Classic style happy ending.
"The popular preference for a story with 'a happy ending' is not, or at least was not, a mere sweet-stuff optimism; it is the remains of the old idea of the triumph of the dragon-slayer, the ultimate apotheosis of the man beloved of heaven."
Most stories just end happily, with the villain defeated (or the basic problem resolved) and the heroes triumphant. It remains the most common type of ending, even if it can be disdained by some. Far, far too common to provide examples.
Specific types of Happy Ending include:
- Happily Ever After - for when just being happy isn't quite enough
- Happy Ending Override - a subversion of the Happy Ending where it's undone in the sequel
- Earn Your Happy Ending - for when the Happy Ending comes after much darkness and angst
- Deus ex Machina - when the Happy Ending is forced upon the story by an outside force that wasn't previously introduced
- Allegedly Optimistic Ending - when the 'happy' ending doesn't sound like one
- Shock-and-Switch Ending - when the Sudden Downer Ending is subverted.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending - when the characters were expecting something else
- "Everybody Helps Out" Denouement - when the story ends with all the characters coming together post-climax to make the world a better place.
Contrast Downer Ending. Compare Bittersweet Ending.
Has nothing whatsoever to do with Happy-Ending Massage.
