History Main / OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding

* ''Not Easily Broken'' has the main characters, a married couple that was previously going through marriage problems that were exacerbated by a devastating car accident that severely injured her, [[BabiesEverAfter learning that they were having a baby and both being excited by it.]] However, this does nothing to work out the issues of the mother-in-law, whose misandry and disapproval of her [[MartyStu apparently flawless]] son-in-law will linger on, impeding new grandchild or not, or the physical therapist that the husband developed feelings for whose own son received an out-of-the-blue traumatic brain injury during a swim meet and who was shortly afterwards taken off of life-support by the doctors over the desperate crying and pleas of his mother.[[note]]Legally, this can ''never'' be done without a lengthy civil process and there is no precedent of whom they would rule in favor for. Even if the medical staff resorts to outright ''bullying'' a family member to withdraw a critically-injured or ill patient from life-support, the latter will always have the final say on the matter.[[/note]]

* ''Not Easily Broken'' has the main characters, a married couple that was previously going through marriage problems that were exacerbated by a devastating car accident that severely injured her, [[BabiesEverAfter learning that they were having a baby and both being excited by it.]] However, this does nothing to work out the issues of the mother-in-law, whose misandry and disapproval of her [[MartyStu apparently flawless]] son-in-law will linger on, impeding new grandchild or not, or the physical therapist that the husband developed feelings for whose own son received an out-of-the-blue traumatic brain injury during a swim meet and who was shortly afterwards taken off of life-support [[CriticalResearchFailure by the doctors over the desperate crying and pleas of his mother.]][[note]]Legally, this can ''never'' be done without a lengthy civil process and there is no precedent of whom they would rule in favor for. Even if the medical staff resorts to outright ''bullying'' a family member to withdraw a critically-injured or ill patient from life-support, the latter will always have the final say on the matter.[[/note]]

* When the Taiwanese server for ''VideoGame/SINoALICE'' shut down, players were given the chance to complete one final chapter to end the story - and how does it end? Alice [[AllJustADream wakes up from her dream]] and greets her friend with a cheerful smile, running out of her classroom to live her life. But everyone else in Reality? Most likely having suffered the same unpleasant fates they already had, just offscreen. And the world of Library? [[DreamApocalypse It's gone]]. ''[[DeletionAsPunishment Forever]]''. But at least Alice is happy... right?

* The "Military Uniform Princess" [[spoiler:/Altair]] of ''Anime/ReCreators'' is pretty unusual because she's both the BigBad and an InUniverse invocation of this trope, meaning it's also a case of TheBadGuyWins. The titular Creators bring back her own Creator as a fictional character and have the two talk out her SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum that is impossible to stop otherwise because she has become an in-universe VillainSue, and they both walk away into the sunset as the only couple of people [[BittersweetEnding unambiguously happy and untraumatized]] from the CurbStompBattle ''massacre'' that was the [[CrisisCrossover Elimination Chamber Festival]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' is about halfway between this trope and a full EverybodyDiesEnding: of the five main characters, only Rorschach dies, while Dr. Manhattan reaches an epiphany that convinces him life can have value, [[TheBadGuyWins Veidt's plan goes just as he wanted]], and Dan and Laurie start a new life together. The supporting cast basically ''all'' died as part of Veidt's GenghisGambit or had met some terrible fate long before that. And how good an ending this is for Veidt, Dan, Laurie or the rest of the world depends on how well said plan works out in the long run. [[spoiler:''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' eventually showcases that the public found out about Veidt's scheme and things went FromBadToWorse in a hurry for him, but Dan and Laurie are never seen so the assumption the audience normally has is that they had (and still have) a better ending.]]

* An extremely dark example in ''Literature/ThingsWeHaveInCommon'', crossing over with EsotericHappyEnding due to an UnreliableNarrator. The object of Yasmin's obsession, Alice, [[spoiler:gets raped and murdered, and her body is probably never going to be found.]] Yasmin's family is destroyed by the accusation that Gary is a murderer, which is probably never going to lift. However, Yasmin and Sam [[spoiler:get away with everything]] and the story ends with them [[spoiler:getting together romantically and probably planning to abduct a victim together.]]

