Line #41 Main/IronicEpisodeTitle


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[WebAnimation/ThereSheIs https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paradise_6.png]]]]
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7	A title that implies something optimistic, happy, and generally positive... for an episode that's not. Favorites include traditionally joyous holidays ([[TwistedChristmas Christmas]], Valentine's Day), emotions on the positive side of the spectrum (Love, Joy) and generally optimistic words (Beautiful, Wonderful).
8
9	Expect the WhamEpisode to use this. DeceptivelySillyTitle is a subtrope.
10	----
11	!!Examples:
12
13	[[foldercontrol]]
14
15	[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
16	* As ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion End Of Evangelion]]'' is an alternate Episode 25 and 26, it has its own episode titles. The second half of the movie [[spoiler: where everyone [[MindScrew basically]] dies]] was titled "My Purest Heart for You (Sincerely Yours)". One gets the feeling that Creator/HideakiAnno was feeling [[CreatorBreakdown especially nasty at the time]].
17	** Probably from the cross-referencing the TV episodes and more generally, Shinji Ikari, that the titles are such. In that case, it's not so ironic.
18	* UsefulNotes/ChristmasInJapan is a time for people to share time and joy with the people they love. So what's a better title for the ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' episode where [[spoiler:the innocent ill girl watches her entire adopted family [[BreakTheCutie massacred right before her eyes]]]] than "Christmas Eve"?
19	* ''Anime/{{Vandread}}'' has a character who became the cold and efficient pilot she is today due to her DarkAndTroubledPast. Naturally, the anime spends an episode delving her backstory. The episode's title? "What a Wonderful World". It even came complete with [[SoundtrackDissonance the song to further punctuate her loss]].
20	* The freaky (even by this show's standards) episode of ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' known as "Happy Family Planning" comes to mind. Even the TitleDrop is ironic - it's on a package of (extra thin) condoms seen at one point.
21	* Most episodes of ''Anime/TenchiUniverse'' are titled "No Need for (Subject of Episode)", but "No Need For Ryoko" features [[spoiler:Ryoko's [[DisneyDeath apparent death]].]]
22	* ''Manga/{{Kaiji}}'''s final episode of the first season is called "Afterglow". [[spoiler:In it, Kaiji loses his bet with the chairperson, along with the four fingers of his left hand.]]
23	* The final episode of ''Manga/DeathNote'', [[spoiler:in which [[VillainProtagonist Light Yagami]]'s plan to become "[[AGodAmI the God]] of [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the new world]]" goes down in flames, implying the inevitable [[ShootTheShaggyDog undoing of all his achievements]]]] is entitled "New World".
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder: Fan Works]]
27	* ''Fanfic/BestFriendsForever'' concerns Twilight Sparkle's maddened attempts to keep her friends alive for all eternity, which feature her repeatedly regressing them to infancy against their will and destroying their minds in the process. Oh, and Twilight was driven to this conclusion while watching Fluttershy slowly die of old age. [[spoiler: For good measure, the story ends with Celestia killing Twilight to spare the Mane Six from any more of this, leaving Celestia struggling with the guilt of having killed her former friend.]]
28	* A decidedly downplayed and simple example would be "Camping on a Deserted Rock is FUN!", from ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''.
29	* The third story in the ''FanFic/AngelOfTheBat'' trilogy is named, "Da Pacem Domine", which is Latin for, "Give peace, Lord." The phrase is borrowed from a chant utilized during the Crusades and is tied in with the story's villains, who are most certainly not peaceful.
30	* ''FanFic/TheOneToMakeItStay'' has ''All the Laughs We Had in the Past'', so named not just [[MusicalThemeNaming as a reference]] to Lush's ''Etheriel'', but referring to the nostalgia surrounding Team Miraculous in happier, less stressful times. Said story features some of the strain between the teammates coming to a head, turning into a massive WhamEpisode when [[spoiler:Adrien loses his ring to Miracle Queen and it ends up in Hawkmoth's hands]], [[GameChanger heralding major changes]].
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]
34	* ''Film/LaSourianteMadameBeudet'' (The Smiling Madame Beudet) is about a woman who never smiles, trapped as she is in a desperately unhappy marriage to a boor.
35	* The unnamed lead character in the [[https://www.facebook.com/RyersonUniversityFilmFestival/photos/a.1549891241892009/2037729073108221/?type=3&theater 2018 Canadian short film]] ''Attainment'' (which contains no dialogue) is so obsessed with becoming the best competitive figure skater in the world that he over-trains to the point where he [[spoiler:suffers from a ''complete'' mental and physical breakdown. His dream is thus shattered and it becomes unattainable.]]
36	* The Film/JamesBond film ''Film/NoTimeToDie''. [[spoiler:Both Felix Leiter and ''[[TheHeroDies Bond himself]]'' die in this one.]]
