History Main / UnexpectedlyDarkEpisode

** "Final Dish Rebecca," a two-parter featuring the hunt for an escaped mass terrorist who slaughtered countless civilians and turns out to be [[spoiler:an AnthropomorphicPersonification of the survivors' grief and anger and the government's refusal to take responsibility for its mistakes]]. ''Entirely'' played for drama.

** "Steel Jambalaya," where Forte and Volcott have to hunt down a killer robot just like one that slaughtered most of their team decades ago. This one verges on outright horror and gives Forte what appears to be PTSD.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* While ''Franchise/DragonBall'' is no stranger to serious plots, especially during the [[Anime/DragonBallZ Z era]], the arc that actually fits this the most is ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Dragon Ball Super]]'''s "Goku Black" arc. Centering around the Future Trunks timeline, we learn that a new villain appeared years after Future Trunks defeated the Androids, Cell, and later Babidi and Dabura. This new villain is incredibly strong, has been systematically committing genocide against the human race, and also looks exactly like [[EvilDoppelganger Goku]]. It turns out that this Goku Black is actually an insane Supreme Kai in-training from Universe 10 named Zamasu, who used the Super Dragon Balls to steal Goku's body, then used a time ring to travel to Future Trunk's timeline. Black then teamed up with his own alternate future self, who chose to use the Super Dragon Balls to wish for true immortality, and the two of them wiped out ''all life'' in the other 11 universes before turning to Universe 7. In between fights in the future timeline, we get to witness Beerus erase the present version of Zamasu from existence, down to his very soul, simply by saying "hakai" ("destroy"). Back in the future, Black's power continues to grow and outstrip the heroes, even in their god-ki powered forms. Black and Future Zamasu then choose to undergo Potara Fusion, creating Fused Zamasu, an entity that even the likes of Super Saiyan Blue Vegito cannot defeat. Fused Zamasu is only defeated by Future Trunks turning a Spirit Bomb into a sword and vertically bisecting him- only for the story to reveal a SuddenDownerEnding in which Zamasu's immortal spirit fuses with the universe itself, kills everyone but the heroes just to torture them a little longer, and then Future Zeno erases that entire future timeline from existence to put an end to Zamasu. Meaning that every character from that timeline that the audience may have grown attached to (Future Gohan, Future Bulma, etc.) is well and truly gone as even their souls were erased. Future Trunks and Future Mai are the only survivors, and they're given an EsotericHappyEnding when Whis transports them to a version of their future where Black never existed... but alternate versions of themselves do, so they have nowhere to really go. Also, said timeline is entirely disconnected from the main one, so they'll never cross-over again.

* ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures: ComicBook/FantasticFour'': The ''Adventures'' line is a DenserAndWackier universe aimed at younger kids, and given the Fantastic Four are pretty Dense and Wacky themselves, most of the stories are fun and carefree. Except in Issue #17, in which the ComicBook/TheThing has ADayInTheLimelight where he starts dating a girl who loves him despite his monstrous appearance, but has to contend with the Absorbing Man who is intent on chipping off a piece of the Thing's skin for unknown reasons. By the end, [[spoiler: it is revealed the aforementioned girl was in on it, having gotten close to Ben and hired Absorbing Man in an attempt to extract a piece of his unbreakable skin for study. She [[KickTheDog mocks the very idea anyone could ever fall in love with The Thing and calls him a monster]]. Ben's response is to [[BodyHorror rip a part of his skin himself]] and hand it to her, walking away sadly]]. ''[[DownerEnding And that's where the story ends]]''.

** "The 'Joy' of Flushing" starts out comically, with the twins [[FunWithFlushing flushing a games console down the toilet]], but when Mrs. Cake punishes them for it, it's actual [[DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff spanking]] as opposed to the usual punishment for the story of timeouts. The spanking is also played completely seriously, with the twins begging her not to do it and still hurting afterwards, and to top it all off, the chapter has a DownerEnding-- the twins are in pain, the parents have to deal with an angry customer, and said customer thinks the Cake parents are bad parents while her son has no game console.

* While ''FanFic/TommyPicklesTheTerribleTwos'' is normally just a lighthearted {{Continuation}} of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', it does venture into DarkFic territory in two storylines: in "Tommy's Fear", Tommy becomes extremely afraid of water and gets [[AmnesiaEpisode amnesia]] due to a water-related accident, and in "Visiting Uncle Ben and Aunt Elaine", Aunt Elaine suffers a placental eruption and survives but [[spoiler: her unborn baby doesn't.]]