* Creator/AgathaChristie's theatre adaptation of her own novel ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'' has [[spoiler:Vera and Lombard]], the closest people the story has in the role of the protagonist, survive the murder spree and escape the island.

* ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' and ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' both have MultipleEndings based on hidden relationship meters between the characters, the Main Characters of course get their happy ending no matter what, but... for those who have bad scores the endings can edge on {{Tear Jerker}}s.

** [[SchrodingersPlayerCharacter Among all potential Grey Warden]] {{Player Character}}s, only the ''main'' Human Noble can get an unambiguously happy ending. [[spoiler:They don't deal with deeply ingrained and inescapable societal racism like most other Wardens (mage, elf, casteless dwarf), and unlike the dwarf noble they're allowed to kill the traitorous bastard who destroyed their family without consequence. The Human Noble is also the only Warden allowed to marry Alistair or Anora and become King or Queen. Even the Dwarf Noble is not allowed to marry the Ferelden monarch because of their race, OR clear their name and become King/Queen of Orzammar. A Dwarf Commoner can also get an unambiguously good ending if they made Bhelen king, becoming a Paragon and noble in their own right and also in-laws with the king who reforms the oppressive caste system.]]

** Namely: [[CampCook Pearson]] ends up getting married and [[spoiler:owning the general shop in Rhodes]]. [[BrainyBrunette Mary-Beth]] moves away and becomes a writer of some repute. [[BadassNative Charles]] leaves the gang to seek a new life in Canada as a family man. [[DeadpanSnarker Tilly]] marries a lawyer in Saint Denis and lives in a beautiful estate house with him and their daughter. [[TheAlcoholic Swanson]] drops his drinking habit and moves to New York where he becomes a preacher. And [[DarkActionGirl Sadie]] cools down her AxCrazy tendencies and moves to South America in search of a quiet life.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'', the first season ends with Harley defeating the Joker and finally breaking free of her toxic relationship with him. She reconciles with her crew and Ivy (who was killed during the previous episode) is resurrected. However, the Justice League is also presumably still stuck in the Queen of Fables' book, Batman has disappeared, and Gotham has been ravaged by the mutated trees' rampage then by an earthquake caused by the Joker, presumably killing countless civilians. The episode (barring the cliffhanger) ends with Harley, Ivy and their friends watching Gotham in flames. Since the main characters are {{Villain Protagonist}}s, they consider it [[BlackComedy a happy ending]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' is about halfway between this trope and a full KillEmAll: of the five main characters, only Rorschach dies, while Dr. Manhattan reaches an epiphany that convinces him life can have value, [[TheBadGuyWins Veidt's plan goes just as he wanted]], and Dan and Laurie start a new life together. The supporting cast basically ''all'' died as part of Veidt's GenghisGambit or had met some terrible fate long before that. And how good an ending this is for Veidt, Dan, Laurie or the rest of the world depends on how well said plan works out in the long run. [[spoiler:''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' eventually showcases that the public found out about Veidt's scheme and things went FromBadToWorse in a hurry for him, but Dan and Laurie are never seen so the assumption the audience normally has is that they had (and still have) a better ending.]]

* Done several times on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', where the main characters resolve their issues while the city gets destroyed in the background. One episode had Fry and Leela making up after Fry put a humiliating video of her on the Internet, meanwhile all of Bender's and Fry's Twitcher subscribers get brainwashed by M.O.M.. Thankfully, they were brainwashed into buying more of her products. Another had Bender being saved from execution by going on a murderous rampage with Santa Claus. (ItMakesSenseInContext.)

** This is sadly common for Yuu Watase's work. Consistently expect only the OfficialCouple to get a HappyEnding (or a BittersweetEnding if that's the best the characters can hope for in that story), while all the other characters wind up dead, emotionally scarred, on the losing side of a LoveTriangle, and whatever other unsatisfying conclusion you can think.

