Tropescilloscope: For Want of a Nail

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