Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / BittersweetEnding

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%%
4%% Due to the nature of this trope, finding a proper image will be very tricky.
5%% DO NOT add an image to this page without discussing it in Image Pickin' first.
6%% IP thread for reference: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1548846470050407100
7%%
8%%
9%%
10->''"This was a happy story. But... it could still be a whole lot happier..."''
11-->-- '''Kubo''', ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings''
12%%
13%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional quotes on the quotes tab.
14
15Victory, at last! The BigBad has finally been vanquished, the day has been saved, all 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]]...
16
17...victory, really? Then why does no one feel like cheering? Why is the atmosphere so heavy with melancholy? Why do you [[{{Denouement}} find yourself counting your losses as well as your gains]]?
18
19Somewhere between HappilyEverAfter and a DownerEnding, the Bittersweet Ending happens when victory came at a harsh price, when, for whatever reason, the heroes cannot fully enjoy the reward of their actions, when some irrevocable loss has happened during the course of the events, and nothing will ever be the same again. A Bittersweet Ending is still ending on a high note, but one that is mixed with sadness and nostalgia. Often, such endings are the result of the plot making a completely happy ending impossible. (Looked at objectively, some {{Happy Ending}}s have more things lost or irrevocably broken than some Bittersweet Endings. This trope relies more on the mood than on such objective weighing of matters.)
20
21Some specific cases of Bittersweet Endings are:
22* DidNotGetTheGirl: When the OfficialCouple is [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim broken for the right cause]].
23* When the hero [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold fades into obscurity]], gaining nothing in exchange for everything they sacrificed.
24* The BigBad is defeated, but they and/or TheDragon ''survives'' the FinalBattle ''without pulling a HeelFaceTurn'' and there's no telling if, or more worryingly, ''when'' they'll come back to power.
25* EndOfAnAge: When an irrevocable loss happens, which removes the innocence of the hero or the world forever.
26* Bittersweet17: An ending of childhood, but a developing of selfhood at age seventeen.
27* [[PyrrhicVictory When the victory is only achieved]] at the [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] of people dear to the heroes ([[TheHeroDies if not the heroes themselves]]) — or perhaps was [[SenselessSacrifice attempted to be won at this cost]], and the heroes had to soldier on to victory without any benefit from it.
28* When OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding, and everyone else is still in a state of despair.
29* OnlyTheLeadsGetADownerEnding, while everyone else is in a better spot.
30* The [[VillainExitStageLeft bad guys get away now]], but their current plans have fallen through. The heroes will have to face them again, and they know it.
31* The good guys feel unsatisfied and uneasy because they feel that they [[IdiotBall put on a poor showing]] and won by accident or dumb luck or realized that they unfairly misjudged a good person[[note]]in such cases, there is no reconciliation and the "good person" in question either dies or leaves before apologies can be delivered[[/note]]. Occasionally, this is when they are the intended recipient (as opposed to the [[PatrickStewartSpeech usual deliverer]]) of AnAesop.
32* Often the case in detective dramas where the mystery ends without the detective busting anyone. Instead, [[NonProtagonistResolver the crime has to be brought to them]].
33* The good guys accomplish what they set out to do, but at the price of [[WhatTheHellHero compromising their integrity]] to win.
34* Some endings include the normally BadassPacifist hero [[IDidWhatIHadToDo lamenting to the effect that they had no choice but to use violence or take life]] in order to get the job done. Also occurs in many cases of AlasPoorVillain.
35* The protagonist or protagonists are the [[SoleSurvivor only ones left alive at the end]]. [[EverybodysDeadDave Even the likable guest or supporting characters get mercilessly killed]].
36* And occasionally, you ''will'' get a [[PlayedStraight straight up]] HappilyEverAfter, but then the story will ''keep going'', which leads to the [[EverybodyDiesEnding inevitable conclusion of all the characters dying]]. Then GhostReunionEnding occurs.
37* Stories featuring a RestrictedRescueOperation often end like this.
