Line #111 Main/SequelEscalation


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7	->''"There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to create a successful sequel. Number one: the body count is always bigger. Number two: the death scenes are always much more elaborate -- more blood, more gore. Carnage candy."''
8	-->-- '''Randy Meeks''', ''Film/{{Scream 2}}''
9
10	Sometimes a sequel is just the same story as the last one (CapcomSequelStagnation), or downgraded by being DirectToVideo (''Film/StarshipTroopers2HeroOfTheFederation''), or a different story set in the same world (''Film/TheGodfatherPartII'', the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' films), or just the next part in an ongoing series (''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' books and movies), or even a DolledUpInstallment (''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'').
11
12	This trope, on the other hand, is when a sequel is made to be "bigger and better" than the last film, by taking one or more elements from the first film and expanding upon it. The film makers feel a need to "top themselves" in a sort of way.
13
14	Take an action sequel, which has more explosions and fist/gun/martial arts fights than the previous film. Or a slasher sequel, which has more deaths, in [[BloodierAndGorier more gory]] (and [[MadeOfPlasticine less realistic]]) ways. Sometimes what get expanded is the plot: What started as a simple and straightforward plot in the first part may become significantly expanded, deeper and more intricate in sequels.
15
16	How often this works depends on if the expanded element is the one the audience liked. Choose the wrong element(s), and it will be at the expense of the right element(s), and the audience will not be pleased. Wrong elements can often be the toilet humor, sexual situations, {{flanderization}} or meaningless action sequences.
17
18	However, choose the right element(s), and the sequel [[EvenBetterSequel may even be considered superior to the first film]]. Usually these elements involve the human element, expanding on the characters we care about, telling a dramatic (or hilarious) story, and making the action sequences revolve around that.
19
20	Usually, the result is somewhere in the middle, [[DarthWiki/RuinedFOREVER often debated upon by the fans.]]
21
22	To avoid just rehashing examples from {{Sequelitis}}, examples here should discuss the expanded element(s) of the sequels.
23
24	A SubTrope of {{Sequel}}. A SisterTrope to SerialEscalation.
25
26	Compare ActionizedSequel, SequelDifficultySpike, ProlongedVideoGameSequel, SendInTheClones, SortingAlgorithmOfEvil, PowerCreep. BigDamnMovie is this trope applied to a film adaptation of a serial. DarkerAndEdgier often, but not always, accompanies the upping of the stakes in sequels.
27
28	Contrast LensmanArmsRace, PlotLeveling (both of which can be seen as symptoms of this trope's presence) and SequelDifficultyDrop (difficulty getting lowered, although that doesn't preclude this trope in other ways).
29	----
30	!!Example subpages:
31	[[index]]
32	* [[SequelEscalation/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
33	* SequelEscalation/VideoGames
34	[[/index]]
35
36	!!Other examples:
37
38	[[foldercontrol]]
39
40	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
41	* ZigZagged in the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' franchise:
42	** The transition from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' to ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' plays it straight: PowerLevels go even higher, SoLastSeason upgrades are applied, and the entire planet is at stake.
43	** Going from ''A's'' to ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', this trope is inverted: the old guard is all grown up but their powers are similar (except the title character who has actually been {{Nerf}}ed), while the new blood are all newbies whose PowerLevels cannot even approach those of the old cast (physically). There are no reality-shattering villains like before, but instead a QuirkyMinibossSquad, a horde of MechaMooks, and a DiabolicalMastermind, most of whom are eventually taken out by the aforementioned low-level new blood.
44	** The ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'' manga, the sequel to ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', plays it straight again, by taking the old notion of AntiMagic further. Where the old villains simply had Anti-Magic Fields, which amortized incoming attacks and made it impossible to cast magic from within (which was already treated as bad enough by the good guys), the new villains have Anti-Magic Beams that aggressively dispel any magic they hit. The {{Doylist}} explanation seems to be that since the heroes have already been established as the strongest mages in the multiverse ''back in season one'', the only plausible enemy the writers can invent for them now is an AntiMagic-wielding one, with a BiggerStick if needed. The fans' reactions were... mixed.
45	* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' does this with its pre- and post-TimeSkip seasons. While the pre-Time Skip episodes were like your typical SuperRobot show, only with bigger explosions and more [[HotBlooded hot blood]], the post-Time Skip episodes show [[spoiler:galaxy-sized mecha throwing galaxies and big bangs at each other.]] And in the second movie, [[spoiler:we get a mech that is not only a hundred times bigger than a galaxy, it's also ''on fire'' and ''designed after the resident MemeticBadass''. Its attack clashing with an identical attack from its EvilKnockoff ''ends and restarts'' the universe.]]
