Tropescilloscope: All for Nothing

The results of a complex story/plot are all undone in one fell swoop. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes No OSHA Compliance Badass Longcoat Mood Whiplash Affably Evil Stock Footage Irony Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Be Careful What You Wish For Lock and Load Montage A Father to His Men Historical In-Joke Heel–Face Turn Science Fiction Films Foreshadowing Flashback Mistaken for Gay Sadistic Choice Ironic Echo Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Throwing Your Sword Always Works 20 Minutes into the Future Brutal Honesty Fun with Acronyms Fire-Forged Friends Hell Is That Noise Black Best Friend Line-of-Sight Name Spiritual Successor Never Trust a Trailer Made of Iron Retired Badass Deadpan Snarker You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Cruel and Unusual Death Hero Antagonist Sealed Evil in a Can The End... Or Is It? timeperiod Dirty Old Man The '50s Frame-Up Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Evil vs. Evil Artistic License – Geography Cowboy Cop Manly Tears The Musical Male Frontal Nudity Implacable Man Up to Eleven Fanservice Extra Suspiciously Similar Substitute Bond One-Liner Stalker with a Crush Television Movie Index The Un-Reveal Naked People Are Funny Mind Screw Dressing as the Enemy Wham Line All There in the Manual The Power of Love Vomit Indiscretion Shot Woman Scorned Easily Forgiven The '70s Took a Level in Jerkass Leaning on the Fourth Wall Punny Name One-Man Army Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Psychological Thriller Crucified Hero Shot As You Know Superhero Evil Sounds Deep Villain Opening Scene Intergenerational Friendship Trailers Always Spoil Based on a True Story The Chessmaster Wretched Hive Scary Black Man Off with His Head! Kids Are Cruel Friend to All Children No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Christmas Movies Index Shipper on Deck The Stoic Villain with Good Publicity Big Eater Oh, Crap! She Cleans Up Nicely Wrong Genre Savvy The Casanova Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Happily Married Bad "Bad Acting" The Quiet One No-Sell Dirty Cop War Is Hell Our Zombies Are Different Bury Your Gays Guns Akimbo Love at First Sight What the Hell, Hero? Foil She's Got Legs Biopic Anti-Hero Japanese Films Gilligan Cut True Companions Cluster F-Bomb Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday For the Evulz Horror Films Demonic Possession What Happened to the Mouse? Green-Eyed Monster Punch-Clock Villain As Long as It Sounds Foreign Soundtrack Dissonance Distracted by the Sexy Get Out! Well-Intentioned Extremist Enemy Mine Bullying a Dragon Victoria's Secret Compartment Camera Abuse Only Sane Man Scenery Gorn Bowdlerise Broken Bird Fingore In Name Only And I Must Scream Married to the Job Cat Fight Dark Is Not Evil Department of Redundancy Department Dumb Blonde Obfuscating Stupidity Disguised in Drag Overprotective Dad Rule of Cool Death Glare Sequel Escalation Pay Evil unto Evil What You Are in the Dark Neck Lift Jitter Cam Vacation Films Cassandra Truth Dark Reprise How We Got Here Public Domain Feature Films Not So Above It All Developing Doomed Characters Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Due to the Dead Slasher Smile Framing Device Works Set in World War II Author Avatar Whole Plot Reference You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Early Installment Weirdness Anachronism Stew Downer Ending The Sociopath Loophole Abuse "Awesome McCool" Name Reality Has No Subtitles One Steve Limit Names to Run Away from Really Fast The Ace Take That! Blatant Lies Earn Your Happy Ending Russian Films The Hero Dies The Cameo More Dakka Fiery Redhead Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Spanner in the Works Super Strength Author Appeal Gorn Calling the Old Man Out Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Product Placement Pragmatic Adaptation Camp Gay Historical Villain Upgrade Chase Scene Corpsing Air-Vent Passageway Setting Update Meaningful Background Event The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite BFG Ragtag Bunch of Misfits I Need a Freaking Drink Evil Plan Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Retcon Screw This, I'm Outta Here! The Chick Captain Obvious Coming-of-Age Story "Shaggy Dog" Story Jerkass Badass in a Nice Suit Interrupted Suicide Destination Defenestration Serious Business It's Personal Chekhov's Gunman Heroic BSoD Big "NO!" Film Noir The Stinger Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Storming the Castle Sinister Minister Ungrateful Bastard