History Main / WasItReallyWorthIt

** A similar theme was used in ''Transformers G1'', when a beautiful woodland glen was wrecked when Autobots and Decepticons fought over possession of the pool of electrum at its center. The final scene has one of the former glumly viewing the devastation and saying "We won", in tones that embody this trope.

* In AmericanHistoryX, the words that convince EdwardNorton to stop being a skinhead are, ''"Has anything you've done made your life any better?"''

* In BabylonFive's fourth season, while the Centauri are ending their occupation of Narn, Vir and Londo talk [[spoiler: about Vir's killing of Cartagia]].

* The pilot episode of StargateAtlantis ends with Sheppard asking Weir if the hundred or so people he saved were really worth reawakening the Wraith.

* ''[=~Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog~=]'' ends this way for [[spoiler: Billy/Doctor Horrible]].

** A similar theme was used in ''Transformers G1'', when a beautiful woodland glen was wrecked when Autobots and Decepticons fought over possession of the pool of electrum at its center. The final scene has one of the former glumly viewing the devestation and saying "We won", in tones that embody this trope.

->''"[[AC:Well, you found me. Congratulations. Was it {{worth it}}? Because despite your]]'' [[AC:violent]] ''[[AC:behavior, the only thing you have managed to break so far is my heart. Maybe you could settle for that and we'll call it a day.]]"''

** Although she may actually have a point, in retrospect. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'', Chell has been exposed to neurotoxin, asbestos, Repulsion Gel (which is made of an unknown element that, according to [[spoiler: Cave Johnson]], does not like the human skeleton), two explosions (which likely caused burns, open wounds, and blunt trauma), [[spoiler: the vacuum of space (relatively harmless on its own, but likely aggravating the injuries she would have just received from an explosion moments before)]], two uncontrolled falls from a great height (at the end of the first game when she gets launched to the surface, and in the middle of the second game when she falls ''four miles'' down an elevator shaft) which probably caused more blunt trauma and even bone fractures, and possibly radiation. Unless the player is a ninja, she has at least a few bullet wounds (any one of which could be permanently disabling), and maybe some burns from the lasers. All these injuries will have gone without proper treatment. If what Wheatley says about long-term relaxation is true, Chell could also have at least a little bit of brain damage. PTSD and other mental health problems are a distinct possibility, and even if humans still exist, her chances are very slim for finding the psychiatric help she would need. [[spoiler: 300 years have passed]], meaning that pretty much everything she had once lived for is gone. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'' it is uncertain whether there are any humans left from the Combine invasion, or what state the world in general is in. Considering, with all these factors in mind, the kind of life Chell will potentially face on the surface, "Was it really worth it?" might turn out to be an extremely valid question.
** The same could also be said for Doug Rattmann. He spent a very long time in the facility, by himself, with only his [[CompanionCube Cube]] and his frickin' schizophrenia (a condition which, by the way, is exacerbated by isolation and hardship) to keep him company. Then Chell finally woke up and defeated GLaDOS, launching her to the surface and allowing Doug to escape as well. Happy ending, right? Except then Chell gets dragged back in and Doug feels compelled to go save her. While doing so, he suffers a possibly fatal bullet wound (he is never seen or heard of after that). To make things worse, GLaDOS isn't actually dead by that point. I mean, he spent all that time keeping himself alive in order to a) destroy GLaDOS and b) free himself (if not others). But not only was GLaDOS's death not permanent, the explosion that "killed" her also led to the deaths of [[spoiler: pretty much]] all the other test subjects, quite thoroughly defeating his purpose. Even if we assume he was only trying to free himself, the situation sucks, because he sacrificed his initial freedom to save Chell, and then, for all we know, ''died''. In the long run he only managed to free Chell — and, as outlined above, it's doubtful whether even ''that'' was worth it.

** Although she may actually have a point, in retrospect. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'', Chell has been exposed to neurotoxin, asbestos, Repulsion Gel (which is made of an unknown element that, according to [[spoiler: Cave Johnson]], does not like the human skeleton), two explosions (which likely caused burns, open wounds, and blunt trauma), [[spoiler: the vacuum of space (relatively harmless on its own, but likely aggravating the injuries she would have just received from an explosion moments before)]], two uncontrolled fall from a great height (which probably caused more blunt trauma and even bone fractures), and possibly radiation. Unless the player is a ninja, she has at least a few bullet wounds (any one of which could be permanently disabling), and maybe some burns from the lasers. All these injuries will have gone without proper treatment. If what Wheatley says about long-term relaxation is true, Chell could also have at least a little bit of brain damage. PTSD and other mental problems are a distinct possibility, and even if humans still exist, her chances are very slim for finding the psychiatric help she would need. [[spoiler: 300 years have passed]], meaning that pretty much everything she had once lived for is gone. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'' it is uncertain whether there are any humans left from the Combine invasion, or what state the world in general is in. Considering, with all these factors in mind, the kind of life Chell will potentially face on the surface, "Was it really worth it?" might turn out to be an extremely valid question.