** "Too Much Internet" has AnAesop about cybersafety-- and one person on the Internet was a ''bomber'' and was planning to bomb Squire Grizzly.

* ''Series/{{Community}}'' has "Basic Intergluteal Numismatics". The episode has a decidedly darker tone than your usual episode and shortly after it begins, someone sticks a quarter in Garrett's butt crack. The rest of the episode focuses on finding the "Ass Crack Bandit" in a way similar to hunting a SerialKiller. Subverted in that despite the dark atmosphere, the hunt for the perpetrator is still relatively silly compared to an actual serial killer search. Double Subverted when their final pursuit of the Ass Crack Bandit is interrupted by Shirley telling Jeff and Annie [[spoiler: that Pierce has died.]]

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face The Raven]]" ends with [[spoiler:the companion apparently getting KilledOffForReal (the first time that ever happened to a regular companion since [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E6Earthshock "Earthshock"]] in 1982)]], "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]" is essentially a 60-minute examination of grief while the Doctor is tortured for [[spoiler: billions of years]] at least, while "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent Hell Bent]]" demonstrates the consequences of the previous two episodes and the effect they have on the Doctor.

* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' is usually a lighthearted children's show, but the final episode, "Closing Up Shop", is perhaps the show's saddest episode yet, as it features [[spoiler: the shop being closed for good, the toys being sold off and a man trying to turn the now-closed store into a cigarette shop]]. However, [[spoiler: things take a turn for the better, as Noah realizes his mistake in closing the shop and brings the toys back, with Robbie [=MacRhino=] promising to bring the store more visitors by promoting it on his show]].

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E19Duet Duet]]", [[spoiler: it's revealed that a former military file clerk at an occupation labor camp felt so guilty about doing nothing to stop the atrocities and war crimes carried out there, that he underwent extensive surgery to impersonate the deceased general who ran it and try to get himself tried for the man's crimes and even executed if need be, all to sooth his conscious and force his own people to publicly acknowledge the horrible truth of what had been done there. Just when this is all revealed and it looks like he'll get more appropriate help for his trauma and guilt, he's murdered by a drunken hoodlum who didn't know anything about him, just hated him for being of the race that had oppressed their planet for decades.]]

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E1TheChild The Child]]", [[spoiler: Deanna Troi's "son" [[note]] Actually an alien who took on human form by impregnating her and having her give birth so he may have a coporeal form.[[/note]] sacrifices himself to save the ship, leaving Troi crying]].

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E16TheOffspring The Offspring]]", Data makes another android, whom he calls his "daughter", [[spoiler: but she breaks beyond repair.]]

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E2Imperfection Imperfection]]", Seven of Nine has a malfunction that they have great difficulty saving. [[spoiler: They eventually do save Seven, but the episode still has a serious feel.]]

* ''Series/TedLasso:'' While the show was never as cheerful and optimistic as it's claimed to be, "[[Recap/TedLassoS2E08ManCity Man City]]", the eighth episode of Season Two, is this. It starts with [[TheShrink Dr. Sharon]] being hit by a car on her way to work, and she later confesses to Ted that she's afraid she'll be too afraid to ride her bike again, and that she'll lose her "happy place". Roy gets called in to his niece's school and finds that she's been swearing at her classmates, and grows worried that he's become a negative influence in her life. Richmond suffers a thoroughly ''[[CurbStompBattle devastating]]'' loss at Manchester City, leaving the whole team shaken, and [[AbusiveParents Jamie's father]] berating him in front of everyone in the locker room after. Jamie punches his father, then breaks down crying in Roy's arms while Coach Beard throws the man out. The stress of the confrontation and the loss leads to Ted confessing to Sharon that [[spoiler: his father killed himself when Ted was 16]], while Beard breaks away from the team and storms off into the night alone.

--> ''Look at me, look at me''
--> ''When you see my colour, what do you see?''
--> ''Look at me, look at me''
--> ''When you see my colour, do you really see me?''

