LogFAQs > #924685640

Today's trope is Mood Whiplash. Here is the link: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MoodWhiplash

Fiction often has far extremes. They cover the gamut of emotion, from tragedy to comedy. Sometimes, these two will be so close together that they make the viewer's head spin! Done well, the contrast in moods can make each emotion all the more poignant and effective. Done poorly, the contrast can jar the reader/viewer right out of the story.

Sometimes, Mood Whiplash can extend to entire sequels, where the original was funny but its sequel is rather dark. More often, however, a dark film will spawn a sequel that degenerates into self-parody and farce.

In episodic media, this trope will often take the form of a light-hearted stand-alone episode breaking up a darker Story Arc. If the work is a comedy and the trope is deliberately invoked, then it's being Played for Laughs.

TL,DR: A sudden mood change within a work or between instalments.

Nominations:
The destroyed village ends "A Girl Worth Fighting For" early (Mulan)
Caesar yells NO! (Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
The final strip of Waluigi Triloigi (Brawl in the Family)