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