Tropescilloscope: Chekhov's Skill

A previously noted skill or talent becomes essential to the plot. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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