46	* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' shows the military technology of its setting leaping forward by decades over the course of two years. AceCustom Knightmare Frames become increasingly commonplace, flight capabilities become the norm during the second season, the political machinations and mind games become more complex as the stakes are cranked up, and the series's climax features a globe-spanning war centered around a FantasticNuke-equipped OminousFloatingCastle.
47	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' contains one of the most notable examples of this in all of anime. Starting with [[Manga/DragonBall the first series]], we have a rather light-hearted ScienceFantasy martial arts series vaguely based on ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' that features kung fu fights with the occasional use of ki attacks as special moves. [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain At first the story has goofy, weak-willed villains]], but they are replaced by a terrorist organization who hires a cold-blooded assassin. [[CerebusSyndrome Then the literal incarnation of evil shows up, kills three major characters, overthrows the global president and blows up the capital city]]. [[Manga/DragonBallZ Continuing on from that]], the franchise featured [[PersonOfMassDestruction villains who caused planetary extinctions]] ''as their day job'', before moving on to villains who could blow up a planets on a whim. Both heroes and villains eventually arrive at the point where they ''[[PhysicalGod surpassed the the setting's gods in power]]'' and are capable of destroying entire solar systems in seconds if so inclined. With its two sequels - the non-canon ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', and definitely-canon ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' - this trend continued in both cases.
48	* The third ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' movie is much darker and more complex than the previous two movies, and arguably most of the [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion original series]]. The fourth [[spoiler: cranks up the scale to include other dimensions and the action is more over the top than its ever been.]]
49	* The first season of ''Anime/PsychoPass'' had individual and low-key murders which are instigated by a sociopathic BigBad until the middle of the season has him starting a riot which led him to plan for the destruction of the Sibyl System. The second season had a new BigBad who instigated bigger crimes such as an attempted bombing, a hostage crisis gone bad and a shootout in order to bring the system. Then, [[Anime/PsychoPassTheMovie the movie]] crossed international borders with attempted terrorism and one of the protagonist going abroad to investigate only to get involved with the foreign country's rebellion and coup d'etat.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
53	* ''Animation/{{Lamput}}'' does something like this - the expanded element is the length, in this case. Season 1 has 15-second microshorts, season 2 introduces 2-minute episodes, and season 3 introduces 5-minute episodes.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Comic Books]]
57	* Borderline example: in the first generation of ComicBook/XMen, the strongest person on the team was Beast, who was just, like, "two-normal-guys" strong. In the second generation, the strongest person is Colossus, the man of steel. Then we got Rogue, who for a long time was just as strong as Colossus, and could fly. Dunno where we're at now, but considering the current lineup includes Namor (who's stronger than the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] so long as he's underwater), Hope (who has AllYourPowersCombined) and Magneto (who once almost ''destroyed civilization''), safe to say that escalation has been maintained.
58	* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel started as a grounded reimagination of the characters and events of Marvel Comics. ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'', the first CrisisCrossover, had a CharactersDroppingLikeFlies plot, and after it, Hickman's ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' and Spencer's ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' took the action to unprecedented levels.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Fan Fic]]
62	* Creator/PeterChimaera's TrollFic, ''Digimon savez teh wrold'' has a sequel called ''Digimon 2: Return of Digimon''. In the first story digimon has to stop the evil scientist from destroying the road, in the sequel he's up against an evil digimon who wants to destroy all the roads so no one can go on them. Also features FIGHTING IN SPACE!
63	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
64	** The fanfic ''FanFic/{{Windfall}}'' is a short, fluffy fic showing the Mane Cast--all of whom have gone their separate ways and are now OlderAndWiser--reuniting to witness the birth of Fluttershy's first foal. The sequel, ''FanFic/EarthAndSky'', has a much more detailed StoryArc, with multiple interconnected subplots, dealing with somewhat more serious themes and actual antagonists, and even ends up being ''four times'' as long as ''Windfall''.
65	** ''Pony'' fanfic ''FanFic/PostNuptials'' and its sequel ''FanFic/{{Families}}'' are much like the above ''Pony'' fics in terms of how they escalate, except the first story is about the main cast dealing with immediate emotional fallout caused by [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 Queen Chrysalis' invasion]]--namely by trying to reconcile with Twilight after they ignored her warnings--and the sequel deals with more serious ramifications of the invasion and everyone's actions prior to it, including psychological trauma and a conspiracy to mire Princess Celestia's public image.