** Although she may actually have a point, in retrospect. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'', Chell has been exposed to neurotoxin, asbestos, two explosions (which likely caused burns, open wounds, and blunt trauma), [[spoiler: the vacuum of space]] (relatively harmless on its own, but likely aggravating the injuries she would have just received from an explosion moments before), an uncontrolled fall from a great height (which probably caused more blunt trauma and even bone fractures), and possibly radiation. Unless the player is a ninja, she has at least a few bullet wounds (any one of which could be permanently disabling), and maybe some burns from the lasers. All these injuries will have gone without proper treatment. If what Wheatley says about long-term relaxation is true, Chell could also have at least a little bit of brain damage. PTSD and other mental problems are a distinct possibility, and even if humans still exist, her chances are very slim for finding the psychiatric help she would need. [[spoiler: 300 years have passed]], meaning that pretty much everything she had once lived for is gone. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'' it is uncertain whether there are any humans left from the Combine invasion, or what state the world in general is in. Considering, with all these factors in mind, the kind of life Chell will potentially face on the surface, "Was it really worth it?" might turn out to be an extremely valid question.

** Although she may actually have a point, in retrospect. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'', Chell has been exposed to neurotoxin, asbestos, two explosions (which likely caused burns, open wounds, and blunt trauma), [[spoiler: the vacuum of space]] (relatively harmless on its own, but likely aggravating the injuries she would have just received from an explosion moments before), an uncontrolled fall from a great height (which probably caused more blunt trauma and even bone fractures), and possibly radiation. Unless the player is a ninja, she has at least a few bullet wounds (any one of which could be permanently disabling), and maybe some burn wounds from the lasers. All these injuries will have gone without proper treatment. If what Wheatley says about long-term relaxation is true, Chell could also have at least a little bit of brain damage. PTSD and other mental problems are a distinct possibility, and even if humans still exist, her chances are very slim for finding the psychiatric help she would need. [[spoiler: 300 years have passed]], meaning that pretty much everything she had once lived for is gone. By the end of ''{{Portal 2}}'' it is uncertain whether there are any humans left from the Combine invasion, or what state the world in general is in. Considering, with all these factors in mind, the kind of life Chell will potentially face on the surface, "Was it really worth it?" might turn out to be an extremely valid question.

** Although she may actually have a point, in retrospect. By the end of ''{{Portal2}}'', Chell has been exposed to neurotoxin, asbestos, two explosions (which likely caused burns, open wounds, and blunt trauma), [[spoiler: the vacuum of space]] (relatively harmless on its own, but likely aggravating the injuries she would have just received from an explosion moments before), an uncontrolled fall from a great height (which probably caused more blunt trauma and even bone fractures), and possibly radiation. Unless the player is a ninja, she has at least a few bullet wounds (any one of which could be permanently disabling), and maybe some burn wounds from the lasers. All these injuries will have gone without proper treatment. If what Wheatley says about long-term relaxation is true, Chell could also have at least a little bit of brain damage. PTSD and other mental problems are a distinct possibility, and even if humans still exist, her chances are very slim for finding the psychiatric help she would need. [[spoiler: 300 years have passed]], meaning that pretty much everything she had once lived for is gone. By the end of ''{{Portal2}}'' it is uncertain whether there are any humans left from the Combine invasion, or what state the world in general is in. Considering, with all these factors in mind, the kind of life Chell will potentially face on the surface, "Was it really worth it?" might turn out to be an extremely valid question.

** Although she may actually have a point, in retrospect. By the end of ''Portal2'', Chell has been exposed to neurotoxin, asbestos, two explosions (which likely caused burns, open wounds, and blunt trauma), [[spoiler: the vacuum of space]] (relatively harmless on its own, but likely aggravating the injuries she would have just received from an explosion moments before), an uncontrolled fall from a great height (which probably caused more blunt trauma and even bone fractures), and possibly radiation. Unless the player is a ninja, she has at least a few bullet wounds (any one of which could be permanently disabling), and maybe some burn wounds from the lasers. All these injuries will have gone without proper treatment. If what Wheatley says about long-term relaxation is true, Chell could also have at least a little bit of brain damage. PTSD and other mental problems are a distinct possibility, and even if humans still exist, her chances are very slim for finding the psychiatric help she would need. [[spoiler: 300 years have passed]], meaning that pretty much everything she had once lived for is gone. By the end of ''Portal2'' it is uncertain whether there are any humans left from the Combine invasion, or what state the world in general is in. Considering, with all these factors in mind, the kind of life Chell will potentially face on the surface, "Was it really worth it?" might turn out to be an extremely valid question.

