Vincent's death (situational irony)
Vincent's death is an example of situational irony, in that the audience expects that he and Butch will confront one another in a death-defying gun battle typical of most action films (including Bruce Willis's own Die Hard series). Instead, Butch enters the quiet apartment, sees no one, makes a pop tart, finds a weapon on the counter, and summarily kills Vincent on his way out of the bathroom. The film subverts the dramatic expectations that audiences bring to action films by instead rendering the scene in a completely anti-climactic—even comic—manner.
Mia's overdose (dramatic irony)
When Mia overdoses, thinking Vincent's heroin is actually cocaine, Vincent is in the bathroom giving himself a pep talk so that he can politely say goodnight to Mia and avoid further trouble. The scene is an example of dramatic irony because the audience sees Mia collapse from the drugs, while an oblivious Vincent takes his time in the bathroom, composing himself for the polite farewell speech he thinks he will give to Mia before departing for the night. Instead, a horrified Vincent returns to the living room and finds Mia unconscious, sending him into a panicked frenzy.
The man hiding in Brett's apartment (situational and dramatic irony)
The second time Tarantino shows the scene in Brett's apartment, he shows the audience an armed man hiding in the bathroom, unbeknownst to Jules and Vincent. The scene is an example of both dramatic and situational irony: dramatic irony because the audience knows that the man is there while Jules and Vincent do not, and situational irony because the audience expects that the man's ambush will kill Jules and Vincent, when in fact the two are miraculously spared by the errant gunfire.
Marvin's death (situational irony)
Vincent's accidentally shooting Marvin in the face is one of the most shocking and surprising events in a film full of them. The act is an example of situational irony because the conventions of gangster films usually prohibit its characters from making such egregious and dumb mistakes, instead portraying them as calm, cool, and collected. Thus, the audience would not expect either Vincent or Jules to be capable of mishandling their weapons so badly, especially after a scene where they expertly dispatch a group of men for Marsellus Wallace.
Butch and Marsellus's kidnapping (situational irony)
When Maynard, the pawn shop owner who subdues Butch and Marsellus with a shotgun, de-escalates their armed conflict, the audience assumes that he is merely protecting his store and preparing to call the police, like a typical citizen might do. Instead, in an example of situational irony, Maynard calls another man named Zed, who brutally rapes Marsellus after he ties up Butch and Marsellus in the basement. Thus, the audience's expectations are subverted, in that Butch and Marsellus are not handed over to police, but rather fall into the hands of even more nefarious criminals than themselves.