66	** Many of the longest MLP fanfics are the sequel to something much shorter. [[note]]All numbers are accurate at the time of writing, they might get bigger in the future.[[/note]] From the first two pages of [[https://www.fimfiction.net/stories/words Fimfiction's "longest" list]]:
67	*** Fanfic/{{The Chase\|MyLittlePony}} (2,010,573 words) is the sequel to [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/203782/the-catch The Catch]] (52,556 words)
68	*** The ''Fanfic/BloomingMoonChronicles[=/99 Worlds Saga=]'' has some very long sequels, all to [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/48755/Moonrise a story]] just 76,585 words long (and [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/130200/glory-be the final installment]] has over a million words). In its sequel series, ''Songs of Lost Children'', the first four books are all between 66,000 and 167,000 words long. The final book, ''Hecate's Orphanage'', on the other hand, has ''1,149,615'' words.
69	*** [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/71311/forgiveness-pending Forgiveness Pending]] (997,339 words) is the sequel to Fanfic/MemoryPending (107,946 words)
70	*** [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/194448/piercing-the-heavens Piercing the Heavens]] (965,769 words) is a sequel to [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/177872/flying-sky-high Flying Sky-High]] (106,618 words) which is a sequel to [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/62367/head-in-the-clouds Head in the Clouds]] (52,752 words)
71	*** Fanfic/ThisPlatinumCrown (847,983 words) is a sequel to FanFic/TheBestNightEver (53,935 words)
72	*** And the FanFic/PonyPOVSeries, whose [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/50139/Pony-POV-Series-Season-Six%3A-Dark-World-Shining-Armor- longest installment yet]] is 825,114 words, all started with [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/32519/Pony-POV-Series-Season-Zero%3A-Discorded-Ponies a story]] just 9,978 words long.
73	* ''FanFic/XCOMTheHadesContingency'' is a relatively straightforward 290k-word adaptation of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' following the titular organization's perspective throughout the alien invasion. Its sequel, ''FanFic/XCOMTheAtlasProtocol'', jacks up the word count to just over twice that number, adds perspectives from EXALT, the UN [[spoiler:and even an alien defector]], and sees XCOM face their first Ethereal opponent and win, losing several of their personnel in the process, followed by [[spoiler:XCOM and EXALT joining forces to rally the world in a full-blown war against the alien Collective.]] ''FanFic/XCOMTheAdventDirective'', the third story in the series, outdoes the previous two stories combined, with [[{{Doorstopper}} a staggering 1.78 ''million'' words and counting]], [=POVs=] from human and alien alike, [[spoiler:the intervention of super-powerful psionic aliens, one psionic alien cult led by an EldritchAbomination, and an '''interdimensional task force.''']]
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
77	* The more ''Franchise/ToyStory'' movies get released, the more they become depressing and serious. However, it gets a lot more positive reception than many Creator/{{Disney}} sequels or the other Creator/{{Pixar}} sequels.
78	* ''WesternAnimation/Cars2''. [[WesternAnimation/Cars1 The original]] is about an [[SmallNameBigEgo egotistical]] race car getting lost in a small town and learning humility and the value of "slowing down" to appreciate interpersonal relationships, while the sequel is an international action film about his tow truck friend Mater being mistaken for a spy by a Franchise/JamesBond-esque organization of car espionages and travelling around the world (in conjunction with the racing tournament in which the original protagonist is participating) to thwart an underground crime ring's elaborate evil plan via multitudes of gadgets, gunfights and bombastic action scenes. And one car is tortured and DIES (off-screen, mind you, but still).
79	* While the original ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'' centers on a small mountain valley, and the villain has mostly personal motivation and acts alone, ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' involves a big city and a villain who wants to TakeOverTheWorld and has an army of wolves, gunpowder cannons, and a freakin' river fleet at his disposal. ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'' escalates the stakes by introducing a villain with supernatural powers and an army of ghosts of former kung fu masters at his service.
80	* The more ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' movies get released, the bigger and more magical they become.
81	* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' focused on Miles Morales growing into his role as the new Spider-Man [[spoiler:after his version of Peter Parker dies]], and a team-up with five alternate Spider-people, with the action contained within a single dimension. ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' takes it all on a much bigger scale, as Miles comes into contact with an entire Spider-Society led by Miguel O'Hara, and the plot is set across six dimensions.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Literature]]
85	* Creator/MatthewReilly has this trope as a self-stated aim. In each book, he tries to include more action, MoreDakka, bigger threats... and tries to make it go faster. After ''Scarecrow'', he did a change of genre to escape from this, and immediately started all over again with his new trilogy.
86	* With a few exceptions, the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series sees Honor move up to command a larger navy in a larger plot for larger stakes up to Book 12 at least. [[spoiler:She maxes out in book thirteen, where she commands an allied fleet consisting of Manticoran, Grayson, and ''Havenite'' fleets of ships-of-the-wall.]] The climax of the first book is a duel between a ship that can launch 2 missiles at the time and one that can launch 6. Book 12 features a CurbStompBattle with an opening salvo of 50.000 missiles. From the losing side.
