Dark Reprise: Difference between revisions

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The dark reprise is a subtrope of [[Ironic Echo]], and the [[Evil Twin]] of [[Triumphant Reprise]]. Of course, the [[Dark Reprise]] and Triumphant Reprise can ''easily'' overlap if they happen to be the reprise of the [[Villain Song]]. In this case, [[The Bad Guy Wins|the reprise comes as the villain stands triumphant]] ([[You Can't Thwart Stage One|at least for now,]]) which is good news for him but bad news for everyone else. <ref>Alternatively, the [[Dark Reprise]] can turn out to be bad news for the ''villain'', when it's a reprise of the [[Villain Song]]. Whether or not the villain's demise makes things better for everyone else tends to vary.</ref>

Compare [[Dual-Meaning Chorus]], more common in country music, where a song's chorus is interpreted differently with each iteration (and the song only plays once).

Can overlap with [[Lyrical Dissonance]], although a dark reprise tends to smooth this over with a more somber arrangement. Note that this can also apply to moments that don't use music. See also [[Soundtrack Dissonance]], [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]].

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** Anthony's soaring ballad "Johanna" from midway through Act I, gets partially reprised at the top of Act II. The sentiment is similar, albeit intensified: Anthony seeks at all costs to free Johanna from the tyrannical Judge Turpin so they can be together. What makes it a [[Dark Reprise]] is its juxtaposition with Sweeney's lyrically and musically distinct song, also called "Johanna," as he ''cuts people's throats and shunts their corpses into a bakery''.

*** Sweeney's version, by contrast, is an exercise in complacency, an emotionally repressed farewell to his daughter in which he states that he's so involved in his murdering and goal of ultimate revenge that he's stopped caring about her.

*** In the original stage version of Sweeney, the Judge had a musically distinct Dark Reprise of "Johanna", like Sweeney's, but it was cut from the final production.

** Sweeney's songs in general are always dark, but at least Mrs. Lovett is singing along in most of them. In the final one, Sweeney Todd begins singing a falsely jaunty tune ("The history of the world, my pet...") -- itself a reprise of "A Little Priest" -- while maniacally waltzing with a visibly terrified Mrs. Lovett, who intersperses his lyrics by frantically begging for his forgiveness. [[Kill It with Fire|We all know what happens next...]]

** In fact, nearly every song in this show has a [[Dark Reprise]]... most of which are incredibly dark to begin with: "A Barber and His Wife," "A Little Priest," and "Pretty Women," just to name a few. Sondheim's pretty economical with his musical material.

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** The Likes of Us, the first ever Webber/Rice musical, has an upbeat love song called "Love is Here", which admittedly [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment|doesn't actually have any reason for being there]]. It is reprised in a slower tempo later, as the two lovers are breaking up.

* "The Beauty Is" from ''The Light in the Piazza'': first sung by Clara, expressing hope and excitement at the possibility of finding love and happiness. The song is reprised by her mother, Margaret, who fears that Clara may ''never'' find love and happiness {{spoiler|(due to her mental disability)}} and Margaret's guilt over her own culpability.

* ''[[~~Reefer Madness (Film)|~~Reefer Madness]]'' (the musical adaptation, of course) uses this straight with "Romeo and Juliet", where Jimmy and Mary compare their love to that of Romeo and Juliet, but neither knows the ending. It is reprised later {{spoiler|as Mary dies, fulfilling the Romeo and Juliet parallels}}.

* ''[[Reefer Madness]]'' (the musical adaptation, of course) uses this straight with "Romeo and Juliet", where Jimmy and Mary compare their love to that of Romeo and Juliet, but neither knows the ending. It is reprised later {{spoiler|as Mary dies, fulfilling the Romeo and Juliet parallels}}.

