History Main / DramaBomb

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had a few well-spaced ones, but of particular note was the ''cluster'' DramaBomb towards the end of Season 2, where an episode ends with [[MetaGuy Sokka]] blithely mentioning how [[TemptingFate smoothly]] things have been going, followed by [[spoiler: [[CuteBruiser Toph]] getting captured by [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Xin Fu and Master Wu]], [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] being revealed to still control the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]], and instead of Suki and the [[AmazonBrigade Kyoshi Warriors]] coming to the aid of [[TheFederation Ba Sing Se]], it's actually [[MagnificentBastard Azula]] and [[QuirkyMinibossSquad friends]] in disguise.]]\\

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To recap: The Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, a city that the Fire Nation had been trying to breach for the better part of a hundred years, [[spoiler:fell in two days]]. The EK army was [[spoiler:immobilized]] after [[spoiler:its generals were captured, and the Earth King was forced to retreat]]. Not only that, but Zuko ended up [[spoiler:betraying his uncle, the only man who had ever been a real father to him, in order to get his birth father's approval]]. And Aang [[spoiler:got killed by Azula]]. All in the space of about forty minutes. It remains the single greatest WhamEpisode of the series.

[[folder:{{Web Original}}]]
* DoctorHorriblesSingalongBlog, Act three. Everything has pretty well ironed out at the end--[[spoiler:Captain Hammer is defeated, the Doctor is brushing himself off, and all in all things could've gone much worse... And then the camera pans to Penny with a piece of shrapnel in her chest.]]

* In the most recent ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' novel ''Dark Days''. [[spoiler:The magical world has been saved, the villian stopped and the Gaelic Football goes on. Then Bang. The second [[SphereOfDestruction Desolation Engine]] goes off and the Sanctuary is destroyed.]] By a seemingly one-shot side character, no less.
* Jack Ryan had risen about as far in the administration as he could (part of the sell for making him Vice President was that once his term was done, he'd never be able to work for the US Government again) and then TomClancy [[HarsherInHindsight crashed a 747 into Congress.]]

* Back in 1996, ''GeneralHospital'' had a very memorable drama bomb {{Montane}} called Clink!Boom which juxtaposes a mobster's ex-girlfriend toasting her new husband while his current pregnant girlfriend turned the key in the ignition of their car and it exploded. Ever since, the show has been trying to top itself with mob violence, even going so far as to make the month of February {{Sweeps}} a 16 hour hostage crisis told in the same style as ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''. Nowadays, GH fans are used to seeing at least a dozen mob shoot outs and one or two legacy character dying violent deaths a year.

* In the most recent SkulduggeryPleasant novel ''Dark Days''. [[spoiler:The magical world has been saved, the villian stopped and the Gaelic Football goes on. Then Bang. The second [[SphereOfDestruction Desolation Engine]] goes off and the Sanctuary is destroyed.]] By a seemingly one-shot side character, no less.

* ''AdventureTime'''s Lumpy Space Princess name-drops the trope, complete with Valley Girl gestures and inflection, during Marcelline's confrontation with her father: "Oh my glob, you guys -- drama bomb!"

** Given the foreshadowing mention of Bluebeard's house re: the attic, even some teenagers are expecting this. If not, though...

** JossWhedon in particular is notable in that he has trouble dropping a drama bomb without [[SacrificialLamb killing someone in the explosion]].

** There ''were''.
** YourMileageMayVary. A lot of readers liked the twist, but a lot of them didn't, and neither did many of the webcomic critics. Some thought it was an Iconic Moment, others thought it was {{Narm}}.
** It even came with the detonation of a '''[[CaptainObvious (huge spoiler)]]''' ''literal'' (figurative) [[http://rosalarian.com/yume/?p=917 drama bomb]].

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had a few well-spaced ones, but of particular note was the ''cluster'' DramaBomb towards the end of Season 2, where an episode ends with [[MetaGuy Sokka]] blithely mentioning how [[TemptingFate smoothly]] things have been going, followed by [[spoiler: [[CuteBruiser Toph]] getting captured by [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Xin Fu and Master Wu]], [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] being revealed to still control the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]], and instead of Suki and the [[AmazonBrigade Kyoshi Warriors]] coming to the aid of [[TheFederation Ba Sing Se]], it's actually [[MagnificentBastard Azula]] and [[QuirkyMinibossSquad friends]] in disguise.]]
** And things unfold in even more shocking ways from there.
*** To recap: The Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, a city that the Fire Nation had been trying to breach for the better part of a hundred years, fell in two days. The EK army was immobilized after its generals were captured, and the Earth King was forced to retreat. Not only that, but Zuko ended up betraying his uncle, the only man who had ever been a real father to him, in order to get his birth father's approval. And [[spoiler: Aang died.]] All in the space of about forty minutes. It remains the single greatest WhamEpisode of the series.

