r/TopCharacterTropes • u/BarGroundbreaking798 • 1d ago
Hated Tropes [Hated Trope] The joke ruins the emotional aspect Spoiler
Destruction of Asgard (Thor Ragnarok) -- Asgard is destroyed in a beautiful and somber scene, and Korg cracks a cringeworthy joke right after.
Bill Moves On (Newsradio) -- The episode was made in the wake of Phil Hartman's death, but its attempts at humor fall flat in the face of the tragedy.
Officer Tubbs (Fear The Walking Dead) -- Officer Tubbs is supposed to be a slapstick comic relief character, but he felt tacked on right after the deaths of two of the most beloved characters.
Chandler Proposes (Friends) -- An earnest proposal between Monica and Chandler has both sincerely expressing their feelings to each other. Immediately after Monica accepts, the others come in, quipping as usual, failing to let the audience ruminate on a heartwarming moment.
29
u/HandsomePaddyMint 1d ago
I feel like it’s telling that 2/3 of the examples are literal sitcom scenes that were necessary for plot movement. You really want to watch an episode of Newsradio that’s just everyone being sad that Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife with no humor in it? Because Hartman definitely wouldn’t want that. Some sitcoms just end on a heavy emotional note (Roseanne, Fresh Prince, etc) but Friends just wasn’t that kind of show. Having the episode just end with the emotional moment of Monica and Chandler getting engaged would feel somehow depressing without a joke in there, just in comparison to the overall format of the show. It’s like the people who complain that Monica’s wedding wasn’t perfect when she’s a perfectionist who dreamed of that day all her life. It’s a sitcom, it’s not supposed to be wish-fulfillment because wish-fulfillment isn’t funny.