** "The Stuff" also gets a reprise, but the song was pretty dark in the first place. It's actually a [[Inverted Trope|Triumphant Reprise]], at least in the [[Showtime]] [[Recursive Adaptation]]. {{spoiler|[[The Dog Bites Back|Mae finally has enough of Jack]], so she [[Beware the Nice Ones|murders him with a garden hoe]] and [[Crosses the Line Twice|rips out his still-beating heart]] while [[Deliberate Values Dissonance|gleefully belting about how she's finally reformed.]] }}

** "Down At the Old Five and Dime" gets the same dark reprise treatment. Act 1: Cheerful, chipper clean cut kids taking ice cream from Mr. Poppy. Act 2: Same kids being lead down the Reefer Path by Mr. Poppy.

** And don't forget "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy!", the splashy Vegas-style production number sung to our hero by the Man, {{spoiler|only to be shut out at the song's conclusion, saying "I have a new god now!"}} and then reprised at Jimmy's execution, against Jimmy's protests, admonishing him in the same splashy style that he DIDN'T listen.

* ''[[Into the Woods]]'' repeatedly reprises the title number, one of which is a bona fide [[Dark Reprise]]. The first time the song is sung (as part of the sprawling opening number), the characters are off to make their wishes come true in the woods. The Act II reprises the tune, as the characters realize that getting their wishes had unintended consequences, and they must return to the woods to do some major damage control.

** Also happens with the duet "Agony": in Act I, two royal brothers are each singing about a woman they have fallen for, ending with "I must have her to wife." They reprise the number in Act II... talking about two different women. After justifying their infidelity, they end with "Ah well, back to my wife." Funny, but darker as well.

** ''Into the Woods'' also provides a rare inversion of this trope. In "Stay With Me", the Witch berates Rapunzel for disobeying her, singing, "What did I clearly say? Children must listen!" Later, in "Witch's Lament", she {{spoiler|mourns Rapunzel's death}}: "No matter what you say, children won't listen." Finally, the song becomes the finale "Children Will Listen"--which, although not exactly cheery, is certainly much less bitter and resentful.

* ''[[The Wicker Man]]'' (musical version) starts with Sgt. Howie singing a musical version of the 23rd Psalm along with the rest of his church congregation. At the end, he sings it again in a more defiant/terrified tone, {{spoiler|while being burnt to death in the eponymous Wicker Man.}}

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* The Off Broadway musical ''[[The Last Five Years]]'' features something of a [[Inverted Trope|Light Reprise]], since Cathy's songs start from the time of her divorce from Jamie to the beginning of their relationship - she rebukes Jamie for being self centered and obsessed with his career in "See I'm Smiling", while later in the play she uses similar language to her rebuke when describing how much she loves and wants to be with him in "I Can Do Better Than That" ("I want you and you and nothing but you/miles and piles of you").

* The ''[[Legally Blonde]]'' musical inverts this: the titular song is somber while the reprise is upbeat and energetic.

* Pretty much every key song in "Children of Eden" has at least one poignant reprise or more, because of the theme of history repeating itself and second chances.

** "Spark of Creation" Eve's big [["I Want" Song]], is later reprised as a fear that she has passed the fiery spirit that led to the fall of humanity to her son Cain. At the climax, when Noah is no longer sure what God wants him to do, his wife sings a reprise telling him to use his God-given brain to decide for himself.

** "That's What It Means to be a Father", Father's song about his love for his children, is darkly reprised by Cain as he accuses Adam of crushing his spirit, then by Father again after he wipes out humanity with the flood.

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** The show closes with a wistful closing reprise of "There's a Sucker Born Ev'ry Minute" as Barnum mourns how the great eccentricities and "humbugs" of the past - which he built his career on - are now forgotten.

* ''Hair'' has "Manchester, England," Claude's cheeky [["I Am" Song]], a verse of which appears in "The Flesh Failures" by his ghost after he's been ''killed in Vietnam''. Even worse in the film, where the person wailing "Claude, that's me, that's me"... isn't actually him.

* Kurt Weill was fond of this trope. A very nice example can be heard in the final three songs of ''The Seven Deadly Sins'', which summarize the previous parts both in melody and in lyrics.

** More famously, the final song of the Threepenny Opera, which echoes the opening song ''Mack The Knife''. "For some are in the darkness, and others are in the light. And we see the ones in the light. The ones in the darkness, we don't see." Although the song is left out in a staggering number of productions, it's one of the most quoted poems in German literature.