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder: Literature]]
40	* The last chapter of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'' is titled "The Beginning", referring to [[CliffHanger the start of Voldemort's new reign of terror]]. This was made all the more ironic by the fact that this was the last chapter of the published ''Harry Potter'' canon for a good three years.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
44	* The ''Series/{{House}}'' episode "Merry Little Christmas" was anything but. It ends with House sprawling in a pool of his own vomit/drool in front of the TV after nearly overdosing on Vicodin, while his "best friend" Wilson just looks at him lying there then walks away in disgust. The irony is questionable, since this is is obviously a reference to the song ''Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas'', which is really a pretty nasty piece of work in the first place. The original lyrics are even bleaker, but Creator/JudyGarland refused to sing them. It's a [[PunBasedTitle pun title]], since the patient of the week is a little person.
45	* The first season finale of ''Series/DesperateHousewives'', "One Wonderful Day". Wonderful indeed - at the end of the episode, one husband is dead, another husband is in prison, and a third character is LeftForDead. (The Stephen Sondheim song suggested by the show's IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming, however, doesn't go any darker than an IronicEcho.)
46	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
47	** "Everybody Loves a Clown", also a candidate for horrific.
48	** "The Kids Are Alright." They are not. They are really really not.
49	** "Time Is On My side" given it comes an episode before Dean's contract is due.
50	** "A Very Supernatural Christmas" -- anything but merry. Features evil old people and torn out fingernails.
51	** "I Believe the Children Are Our Future" is something of a subversion in that [[spoiler: Antichrist Jesse turns out to be a nice kid.]]
52	** "The Hero's Journey" denies all heroic moves to both Sam and Dean, who have to be saved by Garth all the way through.
53	* ''Series/VeronicaMars'':
54	** "An Echolls Family Christmas", one of the most highly-regarded episodes, ends with a character being stabbed at his own Christmas party by a woman he cheated on his wife with at a Halloween party...while he was making eyes at another woman (also not his wife).
55	** "Happy Go Lucky." [[AxeCrazy He really]] [[FreudianExcuse isn't.]]
56	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
57	** "Fool for Love" is exploration of Spike's backstory, and while there are a few moments of romance, it's mostly bad-assed carnage as Spike tells the stories of how previously he killed two slayers. It's also a LiteraryAllusionTitle to the Music/SamShepard play of the same name, which is very similar in structure.
58	** WordOfGod confirms that the fourth season episode where Faith wakes up from a coma and steal Buffy's body was originally called "rise and shine".
59	* The momentous ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Nothing Important Happened Today", named after King George III's supposed diary entry for July 4, 1776, the day the United States declared its independence from Britain. (Of course George could be forgiven for his ignorance given the lack of telecommunications in those days.)
60	* ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' episode "Boring" has lots of interesting things going on, but Rick, Viv, Neil and Mike just don't happen to notice any of them.
61	* The concept of the ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch "The Dull Life of a City Stockbroker". Although the stockbroker himself [[WeirdnessCensor may agree with the title]].
62	* The very first episode of ''Series/RedDwarf'' was called "The End". Borderline because the episode actually did deal with a massive accident that wiped out almost the entire crew, setting up the series for AfterTheEnd. (And with that situation set up, the episode ended with a caption in the same font, saying "The Beginning".)
63	* The ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episodes "Something Nice Back Home" and "There's No Place Like Home" both feature unpleasant [[spoiler:flashforwards of the time after the Oceanic 6 get home.]]
64	* ''Series/BabylonFive'' has several episodes with deliberately unassuming titles that contain very important events, for example, "Interludes and Examinations", in which several important characters variously die, leave their job because of addiction, and make a deal with the devil. Among other things.
65	* "Taking a Break from All Your Worries" from ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''. According to the producers, the original concept was supposed to fit the title. It turned into an episode about drowning your marital problems at the bar and interrogating Baltar with psychotropic drugs.
66	* The last episode of ''Series/DoctorWho'' before the show was cancelled was called "Survival". The show has since returned.
67	* The series finale of ''Series/StargateSG1'' was called "Unending".
68	* The ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' episode "Sunday" because it sounds like an episode about the characters relaxing and having a day off and mostly is... until they kill off a main character.
69	* ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman'' has the episode "Glory of the Emperor Tranza", which ends with the emperor in question [[spoiler: completely beaten down by the heroes, physically forced to acknowledge TheStarscream as the new emperor, and finally being [[MindRape mind raped]] by said new emperor and left drooling and rambling in an insane asylum]].
70	* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' is this trope when applied to an entire show, but usually tend to avoid using these kinds of episode titles with the exception of "A Very Sunny Christmas" which has Charlie finding out he's a SonOfAWhore, a {{Mall Santa}}'s [[EarAche ear getting bitten off]], and theft. (Granted, sunshine isn't very Christmas-y).
71	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' has the episode ''Happily Ever After'' which happens right after Ted is left at the altar by his fiancée Stella.
72	* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'''s GrandFinale was named "The Beginning", in reference to it being [[DawnOfAnEra the start of Bruce Wayne's tenure as]] Franchise/{{Batman}}.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder: Music]]
76	* Music/BrokenIris's song "A New Hope" is about feeling hopeless after [[GriefSong the death of a loved one]].
