Tropescilloscope: Bait-and-Switch

Subversion as humor. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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