* Papa Ge's version of Ti Moune's dreamy "Forever Yours" at the climax of ''Once On This Island''. The original is about belonging to her lover (and his belonging to her); the reprise is about belonging to Papa Ge, [[The Grim Reaper|the god of Death]].

* ''[[Next to Normal]]'' has "It's Gonna Be Good", a bouncy, silly song in act one about Dan's excitement for dinner with the family. The reprise in act two comes after {{spoiler|Diana has recovered from amnesia and remembered their son is dead, and she insists on knowing his name, while Dan tries to ignore her and get her out of the house and to the doctor.}}

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* ''Little Johnny Jones'' by George M. Cohen has the upbeat patriotic number "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Toward the end of the first act, when Johnny is framed for throwing the English Derby, he sings a slower, sadder version of the song as he deals with being disgraced. This scene is also enacted in James Cagney's Cohen [[Biopic]] ''Yankee Doodle Dandy''.

* Though not to be found in the Broadway soundtrack of the not-so-known musical ''Rags'', the song "If We Never Meet Again" gets one of these - first sung by Rebecca Hershkowitz and Bella Cohen during the boat ride to America, then reprised by Rebecca after {{spoiler|Bella dies in a sweatshop fire.}}

* The [[Sera Myu]] has one: Orleans No Sei senshi is a song sung by Inner Senshi (Sans Mars) and Hotaru duing a mock battle. The first verse is later sung in a much darker form, Orleans no Sei Senshi ~ Uranus - Neptune no Uragiri (Holy Soldier's of Orleans ~ Uranus and Neptune's Betryal) The song title alone should tell you what's happening at this time. {{spoiler|except it's all ploy to kill Galaxia. Like the similar scene in the anime it fails}} The song is reprised in an altered form by all the senshi as La Fatalité Sei Senshi which itself is a lighter reprise and (longer version of) Oitsumerarete. Confused yet?

* Near the start of the trip, the characters in ''[[Cannibal! The Musical]]'' sing "That's All I'm Asking For," listing the things they're looking for in life. Near the end of the movie, they sing it again, but as they're all half-starved, all they want is some food, and they barely have the energy to sing at all.

* In the beginning of ''[[Fiddler On the Roof]]'', the citizens of Anatevka sing about their traditions and customs, explaining how they base their entire lives around them, and love doing so, in the upbeat "Tradition". Later in the musical, when Tevye disowns his own daughter, the main line of "Tradition" is sung by the ensemble in a much darker and more dramatic tone, showing that tradition is tearing the family apart.

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* ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' has two.

** First, Tiana sings her [["I Want" Song]] "Almost There" a second time after she's outbid on the restaurant she wanted (or so the realtors claim).

*** Plus a related [[Ironic Echo]], when Facilier whispers this as he offers to help her in exchange for his talisman.

** For the second, the page image is from the [[Dark Reprise]] of the [[Villain Song]], "Friends On The Other Side," when {{spoiler|said "friends" drag Facilier to his hellish death, evilly chanting [[Ironic Echo|"are you ready?"]]}}.

* [[Villain Song|Jafar's reprise]] of "Prince Ali" in ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]''. "Prince Ali, Yes, it is he, But not as you know him."

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* Scar from ''[[The Lion King]]'' was originally going to have one.

* The song "First Toymaker to the King" from the [[Christmas Special]] ''Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town'' is reprised as "No More Toymakers to the King" by Burgermeister Meisterburger.

* In ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'', the song "The Plagues" is partially a dark reprise of Moses' earlier [["I Want" Song]] inversion, "All I Ever Wanted", turning from a celebration of his life as an Egyptian to a lament over having to destroy it to win freedom for the Jews. It also doubles as a [[Villain Song]] for the Pharaoh, showing his anger at his foster brother's betrayal.

** Makes it even more dark and sadder if you remember that in-between "All I Ever Wanted" and "The Plagues", Moses' adoptive mother, the wife of the pharaoh, sings a reprise of this song, in a tender, motherly and comforting way, while trying to convince him to forget his true origin and embrace his Egyptian life and his adoptive family.

