Line #4 Main/FlashbackMontageRealization


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8	Near the end of the film or episode, a character realizes something that puts many past events into a [[TwistEnding new context]]. The character's thought process is shown as a series of previous scenes and lines of dialogue, often with some [[FlashbackEffects filter]] on the footage this time around, culminating in TheReveal.
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10	A specifically heroic version of this trope can involve a character remembering moments from previous scenes or one individual scene, or possibly dialogue without visuals, prompting the character to make an important decision in the moment or gain a new ability.
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12	This is the go-to for visually representing a EurekaMoment and is somewhat of a mental version of TheSummation. New footage can also be interspersed in the montage before or after the main RevealShot[=/=]WhamLine, making it similar to NecroCam. If the character having the flashback realises they did something wrong or horrible, it can also double as a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment. Somewhat of a subtrope of OnceMoreWithClarity. Compare to FlashbackCut, in which a previous moment from a character's life is flashed back to for humorous purposes, and ReallyDeadMontage, another type of flashback montage. Contrast StressInducedMentalVoices, in which a character remembers previous lines of dialogue in a time of distress.
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14	!!As this is a form of TheReveal, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
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16	!!Examples:
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
19	[[folder:Fan Works]]
20	* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaParadiseLost'': After Shion Nanashi finally remembers who she truly is, it's immediately followed by a flashback to some of Monaca Towa's nastier moments from ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls''.
21	* ''Webcomic/FeralnetteAU'': After witnessing Lila gleefully threatening to {{Blackmail}} Felix by complaining to the school board about [[AdaptationalGenderIdentity their being nonbinary]], Alya [[WhatTheHellHero angrily confronts her]]. With her image of Lila [[BrokenPedestal already cracking]], she flashes back to several key moments throughout the first few chapters, realizing just how controlling and manipulative she's been, and directly comparing the way she's [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace repeatedly grabbed others]] to the way Kim grabbed and manhandled Felix shortly before he was akumatized into White Knight.
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24	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
25	* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'': At the salmon run, as Koda tells the story of how he got separated from his mother, Kenai starts having flashbacks from prior to his transformation [[spoiler:about the bear he recklessly hunted and killed – [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone now knowing just who that bear was]]]].
26	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGONinjagoMovie'': Lloyd realizes the ninja team's elemental powers were [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong inside them all along]], flashing back to Master Wu saying "Find your inner peace" and "The power is inside you," with the former really meaning "inner ''piece''," and Lloyd sees each ninja as representing the LEGO piece related to their element.
27	* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': When Puss is first scarred by the Wolf, moments from his various lives flash before his eyes, setting up his fear and his eventual drive to get more. In their final confrontation, [[spoiler:he starts out with the same fear, only to flash back to a series of scenes strictly from throughout the movie, and he realizes that his final life is worth fighting for all on its own]].
28	* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': This is used to show Mei's [[spoiler:epiphany about the red panda during the red moon ritual]]. In the space of a few seconds, she relives numerous memories from [[spoiler:her time as the panda]], both good and bad, all adding up to the realization that [[spoiler:the panda has become an important part of who and what she is, and she doesn't want to lose it.]]
29	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'': Judy has two quick flashbacks when she's [[spoiler:in the secret lab spying on Doug the ram, right as he talks to his boss about him shooting Otterton and Manchas with the Night Howler serum]].
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
33	* ''Film/TheBourneIdentity'': Towards the end, Bourne confronts Conklin and Parsons at Treadstone's Paris station, where Conklin explains Bourne's connection to Treadstone, reviving the memories of his last assignment: Bourne was supposed to assassinate the deposed dictator Wombosi, [[WouldntHurtAChild but he fled upon realizing that his children were with him]], and he was shot in his escape attempt, causing his amnesia.
34	* ''Film/CutToTheChase'': Max realizes Travis is right about Nola being a hitwoman and involved with his sister due to things she'd said earlier, which are shown again for the audience.
35	* ''Film/FightClub'': When [[spoiler:it's revealed the Narrator is Tyler Durden, previous scenes are shown with him now in the place of Tyler.]]