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* [[WorldOfWarcraft Wrath Gate]].

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** YourMileageMayVary. A lot of readers liked the twist, but a lot of them didn't, and neither did many of the webcomic critics. Some thought it was an IconicMoment, others thought it was {{Narm}}.

* Episode 38 of ''{{Kekkaishi}}'': after [[spoiler: Gen dies in combat, the other characters hold a funeral for him.]] It's more of a Drama Nuke since [[spoiler: Gen's closest acquaintances remember him, Masamori gives Gen's grieving sister unanswered letters, and Yoshimori goes through a temporary HeroicBSOD over Gen's passing.]]

* [[WalkyVerse Dave Willis]] loved this trope. To death. Especially jarring considering that he kept his comedic characters largely untouched as he dropped bomb after bomb after bomb on them. He seems to be outgrowing (or at least becoming aware of) it if his LampshadeHanging of a StoryArc about "Pulling the Drama Tag" in ''Shortpacked!'' is any indication.
** Well, if by "untouched", you mean "driven to insanity"...

* The 20th Episode of ''{{Fresh Pretty Cure}}'' is all about this The tone was already bleak, it being about how the strain of being Pretty Cure and the dance lessons took a toll on Love, Miki and Inori ,physically and to an extent psychologically but it all reaches peak when [[spoiler:They Collapse after the battle with the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Nakisakebe]] and on the way to the dance lesson's with Miyuki]] Bonus Points if you like Eas. She has only 2 uses of the Pyramid Card, [[spoiler:which will eventually kill her if she runs out and refuses Wester's and Souler's offer to take her place...]]

-->''"That's not just in Narm territory, that's bombing the capital and setting up a puppet government."''
-->-- Space Ace, when this trope goes wrong.

* Happened a few times in ''[[{{MASH}} M* A* S* H]]''. The best example is in the Season 3 finale. For the most part, the episode is a celebration for Henry's discharge. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready The bomb comes in the last thirty seconds]], when [[spoiler: Radar comes into the OR with the news [[McLeaned Henry]] had died in a plane crash]]. {{Retirony}}, much?

* ''CtrlAltDel'' with Lilah's miscarriage. A massive DramaBomb for a previously light-hearted comic.
* In ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' the bomb was dropped more than once, most potently when [[spoiler:her mom died]]. However, this show suffered the flaw of overuse, to the point where season 6 seemed to consist of nothing ''but'' [[DramaBomb Drama Bombs]] (and a MusicalEpisode).
** JossWhedon in particular is notable in that he has trouble dropping a drama bomb without [[SacrificialLamb killing someone in the explosion]].
* Literary Example: The illness of Red's daughter in ''[[StrugatskyBrothers Roadside Picnic]]'', forcing him to become even more of a [[AntiHero bastard]].
* Back in 1996, ''General Hospital'' had a very memorable drama bomb {{Montage}} called Clink!Boom which juxtaposes a mobster's ex-girlfriend toasting her new husband while his current pregnant girlfriend turned the key in the ignition of their car and it exploded. Ever since, the show has been trying to top itself with mob violence, even going so far as to make the month of February {{Sweeps}} a 16 hour hostage crisis told in the same style as ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''. Nowadays, GH fans are used to seeing at least a dozen mob shoot outs and one or two legacy character dying violent deaths a year.
* One of ''{{Scrubs}}'''s biggest Drama Bombs were the episodes "My Lunch" and "My Fallen Idol". Interestingly, the Drama Bombs rarely affect the whole cast; for example, while in "My Lunch" Dr. Cox and JD are both profoundly affected by the deaths, Carla, Turk, and Elliot are busy sorting out [[AnythingThatMoves The Todd's sexuality]], apparently oblivious to the other goings on.
* Officer deaths in ''TheBill''
* [[WalkyVerse Dave Willis]] loved this trope. To death. Especially jarring considering that he kept his comedic characters largely untouched as he dropped bomb after bomb after bomb on them. He seems to be outgrowing (or at least becoming aware of) it if his LampshadeHanging of a StoryArc about "Pulling the Drama Tag" in ''Shortpacked!'' is any indication.
** Well, if by "untouched", you mean "driven to insanity"...
* Michael's [[spoiler:killing of Ana-Lucia and Libby]] was a much-needed DramaBomb in a stagnant part of ''{{Lost}}'' season 2.