* Disney's ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' features a lovesick Quasimodo singing about how he has finally found love after years of assuming he was unlovable (''Heaven's Light''). Not much later, these same lyrics are echoed with a new, bitter twist as he discovers this his newfound 'love' is more interested in her [[Knight in Shining Armor]].

{{quote|'''Quasimodo''':

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* ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]: Revenge Of The Fallen'' has a [[Dark Reprise]] of the iconic 'landing of the Autobots' scene from the first movie, with ''landing Decepticons'' causing widespread damage.

** Many of the musical themes from the first film are gone, and Optimus's theme becomes the backbone of the score. However, it's never in the same tone of the previous film, which was performed on a woodwind and with minimal percussion to make Optimus's theme sound more organic. The two main treatments are a minor-key variation with dark brass, and a more "spiritual" take (generally used for scenes involving the mythology and taking place after {{spoiler|Optimus's death}}) utilizing a [[One-Woman Wail]]. To hear the effect in full, listen to the track titled "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMnEY2eBj4A Optimus]" from the first film, then the one titled "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRLi4JIQbsk Prime]" from the second.

** In ''Dark of the Moon'', the scene in which the Autobots are exiled and forced to leave Earth is accompanied by a heartbreakingly sad reprise of the "Arrival on Earth" theme from the first movie.

** A non-musical example would be Waspinator's [[Catch Phrase]], "Waspinator has plans..." In the show ''[[Beast Wars]]'', it's said in a comical tone of voice, but in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', it more creepy-sounding.

* Inverted at the end of ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Phantom Menace]]'', where the celebration music is a '' childrens' choir'' doing a "light" version of the Emperor's exceptionally dark [[Leitmotif]] (far grimmer than, if not as immediately imposing as, the Imperial March), foreshadowing the coming darkness. Similarly, at the end of ''[[Attack of the Clones]]'', a more triumphant version of the Imperial March is played, underscoring that while the clones appear to be a good thing at the time, evil will come of them later.

** The prequels are just full of this. Anakin's Theme from Episode I repeatedly utilizes six notes from the Imperial March in a soft, light piece. Also, it doesn't quite count, but at the end of Episode II, the love theme that plays over Anakin and Padme's wedding morphs into something that calls to mind the Imperial March. Most of the end credits music for ''Attack of the Clones'' is the love theme, with a different ending--it segues into the main thrust of the March, as played slowly on a double bass.

** In the ''[[Shadows of the Empire]]'' soundtrack, "Leia's Nightmare" is a dark version of the "Han and the Princess" love theme mixed with the Imperial March.

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* "Under Your Spell," from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. {{spoiler|In the first version, an upbeat love song, Tara uses the title phrase metaphorically; later Tara discovers she is literally under a spell to prevent her breaking up with Willow, and the [[Dark Reprise]] uses the phrase literally.}} The second version is actually a double version of this, seeing as it's a duet with an (even) Darker Reprise of Giles' earlier "Standing In The Way".

* In the first minute or so of episode 44 of ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'', Doctor Maki gets a less booming version of Kougami's music.

* The episode preceding ''[[Lost]]'''s fourth season finale introduces the show's [http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Home_theme home theme] as a happy, sentimental motif. The episode's final moment's transform it into a [http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Ben song of doom].

* A sinister cello version of Jenna's Turkish pop song "Muffin Top" plays during ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'' episodes when she or Tracy are up to something.

* In ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'', when Isabella first shows up, she's accompanied by a very dark, off-key remix of Marian's theme, indicating that her betrayal was planned from the start.

* In ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', the first appearance of King Robert is heralded by a grand song called "The King's Arrival". In the second season premiere, a more dark version of the theme plays when {{spoiler|guardsmen hunt down and systematically kill Robert's bastard children throughout the capital}}.

** In the final episode of the second season, "Valar Morghulis", a very grim, foreboding version of the series' main theme is played when {{spoiler|an army of dead led by the White Walkers approaches the Fist of the First Men.}} In the same episode, a mournful version of the main theme is played on the [[Playing the Heart Strings|Violin of Sadness]] as {{spoiler|the Stark kids, Hodor and Osha survey the burnt wreck of Winterfell}}.

