History Main / FiveStagesOfGrief

** Anger: Bruce Banner reacts like this being Hulk.

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasNewDinosaur'': Nobita goes through the first three stages (Denial, Anger, and Bargaining) upon learning there's nothing he can do - or allowed to do - to save the dinosaurs on the Breeding Diorama Island from the incoming extinction event, ''including'' his new dinosaur pets, Kyu and Myu. Firstly by rejecting what the Time Patrol's rules for maintaining a StableTimeLoop, and then attacking his friends in frustration (even ''Doraemon''!) before finally deciding to steal the [[TimeStandStill Stop Watch]] to attempt cancelling the inevitable meteor landing on Earth. [[spoiler: Before he can reach Depression, he is informed by Jill and Natalie of the Time Patrol that he can save the dinosaurs on the island after all]].

* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceofBelAir'': Will goes through all five stages in less than 2 minutes at the end of "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse", after his dead beat father Lou bails on him for the second and seemingly final time. First, he says he shouldn't be mad because at least he said goodbye this time (Denial), He gradually devalues to anger as he recalls all the milestones he accomplished before screaming "To Hell with Him". He then laments to Uncle Phil everything he's going to further accomplish without Lou, (Bargaining) before finally asking Phil "How come he don't want me, man?!" (Depression). He then receives a much-needed hug from Uncle Phil as he finally accepts that his father truly is a spineless deadbeat.

** Acceptance is found in Ikana. The undead wander around, and Link helps some of them come to terms with their condition. In the end, he climbs upwards to the heaven and achieves enlightenment in the form of the ligth arrows.

** Cricket goes through the five stages in "Green Christmas", which contrasts with how he sees Christmas as just wanting presents from Santa, and forgetting what it truly is about. He repeatedly denies Tilly's explanation of TheTrueMeaningOfChristmas and believing there's a lot of good in him, gets angry and upset when he assumes he's on the naughty list when Santa thinks he's naughty and decides just that, attempted to steal the Big City Christmas star and wound up putting the blame on Tilly instead, started to have mixed feelings before breaking down and realizing it was indeed his fault for ruining the holiday and blaming someone else for him being bad, and finally accepts what he went through when he refuses Santa's magical gift and instead [[SelflessWish wishes for Tilly to be back on the nice list]]; as a reward for putting Tilly's needs before his, Cricket is back on the nice list as well.

* A side-story in Franchise/SpiderMan (ComicBook/BrandNewDay era) dealt with [[JerkJock Flash]] [[CharacterDevelopment Thompson]] coping with the loss of his legs. When he becomes depressed, he goes through the stages in the opposite of the conventional order. He eventually arrives at what Peter terms "stage 0: grace".

* ''Film/SpiderMan'': Norman Osborne's reaction to the Oscorp board terminating him can be considered as him going through the five stages of grief in a matter of seconds :

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': [[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E20TheFuture "The Future"]] has a much more humorous take on this trope: When Steven tells the Crystal Temps that he's moving away, the three fall into different stages: Bismuth goes into '''Denial''' and '''Bargaining''' by suggesting that she build him a nice vacation house just outside of Little Homeworld, Peridot immediately lapses into '''Depression''' and sheds many tears before everyone else inevitably does, and Lapis' response is '''Anger''' even as she gives him a firm reminder that he can't run away from himself (because she'd tried that before).

* One of the later episodes of ''Series/{{Eureka}}'' has Fargo take an experimental drug in order to get through the five stages of grief [[spoiler: his girlfriend Holly's death]] at an accelerated rate in order to move on. The drug, however, not only accelerates the process but [[UpToEleven exaggerates each stage to a ridiculous degree,]] so much so that he's taken off of the treatment to processes his emotions normally.

* On ''Series/LawAndOrder'', after Mike Logan's partner is murdered, his grief counsellor Olivet tells him that he's going through the stages (she mentions it as "seven stages of grief", presumably a variation on the model). Worth noting that this one doesn't show a perfect progression: he starts with Denial (in this case, not denying that it ''happened'', but rather that he's ''affected'' by it, as he tries to insist he's already come to terms with the loss), then Anger, then he goes OutOfFocus for the second half of the episode, until the last scene, where he's shown reaching Acceptance. It's not clear exactly what he went through emotionally in the part that's not shown, but it's reasonable to think that it might have been a more imperfect, realistic iteration.

* On ''Series/LawAndOrder'', after Mike Logan's partner is murdered, his grief counsellor Olivet tells him that he's going through the stages (she mentions it as "seven stages of grief", presumably a variation on the model). Worth noting that this one doesn't show a perfect progression: he starts with Denial (in this case, not denying that it ''happened'', but rather that he's ''affected'' by it, as he tries to insist he's already come to terms with the loss), then Anger, then he goes OutOfFocus for the second half of the episode, until the last scene, where he's shown reaching Acceptance. It's not clear exactly what he went through emotionally in that time, but it's reasonable to think that it might have been a more imperfect, realistic iteration.