36	* An InUniverse example in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': When Harry learns through the [[PensieveFlashback Pensieve]] that Snape was good the whole time and that he had loved Harry's mother since childhood, both new and old scenes are shown in this light.
37	* ''Film/TheIllusionist2006'' is narrated by Chief Inspector Uhl. In the film, a LoveTriangle develops between Sophie, the stage magician Eisenheim and Crown Prince Leopold; Sophie is engaged to the latter, but does not love him. When Sophie attempts to leave a drunken Leopold, he chases after her brandishing a sword, and the following morning her body is recovered. Eisenheim, anguished by her death, puts on a series of magic shows in which he speaks with Sophie's ghost, and she implicates Leopold in her death. Growing unnerved and paranoid, Leopold kills himself. After a chance encounter with Eisenheim in the streets, Chief Inspector Uhl has a EurekaMoment, and the audience is shown a montage of clips and lines of dialogue from the film explaining TheReveal: Eisenheim and Sophie faked Sophie's death in order to escape from Leopold and drive him to suicide.
38	* ''Film/MarriedToTheMob'': Mobster Tony Russo encounters FBIAgent Mike Downey wearing various disguises throughout the movie. After the last encounter, Russo realizes why Downey looks so familiar, flashing back to Downey's various disguises, and deduces he must be some kind of undercover police officer.
39	* ''Film/{{Memento}}'': When [[spoiler:Teddy reveals that Sammy Jankis's story is really what happened to Leonard, moments from previous scenes are replayed now supporting that Leonard's wife survived the assault and was really killed when Leonard unintentionally overdosed her with insulin.]]
40	* ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles'': Towards the end, as Neal Page is finally heading home, he starts thinking about having Thanksgiving dinner with his family, which segues into thinking about his time with Del Griffith over the previous two days, specifically remembering a cryptic comment Del made: "I haven't been home in years...". Neal suddenly realizes the truth about Del, and he returns to the train station to confront Del, who confesses he's been a homeless drifter since his wife Marie died 8 years earlier.
41	* ''Film/{{Predestination}}'' has a version of this, flashing back to an earlier scene where Creator/EthanHawke's character implies to another character that he is him from a different point in time, and soon after this is a series of snapshots (all from previous scenes) of the character throughout his/[[{{Hermaphrodite}} her]] life, from infancy to the present day, showing the character's entire personal history in chronological order for the first time.
42	* ''Film/ThePrestige'': When Borden and Angier explain their tricks at the end, previous clips are shown along with new footage, explaining how they did them and showing more of the personal sacrifices they had to make.
43	* It wouldn't be a ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' movie without a huge flashback montage at the end of almost every single one, which only makes sense given the extremely complex overarching storyline, not to mention that some movies happen literally at the exact same time as another one or take place out of chronological order.
44	* ''Film/TheSixthSense'': Creator/BruceWillis's character remembers Cole's statements about dead people not knowing they are dead, as well as previous events such as when he was shot at the beginning of the movie, now with the insight that he was really dead/dying in those situations.
45	* ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'': Kujan reveals to Verbal Kint that Keaton was Keyser Söze as the film flashes back to various moments of the group and of Kint's interactions with Keaton, among others. Happens a ''second'' time when it's revealed Kint fabricated the story from images and names on the bulletin board in the room and that he himself is Söze, which Kujan realizes as he looks at the papers and flashes back to all the things in the story that Kint/Söze based on them.
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48	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
49	* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' downplayed this in the episode "Storming the Castle". Gob meets with Michael to discus his latest issue with the Magicians' Alliance. He ends the meeting by shaking his hand with both hands, saying "I appreciate your time." Later, Michael goes to check the time on his watch and ends up looking at his bare wrist. He then flashes back to the handshake and realizes that that's when Gob stole his watch.
50	* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
51	** ''Series/TheFlash2014'':
52	*** In season 3 when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SlspwgMF5w Barry figures out Savitar's identity]], he flashes back to all the cryptic things the characters (including Savitar himself) have said about the villain.
53	*** Combined with TheSummation when [[{{Expy}} Sherloque Wells]] reveals in "[[Recap/TheFlash2014S5E17TimeBomb Time Bomb]]" that Nora is working with Thawne, cutting to clips of Nora's actions and Sherloque's investigation.