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* In "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf" by [[The Killers]], it's the line, "And I love you endlessly, darling, don't you see, I'm not satisfied." The line isn't as noticeable at first, because it goes by quickly and the music is still playing, but when the music fades out and the song puts special emphasis on it by making it the last line in the entire song, it seems like they are trying to tell you something. {{spoiler|And they are: The next song in the trilogy, "Midnight Show", has the narrator killing his ex-girlfriend, whom the first song was also for.}}

* In "Daughter of Evil", sung by [[Vocaloid|Rin Kagamine]] (and featuring her brother Len), in the beginning we get the line, "There was, once upon a time, an evil kingdom that no one dared to face, and the ruler was a girl so mean, a little princess of only age fourteen". This line is repeated at the end, right before {{spoiler|the princess is to be killed.}} Oh, and by the way, {{spoiler|[[Wham! Line|that's not her.]]}} Guess who took her place.

** Also by [[Vocaloid]], in "Kagome, Kagome" (Circle You, Circle You), Miku and Luka singing the words to the game (which is a real game, by the way) starts out already being extremely creepy. But when you find out their reasons for being in the abandoned orphanage and the things that happened in the orphanage before it was deserted, you realize that they are very likely {{spoiler|murderous ghosts}}. The line gets even darker when they sing it a second time.

* Ne-Yo's album ''Libra Scale'' opens with "Champagne Life", which is an easygoing, upbeat party tune, full of vitality and celebratory swagger. The album closes with "What Have I Done", a regretful look back at past mistakes and broken love whose backing track echoes the carefree tune of "Champagne Life" with piercing guilt.

* Lit's "Miserable" has this happen all within the chorus: "You make me cum/You make me complete/You make me completely miserable."

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== Opera ==

* The reprise of La donna e mobile near the end of ''Rigoletto''; it's the moment when Rigoletto realizes the prince is alive...

* Echoes of the Toreador song in a darker tone while Don José kills ''Carmen''.

* Wagner's Ring: where to begin? The whole thing is an embodiment of this trope.

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** Also, the first game has "Not Tomorrow", played when Lisa dies, which is a dark reprise of its title theme.

* Yoko Shimomura loves this trope:

** ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358 Days ~~Over 2~~|Kingdom Hearts 358 Days Over 2]]'' has one with {{spoiler|Xion, and then at the end of the game... [[Fighting Your Friend|her battle theme]]}}.

** ''[[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days|Kingdom Hearts 358 Days Over 2]]'' has one with {{spoiler|Xion, and then at the end of the game... [[Fighting Your Friend|her battle theme]]}}.

*** ' 'The Other Promise'' is {{spoiler|a mournful reprise of Roxas's theme, played during your battle with him}}.

*** Vanitas's battle theme {{spoiler|is remixed with Ventus, Roxas, and Sora's leitmotifs during their final battle}}.

*** {{spoiler|Aqua's battle music with Ventus/Vantias is a dark version of Dearly Beloved}}.

*** Xion's leitmotif {{spoiler|contains a riff of Kairi's theme}}.

*** Memories in Pieces is a remix of the upbeat "Hand in Hand" battle theme.

*** In [[Kingdom Hearts 3D]], {{spoiler|the Possessed Sora}} uses a darker version of {{spoiler|Destati}} as a boss theme.

*** And many more...

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* In ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'', {{spoiler|Zelos' happy-go-lucky samba theme song is replaced by a much darker, slower arrangement during his [[Face Heel Turn]], showing his inner darkness}}.

** Similarly, Raine's theme has two versions: the speedy, silly version that plays when she is in the throes of her ruin mania, and a slower, solemn one used for more serious scenes. This second one is what plays when Raine meets {{spoiler|her [[Missing Mom]], who has gone insane with guilt(?) and doesn't even recognize her own children.}}

* The ending sequence of ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' makes good use of this with ''Eyes On Me'', which {{spoiler|at first is turned into a [[Nightmare Fuel]] psychedelic acid trip}} and later {{spoiler|serves as a true [[Tear Jerker]]}}. This is the first time we hear the song in full - although the melody is played often as background music in the game, canonically the versions we hear during gameplay are muzak covers of the real thing.

