Tropescilloscope: The Reveal

The big dramatic plot twist or revelation. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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