* The ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Little Mermaid]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13935306/1/Poor-Twisted-Soul Poor Twisted Soul]]'' walks the line of this trope as the lead in question is only the lead for the final chapter. However, it otherwise plays this trope extremely strait. Basically, instead of turning her human, Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to give her a potion to make it so she won't feel guilty for doing what ever she wants. When Ariel drinks it, all kindness is removed from her heart and she is turned into a Cecelia (that is what Ursula is). Afterward, Ariel, having had all her positive aspects removed, goes along with Ursula's plan to overthrow King Triton. However, as Ariel predicted Ursula would betray her, she takes the trident for herself, kills Ursula, Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder, and transforms her sisters into mindless carnivorous monsters. The final chapter cuts to sometime later where Ariel has succeeded in taking over Atlantica, having killed everyone who revolted against her. However one family who defied her escape to Ursula's old home to turn human to escape Ariel. Unforunatly, there is only enough for one, so the two parents give the potion to their daugter Jobi, who escapes to the surface just before Ariel chatches and kills them as well. This leaves Atlantica pretty much doomed, as no one is left to stop Ariel's now fully in control SuperpoweredEvilSide and any survivers must now follow her law to the letter or die. Jobi, however, is found and cared for by Prince Eric, and after two years, the pair wed and become king and queen where Jobi is [[OneHundredPercentAdorationRating loved by all]].

%* The ending of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' is bad for practically everyone except Marth, Caeda, and a few others.

* In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', Elizabeth and Darcy are happily married, but Charlotte and Lydia not nearly as lucky in their marriages, and then there is the [[FridgeHorror fact that there are lots and lots of women who had to]] [[MaritalRapeLicense marry for safety and a roof over their heads, just like Charlotte.]]

** Taken UpToEleven with the "Needs of the One" ending, where you get a mountain of gold, but everyone who died stays dead.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[WhatHappenedToTheMouse So, what do we do about those donkeys? Someone has to free them somehow.]]]]

* Believe it or not, the original ending of ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964'' went this way, with [[EnsembleDarkHorse the Misfit Toys]] still stuck on their island. Fans didn't like that and sent letters to Creator/NBC asking them to fix that. [[SavedByTheFans The station listened]], leading to the ending people are more familiar with.

* Believe it or not, the original ending of ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNoseReindeer1964'' went this way, with [[EnsembleDarkHorse the Misfit Toys]] still stuck on their island. Fans didn't like that and sent letters to NBC asking them to fix that. [[SavedByTheFans The station listened]], leading to the ending people are more familiar with.

** The Needs of the Few ending resurrects your dog, sister, spouse (if you married), and children (if you had any). The countless hundreds of people who perished over the twenty years of the Spire's creation? Still goners.
** Taken UpToEleven with the Needs Of the One ending, where you get a mountain of gold, but everyone who died stays dead.

** "Best Gift Ever" went out of its way to show Marble Pie reacting to the fact that her chances of being with Big Macintosh had been sundered by [[https://trixiebooru.org/images/1868587 slinking away with a pained cringe]]. This is the last you ever see of her in the series, barring a brief cameo in the DistantFinale during a song. Hopefully she doesn't react to losing a boy she likes [[StartOfDarkness the same way Starlight Glimmer did]]...

* Done several times on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', where the main characters resolve their issues while the city gets destroyed in the background. One episode had Fry and Leela making up after Fry put a humiliating video of her on the Internet, meanwhile all of Bender's and Fry's Twitcher subscribers get brainwashed by M.O.M.. Thankfully, they were brainwashed into buying more of her products. Another had Bender being saved from execution by going on a murderous rampage with Santa Claus (ItMakesSenseInContext).

See also: WhatHappenedToTheMouse, where minor characters are forgotten about entirely. Contrast EverybodyWins where ''all'' the characters get a happy ending.

See also: WhatHappenedToTheMouse, where minor characters are forgotten about entirely.

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/CatsDontDance'', Danny and the other prominent animals succeed in becoming Hollywood stars. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for all the ''other'' animals who were also thrown out due to the studio flood, and were last seen standing in line for warmth at a barrel fire. Granted, the success of Danny and the others does open the door for other animals to become stars, [[RayofHopeEnding so there's still a chance they'll make it.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Shadowleague}}'' all the main characters are pictured as looking at a bright future that they'll build together with everyone they met during the story, so everything must be going good... unless you're [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters one of the many]] who died of the invading vampire-creatures, the plague or various other causes throughout the upheaval up until the main characters fix most of it.