* Hunting~Betrayal from [[Digital Devil Saga|Digital Devil Saga 2]] is a reprise of the first game's battle theme, which plays during the Optional Boss fights {{spoiler|[[Tear Jerker|and when you take on Heat]]}}

* The theme "Otherworld" is played during the intro to ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'', and it's later used as the theme for the final boss.

** The Hymn of the Fayth is normally sung to inspire hope in the listener. However, an eerie, distorted version plays during the conversation with {{spoiler|Yunalesca, where the utter futility of the pilgrimage is revealed.}}

* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''; The final boss fight in Disc 1, Jenova Life, has Aerith's theme playing in the background. This is appropriate because the fight takes place after Sephiroth kills Aerith.

* The Aria sung by Celes in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' is played again when Celes {{spoiler|attempts suicide after Cid's death.}}

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* ''[[Persona 3]]'' has the Aria of the Soul - well, more specifically, the entire Persona series has Aria of the Soul, which plays in the Velvet Room, and nowhere else. However, only in Persona 3 does it go further - the final boss, the {{spoiler|Nyx Avatar}} reprises it as the Battle Hymn of the Soul. While [[Autobots Rock Out|completely and totally awesome]], it turns the normally calm and peaceful Aria of the Soul into a theme that definitely seems to embody the state of the situation your party is in: While the main guitar segment seems to be optimistic and gung-ho, the corresponding piano and vocal-oriented segments are almost pessimistic.

** In Persona 2, we had [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG51JWZxT80 Kashihara] which is a darker version of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IguZ8-lBYBE Philemon's Theme]. Also the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbkwBImjSI0 EX] battle which is actually a lighter version of the final battle.

* In ''[[Tekken]] 2'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mUH2BSgZFk&feature=related Devil's theme] is a darker rendition of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWpIl0AOR38 Kazuya's theme.]

** That theme was already dark to begin with.

* The final mission of ''[[Halo 3]]'' features an [[Ethereal Choir]] music piece, "Halo Reborn", which itself is a reprise of "Under Cover of Night". A sad reprise of this, "Greatest Journey", with [[Playing the Heart Strings|"violins of woe"]], is played when Sgt. Johnson dies.

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** And "Midna's Desperate Hour" is a [[Lonely Piano Piece]] version of her theme / the Hyrule Field theme.

** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'', the "Great Sea Cursed" music is a dark reprise of the main overworld theme combined with Ganondorf's theme.

*** Wind Waker also does this to each of the boss themes in {{spoiler|Ganondorf's Castle}} during what borders on being a [[Boss Rush]].

*** Much like the graphic style, a lot of Wind Waker's songs are deceptively cheerful, and get twisted into something darker or [[Tear Jerker|more downtrodden]] by the end of the game. Some of the tracks that haven't been listed yet are Aryll's Theme ('Aryll's Kidnapping'), 'Hyrule King Appears' ( {{spoiler|'Farewell Hyrule King'}}), 'Hyrule Castle' (which actually ''debuts'' as 'Sealed Hyrule Castle') and even the series' main theme in the ever-popular 'The Legendary Hero'.

** ''[[Links Awakening]]'' has several dark reprises of the main Zelda theme for exploration.

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** There's a similar-sounding "Tango of Tears" remix of the victory fanfare in ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'', for when you lose a chocobo race.

* "Mine Cart Madness" from ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' is an ominous, dark remix of the main DKC motif first heard in "Jungle Groove", the first level's very lively theme.

** And in ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' they give Mine Cart Madness a dark''er'' reprise in the form of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqYlMjO2B70&feature=related Roasting Rails].

** ''Returns'' also has the fiendish and fast paced [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=718pU5J7AUg Muncher Marathon] theme, which is one of these for the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONR1eyPOPJc default Forest level music].

