfficialCouple is [[BreakHerHeartToSaveHer broken for the right cause]].

* The [[KarmaHoudini bad guys get away now,]] but their current plans have fallen through. The heroes will have to face them again, and know it.

In short, if the characters are worse off than when they started, it's a {{Downer Ending}}. If they're better off, but the work still ends on a melancholy note, it's a {{Bittersweet Ending}}. Another way to think of it is that if the story's main conflict is resolved in favor of the protagonists, but at great sacrifice, it's a {{Bittersweet Ending}}, and a {{Downer Ending}} requires the heroes to fail, and the conflict to be resolved in the favor of the antagonists.

->''"Salvation is born of sacrifice -- miracles of misery."''
-->-- '''Orphan''', ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''

* BittersweetEnding/{{Webcomics}}

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

In short, if the characters are worse off than when they started it's a {{Downer Ending}}. If they're better off, but the work still ends on a melancholy note, it's a {{Bittersweet Ending}}. Another way to think of it is that if the story's main conflict is resolved in favor of the protagonists, but at great sacrifice, it's a {{Bittersweet Ending}}, and a {{Downer Ending}} requires the heroes to fail, and the conflict to be resolved in the favor of the antagonists.

Contrast with RayOfHopeEnding where the villain prevails but not all is lost.