38* The heroes succeed in their goals, but one or part of the group [[ButNowIMustGo is forcibly separated from their companions as a side-effect of their heroics]], with the remaining cast never being able to see them again. Very common in settings involving main characters hailing [[FishOutOfTemporalWater from different worlds or eras]]. Bonus points if the separation is sudden, occurs off-screen, happens in the heat of the final conflict, and/or neither side is able to give the other a proper sendoff before parting.
39* A story in which a character becomes injured, sick, or traumatized, and ends with them improving, but not fully recovered.
40* Some stories end with the protagonist(s) coping with the fact that there's a problem, rather than actually solving the problem.
41
42Bittersweet Endings can fall on either end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. 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 not always come without sacrifices, whether it be most or all of the characters dying in the end or the characters are at a loss about [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow what to do now]]. Sometimes these are worlds and stories where you can EarnYourHappyEnding, though it won't be ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.\
43Also shows where too many romantic interests are introduced for one hero are doomed to end in this way or with NoRomanticResolution, since painless resolution is mostly impossible.
44
45Sometimes the story's {{A|nAesop}}esop requires a bittersweet ending in order to be effective. For certain issues, this is the only way to get the point across without the effect being undermined by other tropes such as the EverybodyLaughsEnding.
46
47In 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. A DownerEnding requires the heroes to fail, and the conflict resolving with nothing good happening in the end, if it's even resolved at all.
48
49Prone to {{Meaningful Funeral}}s, {{Wartime Wedding}}s, and ToAbsentFriends, and having BabiesEverAfter and SomeoneToRememberHimBy result in DeadGuyJunior.
50
51Compare with PyrrhicVictory, where the day is carried, but the cost of winning is crippling to the victors.
52
53Compare and contrast with RayOfHopeEnding, where the villain prevails but not all is lost. Also with EsotericHappyEnding, where the author clearly ''meant'' it to be joyful, beautiful, and uplifting… but the readers don't see it that way. May overlap with TearDryer if more emphasis is placed on the "sweet" part.
54
55Note that as an ending trope, the following entries are riddled with unmarked '''spoilers'''.
56
57----
58!!Example subpages:
59
60[[index]]
61* BittersweetEnding/AnimeAndManga
62* BittersweetEnding/ComicBooks
63* BittersweetEnding/FanWorks
64* [[BittersweetEnding/AnimatedFilms Film — Animated]]
65* [[BittersweetEnding/LiveActionFilms Film — Live-Action]]
66* BittersweetEnding/{{Literature}}
67* BittersweetEnding/LiveActionTV
68* BittersweetEnding/{{Music}}
69* BittersweetEnding/{{Mythology}}
70* BittersweetEnding/{{Roleplay}}
71* BittersweetEnding/TabletopGames
72* BittersweetEnding/{{Theatre}}
73* BittersweetEnding/VideoGames
74* BittersweetEnding/VisualNovels
75* BittersweetEnding/WebAnimation
76* BittersweetEnding/{{Webcomics}}
77* BittersweetEnding/WebOriginal
78* BittersweetEnding/WesternAnimation
79[[/index]]
80
81!!Other examples:
82[[AC:AsianAnimation]]
83* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': The end of the "Legend of a Hero" arc in Season 7. Sure, they drove out the invaders, but at what cost? Kalo's life, for he was the one who sacrificed himself to save the planet. Needless to say, the heroes (especially Careful S.) are still in tears despite the enemy being driven away.
84* ''Animation/HayopKaTheNimfaDimaanoStory'': Nimfa does not end up with either of her love interests, having dumped Roger for Inigo only to discover Inigo never cared about her, leaving her with no choice but to raise her baby by herself. But she strikes up a friendship with Jerry and seems to be doing fine as a single mother. She even patches things up with her sister who, along with her mom and Jerry, helps her out.
85* ''Animation/LeafieAHenIntoTheWild'': Greenie becomes the guard duck of his flock and is able to set out and see the world while Leafie lets herself be eaten by One-Eye so her babies can survive.