* Music/{{Eminem}}'s ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'' is mostly goofy BlackComedy, but "If I Had..." is a serious song about poverty in which the only crazy fantasies are Slim agonising about how he'd get revenge on the world if he had money. "Rock Bottom" is also a serious JustifiedCriminal GangstaRap song - Eminem had tried to write a triumphant shock comedy song but, since he wrote it [[CreatorBreakdown during a suicide attempt]], ended up just letting it be depressing.

** The ''Sonic Adventure'' series goes beyond Sonic games prior to it in intensity as the games adopt a more cinematic feel. [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure The first]] ends with [[spoiler: the large-scale destruction of a modern city]] by a creature reacting to [[spoiler:atrocities committed by an ancient civilization led by a tyrannical, abusive father]]. [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 The second]] surpasses that by dealing with use of "weapons of mass destruction" (and yes, they are actually called that in the game) to threaten whole countries, a military conspiracy involving [[spoiler:the deaths of numerous innocents in a space colony]], and threats to the survival of the world from anguished people with a vendetta against it. A case can be made for this game's 'Final Story' being the grimmest part of any game in the Sonic series. Gerald Robotnik's diary detailing his reaction to [[spoiler: the loss of his granddaughter Maria]] is pure horror, containing such lovely lines as "I lost everything, I had nothing more to live for, I WENT INSANE!" (this part is helped by the fact that Gerald's voice actor was actually really good).

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'' contains some dark content, but not much more than the average anime-style JRPG, and is for the most part the lightest arc in the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries''. The final game in the trilogy, ''The Third'', features some unusually horrifying themes and imagery, most notably Kevin's backstory, which involves [[spoiler: his mother going insane and trying to commit murder-suicide with him when he was a child, accidentally killing his ParentalSubstitute in an incredibly gruesome way, and punishing himself for it by becoming a terrifying ChurchMilitant assassin whose missions included having to MercyKill a child. Then the whole game turns out to be a PsychologicalTormentZone he created to punish himself, and he ends up dragged into a replica of hell.]] And as dark as ''all that'' is, it's nothing compared to Star Door 15. The Doors are optional character vignettes that are mostly humorous or heartwarming affairs. Star Door 15 details Renne's backstory as a child SexSlave, ''from her perspective'', and doesn't gloss-over or downplay anything. It's so dark later Japanese re-releases censored it.

* ''WebAnimation/CampCamp'' is generally a wacky AnimatedShockComedy, with even its darker moments being played for BlackComedy more often than not. Which is why the episode "[[Recap/CampCampS4E12TheForest The Forest]]" hits so painfully; the episode's inciting incident is David slipping and falling into a canoe, hitting his head, and regaining consciousness hours later and miles downriver from the camp. What follows is an entire episode of the normally obnoxiously cheerful David attempting to make his way back to camp on his own while enduring [[TraumaCongaLine every horrible event nature can throw at him]], including having to sleep in the rain, falling down a mountain, and multiple wild animal attacks. All of which is played completely seriously, without so much as a single joke between the ColdOpen and the episode's last minute - and even then, the final shot implies that David still has lingering trauma from his experiences.

* ''Literature/CandleCove'' was always a... strange show with lot of dark elements and unusual events. But even fans of the show don't know what to make of [[spoiler: that episode where everyone is randomly crying and screaming.]]

* ''WebVideo/CreamHeroes'' started ''Kittisaurus Villains'', a light hearted, failed heist comedy where Lulu, Dodo and DD attempt to steal snacks as the other cats watch and snark. Then you get 'The End of Kittisaurus Villains', in which [[spoiler: [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt reality itself starts to break down]] and Coco realizes there is nothing that can be done to stop it. Fortunately, TT opens up a portal to another world so the cats can escape. Unfortunately, Chuchu doesn't make it in time, leaving the series on a [[{{Cliffhanger}} Cliffhanger.]]]]

* ''Machinima/CivilProtection'' can best be described as a BuddyCopShow set in the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' universe. "The Tunnel" starts off like a typical episode, but soon devolves into a genuinely creepy tale of a mysterious tunnel with elements of Lovecraftian horror.