54	*** In the [[Recap/TheFlash2014S5E21TheGirlWithTheRedLightning penultimate episode]] of season 5, Ralph flashes back to his previous observations about Thawne and the timeline as he realizes "[[https://youtu.be/XzDg5n5iFQ4?t=54 The dagger is Thawne's plan]]."
55	*** When Iris explains to Joseph Carver in "[[Recap/TheFlash2014S6E10Marathon Marathon]]" how she realized his company is affiliated with the evil organization Black Hole, previous shots of the company's and organization's light-based weapons are shown, among others. Happens again in a more downplayed way when Iris realizes the company's relation to mirrors, flashing back to her source saying the word "mirror" before dying and to the room number [=AV3=] in Carver's building which is Carver's wife's name, Eva, in reverse.
56	*** A rarer external example in "[[Recap/TheFlash2014S6E17Liberation Liberation]]", when Iris sees previous scenes replayed in mirror screens of some sort, showing her that Eva [=McCulloch=] was behind her abduction into the Mirrorverse and has been working with her mirror doppelgänger this whole time.
57	** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': Martin Stein realizes in "[[Recap/LegendsOfTomorrowS2E10TheLegionOfDoom The Legion of Doom]]" that the evil speedster is Eobard Thawne, aka the Reverse Flash, and the reason he can't stay in one place for very long is that he's not supposed to exist. Stein briefly flashes back to the character's death in season 1 of ''The Flash'', where Eobard was supposedly erased from existence due to the death of his ancestor Eddie Thawne.
58	* In the Series 1 ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' episode "The Foretelling", a portrait of the enemy Henry Tudor is produced. Edmund then has a flashback of himself finding Henry Tudor in his bed, and not recognising him. He then rushes out to look for Henry Tudor.
59	* Happens OnceAnEpisode in ''Series/CriminologistHimuraAndMysteryWriterArisugawa''. When Himura figures out who the culprit is, the main theme kicks in and the camera rapidly spins around him while he flashes back to relevant clues from throughout the episode.
60	* The ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Aerodynamics of Gender" had Jeff and Troy come upon a secret trampoline maintained by college gardener Joshua. After Pierce gets injured while using it, Joshua is fired and makes racist comments about Troy. When Troy comments that the racism came out of nowhere, Jeff thinks back and realizes it didn't: specifically, he recalls two comments that didn't sound racist out of context ("A place free from the darkness", "Some people are natural jumpers") and Joshua showing off a tattoo of a swastika (which the audience didn't see before).
61	* ''Series/JandaKembang'': After Malik's best friend Wulan finally confesses her love to him, Malik has a flashback to several moments in the series when Wulan dropped clues about her feelings, only realizing what those clues mean now.
62	* In the last episode of ''Series/JejakSuaraAdzan'', Putra has a flashback to several moments when Dimas talks to him about Dimas' long-lost brother Dika, [[spoiler:which visibly makes him feels bad for never realizing that ''he'' could be Dika.]]
63	* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': At the beginning of the episode "My Fifteen Seconds" JD said that doctors only listen to their patients for fifteen seconds at a time. Throughout the episode JD and Dr. Cox are talking to a patient who was inexplicably exposed to pesticides with a 15 second timer in the corner of the screen. At the end of the episode when Jordan tells her sister that doctors never listen to anyone, both JD and Dr. Cox have a flashback montage of everything the patient said in the fifteen second windows that they were actually listening to her and realized that she poisoned herself.
64	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', in the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe "What Is And What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20)]]: When Dean finds the bodies hanging from their wrists in the warehouse, brief cuts show the figures he saw in the closet and the reappearing woman in white, revealing that these figures were reality interrupting his fantasy.
65	* ''Series/ATouchOfCloth'':
66	** Parodied when DC Anne Oldman realizes that Chief Constable Tom Boss is the SerialKiller they're looking for. We get a series of flashbacks showing him asking her to make sure he's kept aware of all developments on the case, followed by two we haven't seen: one of him asking him to help ''lick the blood off his sword'', and another of him flat-out telling her what he's doing and why. And then ''writing it on her hand''.
