Tropescilloscope: The Un-Reveal

All is set up for The Reveal - and it never happens. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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