* While ''Franchise/DragonBall'' is no stranger to serious plots, especially during the [[Anime/DragonBallZ Z era]], the arc that actually fits this the most is ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Dragon Ball Super]]'''s "Goku Black" arc. Centering around the Future Trunks timeline, we learn that a new villain appeared years after Future Trunks defeated the Androids, Cell, and later Babidi and Dabura. This new villain is incredibly strong, has been systematically committing genocide against the human race, and also looks exactly like [[EvilDoppelganger Goku]]. It turns out that this Goku Black is actually an insane Supreme Kai in-training from Universe 10 named Zamasu, who used the Super Dragon Balls to steal Goku's body, then used a time ring to travel to Future Trunk's timeline. Black then teamed up with his own alternate future self, who chose to use the Super Dragon Balls to wish for true immortality, and the two of them wiped out ''all life'' in the other 11 universes before turning to Universe 7. In between fights in the future timeline, we get to witness Beerus erase the present version of Zamasu from existence, down to his very soul, simply by saying "hakai" ("destroy"). Back in the future, Black's power continues to grow and outstrip the heroes, even in their god-ki powered forms. Black and Future Zamasu then choose to undergo Potara Fusion, creating Fused Zamasu, an entity that even the likes of Super Saiyan Blue Vegito cannot defeat. Fused Zamasu is only defeated by Future Trunks turning a Spirit Bomb into a sword and vertically bisecting him- only for the story to reveal a SuddenDownerEnding in which Zamasu's immortal spirit fuses with the universe itself, kills everyone but the heroes just to torture them a little longer, and then Future Zeno erases that entire future timeline from existence. Meaning that every character from that timeline that the audience may have grown attached to (Future Gohan, Future Bulma, etc.) is well and truly gone as even their souls were erased. Future Trunks and Future Mai are the only survivors, and they're given an EsotericHappyEnding when Whis transports them to a version of their future where Black never existed... but alternate versions of themselves do, so they have nowhere to really go. Also, said timeline is entirely disconnected from the main one, so they'll never cross-over again.

For an unexpectedly dark ''villain'', see VileVillainSaccharineShow. For the non-canon versions, see DarkFic and DarkParody.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face The Raven]]" ends with [[spoiler:the companion apparently getting KilledOffForReal]] (the first time that ever happened to a regular companion since [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E6Earthshock "Earthshock"]] in 1982), "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]" is essentially a 60-minute examination of grief while the Doctor is tortured for [[spoiler: billions of years]] at least, while "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent Hell Bent]]" demonstrates the consequences of the previous two episodes and the effect they have on the Doctor.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani "The Caves of Androzani"]] stands out for its unusually nihilistic approach. The Doctor's mere presence in the story serves makes an already bad mess of political skullduggery and industrial corruption irreparably worse, resulting in nearly everyone involved brutally dying (even the Doctor is forced to regenerate at the end), and the government of Androzani Major gets thrown completely out of whack by the whole affair. Analysts often speculate that the story was a WriterRevolt from Creator/RobertHolmes in response to script editor Creator/EricSaward's push to make ''Doctor Who'' DarkerAndEdgier.

** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face The Raven]]" ends with [[spoiler:the companion apparently getting KilledOffForReal]], "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]" is essentially a 60-minute examination of grief while the Doctor is tortured for [[spoiler: billions of years]] at least, while "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent Hell Bent]]" demonstrates the consequences of the previous two episodes and the effect they have on the Doctor.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani "The Caves of Androzani"]] stands out for its unusually nihilistic approach. The Doctor's mere presence in the story serves makes an already bad mess of political skullduggery and industrial corruption irreperably worse, resulting in nearly everyone involved brutally dying (even the Doctor is forced to regenerate at the end), and the government of Androzani Major gets thrown completely out of whack by the whole affair. Analysts often speculate that the story was a WriterRevolt from Creator/RobertHolmes in response to script editor Creator/EricSaward's push to make ''Doctor Who'' DarkerAndEdgier.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'', a sci-fi series, had its share of dark episodes and dark moments. But even by those accounts, the end of Series 9 was ''dark''; "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face The Raven]]" ends with [[spoiler:the companion apparently getting KilledOffForReal]], "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]" is essentially a 60-minute examination of grief while the Doctor is tortured for [[spoiler: billions of years]] at least, while "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent Hell Bent]]" demonstrates the consequences of the previous two episodes and the effect they have on the Doctor.

** In "classic" ''Doctor Who'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace "The Ark in Space"]] and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]" were both unusually dark stories, incorporating themes of BodyHorror, BlueAndOrangeMorality, DarkMessiah symbolism and fascism.

