Basic Trope: A previously cute or humorous element in a work is called back to in a very serious situation.
- Straight: After Alice is shot in the chest by Emperor Evulz, she uses her strength to hum the song she made about how cool friendship is as she dies in Bob’s arms.
- Exaggerated: Alice’s torture and long painful death at the hands of Emperor Evulz is a parade of fan-favorite running gags and callbacks to her wedding with Bob.
- Downplayed: A Black Comedy joke about the mafia breaking both of Alice’s legs is recalled after she breaks a leg in a fall.
- Justified: Alice is trying to distract Bob and remind him of happier times.
- Inverted: In a shocking and pivotal scene, Alice is killed. Bob humorously calls back to the event while playing poker.
- Subverted: Instead of calling back to good times, Alice starts berating Bob about every time he let her down.
- Double Subverted: Then she remembers the good times she had with Bob, and she starts humming the song she made about how cool friendship is.
- Zig-Zagged: ???
- Parodied: Dying in Bob’s arms, Alice recalls all the good times she’s had: sleeping with Bob’s brother, winning a pie-eating contest, sleeping with Bob’s dad, winning another pie-eating contest, sleeping with the pie-eating contest judge.
- Averted: In serious situations, no one ever calls back to happier times.
- Enforced: Fans had a really strong positive reaction to Alice’s friendship song. Knowing this, the creators choose to incorporate it into her death scene for maximum emotional impact.
- Lampshaded: “You’re not going to die! Cool it with the heartfelt callbacks to a happier time!”
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: ???
- Discussed: “If I ever get cornered by Emperor Evulz's minions, I’ll just grimly look to the sky, say my favorite relevant wacky catchphrase, and then die with my back against the wall.”
- Conversed: “Wow. That song is a lot sadder now. This show got really dark.”
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