86* ''Animation/NextGen'': Ares and the Q-Bots are destroyed but 7723 had to wipe his memory to fight him. However, Mai begins making new memories with him.
87* ''Animation/{{Padak}}'': The titular character and Spotty die, with the remaining presumed to meet the same fate, while the Master learns from his mistakes and Padak's efforts and actually escapes to freedom in the ocean.
88* ''Animation/SkyBlue''. Sure, Ecoban falls, but Jay will almost certainly die, and Woody isn't in great shape either. Oh, and they were wrong about Gibraltar.
89* ''Animation/WhiteSnake2019'': The snake hunting village is saved, antagonists are dead and Blanca is saved by Xuan but he [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed himself to do]] and almost has his very soul destroyed, Blanca manages to save his soul and he is reincarnated. However, this also means that Xuan couldn't properly part ways with Dudou or the villagers. And 500 years later, with the help of her now redeemed sister, Blanca manages to find Xuan's reincarnation with the implication that they will be together.
90
91[[AC:EasternEuropeanAnimation]]
92* ''Animation/TheElmChantedForest'': Emperor Spine is reformed, and the forest is saved... but the powers Peter received from the elm tree have worn off, and he must go back to his village, as he can no longer understand his animal friends.
93** This also happens in the sequel, The Magician's Hat. While Frostkill is defeated, the fairy queen Sunchica's love for Thistle causes her to lose her powers and title, though the Dwarf King tells her that she and Thistle should continue to protect the forest.
94* ''Animation/GypsyTales'': "The Gypsy Woman and the Devil" ends with the devil cursing Vunida to turn into a cherry tree, never being able to talk to her children again, and the children never realizing what happened to their mother. On the sweet side, she gets to feed her starving children with her fruit, who all grow up to adulthood; and as a bonus the children [[JustDesserts cook and eat the devil in bird form too]].
95* ''Animation/ThePiedPiper'': While all of the corrupt and cruel townspeople were transformed into rats and fell into the lake to drown, the young innocent woman was murdered without the Piper being able to save her and the Piper himself vanishes after the townspeople have drowned and Hamelin is left empty. But the Fisherman is spared by the Piper and rescues a baby from the town and ends up taking the child to a better place to live in.
96* ''Animation/PlanetataNaSakrovishtata'': The escaped John Supersilver managed to kill all the heroes besides Philip and set the ship on fire as revenge for losing the treasure before Philip could put him down, and the only escape pod can't carry both Philip and Flint's treasure at the same time. Philip chooses to put the treasure in the pod and release it to Earth while he remains trapped forever in the black hole. However, the treasure, which contains the remaining natural life on Earth, returns to the planet and restores the concrete world to its former ecosystem, and in some versions of the movie like the Czech dub, Philip (or perhaps his consciousness) gets to be reborn on Earth in different bodies.
97* ''Animation/ScamperThePenguin'': The poachers are killed and Scamper becomes the penguins' leader but Gilbert and several other penguins are dead, Mac leaves in search of his family and Don leaves with his owner without getting to say goodbye to Scamper.
98* ''Animation/SonOfTheWhiteHorse'': The WorldTree is restored and all the evil dragons are dead, the three brothers become princes and marry their wives, the Forefather reclaims his godhood and the Snow Queen is resurrected. "They got in an eggshell and rolled on a field of diamonds. They lived happily, as birds do... until they died." The ending narration implies the story is a cycle, the brothers will die and be remembered as constellations (the eggshell being the sky and the diamonds the stars), and the dragons will live on in the form of industrialization, urbanization and pollution, dimming out the stars and the Sun. In the final shot, the spirit of Treeshaker still exists in modern times and is slowly engulfed in smog.
99* ''Film/{{Strings|2004}}'': The Zeriths and Hebalon are at peace, but it doesn't change the fact that Jhinna died undeservedly.