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'': While the episode still has its comedy, "[[Recap/DrakeAndJoshEpisode48JoshIsDone Josh Is Done]]" is played surprisingly straight with how Josh cut ties with Drake and Drake's life starts to fall apart without Josh helping him out. Drake's BreakTheHaughty moment at the end of the episode where he apologizes to Josh for his behavior remains one of the biggest {{Tearjerker}}s in the entire show.

* While ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' can get pretty dark, the episode "His Master's Voice" is an outright CosmicHorrorStory, with Kari being threatened by [[Literature/CthulhuMythos Deep Ones]] and Dragomon, an outright Cthulhu {{Expy}}. The events of this episode are never mentioned again, aside from occasional references to the Dark Ocean.

* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' is usually a lighthearted children's show, but the final episode, "Closing Up Shop", [[spoiler: is perhaps the show's saddest episode yet,]] as it features [[spoiler: the shop being closed for good, the toys being sold off and a man trying to turn the now-closed store into a cigarette shop]]. However, [[spoiler: things take a turn for the better, as Noah realizes his mistake in closing the shop and brings the toys back, with Robbie [=MacRhino=] promising to bring the store more visitors by promoting it on his show]].

* While ''Franchise/DragonBall'' is no stranger to serious plots, especially during the [[Anime/DragonBallZ Z era]], the arc that actually fits this the most is ''[[Anime/DragonBallSuper Dragon Ball Super]]'''s "Goku Black" arc. Centering around the Future Trunks timeline, we learn that a new villain appeared years after Future Trunks defeated the Androids, Cell, and later Babidi and Dabura. This new villain is incredibly strong, has been systematically committing genocide against the human race, and also looks exactly like [[EvilDoppelganger Goku]]. It turns out that this Goku Black is actually an insane Supreme Kai in-training from Universe 10 named Zamasu, who used the Super Dragon Balls to steal Goku's body, then used a time ring to travel to Future Trunk's timeline. Black then teamed up with his own alternate future self, who chose to use the Super Dragon Balls to wish for true immortality, and the two of them wiped out ''all life'' in the other 11 universes before turning to Universe 7. In between fights in the future timeline, we get to witness Beerus erase the present version of Zamasu from existence, down to his very soul, simply by saying "hakai" ("destroy"). Back in the future, Black's power continues to grow and outstrip the heroes, even in their god-ki powered forms. Black and Future Zamasu then choose to undergo Potara Fusion, creating Fused Zamasu, an entity that even the likes of Super Saiyan Blue Vegito cannot defeat. Fused Zamasu is only defeated by Future Trunks turning a Spirit Bomb into a sword and vertically bisecting him- only for the story to reveal a SuddenDownerEnding in which Zamasu's immortal spirit fuses with the universe itself, kills everyone but the heroes just to torture them a little longer, and then Future Zeno erases that entire future timeline from existence. Meaning that every character from that timeline that the audience may have grown attached to (Future Gohan, Future Bulma, etc.) is well and truly gone as even their souls were erased. Future Trunks and Future Mai are the only survivors, and they're given an EsotericHappyEnding when Whis transports them to a version of their future where Black never existed... but alternate versions of themselves do, so they have nowhere to really go. Also, said timeline is entirely disconnected from the main one, so they'll never cross-over again.\\
To say that fans were divided over the arc, and especially its ending, would be an understatement.

* While [[FanFic/TheCATverse the [=CATverse=]]] is in general a BlackComedy, several stories are much darker than average. The issues of bullying and child abuse, a key part of the Scarecrow's backstory, are treated very seriously when they come up in ''Paean of the Bells'' and ''Noel'' respectively. ''Small World'' is also very low on the comedy and contains a graphic murder, AdultFear, flashbacks to abuse, psychological torture of a child, and culminates in a horrific KickTheDog moment from Crane and a DownerEnding that is ''not'' PlayedForLaughs one bit.

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E1TheChild The Child]]", [[spoiler: Deanna Troi's "son" sacrifices himself to save the ship, leaving Troi crying]].