87	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' is this to ''Literature/TheHobbit'', albeit not a deliberate example; it "grew in the telling". ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' is an even-more-escalated ''prequel'' with a scope that includes the creation of the universe, battles between angels with powers we would associate with gods, the rise and fall of multiple civilizations and the sinking of a couple major continents.
88	* Inverted in Creator/LSpragueDeCamp's "Johnny Black" stories. In the first story the titular [[UpliftedAnimal uplifted black bear]] saves the world, in the final one he saves his creator from getting fired. In an afterword de Camp apologized to the readers for that, saying he had forgotten while writing them that the next story wouldn't seem as good if it didn't top the previous one.
89	* The violence and level of dystopia seems only to increase with each ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]'' installment.
90	* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. The [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets second book]] downgrades the stakes (it's the fate of the school rather than the entire world), but upgrades the set pieces (encountering one creepy guy in the Forbidden Forest vs. encountering a colony of {{Giant Spider}}s in the Forbidden Forest, for example). The [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban third book]] has the lowest stakes of any book in the series, as the danger is essentially only a threat to one specific individual (Harry) and even that turns out to be an illusion. Then there is a true threat towards only two [[spoiler:wrongfully accused: Sirius Black and Buckbeak]]. After Voldemort returns to power, the stakes remain constant (the entire world, again), but with Voldemort's power constantly increasing. The [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows last book]] itself is the biggest and most epic in the series.
91	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': The scale of just how powerful the people involved in the plot are increases over time. In the [[Literature/StormFrontDresdenFiles first book]], Harry can channel lightning. [[Literature/GravePeril Third book]], he empowers an army of ghosts to fight for him. [[Literature/DeadBeat Seventh book]], [[spoiler:he raises a ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' from the dead]], and in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', he ''[[spoiler:[[WhamEpisode genocides]]]]'' the Red Court of Vampires.
92	* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels escalated very quickly in the beginning. The first novel, ''Literature/CasinoRoyale,'' essentially boils down to Bond playing a high-stakes game of cards with a communist agent followed by a car chase. By the time the third book, ''Literature/{{Moonraker}}'', came about, Bond was battling Neo-Nazis planning on destroying London with a nuclear missile. Later Bond stories would weave back and forth between fairly mundane crimes like [[Literature/DiamondsAreForever diamond smuggling]] and more extravagant situations like [[Literature/{{Thunderball}} nuclear warheads being stolen]].
93	* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' seriously ups the stakes from its predecessor series, ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians''. Instead of fighting the Titans to stop Olympus from crumbling, the second series involves fighting ''Gaea'', the ''progenitor'' of the Titans aka the ''Earth itself''.
94	* Inverted by ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''. The series ''starts'' with ten thousand people trapped in an online death game. Then the sequel lowers the stakes to just a few hundred survivors of the first incident now stuck in a coma and being used as test subjects by a CorruptCorporateExecutive. The third arc lowers the stakes even further, focusing on a murder mystery with a relatively small body count. The fourth arc is simply a quest to obtain an in-game sword in a perfectly safe MMORPG.
95	* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheGreatGlassElevator'', the ActionizedSequel to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', has a first half set in outer space as Willy Wonka and the Bucket family wind up in orbit in said elevator and manage to rescue most of the crew of a space hotel from carnivorous aliens. After a HalfwayPlotSwitch, the heroes are back in the factory, but the three still-bedridden grandparents have a misadventure with FountainOfYouth pills that requires an OrpheanRescue of Grandma Georgina. In both halves, the stakes are life-and-death and taken a bit more seriously than in the first book. As well, Willy Wonka is the protagonist this time rather than AudienceSurrogate Charlie, and his eccentric hijinks are given a lot of page time (e.g. a stretch in which he basically ''trolls Earth'' by claiming he and his companions are aliens), and besides three new Oompa-Loompa songs, there are also several songs/poems for Willy Wonka and even one for the President of the United States's nanny/vice president!
96	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' just started on the whoddunit (Jon Arryn's death and Bran Stark's crippling) which led to the discovery of Cersei and Jaime's {{Twincest}} and that their three children are illegitimate heirs to the Iron Throne and that escalated to Ned Stark's death and the War of the Five Kings. The third book increased the death count with the Red Wedding and revelation on how the war ''actually'' started. The fourth and fifth book (actually it's supposed to be one book) seemed to downgrade the stakes only that there are new players in the game of thrones, squandering on the aftermath of the war. While majority of the characters are busy with their shennanigans in the south, the army of the undead led by the Others are marching from the North.
