Tropescilloscope: For Want of a Nail

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