#2: Nov 7th 2014 at 8:54:18 AM
The past thread
ended up agreeing to expand the trope, but the "remove examples" bit wasn't ever done.
#3: Dec 7th 2014 at 3:19:58 AM
Clock is set.
edited 7th Dec '14 3:20:17 AM by SeptimusHeap
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
#4: Dec 11th 2014 at 3:35:11 AM
Clock is up with no progress; closing.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Total posts: 4
The trope is supposed to be "only the author thinks their happy ending is happy" (per the laconic entry). The actual examples seem to be overlapping with Bittersweet Ending; it's not always easy to gauge authorial intent, but there are examples (Rocky V comes to mind) in which the ending is described in a way that implies the author doesn't intend it to be entirely happy.
In other words, Esoteric Happy Ending seems to be meant for attempts at a happy ending that failed, while some of the examples come off to me as attempts at something more nuanced that succeeded.
The child is father to the man —Oedipus