A wry comment at the end of an episode, often highlighting the [[DebateAndSwitch moral ambiguity]] of the episode's outcome. Often found in legal or medical dramas, where very often there is no BlackAndWhiteMorality, only [[GrayandGrayMorality Shades of Gray]].

A subset of the OneLiner.

The TropeNamer is District Attorney Adam Schiff of the television series ''Series/LawAndOrder'', who frequently ended an episode with one. The trope has no connection with the Schiff from ''BloodPlus'', nor with actor [[Series/TheWestWing Richard Schiff]] (although he ''is'' quite good at them).

Note that the examples contain many spoilers, some unmarked.



[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' has one (though it's not exactly the last line of the series) when [[spoiler:Dr. Manhattan]] tells [[spoiler:Adrian Veidt]] "Nothing ever ends," after the latter has [[spoiler:slaughtered thousands with a genetically engineered squid in a gambit to end the threat of nuclear war. Veidt's reaction is the first moment of doubt in the perfection of his plan that we ever see.]]

[[folder: Film -- Live Action]]
* From both the 1933 Film/KingKong movie and at least two of the remakes: "It was beauty killed the beast."
* "Forget it Jake, it's Film/{{Chinatown}}."
* ''Film/BladeRunner'': "It's too bad she won't live! But then again, who does?"
* ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon'': "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of."
* In a [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST'd]] B-movie ''Film/KingDinosaur'', one of the scientists says "We've really done it. We've brought civilization to planet Nova." That's after nuking an island of basically harmless creatures.
* ''Star Wars: AttackOfTheClones'': "Victory, you say? Master Obi-Wan, ''not'' victory. The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has."
* ''Film/{{Se7en}}'': "Ernest Hemingway once wrote, 'The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.' I agree with the second part."
* ''Film/TheUntouchables'': [[spoiler:"I think I'll have a drink."]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In ''[[LawAndOrder Law & Order]]'', as noted above, DA Adam Schiff got one in nearly every episode he was in. Ben Stone and Jack [=McCoy=] (along with the occasional ADA) got their fair share as well.
* In ''[[LawAndOrderCriminalIntent Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'', nearly all the characters have gotten one in at one time or another.
* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' 6th season episode "Unnatural Selection" Jonas Quinn uses the line, "We used his humanity against him" in reference to a replicator android, the only one who had feelings, whom they betrayed. (And yes, this does come back to bite them in the ass.)
* In ''Series/{{Merlin}}'', the young druid boy's words [[spoiler: "My name is Mordred"]] end the scene with a reminder that this little boy play a larger role later on.
** The end of the episode "The Ring," which was about freeing several demons who were imprisoned and forced to fight each other. The last line reminds us that they freed a bunch of freakin' ''demons''!
** The end of Season 4 episode "Peace Out," where [[spoiler:Lilah Morgan literally returns from hell to congratulate Angel and the gang for ending world peace.]]
* One episode of ''PersonOfInterest'' ends with John talking to a jerk who he had just talked the week's [=PoI=] into not killing. The last line is "Help me make the right decision". The question of whether or not John killing the man himself is the "right" decision is never answered, [[NoEnding as is what decision he makes]].
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** The episode "A Golden Crown" ends with Daenerys commenting [[spoiler:on her brother's death: "He was no dragon. Fire can not kill a dragon."]]
** The first episode ends with Jaime Lannister saying "The things I do for love" before [[spoiler: pushing Bran Stark from a tower window after he saw Jaime having sex with Queen Cersei - who also happens to be Jaime's twin sister.]]
* ''{{Outnumbered}}'' usually ends with one that's a punch line. Example; the mom and dad are installing parental controls on the computer, over the eldest son's protest. They reiterate that this ''is'' going to happen but:
-->-'''Dad''' We need ''you'' to do it, we can't even begin to figure this out.
* On the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'', Kirk had quite a few. Perhaps the most glaring was his line at the end of the episode, "Return of the Archons."
-->'''Spock:''' How often mankind has wished for a world as peaceful and secure as the one Landru provided.
-->'''Kirk:''' Yes. And we never got it. (''*{{beat}}*'') Just lucky, I guess.
* ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' had something like this (albeit minus the "moral ambiguity" part). Sgt. Friday would typically make some wryly trenchant comment at the end of the main part of the episode, leading to the four-note {{Sting}} and the results of the trial.


* OlderThanSteam: In Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/JuliusCaesar'', Marc Antony and Octavian close the play by commenting that Brutus was "[[WorthyOpponent the noble'st Roman of them all]]".
* From TheBoysInTheBand:
--> As my father said to me when he died in my arms, "I don't understand any of it. I never did."

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'':
-->'''Thermidor''': "Prepare your souls. These cowardly ideals, they will cause the downfall of humanity!"
-->'''Wynne D. Fanchon''': "Humanity? I don't see humanity anywhere, [[spoiler:''[[WhamLine Otsdarva]]'']]."

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The DCAU was fond of these. ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' comes to mind but ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' had quite a few.
* The end of the ''HeyArnold'' episode where Arnold and Gerald skip school.
* The end of the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGenerationOne'' episode "The Golden Lagoon" features one from, of all Transformers, pacifistic and somewhat hippie-like Beachcomber...which is precisely why it works so well.
-->'''Beachcomber:''' We won.