Malevolent Masked Men Silence Is Golden Unreliable Narrator Title Drop Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Morality Pet Eagleland Evil Counterpart Yandere Obstructive Bureaucrat Hong Kong Films Defrosting Ice Queen Unwitting Instigator of Doom Black and Gray Morality Gold Digger Eyepatch of Power NO INDOOR VOICE Mythology Gag "The Reason You Suck" Speech Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Fourth Date Marriage Insane Troll Logic Shout-Out Jerk Jock Straight Gay Badass Boast Properly Paranoid Historical-Domain Character Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome The Film of the Book Armor-Piercing Question Double Entendre Neck Snap Race Lift Beard of Evil Butt-Monkey The Vamp Fate Worse than Death Arch-Enemy Unusually Uninteresting Sight Training Montage Never Found the Body Call-Back Zombie Stories Advertised Extra Only Known by Their Nickname Stealth Pun Improvised Weapon Bavarian Fire Drill Index of Film Westerns Death by Irony Bound and Gagged Driven to Suicide Romantic False Lead Blackmail The Lancer Large Ham Defiant to the End Light Is Not Good Major Injury Underreaction Room Full of Crazy Actually Pretty Funny Curse Cut Short Reasonable Authority Figure Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Gender Flip Hair-Trigger Temper Insult Backfire Bunny-Ears Lawyer Celebrity Paradox Closed Circle Break the Cutie Poor Communication Kills Big Brother Instinct Would Hit a Girl Beta Couple Time Skip Jerk with a Heart of Gold It Can Think Body Horror Loads and Loads of Characters Animal Title Index The X of Y Pre-Mortem One-Liner Auto Erotica The Oner Despair Event Horizon Madness Mantra Maybe Ever After Fatal Flaw Martial Arts Movie Vampire Fiction Protagonist Title Only in It for the Money Taking You with Me Toplessness from the Back Rated M for Manly Self-Deprecation Depraved Bisexual Babies Ever After Danny Peary Cult Movies List Agony of the Feet Getting Crap Past the Radar Overly Long Gag Pet the Dog O.O.C. Is Serious Business Here We Go Again! Took a Level in Badass Lighter and Softer Arranged Marriage Action Genre Curb-Stomp Battle Smoking Is Cool Funny Background Event Grievous Bottley Harm All for Nothing The Bad Guy Wins Obviously Evil Brainless Beauty Put on a Bus Four-Temperament Ensemble Shell-Shocked Veteran Improbable Aiming Skills Did Not Get the Girl Canon Foreigner Bolivian Army Ending Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Adaptation Distillation Extreme Doormat Rape as Drama Politically Incorrect Villain Exactly What It Says on the Tin Adaptational Attractiveness From Bad to Worse Meaningful Echo You Killed My Father Market-Based Title Have a Gay Old Time Red Herring In the Back Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Blonde, Brunette, Redhead My Greatest Failure The Dreaded Adorkable Black Comedy Rape Abusive Parents Even Evil Has Loved Ones Cloudcuckoolander Blood Knight Ambiguously Gay The Stoner Historical Hero Upgrade Blood from the Mouth Berserk Button Mr. Fanservice Not What It Looks Like Country Matters Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Mooks Pretty in Mink Rich Bitch Music Stories Men Are the Expendable Gender Drugs Are Bad Final Girl Artistic License – Physics The Great Depression Antagonist Title Anachronic Order Ship Tease A Minor Kidroduction Faking the Dead The Reveal Word of God "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Woman in White Failed a Spot Check Dark Action Girl N-Word Privileges Bring My Brown Pants Five-Man Band The Bully Make It Look Like an Accident Famous Last Words Bond Villain Stupidity Arc Words Creepy Child Killed Mid-Sentence My God, What Have I Done? Hollywood Law Adaptation Dye-Job Break the Haughty Let's Get Dangerous! Homage Dies Wide Open Children Are Innocent Chewing the Scenery Thriller Damsel in Distress Narrator Noodle Incident The Starscream Undying Loyalty Artistic License – Military Bloodless Carnage British Films Would Hurt a Child Horror Comedy Spell My Name with an "S" Apocalypse How Random Events Plot The Dragon Alliterative Name Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique The Ditz Honor Before Reason Boom, Headshot! An Axe to Grind Fan Disservice Adaptational Heroism Manchild All Girls Want Bad Boys Half the Man He Used to Be I Did What I Had to Do Gory Discretion Shot Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Last-Name Basis Manic Pixie Dream Girl Creative Closing Credits Death Seeker Anguished Declaration of Love Knife Nut Soft Glass Cool Old Guy Re-Cut Plot Hole Costume Porn Double-Meaning Title Heel Realization Car Fu Affectionate Parody Offscreen