History Main / FrozenDinnerOfLoneliness

* Jerry from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' gets evicted from his family home by his wife Beth. In the episode "The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy", we see Jerry alone in a motel room, warming up microwave food. (As seen in the page image. It appears to be a chicken pot pie.)

* A variation in ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': During her last day alive, Eleanor Shellstrop filled her shopping cart with junk food, day-old shrimp cocktail, and as much Lonely Gal Margarita Mix as it could carry. When the cashier asks about her weekend plans, she declared that she was going to spend the entire weekend watching [=YouTube=] videos, masturbating, and drinking margaritas until she passed out.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy}}'': The episode [[Recap/FamilyGuyS16E6TheDInApartment23 The D In Apartment 23]] ends with Brian warming an instant mac 'n' cheese and eating it all alone in his temporal apartment after being disowned by the Griffins due to posting an offensive tweet.

Frozen dinners, despite their absurd sodium content, are actually decent meals. Quick, efficient, and for some people, quite tasty. However, if a character in fiction eats one alone, then it's a sign that they're utterly alone. For one thing, it shows that there's no one in their life to cook for them (or for them to cook for). It's also a [[MenCantKeepHouse quintessential sign of a bachelor]]. See also EmptyFridgeEmptyLife.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Storm In The Room". After Connie leaves with her mother, Steven microwaves himself a bowl of mac and cheese. This is deliberately to underline his solitary state since we've seen that Steven is capable of cooking more elaborate meals when he wants.

* Accidentally invoked by Creator/DavidMitchell (during the "perpetual hopeless bachelor" period of his career) in an episode of ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'':

** In the episode "A Milhouse Divided", Kirk sums up his divorce to Homer with this line, implying he's not only alone but also destitute:

** The episode "Bart the Lover" begins with a forlorn Edna Krabappel returning home from school. On the way, she picks up a can of "Chef Lonelyheart's Soup for One" at the Kwik-E-Mart.

-->'''Sabrina''': We shall have a true hot, home-cooked diner tonight!

-->'''R.C.''': Sounds Great

* ''Film/TheBachelor'': All of CC's bosses are having affairs in his apartment, but when he's got the place to himself, he's eating a frozen dinner from the oven and struggling to find something to watch on TV.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this]]: When left to her own devices, [[ChristmasCake Misato Katsuragi]] tends to "cook" bizarre concoctions of instant ramen and curry, which everyone other than her finds [[CordonBleughChef utterly revolting]]. Once [[LoserProtagonist Shinji]] moves in with her, he handles all the cooking.

* In ''The Simpsons Road Rage'' when picking up Mrs. Krabappel, she'll often ask to go the the grocery store: "another microwave meal for one for dinner".

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