67	--->'''Oldman''': I just didn't put it together until now!
68	** Further parodied in Series 2 when Jack Cloth realises that the "[[TheManBehindTheMan Big Man]]" that [[ArcVillain Michael Macratty]] is working for is ''also'' Chief Constable Boss, and a series of flashbacks occurs that once again ends in a clip we didn't see the first time. It's then subverted when Cloth learns that Boss is [[NotMeThisTime actually innocent this time]], and the Big Man is actually [[EvilAllAlong Hope]] [[NonIndicativeName Goodgirl]].
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71	[[folder:Video Games]]
72	* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', at the end of the game, Franchise/{{Batman}} confronts ComicBook/TheJoker who is seemingly killed by ComicBook/TaliaAlGhul. Then as she reveals that she stole the cure for Titan poisoning from ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, Batman looks over Joker's corpse and rethinks through the events of the game, triggering a montage that makes him realise that [[spoiler:there were ''two'' Jokers the whole time - one of whom was Clayface masquerading as the Joker]].
73	* In ''VideoGame/BioShock1'', when Jack reaches Rapture Central Control, Andrew Ryan explains TheReveal that Jack is actually [[spoiler:an unwitting ManchurianAgent]]. The player is then treated to a [[FlashbackEffects sepia-tinted]] montage of Atlas using the phrase "Would you kindly?" in conversation, now revealed to be Jack's TriggerPhrase.
74	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': Malak shows up and taunts the PlayerCharacter "Even the combined power of the Jedi Council couldn't keep your true identity buried forever...", there's a cutscene playing back several points of the game; the five Star Map locations, several bits of the player's "visions," and a couple offhand lines from Carth [[spoiler:"They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can destroy your memories and wipe away your very identity."]] and Bastila "What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?" from earlier in the game. And the last one seals the deal Revan takes off the mask and it's the PlayerCharacter with full Dark Side Corruption.
75	* In ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}},'' when Renko realizes [[GroundhogDayLoop his quest to reset the timeline has been done many times already,]] he has a flashback to all the TimeTravel related graffiti he's come across.
76	* In ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' something similar to this happens at the end, when Nerissa says something that causes Bigby to go OhCrap There's no visual montage of past scenes but there is an audible one where you hear several lines of dialogue overlapping each other as Bigby stands there looking thoughtful. The actual revelation is left ambiguous and up to the player (it's implied that Nerissa might be either Faith or vice versa)but then there is a prompt to either chase after Nerissa or let her go. This was likely meant as a cliffhanger, leading into the next game, however with Telltale Games having folded it unfortunately may never be made, and we will never know for certain what the truth is unless some other game company decides to make a sequel instead.
77	[[/folder]]
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79	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
80	* In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', when Kathy reveals that [[spoiler:Amanda is writing the erotic stories instead of herself, and that this is because she’s attracted to the protagonist but ashamed of it, the protagonist flashes back to snippets of past scenes which contained hints of this]].
81	* This happens a few different times in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. Keiichi gets this in the Cotton-Drifting Arc when Rena finally gives [[CluelessLoveInterest him]] enough information for him to figure out that his failure to give the doll he received as a prize to Mion had insulted her femininity. This sequence ends with a flashback that one presumes is really more his imagination about how Mion telling Rena of her dilemma played out, but the narrative implies that it was also pretty close to the reality of the conversation. He also gets a version of this in the Atonement Arc when he gains the memories of the Keiichi from the Demoned Away Arc. They're modified a little bit because they show the situation as it really was instead of what Keiichi perceived it to be (He was hallucinating a ton). He then tries to use these memories to help get Rena to stop hallucinating.
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84	[[folder:Webcomics]]
85	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the Writer's Block's [[https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/2016-05-11-deduction-rush solves]] the case in this way except with images representing the clues instead of full flashbacks.
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88	[[folder:Web Videos]]
89	* In the WebVideo/BrandonRogers sketch "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YyiA1KyAaY All These Babies and I Get None!]]", Sam has one when Dr. Dini calls him a good father on her reality show (due to him fostering Blame for a while). He realizes that it counts as a public figure endorsing him, as Helen previously explained he needed if he wanted to adopt a baby like he dreamed of.