* ''Series/TheNoddyShop'' is usually a lighthearted children's show, but the final episode, "Closing Up Shop", [[spoiler: is perhaps the show's saddest episode yet,]] as it features [[spoiler: the shop being closed for good, the toys being sold off and a man trying to turn the now-closed store into a cigarette shop]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The show initially portrayed teenagers settling into an elite Academy that trains people to fight the world's monsters, while the darker elements built up in the background. Volume 3, Chapter 6 blindsided the fandom when the darker elements suddenly took centre stage by having one of the heroes framed during the tournament arc; on live, global television, she is arrested after appearing to brutally assault her defeated opponent. Afterwards, the creators released a letter to the fandom stating that the show was intended to become darker from the beginning, and adults should now start vetting each episode before letting younger viewers watch them.

* WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}: The show initially portrayed teenagers settling into an elite Academy that trains people to fight the world's monsters, while the darker elements built up in the background. Volume 3, Chapter 6 blindsided the fandom when the darker elements suddenly took centre stage by having one of the heroes framed during the tournament arc; on live, global television, she is arrested after appearing to brutally assault her defeated opponent. Afterwards, the creators released a letter to the fandom stating that the show was intended to become darker from the beginning, and adults should now start vetting each episode before letting younger viewers watch them.

* WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}:
** For those not paying attention to certain parts in the early volumes, episode 9 of volume 3 (titled PVP) easily becomes this. From that point until the end of the volume, things become increasingly dark; it's the official start of the show's CerebusSyndrome. To be more specific, this is the episode in which Emerald uses her MindRape powers to force Pyrrha to accidentally kill Penny... in the middle of a tournament that's being broadcast worldwide. Cinder then hijacks the broadcast, blames the incident on the setting's leaders, and tells people not to trust them. Which in turn causes panic, drawing the creatures of Grimm towards the cities, and especially Beacon, forcing evacuations and fighting. Things get ''[[FromBadToWorse even worse]]'' when Adam Taurus shows up with the extremist arm of the White Fang, helping Cinder, and Neopolitan frees Roman Torchwick from Atlas custody. Literally everything that could go wrong for the heroes, did. [[UpToEleven And then it still manages to get worse]].
** Volume 6 episode 3, "The Lost Fable" managed to be dark even by the new standards of the show. Fitting, since it serves as the backstory for the show's BigBad, Salem. We get to see such joys as: her demonstrating her CompleteImmortality by trying to kill herself (thankfully only in shadow form for now); the God of Darkness [[ApocalypseHow wiping out all of humanity]]; Salem (having already bathed in the Pools of Grimm) murdering her husband in cold blood, after their duel destroyed their castle home and seemingly killed their four young daughters; and the reveal that there is no known way for the heroes to actually defeat Salem. Little wonder most of the heroes want to give up for a while after this.
** Volume 7 episode 11, "Gravity" does it again. General Ironwood fights and defeats Arthur Watts, while a song about how he sees himself as the ultimate hero who is always right plays. The fight ends with Ironwood ''destroying'' his own arm and declaring that he will sacrifice anything to win. Ironwood returns to his office and finds a glass chess piece left by Cinder, and begins to turn on team RWBY. Salem then appears using a Grimm as a projector, and taunts all of the heroes about how she will personally arrive in Atlas shortly to destroy them. She also directly references Ruby's mother, Summer Rose, with all that implies. Once Salem disappears, Ironwood fully gives into his paranoia and JumpsOffTheSlipperySlope, declaring martial law in Atlas and stating his intention to abandon Mantle and the rest of Remnant to die, all while ordering the arrest of all the hero characters. He also sends Winter to claim Freya's Maiden powers early. The episode closes with Team JNR desperately searching for Oscar and the Relic of Knowledge; earlier, it was implied that Cinder was sending Neopolitan after them.
** The Volume 8 finale, "The Final Word", may be the darkest episode yet. Over the course of the episode, three different named characters are shown to die: Vine sacrifices himself to save his team from Ironwood's bomb; Cinder traps Watts in a building in Atlas that's on fire; and Penny, for the second time in the series, when she asks Jaune to MercyKill her and prevent Cinder from taking the Winter Maiden's powers. All of team RWBY fall into the void between worlds and disappear, along with Jaune. The surviving citizens of Mantle and Atlas are trapped in the desert of Vacuo, in the middle of a sandstorm, with no shelter, and surrounded by a horde of Grimm with only a handful of Hunstmen to fight. The city of Atlas fell from the sky and the crater then flooded, so anyone left inside is dead, including Ironwood. Qrow, Robyn, and the surviving Ace Ops watch the devastation from their airship, with no way of knowing if the plan to save everyone worked, nor how badly things went sideways. Even moreso than Volume 3, TheBadGuyWins.
---> '''Cinder:''' And ''that's'' checkmate.

