Rock Bottom: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

All kinds of tribulations have been visited upon Character A. Either Character A or his friend, Character B, tries to cheer things up by remarking on how, at least, things can't possibly get any worse. Right on cue, things get worse. In some extreme cases, they'll even say ''how'' things could be worse, right before it actually happens.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', England and America, mutual [[tsundere]]s, are both stranded on an uninhabited island together. They both end up acting as [[The Millstone]] to each other during their time stuck on the island.

* Ukitake's Story Mode in ''[[Bleach]]: The Blade of Fate'' is based off this trope. His [[Incurable Cough of Death]] causes him to cough up blood... onto Byakuya Kuchiki's robes. He manages to escape, but then coughs up more blood... onto Ishida Uryu's robes. Escaping ''again'', he then coughs up ''more'' blood... onto ''[[Mad Scientist|Mayuri Kurotsuchi's]]'' robes. Thankfully for us, the players, the storyline ends after that.

 

 

* ''[[Look Who's Talking]]'', with the mother complaining about the chores of motherhood, and then being visited by her mother.

* Played with in ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'', when a Jewish Official is about to have a man named Matthias stoned to death for saying "Jehovah" (saying the name of God was a blasphemy).

'''Igor:''' Could be worse.

'''Frederick:''' How?

<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Dramatic Thunder|A crash of]] [[Thunder Equals Downpour|thunder and]] [[Grave Clouds|it starts]] [[Cue the Rain|to pour]]] }}

* ''[[D.E.B.S.]]'' When Janet, Max, and Dominique are trapped in the bank vault, Janet says "This could not get any worse!". Cue [[Spikes of Doom|spikes]] extending from the ceiling and the [[Descending Ceiling|ceiling starting to lower]] toward our heroines.

'''Jane''': Obviously it can. }}

* Repeatedly used in a particularly dark fashion in ''[[Schindler's List]]''. As the persecuted Jews are forced to live under increasingly more inhuman and nightmarish conditions by the Nazis, they try to cheer themselves up because their situation couldn't get even ''worse'' than it already is. That is before they discover what the Holocaust [[Final Solution|entailed]].

* In ''[[The Road to El Dorado]]'' our heroes Tulio and Miguel end up stranded in a rowboat with a horse, hundreds of miles from land, with limited supplies.

{{quote|'''Miguel''': At least things can't get any-

'''Tulio''': Excuse me, were you about to say WORSE? }}

** They then talk about how at least they're in a rowboat, and the screen fades out [[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks|with black fins approaching them]].

 

== Literature ==

{{quote|Then many voices were lifted in lamentation; and it seemed to those that mourned that they had drained to the dregs the cup of woe that Melkor had filled for them. But it was not so.}}

* Arthur Dent pre-empts it in ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/And Another Thing|And Another Thing]]...''; as [[Lotus Eater Machine|his perfect life proves to be an illusion]], just ''imagining'' Ford saying things could be worse is enough for him to predict "Things ''will'' be worse". [[It Got Worse|He's right]].

{{quote|"O gods! Who is't can say 'I am at the worst'? I am worse than e'er I was. ...And worse I may be yet: the worst is not so long as we can say 'This is the worst.'"}}

* ''[[Sad Cypress]]'': Peter Lord asks [[Hercule Poirot]] to investigate a case against Elinor Carlisle (the girl he's in love with. Possible double murderess.) "Investigate" is [[Lemony Snicket|a word which here means]] that he wants Poirot to [[Clear Their Name|help acquit her]]. Poirot tells him that he intends to reveal any evidence he finds, even if it makes Elinor's case worse, whereupon Lord informs him that the case against Elinor [[Tempting Fate|can't possibly get any worse]].

 

== Live-Action TV ==

'''Vala:''' I knew it was a mistake the moment I said it. The ''moment''. }}

* Occurs on ''[[The Wire]]''. Most prominently at the end of season 4 when {{spoiler|Bubbles's accidentally kills Sherrod, leading him to finally enter rehab and get sober.}} Also at the end of season 5, McNulty seems to realize just how much he's screwed up and how much it is costing those around him. It's strongly suggested that he'll finally clean up his act.

 

== Music ==

* UFO's aptly named song "Rock Bottom".

* Just when you think you're as low as you can get, someone hands you a shovel.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

{{quote|"Just as Sergeant Pravnaski swore that things couldn't get any worse, the wailing skies split apart and the four Daemon-engines descended on us. Commissar Bone executed the next man to make a flippant remark." - Guardsman Chjeski}}

 

* The obscure musical ''Fade Out Fade In'' has the song "You Mustn't Feel Discouraged," which ''[[Lyrical Dissonance|sounds]]'' congenially cheerful, especially when it accompanies a playful tap-dance routine, but here's how the lyrics go:

{{quote|"When you think you've hit the bottom,

** A video of it can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxa4e-P5g5s here]

 

* ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'' gives us the backstory of one Joe Darke, an executed multiple murderer whose interrogation is at the heart of the first game's fifth case. Apparently, he hit someone with his car. Panicking, he tried to hide the body, only to be encountered by a jogger. He killed the jogger to conceal his vehicular homicide, only to be encountered by a ''second'' witness. He killed that one, too, only to be encountered by a ''third'' witness while hiding the first three bodies! After all this, after being arrested for the four murders, {{spoiler|he gets framed for a '''''fifth''''' murder!}}

* In ''[[BioShock (series)]]'', one of Peach Wilkins' [[Apocalyptic Log|audio diaries]] mentions Fontaine's offer to his fishermen to go into the contraband business. His exact words: "Hey, it's not like things could get much worse!" As you are already aware from the last diary of his that you picked up, they did. And as you are already aware from... ''the game itself'' ...[[Dystopia|they got even worse still]].

 

* This is a [[Running Gag]] in ''[[Bob and George]]''. George even went so far as stop himself and shout "I didn't say it! It doesn't count if I didn't say it!" For the record, [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/050714 it counted].

* ''[[Girl Genius]]'': Gilgamesh Wulfenbach does it ''in retrospect'' [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030711 here].

* Annabel in ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'' after Glon [http://yafgc.net/?id=332 abducted] her as a vengeance for mocking him before he became important.

{{quote|'''[http://yafgc.net/?id{{=}}335 Annabel]''': (running away) What could possibly be worse than being held prisoner by an orc? (collides with one very unamused drow)}}

 

* In ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged]]'', Vegeta got his ass kicked by the heroes, he failed to get the Dragon Balls, and lost his tail, but said that it couldn't get any worse than that. {{spoiler|Then he discovers that Nappa's ghost is haunting him.}}

* Used in [[Human Centipede the Musical]].

{{quote|<small>'''Jenny:''' What are we gonna do? We blew a tire, and we don’t know where we are! This literally could not be any worse!</small>

<small>'''Narrator:''' Or could it!?</small> }}

 

== Western Animation ==

{{quote|'''Archer''': Well, that's just great! She gets dinner and Dixieland and laid and I get mosquitoes and ''no beer'' and...not laid. How could this get any w - ''(an injured, pissed off alligator emerges from the water, growling)'' LET ME FINISH! ...worse. ''(to the gator)'' Okay, now, see? You ruined it. You ruined the moment.}}

* Subverted in the forty-first episode of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'': The group is on the losing side of a fierce naval battle. When Sokka exclaims things couldn't get much worse, a giant sea serpent promptly pops out right behind him.

'''Sokka''': Thank you, the universe! }}

* Subverted (or at least lampshaded) in ''[[The Brave Little Toaster]]'':

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Narrative Devices]]