Basic Trope: An ending that has elements of both happiness and sadness.
- Straight: Alice, The Hero, saves the world... but only after her Love Interest Bob makes a Heroic Sacrifice.
- Exaggerated: Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending
- Downplayed:
- Bob is merely injured.
- Bob and Alice are both fine, but they have to go their separate ways.
- Justified: Bob died in the end, and Alice misses him.
- Inverted: "Ray of Hope" Ending
- Subverted:
- Bob is Only Mostly Dead.
- The ending seems to be bittersweet, and then an Ass Pull and a Diabolus ex Machina later, we get a Sudden Downer Ending or a "Shaggy Dog" Story.
- Double Subverted: ...and then Alice and Bob break up anyway.
- Parodied: Alice at the end eats sweet ice cream but chocolate was bitter.
- Zig Zagged: Bob dies, and then gets resurrected, but then Alice dies, and then...
- Averted:
- Enforced: "We can't use the original ending. It's way too depressing to be kid-friendly. Slap happy faces on everyone and call it a day."
- Lampshaded: "I'm so happy we saved the world. It's just too bad Bob didn't make it." "Who is this Bob you speak of?"
- Invoked: Bob sacrifices himself to stall Emperor Evulz long enough for Alice to defeat him.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: ???
- Discussed: "This is supposed to be a Happy Ending, so why am I so sad?"
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: It's a Dance Party Ending, and Bob is not shown, implying that he died in the final battle.
- Deconstructed: The loss of Bob drives Alive into depression, ultimately preventing her from looking to the bright side.
- Reconstructed: Alice's friends help and support her through her grief.
Back to Bittersweet Ending