* The best ending of ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' has Wylfred finally find peace, his mother regain her sanity, and Tilte learning about Ancel's death and being able to grieve him properly instead of just sensing that something's plain wrong. [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters The rest of the cast]], however, don't get featured at all in the ending and most of the characters that don't you meet but don't recruit get rather depressing ends. It doesn't help that the two other endings are {{Downer Ending}}s.

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'', where the only Runaway who is guaranteed a happy ending is Klara, who quit the team prior to the beginning of the series and got adopted into a loving family. Meanwhile, her former teammates are stuck dealing with the ramifications of their various previously-dead members all being resurrected, which has included the rise of a new generation of the Gibborim and the activation of Victorious, Gert's future mortal nemesis.

* The ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Little Mermaid]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13935306/1/Poor-Twisted-Soul Poor Twisted Soul]]'' walks the line of this trope as the lead in question is only the lead for the final chapter. However, it otherwise plays this trope extremely strait. Basically, instead of turning her human, Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to give her a potion to make it so she won't feel guilty for doing what ever she wants. When Ariel drinks it, all kindness is removed from her heart and she is turned into a Cecelia (that is what Ursula is). Afterward, Ariel, having had all her positive aspects removed, goes along with Ursula's plan to overthrow King Triton. However, as Ariel predicted Ursula would betray her, she takes the trident for herself, kills Ursula, Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder, and transforms her sisters into mindless carnivorous monsters. The final chapter cuts to sometime later where Ariel has succeeded in taking over Atlantica, having killed everyone who revolted against her. However one family who defied her escape to Ursula's old home to turn human to escape Ariel. Unforunatly, there is only enough for one, so the two parents give the potion to their daugter Jobi, who escapes to the surface just before Ariel chatches and kills them as well. This leaves Atlantica pretty much doomed, as no one is left to stop Ariel's now fully in control SuperpoweredEvilSide and any survivers must now follow her law to the letter or die. Jobi, however, is found and cared for by Prince Eric, and after two years, the pair wed and become king and queen where Jobi is [[100%AdorationRating loved by all]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' ends with the protagonists [[TheMagicGoesAway destroying magic]] to neutralize the threat of Mina's army of Solarians (and future abuses of magic), even if it will leave Star, Marco, and others stuck in their respective dimensions of TheMultiverse. Then, Earth, Mewni, and possibly all other dimensions become one MergedReality for an unexplained reason, letting Star and Marco stay together, but drastically altering both worlds in ways that will be difficult to adjust to, especially for all of the people (mostly on Earth) who ''aren't'' already familiar with other dimensions. Also with no magic, all beings that were made of magic were erased from existence, including the entire Magic High Commission (though given that they were supporting the genocide of monsters, it's quite [[AssholeVictim deserved]]), and who knows how many others.

'''Katz:''' Well, I see. Well, this whole experience has taught me that sometimes you need to help yourself before you can ''truly'' help others.
'''Uno:''' ''*(sobbing)*''
'''Katz:''' Uno, you have proven today that you can take care of a situation all by yourself. We'll have to have you spearhead these missions more often.

* As seen in the page image, ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' ends with the titular character being returned to Geppetto and transformed into a real boy like he always wanted. However, over the course of the film during his trip to Pleasure Island, he narrowly escapes being turned into a donkey with several other boys. [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse We never hear of the island again]], leaving us to assume the countless other boys were transformed, sold into slavery ([[AndIMustScream unable to even call for help]]), and (like Lampwick in the original story) worked to death.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' ends with the protagonists [[TheMagicGoesAway destroying magic]] to neutralize the threat of Mina's army of Solarians (and future abuses of magic), even if it will leave Star, Marco, and others stuck in their respective dimensions of TheMultiverse. Then, Earth, Mewni, and possibly all other dimensions become one MergedReality, letting Star and Marco stay together, but drastically altering both worlds in ways that will be difficult to adjust to, especially for all of the people (mostly on Earth) who ''aren't'' already familiar with other dimensions. Also with no magic, all beings that were made of magic were erased from existence, including the entire Magic High Commission, and who knows how many others.