1 | To induce narrative tension in the viewers, withholding information about a setup's outcome is necessary. One of the most common ways to do this is by making people ''think'' something game-changing has happened just to reveal at the very last second it hasn't. Alternatively, the event is this close to taking place but is dodged every time. This is a Near Miss. |
2 | |
3 | Chances are, this will be used for [[RuleOfDrama dramatic effect]]; you thought the character was run over by a car but, oh, the smoke clears and it becomes evident the character jumped to the side at the right moment. [[RuleOfFunny Comedic cases]], however, aren't uncommon at all, with the punchline often being the ridiculous way in which the character managed to miss the event. |
4 | |
5 | Of course, a near-miss can also mean that the event did happen, just not in enough of a plot-changing way. For instance, the long-awaited WillTheyOrWontThey couple is about to kiss but then the girl backpedals and only kisses her love interest's cheek. Or the bullet hits the character, just not in a vital organ or anything that could spell instant death. |
6 | |
7 | Looks like a broad concept? Well, it is; that's why it has a myriad of [[SubTrope sub-tropes]]: |
8 | |
9 | [[index]] |
10 | * ATeamFiring: Nobody gets hit by bullets, no matter how much gunfire is exchanged. |
11 | * AlmostKiss: Two characters are about to kiss before suddenly being interrupted by something. |
12 | * AmusinglyAwfulAim: A character's woeful accuracy is PlayedForLaughs. |
13 | * ByWallThatIsHoley: A wall falls on you, but doesn't hurt you because you pass through a hole or window on it. |
14 | * CloseCallHaircut: A part of somebody's hair gets cut off during a struggle, usually by a bullet. |
15 | * DivingSave: Jumping and plowing someone out of the way to save their life. |
16 | * HatDamage: The character's headgear gets hit to show how close the projectile is to being lethal. |
17 | * HeroTrackingFailure: The hero is always one step ahead of the villain's gunfire. |
18 | * ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: {{Mooks}} are lousy shots when trying to hit the heroes. |
19 | * KnifeOutline: Dodging sharp projectiles one by one while being unable to move away from the wall. |
20 | * MissedHimByThatMuch: Two characters just barely miss running into each other. |
21 | * NearMissGroinAttack: A subversion of GroinAttack is PlayedForLaughs. |
22 | * SmokeShield: An attack's aftereffects obscure whether the target was hit, expect it to emerge unscathed somehow. |
23 | * StandardHollywoodStrafingProcedure: The goodies are in the middle of two lines of cannon fire. |
24 | [[/index]] |
25 | |
26 | !![[AC:Administrivia/NoOnPageExamples, please.]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / NearMisses
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load