* In ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'', the music for your house and Spiral Mountain are both upbeat and bouncy. In the sequel, however, Spiral Mountain's theme has a more mournful melody, and the music for Banjo's house sounds sort of empty, considering it's just been demolished. Within the same game, the sequel has King Jingaling's Palace, which has a melody that tells how you're in the presence of royalty. Once Grunty and her sisters zap his life energy and zombifies him, though, that same song seems to have less life in it. Put simply, this series has a lot of [[Dark Reprise|dark reprises]].

* Inverted in ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]]'' with a major version of Lechuck's theme.

* ''[[Axelay]]'' has this for the boss themes, basically much darker versions of their respective stage themes.

* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' manages to make an already dark theme darker, not just one time but twice, turning [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAupQUUglkU goldenslaughterer] (which usually plays when a murder scene is discovered) into [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqjm6QZOeUs resurrected replayer], and then to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euezX9D3aDE&feature=related the executioner].

** Another song that gets this treatment is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGwL97BRAOE&feature=related deadangle] which is only played in the more hopeless of situation, which then becomes [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLJWV4rxVTg&feature=related discolor], which plays in one of the [[Tear Jerker|saddest scenes in the game]].

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* ''[[Medal of Honor]]: Frontline'' uses a minor-key version of its title theme at certain points, such as at the end of the OST track "After the Drop".

* The song [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsuWrntBz6E "I AM NOT A MORON"] from Portal 2 becomes a dark reprise of ''itself'' as the scene it plays during switches from being about {{spoiler|[[Robot Buddy]] Wheatley taking control of the Enrichment Center from [[Big Bad]] [[G La DOS]] and allowing you to escape to him going [[Drunk with Power]] and becoming the ''new'' [[Big Bad]]}}. A more standard case of this trope occurs with the song, too, as an even Darker Reprise of it plays {{spoiler|1=as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IWW6iOnJ90&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL85D2B5FFDDA4D3D6 the final boss music]}}.

* If Harry dies in ''[[Pitfall]] II'', a minor version of the [[Theme Music Power-Up]] plays.

* In ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'', ''Family'' is a slower, more wistful version of the theme from ''Earth''.

* Homeworld starts -after a much needed tutorial- with the epic scene of launching the Mothership. Meanwhile, the vocal version of Adagio for Strings, Agnus Dei, plays during the launch sequence. Cue two missions later after a small trip to the edge of the solar system: your fleet returns home only to find your homeworld ''burning''. The same bloody song, which filled you with triumph, ''will'' reduce you to tears.

** And then there is the twist at the end, you arrive at your long lost homeworld and here the same song is again, but this time it once again fills you with triump and a glorious feeling.

* ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'''s final boss theme, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PjEN-zFlDQ "The Battle For Freedom"] contains both a [[Dark Reprise]] of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3vT3hp0U5w "Theme of the Empire"] as well as a [[Triumphant Reprise]] of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ7YS6MQl2M "Theme of Final Fantasy XII"] (the theme of [[La Résistance|the Resistance]]), battling against each other for dominance.

* In ''[[Sonic Colors]]'' for the Wii, the final boss uses a dark, vocal-less remix of the games theme song Reach for the Stars.

* In ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'': Oogie's Revenge (the video game sequel to the movie), "[http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=w_1C6nZc-rE&v=jL0HwgNKeC8 Oh No!]" is a minor-key reprise of Jack Skellington's cheerfully macabre "What's This?", after he finds Christmas Town in ruins. Most of Oogie's Revenge is composed of reprises of the original songs, but this is the biggest [[Mood Whiplash]] from the original.

** There is also "Take Our Town Back" to the tune of "Making Christmas" about the townspeople banding together to defeat Oogie, and "Sally's Song" a darker, up-tempo version of the same song from the original film which is now a duet between Sally and Jack about Oogie's deception.

* The final boss theme in ''[[Dragon Quest IX]]'' contains a minor key variation of the series main theme.

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** Another song, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So0ptdMJj0Y "Chorale for Jaspers"], is used in Volume 1 as a sort of silly, self-parodying epitaph for Rose's childhood cat. The same melody appears [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUbUFb5stQI hundreds of pages] later in a dramatic scene where {{spoiler|Rose faces [[Big Bad|Jack]] to avenge the mother and friend he murdered.}}

== Web Original ==

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* "America" from ''[[West Side Story]]''.