Teleportation The '60s Reality Is Unrealistic Taking the Bullet Rule of Three Animated Credits Opening Ms. Fanservice In Medias Res Sequel Hook Bald of Evil Immune to Bullets The Cavalry Australian Movies Psychopathic Manchild Fanservice Sole Survivor Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Award-Bait Song Big Fancy House Military and Warfare Films I'm a Humanitarian MacGuffin Cool Car Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Drill Sergeant Nasty Worthy Opponent Expy Playing Gertrude Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Age Lift Very Loosely Based on a True Story Not So Different Kick the Son of a Bitch Redshirt Army Catapult Nightmare Epic Movie Sci-Fi Horror Important Haircut No Antagonist Mighty Whitey Mama Bear Monumental Damage Never My Fault Mystery and Detective Films Parental Substitute No Ending Idiot Ball Hero of Another Story The Alleged Car Drives Like Crazy Adult Fear Covers Always Lie Grey and Gray Morality Heroes Want Redheads Slasher Movie Shut Up, Hannibal! Love Triangle No Celebrities Were Harmed Dual Wielding Accidental Murder Darker and Edgier Mr. Exposition Belligerent Sexual Tension Exact Words Shown Their Work Betty and Veronica Rule of Symbolism Evil-Detecting Dog Bloody Hilarious Epic Fail Mugging the Monster Ass Shove Those Two Bad Guys Determinator aka: The Determinator Adaptation Name Change Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Dwindling Party Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Spared by the Adaptation Almost Kiss Contrived Coincidence Evil Brit Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds My Beloved Smother Precision F-Strike You Have Failed Me Mercy Kill Nice Hat There Is No Kill Like Overkill Pimped-Out Dress Film Noir Index Leitmotif Beauty Is Never Tarnished Made of Explodium Hate Sink Even Evil Has Standards Card-Carrying Villain Darkest Hour The Hero Death by Sex Parental Incest Cain and Abel Captain Ersatz All Just a Dream Roaring Rampage of Revenge Crazy Jealous Guy Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Badass Normal Stuff Blowing Up Adaptational Villainy Psycho for Hire Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Eureka Moment Badass Bookworm The Atoner Pragmatic Villainy Your Head A-Splode Small Name, Big Ego Freudian Excuse Fish out of Water Handicapped Badass Those Wacky Nazis Evil Laugh He Knows Too Much Creator Cameo Tranquil Fury Brick Joke Aluminum Christmas Trees Humans Are Bastards I Have Your Wife Jump Scare Henpecked Husband Disproportionate Retribution Rousing Speech Comically Missing the Point Italian Films Combat Pragmatist Disappeared Dad The Mole Silent Movie Crazy-Prepared Breaking the Fourth Wall Take a Third Option Crapsack World Fat Bastard Romantic Comedy Drowning My Sorrows Fake Shemp Deus ex Machina Broken Pedestal Only a Flesh Wound Attempted Rape Wounded Gazelle Gambit Call-Forward Missing Mom Amusing Injuries Novelization Police Brutality Cool Old Lady Reality Ensues After the End Slashed Throat Outrun the Fireball Decoy Protagonist Heroic Sacrifice Retirony Actor Allusion Disney Death Gainax Ending Everyone Has Standards Cat Scare Extremely Short Timespan Rule of Funny Paper-Thin Disguise Broken Aesop Demoted to Extra Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Does Not Like Shoes Intrepid Reporter Left the Background Music On Meet Cute Mad Scientist Our Vampires Are Different Parental Neglect Totally Radical The Load Death by Adaptation Fatal Family Photo Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Motor Mouth Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold The Faceless Vitriolic Best Buds Unspoken Plan Guarantee Sassy Black Woman Posthumous Character Redemption Equals Death Recycled IN SPACE! Daylight Horror The Dog Bites Back Imagine Spot Tempting Fate Bare Your Midriff Big-Bad Ensemble Off-into-the-Distance Ending Hollywood Darkness Fantastic Racism Central Theme Unresolved Sexual Tension Meaningful Name Becoming the Mask Batman Gambit Corrupt Corporate Executive May–December Romance The '90s Eye Scream "Well Done, Son!" Guy Once More, with Clarity! The Lost Lenore Instant Death Bullet Adapted Out Black Dude Dies First Ax-Crazy Not Quite Dead Sir Swears-a-Lot Say My Name Needs Wiki Magic Love Documentary The Smurfette Principle Brother–Sister Incest Accidental Misnaming Not Using the "Z" Word Artistic License – History Genre Savvy Dirty Coward For Want of a Nail Nice Guy Adaptational Badass Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Foregone Conclusion Ripped from the Headlines Gone Horribly Right Facial Horror Moment Killer Kill 'em All