Happily Ever Afters...

Yesterday I was pondering the concept of not having Happily Ever Afters. I have recently watched, not one, but two movies that ended in a tragic moment with the main character being killed off. One was done well, and the other was just utterly lame... But the one that was done right had me blubbering like a baby. I can see the benefit of a well done tragedy, but it doesn't really matter, because I need my happily ever after. I need to know that life will go on with a ray of sunshine. I need to know that after all of the pain and struggles that our main characters have gone through... it will have been worth it.
I now understand why there had to be an epilogue for Harry Potter. So much sad had happened in the final dramatic scene that JKR had to find someway to leave the audience with a smile.