Tropescilloscope: Dark and Troubled Past

Tragic Back Story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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