Big Damn Heroes Sports Stories Adaptation Expansion Cool Shades Running Gag Artistic License – Gun Safety Daddy's Girl Chiaroscuro Genre Shift Ghost Fiction World of Ham Video Credits Tagline Match Cut Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Amoral Attorney And Starring Stealth Hi/Bye Villain Ball Skewed Priorities Race Against the Clock Stepford Smiler Male Gaze Determinator Badass Grandpa Composite Character Karmic Death Translation Convention Leave the Camera Running Shirtless Scene It Will Never Catch On Casting Gag Logo Joke Big Applesauce Dissonant Serenity Cold-Blooded Torture Non-Indicative Name Action Prologue Serial Killer Unusual Euphemism A Date with Rosie Palms Slap-Slap-Kiss Ambiguous Ending Hidden Depths Peek-a-Boo Corpse The Ghost Anyone Can Die Genre Throwback Real Life Writes the Plot Big Bad Dramedy A God Am I He Who Fights Monsters Groin Attack Femme Fatale Guile Hero Awesome, but Impractical Insistent Terminology Twist Ending German Films Rasputinian Death The Brute Sanity Slippage The Place Abhorrent Admirer Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Greater-Scope Villain Dramatic Gun Cock Anti-Villain Only One Name Early-Bird Cameo The Mafia Deliberate Values Dissonance This Is Gonna Suck Red Oni, Blue Oni Canadian Movies Older Than They Look Gratuitous English As Himself Jerkass Has a Point Chekhov's Skill Bar Brawl Better to Die than Be Killed Ascended Extra Bottomless Magazines Hypocrite I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Police are Useless Death of a Child Film Series Hooker with a Heart of Gold Suddenly SHOUTING! The '80s Empathic Environment Conspicuous CG Wham Shot Tap on the Head Scenery Porn Bi the Way Together in Death Action Survivor Animal Motifs Dropped a Bridge on Him Rewatch Bonus Kill It with Fire Credits Gag Bait-and-Switch One-Word Title Dramatic Irony All There in the Script Alas, Poor Villain Informed Ability An Arm and a Leg folderlabel Same Language Dub Vomit Discretion Shot Didn't Think This Through Funny Foreigner Not So Stoic Face–Heel Turn Revenge Scare Chord Papa Wolf Fainting Adults Are Useless Freeze-Frame Bonus The Big Guy Truth in Television Shoot the Shaggy Dog Real Life Mexican Standoff Your Cheating Heart Catch-Phrase Back from the Dead Black Comedy Stylistic Suck Villain Protagonist Face Death with Dignity Good Is Not Nice Red Right Hand Knight Templar Dull Surprise Every Car Is a Pinto Man on Fire It's All About Me Reckless Gun Usage B-Movie Bloodier and Gorier Bad Boss Karma Houdini The Voiceless Bittersweet Ending Eiffel Tower Effect Laughing Mad Eldritch Abomination Disney Villain Death Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Beware the Nice Ones Manipulative Bastard Bilingual Bonus Bland-Name Product Establishing Character Moment Asshole Victim Kubrick Stare Character Development Cool Guns I Want My Beloved to Be Happy The Remake Dutch Angle Alpha Bitch Nothing Is Scarier From Nobody to Nightmare Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Pretty Little Headshots Artistic License – Law Sexy Discretion Shot Action Girl Visual Pun Lampshade Hanging Shower Scene Spiteful Spit Refuge in Audacity Artistic License – Biology Diabolus ex Machina Suspiciously Specific Denial Mundane Made Awesome Chekhov's Gun Flipping the Bird Aside Glance Ominous Latin Chanting As the Good Book Says... Villain Song Smug Snake Sacrificial Lion No Name Given Deliberately Monochrome La Résistance Evil Is Hammy An Aesop Offscreen Moment of Awesome Hoist by His Own Petard Book-Ends Laser-Guided Karma Naïve Newcomer Hope Spot Kick the Dog Annoying Younger Sibling Dogged Nice Guy Villainous Breakdown Really Gets Around Riddle for the Ages Too Dumb to Live Red Shirt Deal with the Devil Authority Equals Asskicking Humiliation Conga Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Deconstruction Hypocritical Humor Heterosexual Life-Partners Continuity Nod Token Minority '80s Hair Ambiguous Disorder Fantasy Films Domestic Abuse Does This Remind You of Anything? Pyrrhic Victory No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Parental Abandonment The Smart Guy All Men Are Perverts Wicked Cultured Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking French Films Expository Hairstyle Change Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Evil Is Petty Big Bad Duumvirate And the Adventure Continues Not Even Bothering with the Accent Improbable Weapon User Show Within a Show Plucky Comic Relief Dark and Troubled Past Those Two Guys Dying Moment of Awesome Star-Crossed Lovers Red Eyes, Take Warning A.I. Is a Crapshoot The Alcoholic Faux Affably Evil