100* ''Animation/TheTragedyOfMan'': Just like in the play it's based on, Lucifer fails to get Adam to commit suicide and thereby deny God. Adam and Eve stay together to raise their newborn. But Adam lives with the knowledge that humanity will never find the right path, every philosophy and social system will fail. Humanity is doomed to a horrible fate when the next ice age sets in, but Adam realizes humans were never meant to thrive, their purpose is to struggle, suffer and survive. The end is bittersweet from Lucifer and God's perspective too: Lucifer lost his argument with God but put a wrench in his Creation by bringing self-awareness to humans, setting them up for progress that will end in failure, while God can only watch as they struggle.
101
102[[AC:FairyTale]]
103* Creator/HansChristianAndersen:
104** ''Literature/TheLittleMatchGirl'': The titular little girl freezes to death all alone in an alley, but she's guided to Heaven by the spirit of her grandmother, the only person who ever treated her with any love and kindness, and is finally free of her miserable life with her abusive father. The people who find her the next morning realize how pointlessly tragic her death was, but note that she passed away with a smile on her face
105** ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'': The prince falls for the woman he ''thought'' rescued him. The poor transformed, mute mermaid sadly carries her train at the wedding. When offered a chance to become a mermaid again instead of dying by killing the man she loved, she decides not to take it. She does die physically, but God transforms her into an air spirit, a "daughter of air" with the prospect of eventually entering Heaven. This is because mermaids don't have immortal souls, and in fact the mermaid hoped to gain one by marrying the prince. As an air spirit, she will have the chance to shape a soul for herself, though it is clearly stated it will take centuries.
106* "Literature/{{Reygoch}}": The titular giant is unable to stop the flood in time to save two villages, and most of people get drowned. However, Reygoch manages to save most of children and their cattle, which proceed to build a new village, hopefully free of the hate and envy which plagued their forefathers and caused their self-destruction. And although, the fairy Curlylocks cannot go back home because she sacrificed her magic veil to save the children, she has now a new home and many new friends.
107
108[[AC:{{Podcast}}s]]
109* ''Podcast/InterstitialActualPlay'' sees two pop up during the Door to Darkness one-shots.
110** ''A Touch of Darkness''. Shego defeats Kim Possible, kills Betty, leaves Fred to die, and makes Archie so angry that she's able to take control of his Darkness and allow him to be Norted. Archie leaves with the Organization, but shortly after an amnesiac Nobody made from Betty appears and is able to rouse Fred from the brink of death.
111** ''Lonely Hearts''. The defeat of the Sheriff at Bright Eyes' hands helps dissuade a good portion of the xenophobia they had prior, and the Killjoys remain in Twin Peaks to help continue the healing. However, Bright Eyes and Calumon are separated and alone because Calumon wiped himself from everyone's memory and chose not to restore himself to Bright Eyes.
112* Episode four of ''Podcast/MysteryShow'', titled "Vanity Plate." Starlee finds the plate's owner and learns that it refers to September 11th, which is the woman's mother's birthday, an occasion that saved her from being in New York on 9/11. The plate is a tribute to her mother and to the friends that she lost.
113
114[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]
115* A match seven years in the making ([[SevenYearRule pretty much unheard of in wrestling]]) was "wrestled" at ''WWC Aniversario 2011'', with the Universal Champion Wrestling/{{Carlito| Colon}} Caribbean Cool taking on the main he'd been teased as too scared to fight, Abyss, in a monster's ball. Carlito won, but was left lying prone after Abyss put him through a steel chair with a choke slam.
116
117[[AC:{{Religion}}]]
118* ''Literature/TheBible'' from start to finish. Humanity gains knowledge, but loses Paradise. The Israelites are freed from slavery, but at the cost of thousands of Egyptian lives. Moses serves long and well as a prophet, but dies before reaching the Promised Land. The Jews build a magnificent temple, which is subsequently wrecked when the country is conquered... twice. UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} preaches and wins many followers, but then he gets painfully executed. He comes back, but a month later [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence goes back home]] (subverted with him promising to return someday). People start off happy, they sin, they get punished, they reconcile, they get redeemed, rinse and repeat, with the eventual death of nearly everyone (inevitably, since it all happened thousands of years ago).
119

Top