I think we should add James Ironwood as a example as everything he did was all for nothing
From what I've read, Status Quo Is God when it's used to justify some ongoing drama, conflict or comedy gags to keep the story going. (e.g. In Harem Genre, there's always something to keep the protagonist definitively getting together with someone. Or Hero saves the day but Villain gets away) Much more common for TV shows and serial comic strips
Shoot the Shaggy Dog appears to be a sub-Trope of All for Nothing involving a Downer Ending (All for Nothing by itself does not mean it's the end of the story)
Edited by PSColdFire
Cut from Star Wars Expanded:
- Well yeah, but the second Death Star didn't reform from nothingess, so this doesn't quite apply in that situation.
- Not to mention that the Galactic Empire (founded by Palpatine, who had some idea they were coming) would've been a much better armed and more unified front against the Jedi-hating Yuuzahn Vong than the fledgling New Republic and New Jedi Order, questioning whether the Rebellion's victory in the original trilogy was a good thing in the first place. Han Solo himself comments, "Why isn't there a Death Star lying around when you need one?" By the time the war is over, the New Republic no longer exists, and the Galactic Alliance under the leadership of a former brutal Imperial admiral takes it's place, (which quickly turns out tyrannical) and then in the far future of Star Wars: Legacy, the Empire has reformed entirely.
- Well yeah, but the second Death Star didn't reform from nothingess, so this doesn't quite apply in that situation.
Surely the original "Night of the Living Dead" is the prototypal All for Nothing plot. The most heroic character, Ben, is the only one of the people trapped in the farmhouse to survive the night of horror and mayhem. After all that, he is perfunctorily shot down by the rescue party, who think he is just another zombie and know nothing about who he was or the ordeal he has undergone. In a movie filled with groundbreaking departures from tradition, this trope was perhaps the most significant of all.
Weird... I thought this trope was about villains who go to great lengths to achieve something, often sacrificing everything, only to not matter at the end when they're beaten by the hero. Where did I get this misconception?...