* On ''Series/LawAndOrder'', after Mike Logan's partner is murdered, his grief counsellor Olivet tells him that he's going through the stages (she mentions it as "seven stages of grief", presumably a variation on the model). Worth noting that this one doesn't show a perfect progression: he starts with Denial (in this case, not denying that it ''happened'', but rather that he's ''affected'' by it, as he tries to insist he's already come to terms with the loss), then Anger, then he goes OutOfFocus for about twenty minutes until the last scene, where he's shown reaching Acceptance. It's not clear exactly what he went through emotionally during the second half of the episode, but it's reasonable to think that it might have been a more imperfect, realistic iteration.

-->'''Konrad''': I'm going to count to five, then I'm pulling the trigger.\\
'''Walker''': (''fearful'') You're not real. This is all in my head.\\
'''Konrad''': Are you sure? Maybe it's in mine! ''One.''\\
'''Walker''': (''angry'') No. Everything, all this, it was ''your'' fault!\\
'''Konrad''': If that's what you believe then shoot me! ''Two.''\\
'''Walker''': (''tearfully'') I-I didn't mean to hurt anybody...\\
'''Konrad''': No-one ever does, Walker. ''Three...''

* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Gon [[PlayedWith plays with this]] after [[spoiler:Kite's]] death. Right before this event, he immediately starts getting angry (stage 2), but then Killua [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan makes Gon unconscious]]. When he wakes up he says that [[spoiler:Kite]] [[TemptingFate is alive]] which is his Denial (Stage 1). When Gon sees his unstable body he still is in Denial. Then when he confronts Pitou, he then gets Anger at [[AmbiguousGender her/him]] for killing [[spoiler:Kite]]. Gon Bargains (Stage 3) Pitou to bringing [[spoiler:Kite]] back, but then Pitou says he can't bring his friend back. Then it gets complicated. Gon experiences the first four stages ''in a couple seconds'', most notably Depression (Stage 4). Then he gets '''furious''' at Pitou, so much so that [[spoiler:he sacrificed part of his life just to kill Pitou '''multiple times''']]. He then [[spoiler:gets put into a nen-state coma]], which is most likely Stage 3 as he is at his weakest while waiting to come out of [[spoiler:the coma]]. [[spoiler:However, in a rare case of this trope, where he was at during that particular time ''does'' get him what he needs]]. After that, once Gon confronts [[spoiler:Ging]], he breaks down crying and lists everything he regretted doing since [[spoiler:Kite]] died [[spoiler:and then reincarnated]], which is definitely Stage 4. After [[spoiler:Ging says he should talk to Kite about his regrets]], Gon finally goes through acceptance (Stage 5) as he is fine with [[spoiler:Kite turning into a Chimera Ant]].

* The five stages theme is used extensively in the [[FreewareGames freeware]] AdventureGame ''VideoGame/EternallyUs''. Every scene in the game is based on one of the stages.

* In VideoGame/Mother3, After Flint is told that his wife Hinawa was killed by a Drago, he immediately enters Anger, when he attacks some of the villagers around him and has to be to [[TapOnTheHead Tapped On The Head]] by Lighter. After he gets over it, he then enters Bargaining for the rest of the game, after his son Claus goes missing trying to avenge Hinawa's death, and he subsequently leaves Lucas alone for years, desperate to not lose his oldest son too.

** Denial - Tail's version is extremely bleak and empty, lacking anything in the background other than a harsh low buzzing sound. [[spoiler: Sonic dying]] has left Tails hopeless, frightened and completely ''lost''.

** Bargaining - Knuckles's version has the least amount of revisions but has an eerie funeral organ playing alongside the many, many drums. Knuckles has more at stake than anyone else, as the Chaos Emerald he's been charged with protecting will be permanently lost to time but also [[spoiler: one of the people Knuckles valued the most was murdered]]. He is angry, sad and confused but he will do whatever it takes to stop this or die trying.

