Line #2 Main/TwistEnding


1	[[quoteright:269: [[Webcomic/TeamFortress2 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Twist_Ending_7181.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:269:[[http://www.teamfortress.com/bombinomicon/ * Not the actual twist ending!]]]]
3
4	->''"We're sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected or out of service since before this comic even started, thereby making this call a terrifying twist ending. Please hang up now."''
5	-->-- '''Name Removed''', [[http://nameremoved.com/comics/663/ "Suspicious Salesman (foists Faustian fraud)"]]
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7	It's [[TheOldestOnesInTheBook the oldest trick in the book]], really. The plot leads toward an inevitable conclusion, then, at the last possible minute, we throw something in that changes ''everything''.
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9	It looks like the cops have an OpenAndShutCase against the ScaryMinoritySuspect, but then, ''BAM'', a crucial piece of evidence turns up to set them straight. It looks like our heroes are totally boned, then ''BAM'', the ForgottenSuperweapon or TheCavalry turns up. It looks like our DomCom family has finally hit it big and won the lottery then ''[[StatusQuoIsGod BAM]]'', the [[PerpetualPoverty ticket gets eaten.]]
10
11	Common across all genres, though really spectacular twists tend to be the domain of SpeculativeFiction and [[CrimeAndPunishmentSeries Crime And Punishment]].
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13	The '''Twist Ending''' started life as a good thing. Really, the twist ending is the original SubvertedTrope: you set the viewer up for one thing, then pull the rug out from under them.
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15	The problem is, after a certain point, the opposite of a trope becomes a DeadHorseTrope itself. In a normal series, you know that they can't go around [[StatusQuoIsGod undermining the entire premise]], so when it looks like it's going that way, you already ''know'' there's going to be a twist ending. In an anthology, you're no better off, because, well, ''[[OnceAnEpisode every single episode]]'' of ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone'' ends on a twist, so it's not like it's unexpected, it practically becomes a MandatoryTwistEnding. In terms of cinema, directors like Creator/MNightShyamalan are the constant subject of criticism for continuous use of the twist element. Once the audience know the twists are coming sooner or later, works can't help but lose some of their potency. Predictably, the twist will doubtless leave audiences mystified and feeling cheated.
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17	The other problem with the Twist Ending is that it walks a mighty fine line: if it's too in-keeping with the direction of the story, it doesn't qualify as a twist. If it's too far out-of-keeping, it comes off as a {{Deus\|ExMachina}} or DiabolusExMachina and the viewer feels cheated. At its worst, it can seen as just an off the wall twist for the sake of "fooling" the audience, attempting to create excitement simply by nonsense happening.
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19	The Twist Ending is the usual way of implementing a ResetButton, a YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle moment, or ensuring that FailureIsTheOnlyOption. In ScienceFiction, the Twist Ending is often a TomatoSurprise. This is also sometimes the case in the more hackneyed mystery shows. This trope is particularly prevalent in Asian horror films.
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21	A literature-exclusive variant called the Snap Ending can be found in some horror stories. In the Snap Ending, the twist is delivered in the very last line of the story.
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23	Not to be confused with {{Tragedy}}.
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25	Subtrope of PlotTwist. Also see MovieTwistList, ItWasHisSled. Contrast TheUntwist, MetaTwist and TheEndingChangesEverything.
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27	A twist that sets up the rest of a still-extant work is generally referred to as a WhamEpisode, [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant even if it doesn't actually refer exclusively to specific serials of television]].
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29	'''All of these tropes are SpoileredRotten to one degree or another, as they are a subset of EndingTropes'''.
30
31	----
32	Important varieties include:
33	[[index]]
34	* TheAllConcealingI: The story uses a first-person narrative to hide the identity of the protagonist until the twist ending reveals it.
35	* AllJustADream: It turns out that the entire story was just a dream the protagonist was having.
36	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: The protagonist is literally transformed into the monsters they fight.
37	* BolivianArmyCliffhanger: A show's season ends on a cliffhanger where it's hard to tell who survived and who didn't.
38	* ChasedOffIntoTheSunset: The story ends with a character being chased by another character towards the sunset.
39	* CruelTwistEnding: The story abruptly ends with the protagonist suffering just to be cruel.
40	* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The BigBad turns out to be the person you least suspect.
41	* DeadAllAlong: The "alive human" main character is actually dead.
42	* DyingDream: It's revealed that the story's events were all being hallucinated by the protagonist as they die.
43	* EarthAllAlong: What was thought to be an alien planet turns out to really be Earth.
44	* TheEndingChangesEverything: At the end, it's unknown which events of the story were real and which were imaginary/faked situations/etc.
45	* TheEndOrIsIt: An ending that casts doubt on the heroes' victory (thus creating a SequelHook).
46	* EverybodyDidIt: The mystery ends with every suspect guilty.
47	* EvilAllAlong: A character that is thought to be one of the good guys turns out to have always been on the side of evil.
48	* FakeOutTwist: The story ends with a twist that is then twisted by another twist immediately afterwards.
49	* GracefulLoser: A person who loses, but is content with not winning.
50	* GainaxEnding: The story's ending is confusing and makes no sense.
51	* GoodAllAlong: A character that is thought to be one of the bad guys turns out to have always been on the side of good.
52	* HorrorHatesARulebreaker: Often leads to an inevitable CruelTwistEnding.
53	* HumanAlienDiscovery: The human of the story discovers it wasn't precisely human as it was told.
54	* KarmicTwistEnding: A twist ending that enforces AnAesop.
55	* TheKillerInMe: One of the protagonists has been the villain the whole time — which can be as much of a shock to them as to everyone else.
56	* LastBreathBullet: Villain thought killed turns out to have enough life left in them to do one bad deed before dying for real.
57	* MandatoryTwistEnding: A series that has twist endings that happen almost every episode.
58	* MeaninglessVillainVictory: The villain wins, but an occurrence or revelation at the last minute renders their victory pointless.
59	* MetaTwist: A twist ending that happens in a way that is not expected.
60	* NestedStoryReveal: Supposedly real events turn out to be a fictional story within a larger story.
61	* NotHisSled: An adaptation of a well-known story changes the ending to surprise audiences expecting the adaptation to be exactly like the original work.
62	* OrWasItADream: It looks like the character only dreamed the events of the story, but then it's hinted that what they supposedly dreamed about had actually happened.
63	* RealAfterAll: It turns out that this creature everyone assumed to be fake or fictional actually does exist after all.
64	* TheStoryThatNeverWas: The solution to the story's conflict is to completely undo the events via CosmicRetcon.
65	* SubvertedSuspicionAesop: The person you suspected was "off" but they appear to turn out to be normal? Well, turns out your suspicions were right all along!
66	* SuccessHallucinations: A character finally succeeds at doing something only to find out later that it didn't really happen.
67	* SweetAndSourGrapes: A character gives up on trying to achieve a goal, and then later receives something that is much more rewarding than what they were originally after.
68	* TakenDuringTheEnding: A character/object is taken away at the end of the story for a purpose, leaving it ambiguous on what's going to happen next.
69	* TomatoSurprise: Something is known in-universe, but is revealed to the audience as a twist.
70	* TomatoInTheMirror: A character discovers that they are not what they think they are.
71	* TrumanShowPlot: Someone discovers that their life was part of a film or television show without their knowledge.
72	[[/index]]

Context Main / TwistEnding