97	* The first ''{{Literature/Madeline}}'' book is a realistic portrait of the little girls' [[SliceOfLife everyday lives]] and of Madeline [[SickEpisode going to the hospital]] [[RupturedAppendix with appendicitis.]] The second and third books are more action-driven, but keep the everyday Paris setting and realistic tone. Then come the adventure-driven fourth and fifth books, which involve traveling with a gypsy circus and taking a trip to London. The Christmas book (the last by original author Ludwig Bemelmans) goes back to the boarding school setting, but introduces fantasy with a magician character. Most of the recent books, written by Bemelmans's grandson, have also kept the adventurous/fantastical tone of books #4, #5 and #6.
98	* Daniel Arenson seems to be particularly fond of this. Each trilogy in the ''Literature/DragonsOfRequiem'' series starts out with a fairly tame BigBad, but things get darker and more gruesome with each book. Take the ''Song of Dragons'' trilogy, the first written but chronological second trilogy. The villain of the first book is a human with an army of humans and gryphons behind him. For the second a legion of non-corporeal soul-eating shadow creatures is unleashed. The third caps things off with an army of manufactured undead creatures which make Frankestein's Monster look like a children's doll; cutting off a limb results in a disembodied limb attacking you alongside every other body part you've severed, and they include dragon sized amalgamations of human body parts. Only fire effectively kills them, too bad the heroes can't [[ScaledUp transform into dragons]] in their presence, because the stone which animates them nullifies all magic in a several hundred foot radius.
99	* ''Literature/NurseryCrime'': The second book raises the stakes considerably, adding an escaped serial killer and a government conspiracy, whereas the first merely involves a few murders.
100	* ''Literature/DarknessFalls'': The main Darkness Falls trilogy has this. The first novel has the Family fighting for only their lives against the Elders and Luna. The second book raises the stakes to the entire planet. The third and final book escalates this to a battle for every realm and creature in existence.
101	* Given that ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'' was originally supposed to be a ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' episode, the [[PinballProtagonist Pinball Protagonists]] of the previous two ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' novels are now on a quest to save the universe.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
105	* ''Series/StrangerThings'': With regards to the horrors faced — Season 1 has the cast face off against the antagonistic Hawkins Lab and a single Demogorgon.
106	** Come Season 2, the main villain is apparently the Eldritch Abomination ruling the Upside Down and has multiple Demogorgons as {{Mooks}}, with the main characters having to stop it from mounting a full-scale invasion of their dimension.
107	** In Season 3, the Eldrith Abomination kidnaps, mind controls and ultimately liquefies dozens of people to help build itself a physical body in the real world. There ''also'' turns out to be a secret Russian base underneath the new mall, staffed by an army of elite soldiers and undercover agents who will stop at nothing to make sure their research, which is the cause for the EldritchAbomination coming back, is seen through to its fullest potential.
108	* Each subsequent season of ''Series/TheWire'' explored a new element of Baltimore (in addition to the cops vs. drug dealers element introduced in the first season) while adding many, many new characters each year, many of whom stayed on the show till its end.
109	* The second season of ''Series/TheMandalorian'' widens its ties to the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe by featuring the likes of [[Literature/StarWarsTheAftermathTrilogy Cobb Vanth]], [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Boba Fett]], [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Bo-Katan Kryze]], [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Ahsoka Tano]], [[VideoGame/DarkForces Dark Troopers]] and even [[spoiler: Luke Skywalker]]. It also reveals the backstory and name of the Child: [[spoiler: Grogu, a survivor of Order 66]] and features the Jedi homeworld of Tython as one of its new locations.
110	* The locales for the first three seasons of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' became progressively harder for the contestants to live in. During "Borneo", the contestants were merely very uncomfortable. During "Australian Outback", Elisabeth almost died of starvation, Barramundi's camp was completely flooded out, and early on there were wild fires near Ogakor's campsite. During "Africa", which had the most oppressive heat of any season by far, several contestants contracted various illnesses which took them months or even years to recover from, plus the extreme scarcity of water and the very likely chance that one of the players could have been eaten by one of the wild animals roaming around. Season 4, which was supposed to take place in Jordan (apparently it was supposed to be called ''Survivor'': "Arabia") would have continued this escalation, but the events of September 11th stopped this dead in its tracks.
111	* The first season of ''Series/TwentyFour'' was primarily based around Jack trying to prevent an single assassination attempt. The second season was around trying to prevent a nuclear weapon from destroying Los Angeles. The third was around trying to stop a biological weapon that could cripple the United States (and possibly the world). After that, you can always just assume the stakes are really really high.
112	* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' starts off as a relatively low stakes PoliceProcedural, with a [[VigilanteMan vigilante hero ]]gaining information from a mysterious source. It is eventually realized that the source of the intelligence the characters are receiving is [[InstantAIJustAddWater The Machine]]. A [[AIIsACrapshoot second AI, Samaritan]] is eventually developed, with the stakes rising further each season that it exists. The season 4 finale ends with [[spoiler:The Machine going offline.]]
