Tropescilloscope: Rule of Three

3 is a magic number. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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