* Many [[DramaBomb drama bombs]] occur at the end of issue 9 in the webcomic YuMeDream, the biggest of which was [[spoiler:that everything up until that point was a dream]]. Thankfully that is not the end of the series or there would have been some very pissed off fans.
** YourMileageMayVary. A lot of readers liked the twist, but a lot of them didn't, and neither did many of the webcomic critics. Some thought it was an IconicMoment, others thought it was Narm.
* Happend a few times in ''[[{{MASH}} M* A* S* H]]''. The best example is in the Season 3 finale. For the most part, the episode is a celebration for Henry's discharge. [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready The bomb comes in the last thirty seconds]], when [[spoiler: Radar comes into the OR with the news [[McLeaned Henry]] had died in a plane crash]]. {{Retirony}}, much?
* The first two seasons of ''StarTrekEnterprise'' were full of Archer and the gang staring at pretty comets, bitching about Vulcans, and saying 'Gee Whiz' a lot. And then came....The Xindi....
* ''{{Kirby}} of the stars'' provides examples of both the use and overuse of the DramaBomb. A fairly early episode has Kirby get a robo-puppy that becomes something of a little brother to him. The episode ends with the puppy [[TearJerker sacrificing itself to save Kirby]]. The overuse comes when they do this ''two additional times''. By the third self-sacrifice, you can't help thinking "Oh, not again."

* In the most recent SkulduggeryPleasant novel ''Dark Days''. [[spoiler:The magical world has been saved, the villian stopped and the Gaelic Football goes on. Then Bang. The second [[SphereOfDestruction Desolation Engine]] goes off and the Sanctuary is destroyed.]] By a seemingly one-shot side character, no less.

* AvatarTheLastAirbender had a few well-spaced ones, but of particular note was the ''cluster'' DramaBomb towards the end of Season 2, where an episode ends with [[MetaGuy Sokka]] blithely mentioning how [[TemptingFate smoothly]] things have been going, followed by [[spoiler: [[CuteBruiser Toph]] getting captured by [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Xin Fu and Master Wu]], [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] being revealed to still control the [[SecretPolice Dai Li]], and instead of Suki and the [[AmazonBrigade Kyoshi Warriors]] coming to the aid of [[TheFederation Ba Sing Se]], it's actually [[MagnificentBastard Azula]] and [[QuirkyMinibossSquad friends]] in disguise.]]
** And things unfold in even more shocking ways from there.
*** To recap: The Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se, a city that the Fire Nation had been trying to breach for the better part of a hundred years, fell in two days. The EK army was immobilized after its generals were captured, and the Earth King was forced to retreat. Not only that, but Zuko ended up betraying his uncle, the only man who had ever been a real father to him, in order to get his birth father's approval. And [[spoiler: Aang died.]] All in the space of about forty minutes. It remains the single greatest WhamEpisode of the series.
* The Martial Arts movie ''House Of Flying Daggers'' does pretty well with its drama and plot for the most part...but just ''try'' to keep up with the last quarter of the movie. [[spoiler: The two government agents find the rebels, and it is revealed that one of the agents is actually working for the rebels and in love with the lady protagonist, also an agent of the Flying Daggers. But it turns out the leader of the Flying Daggers is NOT the leader of the Flying Daggers, our lady isn't blind, and is in love with the agent still pro-government and...]]
* An older and somewhat forgotten American TV show, best described as ''TheOffice'' before ''TheOffice'', made it onto a list of great TV moments purely through one of these. A snarky sort named Rosalyn had been tormenting the rest of the cast all season--then she took a wrong step and fell down an elevator shaft.
** Would that be Rosa''lind'' from LALaw?
* In DeadPoetsSociety, everything looks like it's worked itself out, at least to some extent. Then [[spoiler: Neil shoots himself.]]
* FanFiction example: In the SuperSmashBros fanfiction ''Smash Generation'', it seemed as if everything was going smoothly for the heroes, and then [[spoiler: Toon Link gets almost eaten by Molgera, and nearly ''dies'']].
* Oh geez. The NCISLosAngeles episode "Missing" was a drama ''nuke''.
* MobTies: the first bomb begins at the end of Issue 2, but the author starts a heavy bombardment starting at Issue 7. Once Issue 14 rolls around, though, the HSQ raises UpToEleven.

* In the most recent Skulduggery Pleasant novel ''Dark Days''. [[spoiler:The magical worlds been saved, the villian stopped and the Gaelic Football goes on. Then Bang. The second [[SphereOfDestruction Desolation Engine goes off and the Sanctuary is destroyed.]]