History Main / Denouement

It is fairly [[UniversalTrope ubiquitous]], though not all stories have dénouements. How final and extensive it is depends on the scale of the plot -- and whether there may be a sequel. For a HappyEnding or even BittersweetEnding, this is generally where the happiness is shown. As a consequence, [[RuleOfDrama many usual rules -- directed at keeping conflict and suspense going]] -- are suspended here. The LawOfInverseFertility, for instance, does not apply; if TheHero and the LoveInterest married at the climax, a dénouement may show them [[BabiesEverAfter happily anticipating the birth of, or cooing over, their first child]].

[[caption-width-right:200:Pictured: the Dénouement in her element, unraveling plot threads.]]

* Lampshaded in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0670.html Elan tells Haley about Therkla]], and she explains that he insisted because it was dénouement.

* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''PrideAndPrejudice'' the final chapter recounts how the two marriages occurred, and the happy life of the couples thereafter.
** In ''{{Persuasion}}'' Anne Eliot and Captain Wentwrorth actually marry, and Captain Wentworth acts on behalf of her friend Mrs. Smith.

-->''...the dénouement. That's French for 'the end', and is a literary device, like the [[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja ninjas]].''

* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[JohnCarterOfMars Warlord of Mars]]'', Thuvia's hopeless crush on John Carter is [[LoveFatherLoveSon showing every sign of being cured by meeting his son Carthoris]]. (Things go wrong after so that she and he get their own book, ''Thuvia, Maid of Mars''.)

** ''WesternAnimation/Up'' ends at a ceremony where Russell [[spoiler:receives his final wilderness explorer badge: [[PassingTheTorch the bottle cap that Ellie gave to Carl when they were kids]]]].

* In ''BobAndGeorge'', [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/070728c the final strip was an animation of denouement.]]

** The last few minutes of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' (after Ego's re-review of Gusteau's restaurant) reveal what happened after Skinner and the health inspector were let go. [[spoiler: They have Gusteau's shut down due to a rat infestation, and Ego loses his job due to giving a positive review to a "dirty" restaurant; Ego ends up investing in a new successful restaurant run by Linguini and Colette, and we find out who Remy was narrating his story to.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' uses a series of animated scenes to document what happened to the characters [[spoiler: after returning to a revitalized Earth.]]
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', scenes from Radiator Springs' future are run, along with the credits.

* In JamesSwallow's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/BloodAngels novel ''Red Fury'', after the battle has dealt with the Bloodfiends, and the other Chapters have decided to tithe to the Blood Angels so that chapter will survive -- they learn that Fabius Bile has stolen some "sacred vitae". Rafen is charged with [[TheQuest recovering it]] [[SequelHook in the last scene]].

** The Citadel DLC provided closure, albeit ''before'' the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Despite not technically being a denouement, the DLC felt like one, providing closure with crewmembers (and the love interest), with Shepard reverently sighing at the end, "It's been quite a ride."

[[folder:Film]]
* At the end of ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End]]'', after the credits, "ten years later", [[spoiler:Elizabeth and her nine-year-old son are walking to the shore; when they reach it, they look out to a ship at sea.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'' uses a series of animated scenes to document what happened to the characters [[spoiler: after returning to a revitalized Earth.]]
* ''{{Clerks}}'' took out all the guesswork for its audience -- "Dénouement" was the final title card.
* ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'' climaxed with Mortimer shooting El Indio, and the dénouement was Manco figuring out and showing to the audience [[TheReveal why Mortimer had wanted Indio dead so badly to begin with]]. And leaving with the loot.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'', scenes from Radiator Springs' future are run, along with the credits.
[[/folder]]

* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland Total Drama]]'' story, ''Fanfic/{{Legacy}}'', the last chapter is entirely dénouement, with the climax coming at the end of the preceding chapter as Heather reveals her gesture of remembrance.

** In ''MansfieldPark'', Edward and Fanny marry and after a few years move to a better living.

* ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' not only has this trope, but two SequelHook segments as well, one of which has just been greenlit by Hollywood. That's right, folks: [[{{Deadpool}} the Merc with the Mouth]] is getting his own movie.

* The sequel of ''MissCongeniality'' starts with Gracie broken up and Cheryl kidnapped.

* ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' not only has this trope, but two SequelHook segments as well, one of which has just been greenlit by Hollywood. That's right, folks: [[spoiler: [[{{Deadpool}} the Merc with the Mouth]] is getting his own movie.]]

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', the dénouement actually happened before the climax. In ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Harry [[spoiler:meets with Albus Dumbledore in an ethereal place, and Dumbledore explains most of the mysteries that are still left unanswered]]. Although the fates are still undetermined at this point.

* In the twelfth ''ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' book there is a hotel aptly named this. The Dénouement is run by triplets (also named Dénouement), and it answers a ton of the questions in the series, but still leaves a treasure trove left unsaid.

* The PhilipMarlowe books by Creator/RaymondChandler frequently end with a dénouement, which occur during [[ChandlersLaw the villain's confrontation]] and/or in a closing scene (where Marlowe explains anything missed).

{{Denouement}} (pronounced day-noo-mahn) is French for "unknotting", and denotes the point in the story when mysteries are unraveled, fates are determined and explanations made. It is not synonymous with [[TheClimax climax]]: This is the aftermath of the action, not the peak. It is usually the scene ''after'' the climax -- although it can happen in such close proximity to the events of the climax that it may appear to be part of it. An equivalent English expression would be "tying up loose ends".

* On a similar note, the [[NoEnding abruptness of the end]] and thus lack of {{Denouement}} in the final ''Franchise/MassEffect'' game... well, the fan outcry isn't pretty. It was so bad that {{Bioware}} went back and patched in a more detailed version. Not exactly done to satisfaction for some, but at least it finally explained a few things.

{{Denouement}} (pronounced day-noo-mahn) is French for "unknotting", and denotes the point in the story when mysteries are unraveled, fates are determined and explanations made. It is not synonymous with [[TheClimax climax]]: This is the aftermath of the action, not the peak. It is usually the scene ''after'' the climax -- although it can happen in such close proximity to the events of the climax that it may appear to be part of it. It is fairly [[UniversalTrope ubiquitous]], though not all stories have dénouements.

How final and extensive it is depends on the scale of the plot -- and whether there may be a sequel.

For a HappyEnding or even BittersweetEnding, this is generally where the happiness is shown. As a consequence, [[RuleOfDrama many usual rules -- directed at keeping conflict and suspense going]] -- are suspended here. The LawOfInverseFertility, for instance, does not apply; if TheHero and the LoveInterest married at the climax, a dénouement may show them [[BabiesEverAfter happily anticipating the birth of, or cooing over, their first child]].

** On a similar note, the [[NoEnding abruptness of the end]] and thus lack of {{Denouement}} in the final MassEffect game... well, the fan outcry isn't pretty. It was so bad that {{Bioware}} went back and patched in a more detailed version. Not exactly done to satisfaction for some, but at least it finally explained a few things.

* In the ''WhenTheyCry'' series, it usually happens in the 7th out of 8 episodes. [[UnreliableNarrator Except for all of the lies and new questions that get added in during that time.]]