* "Master of the House" from ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]''. Two verses of a character glorifying his own wicked ways, and in the last verse his wife comes in and insists that he's just a petty crook.

* The character of Che is a constant sarcastic echo to the title character in ''[[Evita]]''. It's never certain whether he's adding his own acerbic commentary... or voicing the cynical and darker subtext that Evita herself hides behind her upbeat words. "Goodnight and Thank You" showcases this best. "High Flying, Adored," reverses this sequence, with Che's grim assessment of Eva's fortunes making the main part of the song, while being undermined by Eva's euphoric attitude.

** His opening act, "Oh What a Circus", manages to be an ''ahead-of-time'' sarcastic echo of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". One wonders whether first-time audiences (before the latter song became famous by itself) quite got the nuances of that ...

*** Don't Cry For Me Argentina gets a more traditional Dark reprise, when Eva sings the melody during her last broacast with the wrods 'Don't cry for me, Argentina/The truth is i shall not leave you/ Though it may get harder/for you to see me/ I'm Argentina/ and always will be.'

* "You Must Meet My Wife" from ''[[A Little Night Music]]''.

* "Baby, Dream Your Dream" from ''[[Sweet Charity]]''. Starts out with Nikki and Helene mocking Charity's optimism, but then they reveal that they would love to have someon to love them.

* The Act II version "Not a Day Goes By" from Sondheim's ''[[Merrily We Roll Along]]'', in which Frank and Beth sing of their love for each other while their words are echoed by Mary, who is secretly in love with Frank. Of course, the Act I version of the song - which Beth sings bitterly to Frank after their divorce - is also a [[Dark Reprise]] despite coming ''first'', since the action of the play moves ''backwards''.

* ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (theatre)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'' has this in the first major duet after the opening number. "There's No Place Like London" opens with Anthony singing the praises of the city in tones of romantic idealism. His fellow passenger, Sweeney Todd, who lived in London all his life before being sent overseas on a false charge fifteen years ago, has nothing but contempt for the city, and his darkly cynical lyrics contrast Anthony's opening in a big way.

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** Also from ''The Simpsons'': in the episode "Elementary School Musical", the Art Camp counsellors (who are actually [[Flight of the Conchords]]) sing Lisa and the other kids a song about how exciting being an artist is. When Lisa travels to Sprooklyn to become an artist, however, they decide to "sing her the truth"; a dark reprise about how [[Starving Artist|being an artist means taking demeaning jobs and living off sandwiches that dropped on the floor]].

* One episode of ''[[My Little Pony]] Tales'' has Starlight sing about her crush on [[The Ace|Ace]] while [[Imagine Spot|picturing the two of them]] as a "Perfect Pair". She then joins the soccer team, only to discover Ace is a [[Jerk Jock]] who goes out of his way to humiliate her [[For the Evulz|just because he can]]. Cue a weepy reprise where she admits "We're... not a perfect pair."

** ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' had an absolute bombshell of one of these. The Season 2 Finale, A Canterlot Wedding, introduces Twilight Sparkle's brother Shining Armor as the groom. However, his bride {{spoiler|who is actually a fake}} and {{spoiler|the real Princess Cadence}} engage in a [[Distant Duet]] entitled "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Wl72X4wlc This Day Aria.]" A few scenes later, the villain, {{spoiler|who reveals herself as the fake Cadence}}, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJw0ktrsv6w reprises the song], and the scenes of carnage and war play while she sings.

* The [[Animated Adaptation|TV Special]] of [[Dr. Seuss|Dr. Seuss']] ''[[The Lorax]]'' has a whole bunch of these as {{spoiler|everyone leaves the land}}.

* ''[[Underdog (animation)|Underdog]]'', in "Riffraffville", when he's running out of energy: ([[Spaghetti Western]] style) "Once he was lightning, once he was thunder, now this could end him, if he should blunder. ''Without his super energy pill, he get weaker and weaker and weaker still'' ".