Tropescilloscope: Rule of Three

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

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