* [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII Bethany Hawke]] is shown going through Depression and Anger after a specific plot point in ''Fanfic/BeyondHeroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium''. She skips Denial and Bargaining entirely, mostly because she was present for the event and knows that these aren't going to work. Throughout the remainder of the story (until a certain ''other'' specific plot point), [[TheNarrator Varric]] periodically catches her slipping back into Depression, though she manages not to stay there for very long, and Acceptance is largely in force by the time she confronts [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition the Elder One]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'' had Kronk go through this as he came to terms with being left in the wild for a project. However, since it's a [[ThreeShorts two-shorts show]], he only goes through three stages (denial, depression and acceptance) and Malina identifies them after he goes through them.
* Parodied in a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketch: A giraffe is stuck in a quicksand pit and experiences the stages in order. When he finally gets to acceptance, he hits bottom...with his head and neck still above ground.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish", Homer eats bad fugu fish and is told he will likely die; he's told of the model by Dr. Hibbert and goes through all five stages in about 10 seconds.
-->'''Hibbert''': You can expect to go through five stages. The first is denial.\\
'''Homer''': No way, because I'm not dying!\\
'''Hibbert''': Second is anger.\\
'''Homer''': ''Why you little-- [[{{Angrish}} Da—! Guuuuuh! Yaaaaah!]]''\\
'''Hibbert''': After that, comes fear.\\
'''Homer''': (''paranoid'') What's after fear? What's after fear?!\\
'''Hibbert''': Bargaining.\\
'''Homer''': Doc, you've got to get me out of this. I'll make it worth your while!\\
'''Hibbert''': And finally, acceptance.\\
'''Homer''': ''(relaxed smile)'' Well, we've all got to go sometime.\\
'''Hibbert''': Mr. Simpson, your progress astounds me!
* ''The High Fructose Adventures of [[WebVideo/TheAnnoyingOrange Annoying Orange]]'': In the ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' parody "My Name is Orange", Orange gets mold and has 24 hours to live, in which Dr. Banana states he will go through the five stages of grief, providing a very illustrative montage to the audience.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Rainbow Dash goes through the five stages in the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E5TanksForTheMemories Tanks for the Memories]]" when she learns of her pet tortoise Tank's impending hibernation for the upcoming winter. Amusingly, her version of the "bargaining" stage involves trying to stop Tank from hibernating by ''stopping winter itself''. As for depression, Fluttershy [[InvokedTrope provokes her into crying]] when it's clear she's not going to do it on her own.
** Starlight Glimmer hits all five stages in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E26TheCutieRemarkPart2 "The Cutie Remark Part 2"]] when Twilight shows her that her attempts to change the past by stopping the first Sonic Rainboom will cause Equestria to be destroyed - she refuses to believe the Mane Six's friendship is that important, bitterly compares their friendship to her failed friendship which sent her on the path she was on, attempted to destroy the time travel spell that started this mess to prove Twilight wrong, despairingly admits her fear of making friends before ultimately resigning herself to whatever her fate is.

* The episode "Cookie Chomper III" from ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' has all three chipmunks going through various stages after their newly adopted kitten is killed by a car. Theodore goes through denial, actively searching for Cookie and thinking that another kitten which looked like him was killed. Alvin goes through anger, [[ItMakesSenseInContext putting all the houseplants outside because they'll eventually die too]]. Simon goes through depression, just sad over Cookie's death. Eventually, with Dave's help, all three of them reach acceptance and the episode ends with them adopting a new pet, a dog named Lily, from the animal shelter.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': The five stages of grief are the secret hidden connection between the five short stories in "Another Five Short Graybles", though the order goes Acceptance (Finn mimics ''accepting'' a package from Jake), Denial (Princess Bubblegum ''denies'' Cinnamon Bun the use of his night-light), Bargaining (Ice King ''bargains'' with his penguins to get his pick on movie night), Anger (the Lemongrabs fight over a doll and get ''angry'' with each other), and Depression (Mr. Fox returns home after a long trip, and sees a vision from his subconscious in a ''depression'' in the mattress of his old bed).

** Bargaining - Knuckles's version has an eerie funeral organ playing alongside the many, many drums. Knuckles has more at stake than anyone else, as the Chaos Emerald he's been charged with protecting will be permanently lost to time but also [[spoiler: one of the people Knuckles values the most was murdered]]. This is his last chance to right the wrongs and he will die fighting back.

** Acceptance (with some undertones of Anger) - Shadow's version is a chaotic mix-match of choir-backed beats. Shadow has spent majority of the game trying to stop Mephiles' machinations but now [[spoiler: someone who Shadow deeply respects is dead]] and time itself is collapsing. Shadow is running on desperation and anger as this is not the first time Shadow has failed to protect someone he cares about.

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo'', Narancia goes through this after seeing [[spoiler: Abbacchio's body after he was killed by Diavolo]]. The rest of the team was unable to grieve as they had to continue their mission, [[HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim so Narancia expresses it for them.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TrollsTheBeatGoesOn'', Branch "kills" Sky Toronto's tie, Sky Jr., making him too depressed to run his factory. After Branch tries and fails to run it himself, he finds a bearded Sky who goes through all five stages in under 15 seconds.

In pop culture, when the idea of these stages appears, all five stages of grief are displayed, always in this order, and if PlayedForLaughs [[SequentialSymptomSyndrome all within ten seconds of each other]]. Also, these stages tend to apply to all grieving characters, although Kübler-Ross's work, again, was with those actually dying themselves and not, say, the bereaved; later research suggests that the bereaved typically accept the death right away -- within ''seconds'' of a loved one's passing--and rarely engage in denying the death (if you are not mentally ill in some way, denial is sort of pointless). Of course, [[HollywoodPsych in Hollywood]], the stages will likely only be applied to those grieving someone else's death. See also StagesOfMonsterGrief, where formerly human characters adapt to their new condition.