* All but spelled out by ''{{Nier}}'''s [[MultipleEndings endings A and C]], as [[spoiler:Nier tries to enjoy his life with his daughter, having sacrificed so much for her]] in the former, and mourns [[spoiler:Kaine's death]] in the latter. ''Heavily'' implied [[PlayingThePlayer to the player]] in ending D.

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* In the ''[[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]]'' animated movie, Leo and Raph have a grudge match, in which Leo is the dominant fighter, but Raph breaks his swords when he decides to take it to the line, and Leo is consequently captured not long after.

* The ending of the original {{Godzilla}} film has the main surviving humans wondering if using the Oxygen Destroyer was worth the HeroicSacrifice of [[spoiler:[[EyepatchOfPower Dr. Serizawa]]]] and worrying that another Godzilla may appear.
* {{Hamburger Hill}} end on a sign waying "Hamburger Hill was it worth it"

* In BenCounter's {{Warhammer 40000}} HorusHeresy novel ''Galaxy in Flames'', [[spoiler:Abaddon]] expected to feel "savage joy" at [[spoiler:Loken and Torgaddon's]] deaths. Instead he just feels empty. Though his reaction to [[spoiler:Aximund]]'s MyGodWhatHaveIDone and TearsOfRemorse is that he needs to be watched.

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* ''DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' ends this way for [[spoiler: Billy/Doctor Horrible]].

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* In ''{{Fable}}'', after you kill Jack of Blades, and have the opportunity to get the Sword of Aeons, your sister gives you a short speech, asking if striking her down would be worth it for the power. It's up to the player whether it is or isn't.
** [[spoiler:Canonically, you don't kill her. She's the same Theresa as the one in Fable 2]].
** This is a rare example of [[spoiler:{{Road Cone}}s]] being used ''well''.
*** The point of the scene is pretty much taken away in [[UpdatedRerelease The Lost Chapters]], as the Sword of Aeons is about half as strong as in the original, and not killing your sister gives you an identical sword, Avo's Tear, after a minigame a little later.

* ''Shadow of the Colossus''. To explain it would ruin the game.

* Shepard (as in you, the player) from ''MassEffect'' can throw this at Mordin, asking him accusingly if enacting the genophage, which reduced the fertility of the {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}, was really worth it. For the record, he says [[spoiler: yes. Probably.]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* Macbeth in ''{{Gargoyles}}'' uses Revenge as the 'it: "Revenge is a dish best eaten cold. And I have waited nine hundred years for this meal." However, Goliath points out to him and his nemesis Demona that every time either of them has attempted to get revenge, it only made their lives worse.
** "What profit vengeance?" has been described by producer GregWeisman as one of his favorite themes.
* In an episode of ''TransformersAnimated'', an upgraded Prowl beats (clone) Starscream. Unfortunately there's a lot of collateral damage - including a torn down tree and broken bird eggs that he earlier made an effort to protect. Seeing these, Prowl realises what a total asshole he's being.
* In order to save the very small village ''SouthPark'' from getting destroyed by lava, [[RalphWiggum Randy Marsh]] redirected the magma - and accidentially destroyed Chicago.

[[folder:RealLife]]

* Vietnam. One veteran actually asked, "was it really worth it?"

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* In AfroSamurai ''Resurrection,'' after Afro kills [[spoiler: Shichigoro in front of his adopted son, Kotaku]] ''the show itself'' compares him to the villain of the first season, with flashbacks to Afro's father being killed. ''Afro'' makes the comparison at the end, [[spoiler:leaving the Number 2 headband in Kotaku's hands with a quiet "Whenever you're ready."]]

* Shepard (as in you, the player) from ''MassEffect'' can throw this at Mordin, asking him accusingly if enacting the genophage, which reduced the fertility of the ProudWarriorRaceGuy race, was really worth it. For the record, he says [[spoiler: yes. Probably.]]
** Shepard also gets confronted by a human reporter with a distinctly anti-alien bias, who demands to know if [[spoiler: spending human lives to save the Council in the previous game was worth it.]] Shepard's responses consist of either completely flooring the reporter by telling her she's disrespecting the dead and their sacrifice, or flooring her with a fist to the face.

** Shepard also gets confronted by a human reporter with a distinctly anti-alien bias, who demands to know if [[spoiler: spending human lives to save the Council int he previous game was worth it.]] Shepard's responses consist of either completely flooring the reporter by telling her she's disrespecting the dead and their sacrifice, or flooring her with a fist to the face.

** Parody/double-subversion in the episode "Casa Bonita", where Cartman effectively kidnaps Butters in order to take his place at Kyle's birthday celebration, which is being held at the titular establishment. In the final scene, a cop asks Cartman if it was worth making the town panic, alienating his friends, and going to juvenile hall. Cartman dreamily responds "Totally."

[[folder:Web Original]]
* [[DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog]] ends this way for [[spoiler: Billy/Doctor Horrible]].

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* ''{{Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog}}'' ends on this note for [[Spoiler: Billy/Doctor Horrible]]