113	* ''Series/Adam12'''s first season's title sequence had the police car simply cruising along as it receives its calls from the dispatcher. In subsequent seasons, the cops are alerted to a crime in progress and told to handle it "Code-3" (With lights and sirens engaged). A later season ups the action still more as an EmergencySquadScramble with the cops rushing to their cruiser to rush the action in Code-3.
114	* Many reality and talent TV shows began as series of simple and sensible elimination episodes, with the last remaining ones battling for the title in the "final" episode. A dozen years later, a typical season includes something like twenty semifinals, five finals, and one "superfinal" episode. Patiently waiting until several superfinalists will have to face each other in a "hyperfinal" episode or something.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Music]]
118	* Music/{{Eminem}}'s debut major label album, ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'', attracted considerable [[TheNewRockAndRoll condemnation]] by MoralGuardians for its combination of vulgar and violent lyrics and its [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids poppy, childlike]] production. His followup album, ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP'', is ten times [[SubvertedKidsShow more childish]] and ten times more vile, replacing BattleRapping fantasy violence with aggressive mockery of unacceptable targets, [[ComicallyLopsidedRivalry harmless rivals]] and [[MuseAbuse his non-famous family members]]. Most significant is that the album uses gratuitous homophobic slurs and [[QueerPeopleAreFunny jokes]] for shock value, something that Eminem came to regret and spent the next couple of decades apologising for. Both the followup ''Music/TheEminemShow'' and the direct sequel ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' are considerably KinderAndCleaner following [[CreatorRecovery Eminem quitting ecstasy and maturing as a person]].
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
122	* Parodied in the ''[[ComicStrip/TheFarSide Far Side]]'' cartoon "Psycho III" depicted a showering woman being [[ItWasHisSled suddenly attacked]] by a ''tank''.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Podcasts]]
126	* In ''Podcast/TheHistoryOfRome'', Mike [[DiscussedTrope humorously compares]] the political career of Gaius Gracchus compared to his brother to this trope.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Pinball]]
130	* ''Pinball/TheGetawayHighSpeed2'' takes the HotPursuit of [[Pinball/HighSpeed the original]], then adds a Supercharger accelerator, a {{Determinator}} cop, more cars, and police helicopters authorized to use ''lethal force.''
131	* Occurs with Creator/WilliamsElectronics' "rollercoaster" pinball series (''Pinball/{{Comet}}, Pinball/{{Cyclone}},'' and ''Pinball/{{Hurricane}}''):
132	** ''Pinball/{{Cyclone}}'' is ''Comet'' with a circus, a ferris wheel, and '''two''' rollercoasters!
133	** ''Pinball/{{Hurricane}}'' is ''Comet'' with '''two''' rollercoasters, '''two''' ferris wheels, and a '''LOT''' of clowns!
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Web Animation]]
137	* The ''Litigation Jackson'' movie franchise in the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' universe. The poster for the first movie shows the main character diving out of an exploding building with a box that says "legal documents." The sequel's poster shows a similar poster only now the box says "'''important''' legal documents." Clearly the stakes have been raised.
138	* ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVSAnimation'': The main series plays it straightforward.
139	** The story of the first video isn't any more complicated than the title-- an animator fights with something he drew that came to life; a stick figure named victim. The battle stays contained to the drawing program, and the animator wins by closing the program without saving.
140	** In the second video, Animator names the stick figure [[TemptingFate The Chosen One]], who has a much easier time wrecking the drawing program and screwing with thr animator due to his fire powers and laser eyes. The Chosen One manages to escape to the main computer, where he causes legitimate damage. The animator wins by activating the antivirus software, and it ends with The Chosen One enslaved only using his fire powers as a popup blocker.
141	** The third video starts with The Chosen One breaking free and causing damage to the computer again. In an attempt to beat The Chosen One, the animator draws a second stick figure named The Dark Lord who is supposed to defeat The Chosen One. Instead, they team up and destroy the entire computer, complete with a Blue Screen of Death.
142	** And then there is a fourth video which is more complex than the last few videos. The stick figure (who names himself The Second Coming) doesn't have powers but still manages to to be a challeneging opponent to the animator. It also introduces four new stick figures who end up dying by the animator deleting them only causing TSC to rebel against his creator. The Second Coming manages to temporarily destroy the animator's cursor, and at one point, he enters the animator's ''phone'', before returning to the computer again. The video ends with the animator successfully trapping Second Coming in a box, pointing out that Second Coming is a good artist, and offers to let him free if he helps him animate and doesn't wreck the computer. The Second Coming accepts (albiet only with his friends revived), ending the animator's reign of terror against the stick figure once and for all.