77	-->I guess I'll spend another lifetime / Searching for [[TitleDrop a new hope]]
78	* "My Happy Ending" by Music/AvrilLavigne is a sad BreakupSong.
79	-->You were everything, everything that I wanted\
80	We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it\
81	All of the memories, so close to me, just fade away\
82	All this time you were pretending\
83	So much for [[TitleDrop my happy ending]]
84	* Music/DemiLovato's "I Love Me" is about being [[HerOwnWorstEnemy their own worst enemy]]: "I'm a black belt when I'm beating up on myself" and "I always got my finger on the self destruct."
85	* Lord of the Lost has a song about [[SongOfManyEmotions hatred and love and regret and envy and endless grief]]. The song's titled "Euphoria."
86	* Music/TaylorSwift's "peace" [[SongOfManyEmotions expresses a lot of conflicting emotions]] as the narrator warns her beloved that she can never give them peace.
87	* Yasmin Levy's "La alegria" (Spanish for "joy") is a bitter, sorrowful song about lost love in which the narrator says she will never be happy again.
88	* Inverted in Music/SaintMotel's "Cold Cold Man", where the singer assures his partner that although [[TheStoic he seems cold because he doesn't show much emotion]], he's still head over heels in love with her.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder: Theatre]]
92	* The Creator/GilbertAndSullivan operetta ''Theatre/{{Patience}}, [[EitherOrTitle or Bunthorne's Bride]]''. The [[TitleDrop Subtitle Drop]] comes in the final song: "Nobody be Bunthorne's bride".
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder: Video Games]]
96	* To many people who played the original ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland''... "Poochy Ain't Stupid". Considering the level is LethalLavaLand, involves a dog who has limited control of the direction he's going and is so NintendoHard as to be [[BrutalBonusLevel infuriating]].
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder: Web Animation]]
100	* Step 4 of ''WebAnimation/ThereSheIs'', entitled [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/456643 Paradise]], is the episode where everything goes to hell for Doki and Nabi, and features a heavy, [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] dose of MoodWhiplash.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder: Web Original]]
104	* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' can fall into this at times when a title of a thread sounds more cheerful and optimistic than it actually is, such as one where a character is getting killed. Sometimes it isn't intentional, and the handlers had no idea what exactly was going to happen in the thread. In other cases, it's intentional. One example in v4 pre-game is titled "Happily Ever Afters (Below The Waist)", which has JJ Sturn KickTheDog by breaking up with Rosa Fiametta after sleeping with her and then hitting her. In v4 proper, another example was titled "Thank You For Being A Friend" in which Reiko Ishida crosses the MoralEventHorizon by [[spoiler:strangling her only living friend to death in a fit of rage]].
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder: Western Animation]]
108	* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' has an episode called "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown". [[spoiler:The clown only shows up for one second.]]
109	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''; in the episode "Dewey Wins", Nanefua Pizza wins the election and becomes mayor of Beach City, even though the title is clearly saying Dewey Wins. Although Dewey believed he'd be crushed by the pressure of an actual crisis, he admits Nanefua would be a better mayor than him. The title is a play on a famous picture of Harry Truman after the presidential election, holding up a newspaper with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman". The headline was premature; Truman had actually won.
110	* ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats'' and the episode "A Bright And Shiny Future". [[BadFuture Guess what happens]].
111	* From ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''; the three-part season finale episode of season four was called "The End". However, even though it dealt with [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the world]], it actually ended with the Earth being restored, and the show continued for another season. One of Raven's lines at the end of the episode is "I guess, in the end, there really is no end. Just new beginnings."
112	* The last episode of the second season of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' was called Operation E.N.D. The "end" of the KND was successfully prevented, and the show itself had four more seasons.
113	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': The episode in which [[spoiler: Zaheer kills the Earth Queen]] is titled "Long Live the Queen". [[spoiler:However, there is context behind this; the title itself is taken from the traditional proclamation: "The King/Queen Is Dead, Long Live The King/Queen", making it a meaningful, SpoilerTitle because it's usually announced after a monarch's death, but also ironic because in this case, no one has succeeded immediately after]].
114	* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': The episode "The Precious, Wonderful, Adorable, Lovable Duckling" is about a duckling that only pretends to be cute and innocent, but is actually evil and hates Courage. Doubles as IronicName.
115	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' is titled "Vomitrocious" which is Muffy's catchphrase...but the episode is about Francine.
116	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': "[[Recap/ThePatrickStarShowS2E5MovieStarsDrSmartScience Dr. Smart Science]]", which hinges on Patrick's ''lack'' of knowledge about science.
117	* The 1951 WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} cartoon "WesternAnimation/NoSmoking" is about Goofy's smoking habit, which he vainly tries to kick. It doesn't help that the short is ''permeated'' with tobacco products.
118	[[/folder]]

Context Main / IronicEpisodeTitle