Tropescilloscope: For Want of a Nail

Small change starts major event. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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