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Web Original]]
146	* ''WebVideo/TheCartoonMan'' is a live action comedy with some animated effects near the end. The sequel has a more complex plot, animated effects throughout, and an over-the-top cartoon chase scene as its climax. [[spoiler:The third is a straight-up epic that mostly takes place in an animated world, and concludes with the biggest cartoon battle yet.]]
147	* At first, WebVideo/{{Dream}}'s Minecraft Manhunt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgdSJdeGF_0 finale video]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7t5B69G0Dw the rematch]] was going to be the end of the "3 Hunters" series of Manhunt videos (it's later clarified that Manhunt as a whole would have continued but in a different manner). But then, one week after the Unsolved Mystery of Herobrine video released, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylNqtyj0gs grand finale]] released because the last Minecraft Manhunt video got over a million likes. In a ''day''.
148	* The first season of the ''WebVideo/LifeSMP'', 3rd Life, lays the bare-bones groundwork for the sequels. The next seasons have twists that make it much harder to survive.
149	** [[WebVideo/ThirdLifeSMP The first season]] is hard on its own; a small hardcore world with limited resources where you're given three lives. If you aren't the first one to become a Red Life, then you'll have [[OmnicidalManiac Red Lives]] at your throat trying to kill you. When you become Red, then you'll have to balance trying to kill people while also surviving yourself.
150	** The second season, WebVideo/{{Last Life\|SMP}}, has every player randomly generate with 2-6 lives, meaning some players are given a vast disadvantage from the start. Lives can be given, meaning that they're the most valuable -- but severely finite -- currency on the server. Then there's the Boogeyman mechanic. Each session, at least one non-Red Life is randomly cursed to be a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Boogeyman]] and must kill someone or else they automatically become a Red Life next session. There's also the new rules surrounding the enchanting table -- there is one enchanting table set at spawn and players are unable to make more. Throughout the bulk of the series, the table is constantly stolen, traded, held hostage, or profited off of, consequently making enchanting gear and tools a hard task.
151	** The third season, WebVideo/{{Double Life\|SMP}}, adds the soulmate mechanic. Although the randomly assigned lives, lives transfer, and Boogeyman are absent from this season, the new twist ensures that people are twice as likely to die and twice as quick to become Red Lives. Players are randomly assigned a soulmate and the two must [[{{Synchronization}} share a health bar]]. It's possible to [[CantLiveWithoutYou suddenly die if your soulmate happens to brush too close to a Creeper]], but in the case of both soulmates being attacked, the health bar depletes so fast that they're given little time to fight back. The Enchanting Table is given a [[invoked]] DifficultySpike. Like the last season, there's only one, but it's located deep underground in the Ancient City. Not only must players find it, they also must evade the strongest mob in the game, the Warden, or at least make as little sound as possible to not spawn it in. The first session having 4× as many deaths than Last Life's first session (4 versus 1) is a testament to its difficulty[[note]]Even if half of the deaths involved are [[CantLiveWithoutYou proxy deaths]] via the soulmate system[[/note]].
152	** The fourth season, WebVideo/{{Limited Life\|SMP}}, shakes things up greatly. Everyone has at most 24 hours to live, and lose an hour's worth of life if they die, and ''gain'' half an hour's worth if they kill someone. That much is simple, including the fact that Yellow Lives can kill Green Lives legally now. ''And then'' the Boogeyman system from Last Life makes a return, with a twist: every Boogeyman kill is a loss of two hours' worth of life, and they lose up to ''eight'' hours' worth if they fail to kill someone by the end of the day. By the time the season is over, it has racked up a total death toll of more than the past three seasons ''combined'', which ultimately serves as a testament to its difficulty.
153	** The fifth season, WebVideo/{{Secret Life\|SMP}}, makes things interesting by giving everyone 30 hearts, but also [[AntiRegeneration removes any normal means of healing]], meaning any damage taken is permanent. The only way to get health back, aside from receiving a single gifted heart from another player, is to successfully complete the secret task each player gets assigned to them at the start of each session by the Secret Keeper. Some of these tasks are simple and relatively safe to perform, but others are extremely difficult and incredibly likely to force the players to put themselves in danger, with some tasks even requiring players to sabotage or harm other players, regardless of whether they are Red or not. Failing to complete a task results in the player receiving no hearts, but succeeding results in gaining 10 hearts. Players also have the option to re-roll their task in an effort to gain more hearts, but failing a re-rolled task, which is much harder and challenging than a normal task (at times bordering on ''{{impossible\|Task}}''), will result in the Secret Keeper ''taking'' 10 hearts. Add in the fact that Yellows can make Greens fail their tasks simply by correctly guessing them and that Reds, who regularly receive tasks that are meant to harm others, can get multiple tasks in a single session, it's little to no surprise that most of the players learn to be extremely careful with whatever they're doing, as one wrong move, one tiny little mistake such as jumping off a small ledge or not paying attention to their surroundings, could leave them dangerously close to death, with little hope of recovering.
