Tropescilloscope: Bait-and-Switch

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

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