90	* ''WebVideo/ScootertrixTheAbridged'' uses this for a big twist in the final episode that recontextualizes a lot of what came before. Princess Luna remarks how Princess Celestia never seems to use any magic, but everything seems to magically work out okay for her anyway. Celestia tells her to [[YouAnsweredYourOwnQuestion repeat that, and really think about what she's saying]]. Luna says, "Everything... always... magically..." then has a flashback to all the previous times she's compared Celestia's absurdly good fortune to magic. This finally tips her off that Celestia has been [[RealityWarper warping reality all along]] to make her hare-brained schemes work when they logically shouldn't have.
91	* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': In Episode 11, Healthcliff begins to act defensively when the players start calling out the various glitches in ''SAO'', especially since they are stuck on Floor 75 after the boss glitched out. When Kirito compares their situation to ''Film/{{Tron}}'', Heathcliff exasperatedly remarks "Oh, so ''now'' you've seen ''TRON''?" in response. At that point, Kirito realizes that Heathcliff is in fact Kayaba, the creator of ''SAO'' and the one responsible for trapping them in the game, as Heathcliff and Kayaba's shared love of pop culture references is what leads to him SpottingTheThread. Kirito's realization is accompanied by a montage of various moments throughout the season of Heathcliff making pop culture references, culminating in Kayaba asking his captive audience "How many of you have seen ''TRON''?" from the start of the series.
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94	[[folder:Western Animation]]
95	* Standard OnceAnEpisode practice for ''WesternAnimation/AlmasWay'', in which the young title character pauses to think about whatever dilemma she's confronting by recalling lines or events that occurred earlier in the same story. Her recollections play out in flashback thought-bubbles during her "I gotta think about this" moments, showing how her reasoning progresses.
96	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'':
97	** In "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS2E1TheRemote The Remote]]", when Gumball realizes Anais kept the remote and broke a fake one, we flash back to her actions [[OnceMoreWithClarity with her deceptions highlighted]]. It's specifically framed as an homage to ''The Usual Suspects'' above.
98	** In "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E36TheNobody The Nobody]]", when Rob remembers his past, events from "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E12TheVoid The Void]]" are shown as he recounts them from his perspective.
99	** Subverted in "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E37TheDowner The Downer]]", when Anais questions whether Gumball should be told that [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness he had been hallucinating being alone through most of the episode]], before cutting to events from the episode that reveal someone else was in Gumball's range. Nicole decides against it.
100	* ''WesternAnimation/CentralPark'': In "[[Recap/CentralParkS2E09ABoatifulMind A Boat-iful Mind]]", while tending to Bitsy's gout, Helen notices how similar her foot is to hers and comes to the realization that ''she'' has gout as well. Bitsy asks her how that could possibly be. It then cuts to Helen as she visually recalls all the times she ate Bitsy's food behind the latter's back.
101	-->'''Helen:''' [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Definitely not from eating your leftovers]].
102	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E6TheGreatLouseDetective The Great Louse Detective]]" there is such a montage framed within a ThoughtBubble as Sideshow Bob thinks back to the clues pointing to the identity of the person trying to kill Homer, [[EurekaMoment triggered by someone mentioning how a mechanic tuned up the Mardi Gras parade floats]]. The clues were the spa invitation envelope that had a fingerprint stained in motor oil, how a wrench was used to trap Homer in the sauna, and the meeting with the mechanic towing Homer's car. Ultimately, it pointed to the mechanic as the one trying to murder Homer.
103	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Kyle has one near the end of "Members Only", when he flashes back to various quotes from throughout the season and deduces that the Internet troll "[=Skankhunt42=]" is his own father.
104	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E14GrowingPains Growing Pains]]", as Dr. Maheswaran tells Steven that life-threatening events in his childhood could have led to his present post-traumatic stress, Steven begins flashing back to ''all'' the dangers he encountered in the series ever since he was 13.
105	** In the original ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Steven has one of these in the episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E18ASinglePaleRose A Single Pale Rose]]", when he realizes that [[spoiler: there was no logical way his mother could have shattered Pink Diamond. Pearl, on the other hand...]]
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Context Main / FlashbackMontageRealization