** The first episode when Yuo Goha duels in the second season however is filled with NightmareFuel, from Yuo's creepy puppets and entertainment-themed deck, to his open delight in the pain of his opponent, and the terrifying reintroduction of Fusion Summoning, with his Metallion Asurastar violently ripping Yuga's Hyper Engine Vast Vulcan apart. Later episodes established that Yuo wasn't as smart or intimidating as he thought he was.

* While Franchise/DragonBall is no stranger to serious plots, especially during the [[Anime/DragonBallZ Z era]], the arc that actually fits this the most is [[Anime/DragonBallSuper Dragon Ball Super's]] "Goku Black" arc. Centering around the Future Trunks timeline, we learn that a new villain appeared years after Future Trunks defeated the Androids, Cell, and later Babidi and Dabura. This new villain is incredibly strong, has been systematically committing genocide against the human race, and also looks exactly like [[EvilDoppelganger Goku]]. It turns out that this Goku Black is actually an insane Supreme Kai in-training from Universe 10 named Zamasu, who used the Super Dragon Balls to steal Goku's body, then used a time ring to travel to Future Trunk's timeline. Black then teamed up with his own alternate future self, who chose to use the Super Dragon Balls to wish for true immortality, and the two of them wiped out ''all life'' in the other 11 universes before turning to Universe 7. In between fights in the future timeline, we get to witness Beerus erase the present version of Zamasu from existence, down to his very soul, simply by saying "hakai" ("destroy"). Back in the future, Black's power continues to grow and outstrip the heroes, even in their god-ki powered forms. Black and Future Zamasu then choose to undergo Potara Fusion, creating Fused Zamasu, an entity that even the likes of Super Saiyan Blue Vegito cannot defeat. Fused Zamasu is only defeated by Future Trunks turning a Spirit Bomb into a sword and vertically bisecting him- only for the story to reveal a SuddenDownerEnding in which Zamasu's immortal spirit fuses with the universe itself, kills everyone but the heroes just to torture them a little longer, and then Future Zeno erases that entire future timeline from existence. Meaning that every character from that timeline that the audience may have grown attached to (Future Gohan, Future Bulma, etc.) is well and truly gone as even their souls were erased. Future Trunks and Future Mai are the only survivors, and they're given an EsotericHappyEnding when Whis transports them to a version of their future where Black never existed... but alternate versions of themselves do, so they have nowhere to really go. Also, said timeline is entirely disconnected from the main one, so they'll never cross-over again.\\

** "Naru's Tears: Nephrite Dies For Love", which contains [[spoiler:Nephrite's death]].

* ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS'' is a much DenserAndWackier series than the previous seasons, all of which tended to get quite serious with varying tones.

** ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'' is a DownplayedExample. Though no humans are shown dying, the 4 initial Robot Masters are shown destroying the city in their attempts to rescue [[BigBad Dr. Wily]] from prison (alongside a giant Steamroller robot who, in the intro cutscene [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou shoots fire at the player's direction]]), Dr. Light's lab is destroyed midgame by another robot that Mega Man thought was their ally (though the player likely [[ObviouslyEvil figured otherwise]], and the game ends with Mega Man ''contemplating murdering Dr. Wily''. Again, still a lighthearted adventure though strange environments to stop a MadScientist, but it's a far cry from the likes of ''VideoGame/MegaMan6''.

** ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'' is a DownplayedExample. Though no humans are shown dying, the 4 [[spoiler:initial]] Robot Masters are shown destroying the city in their attempts to rescue [[BigBad Dr. Wily]] from prison (alongside a giant Steamroller robot who, in the intro cutscene [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou shoots fire at the player's direction]]), and Dr. Light's lab is destroyed midgame by another robot that Mega Man thought was their ally (though the player likely [[ObviouslyEvil figured otherwise]]. Again, still a lighthearted adventure though strange environments to stop a MadScientist, but it's a far cry from the likes of ''VideoGame/MegaMan6''.