154	* In the first ''WebAnimation/LlamasWithHats'', Carl killed a man. In the second, he sinks a cruise ship. In the third, he topples a South American government (after pushing [[LaResistance the resistance leader]] into a giant fan... for trying to stop him from pushing ''other'' people into a giant fan). In the fourth, he [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking tracks mud on the carpet]]. [[spoiler:And nukes an entire city.]]
155	* ''WebVideo/PONIESTheAnthology''. The first one was conceived as an epic compilation of WebVideo/AMVHell-esque sketches, to the point of releasing its own intro scene ahead of time as a teaser. It's 24 minutes long. The second is almost an hour longer, including an extended parody of ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' at the end. And this was coming on the heels of the show's own hard-to-top second season finale.
156	* The first anniversary of Website/ChannelAwesome was a gigantic crossover brawl involving WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]], [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]], [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]], WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick, and many, many other popular internet personalities. So how did they top it for the second anniversary? Why, they got even ''more'' people together and ''invaded the micronation of Molossia'', [[http://www.molossia.org/article202.html of]] [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/video-updates/21528-two-year-anniversary-trailer-kickassia course]], in [[Webvideo/{{Kickassia}} a six-party mini-series]] spanning about ''[[TheMovie 90 minutes.]]'' Then, for the third anniversary, they make a 2 hour and 10 minute fantasy film called ''Webvideo/SuburbanKnights'', with roughly the same amount of people, but with more plot. And the Forth (''Webvideo/ToBoldlyFlee'') is even longer and with even more plot, more character development and more references.
157	* A series of [=YouTube=] videos that takes [=YouTube=] comments that criticize [=DarkSidePhil=], particularly his run on the Metal Gear Solid franchise, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZfxcLMN8r0 the first one is only a mere 57 minutes long]]. The second one, centered around ''Metal Gear Solid 3'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSH39aiTx2A was around 2 hours]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ziXMBuqOQ the third one]] is around 20 minutes longer, and demonstrates what the poster feels are Phil's most prominent flaws.
158	* In Season 7 of the ''WebVideo/{{Hermitcraft}}'', Tango built an elaborate DungeonCrawling minigame called "Decked Out" that, while impressive at the time, absolutely pales in comparison to its successor "Decked Out 2" in Season 9 that is well over five times the size and significantly more complex in terms of game mechanics.[[note]]To put it in perspective, the first one took him roughly 2 months from conception to its initial launch. The second one took ''over a year''.[[/note]]
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Western Animation]]
162	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' is an example of season escalation. The first season was a parody of reality shows, and the cast did standard ''Survivor''-style challenges on an island. The second season, ''Total Drama Action'', put them on a larger abandoned film set where the challenges were based on movie genres. The third season, ''Total Drama World Tour'', was about (you guessed it) the contestants going around the world, and every episode had a no-excuse rule that contestants had to break out into song spontaneously, since Chris wanted to piggyback on the success of ''Series/{{Glee}}''. The fourth season, ''Total Drama Revenge of the Island'', had a new cast on the same island as before, but this time everything was radioactive and there were mutant animals all over the place. The fifth season, ''All-Stars'', saw the island cleaned up, [[spoiler:only for it to be destroyed in the finale.]] The sixth season, ''Pahkitew Island'', featured a completely new island that was ''artificial'' and full of robot animals. Chris [=McLean=], the host of the show, also gets gradually more sadistic as the series goes on. Case in point: Season 1's eliminated contestants left the island by boat. Season 6's left by ''being launched out of a cannon''.
163	* ''WesternAnimation/BlinkyBill'' got grander and more plot-focused across its three seasons. The first series was mostly self-contained episodes which could be watched in any order, save the last two. Series 2 had more of a storyline with Blinky and the gang lost in the wilderness, but again, you could watch most episodes in any order. Series 3, meanwhile, was even bigger, with Blinky, Nutsy and Flap travelling around the world to return displaced circus animals in what was easily the most arc-based season, and there were actual villains for the first time since the 1992 pilot movie.
164	* ''[[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Family Guy's]]'' RunningGag, known as the Chicken Fight, has Peter Griffin fighting a giant chicken named Ernie. With each fight, the carnage, length, brutality and ridiculousness increase.
165	** The opponents can count as this as well. For the first five fights, it's Peter against Ernie, then [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], and then ''[[Creator/DonaldTrump Donald Trump!]]''
166	[[/folder]]
167
168	[[folder:Real Life]]
169	* UsefulNotes/EvelKnievel, famed daredevil of TheSeventies, built his career on this trope; each successful RampJump he performed would inevitably be followed by another, bigger one.
170	[[/folder]]
171

Context Main / SequelEscalation