Tropescilloscope: Chekhov's Skill

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

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