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10[[quoteright:240:[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/PokemonRnB_9070.png]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:240:[[CurseCutShort "Son of a bi—!!"]]]]
12
13->''"THIS ROOM IS AN ILLUSION AND IS A TRAP DEVISUT BY SATAN.\
14GO AHEAD DAUNTLESSLY! MAKE RAPID PROGRES [sic]!"''
15-->-- ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'', immediately before forcing the player to replay the entire game
16
17The plot has been resolved... but the work isn't actually over yet. Before long, there's a twist thrown in. Alternately the plot looks all resolved, and we've almost reached the end, so it actually seems like everything's working out... but then the writers pull a CliffHanger situation to finish everything off.
18
19In terms of providing a genuine surprise, the trope works to varying degrees in different media, from being nearly unusable in books (the reader can [[SpoiledByTheFormat tell how much is left by page count]], but unexpected sequels can occasionally catch one by surprise) to completely effective in single-media computer games, particularly [[RolePlayingGame RPGs]]. For some reason, there has been a trend of including a segment which transparently pretends to be the climax or endgame when it obviously isn't, not just because there are vast expanses of the map you haven't explored yet or plot threads that haven't been tied up yet, but because [[DiscOneFinalDungeon you're still on Disc 1 of 4]]. Expect to see TheManBehindTheMan make his first appearance, perhaps offing the guy you ''thought'' was the BigBad, as well as a ClimaxBoss or two and maybe a {{t|heMole}}raitor. The heroes may find that [[MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot a minor crime has revealed a major plot]].
20
21When done at the end of a movie, it is used as a [[SequelHook tease for a sequel]]. Of course, that could depend on whether the movie is good/successful enough to warrant a sequel. A SequelReset or HappyEndingOverride often invalidates previous accomplishments of the hero.
22
23In CrimeAndPunishmentSeries, this trope usually results in the detained suspect being AcquittedTooLate. In [=RPGs=], this often takes the form of a DiscOneFinalDungeon. See also SnicketWarningLabel, NiceJobBreakingItHero, ShaggyDogStory and HopeSpot. Closely related to YouCantThwartStageOne and HeadsIWinTailsYouLose; may also overlap with FailureIsTheOnlyOption. May result from someone MovingTheGoalposts.
24
25Compare VictoryFakeout and TrickBoss. If the twist never comes, EndingFatigue awaits. Contrast LeftHanging and SpoiledByTheFormat. See also TheStinger.
26
27[[TropeNamers Derives its name]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', where after all but the final castle level, a rescued Toad thanks Mario but tells him "[[BeamMeUpScotty Our Princess is in Another Castle.]]"
28
29!!As an {{Ending Trope|s}} (or at least a Reveal Trope), [[Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers all spoilers on this page are unmarked]].
30
31----
32!!Examples:
33[[index]]
34* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle/VideoGames
35[[/index]]
36
37[[foldercontrol]]
38
39[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
40* ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'' is all about a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits group of friends]] [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether reuniting]] to stop a masked cult leader known only as [[BigBad ''Friend'']] from taking over the world, based on a pretend evil plot that they dreamt up in their youth out of boredom. The first part of the series is all about them trying to uncover the cult's plot, which they learn involves destroying Tokyo with a giant mech on the final day of the Twentieth Century. Eventually the attack happens and they set out to stop it. Seeing as how everything so far's been building up to this moment, we must be at the climax of the series, right? Nope, you're only 5 volumes into a 24 volume series, buddy. Turns out that Friend was using the robot (which is actually a fake) so he could destroy it himself and make him and his cult look the hero, whilst framing the actual heroes. Suddenly, the story jumps forward 15 years and Friend is now the leader of an oppressive Japan, with most of the main characters scattered, in prison, or presumed dead. Oh crap.
41* ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'': The main characters consistently come really close to accomplishing their dreams, only to have to restart from the beginning due to some unforeseen reason.
42* ''Manga/BlackCat'' leaves you in disbelief when it pulls this off in episode (if you are watching it on DVD and so realise that it has to end somehow at Episode 24). So, at Episode 20, Creed Diskenth is finally defeated, and carried off by Echidna Parass after Eve disables the nano-machines in his body, making him mortal, and then Mason suddenly turns up, accompanied by Doctor, Shiki and several Chrono numbers, announcing that they plan to shape a new world order, resulting in an arc that is even more extravagant than the Apostles of the Stars arc, but that lasts just 4 episodes.
43* In ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'' Episode 15, Charles pulls this on Lelouch. After Lelouch geasses Charles to die, which he does, he realizes that he didn't get any answers out of him and starts regretting killing him right off the bat. Wait, Charles is immortal?! OhCrap.
44** Episode 22 of the first season: Wait, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Euphemia's]] peace proposal is genuine, viable ''and'' she knows about Lelouch? My, this could not only solve the episode's issues, but the whole season's main conflict. All they need to do is to walk to the stage and announce it. But the episode is only halfway through...
45* Episode 11 of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' has most of the cast in a position (suffering from an unknown poison and days away from coming into human contact) where we're left to assume they all died, [[MindScrew apparently]]. Episode 12 begins with Spike waking up scared from [[AllJustADream a really bad nightmare]].
46* ''Manga/DeathNote'': About two thirds of the way through the full story line, Light Yagami uses Misa and Rem to defeat L and then assumes his identity, becoming the 2nd L. L-Kira exalts in finally becoming the God of the New World... Five years later, Light [[VictoryIsBoring is delighted to discover that]] 1st L had made provisions for his defeat; he has successors eager to avenge him and show their worth by defeating the one who killed their hero.
47* In ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' the party finally slays the Red Dragon, gets Laios's sister back (with complications), and is preparing to return to the surface with the mission a success. All's well that ends well, right? But then a dark elf who is apparently the Lunatic Magician who rules the dungeon appears, drops most of the party through a hole in the ground to what is almost certain death, and takes Falin away, having plans for her as she is now half-dragon (due to being revived by Marcille using the red dragon's corpse as components. Now, Laios begrudgingly accepts that they have to return to the surface to restock on supplies so they can tackle the dungeon again and save his sister. Again.
48* In ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'', after a long and fierce battle, the Legendary Warriors finally defeat Cherubimon, who has been seen as the BigBad of the series. Then it's revealed that Cherubimon was actually an UnwittingPawn, having been corrupted by the ManBehindTheMan -- Lucemon.
49* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Goku teleports himself and Cell, who is about to self destruct and [[TakingYouWithMe take Earth with him]], to King Kai's planet. Cell explodes, destroying the planetoid and killing [[HeroicSacrifice Goku]], King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory and Cell himself. It looks like the nightmare's finally over. Then Cell ''comes back'', having managed to [[FromASingleCell regenerate from nearly nothing]] and having received a massive power-up thanks to his Saiyan DNA (Saiyans receive a power-up after recovering from near-death), and gaining the ability to return to Earth via Goku's Instant Transmission because Cell can learn any technique he's exposed to.
50** Later, during the battle against Majin Buu, Vegeta, after a lengthy ride through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, sacrifices himself in a final attempt to vaporize the Majin. It looks like he actually pulled it off... [[SenselessSacrifice Then Buu regenerates]].
51*** This happens a lot with Buu. Vegeta thinks he's vaporized Buu with his suicide attack? Buu's regeneration can overpower ''that''. Mr. Satan manages to befriend and talk down Buu? Cue a couple of moronic gunmen shooting him and unleashing Buu's SuperpoweredEvilSide. Super Buu is blown to bits and then burned in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? His regen's got that covered. Trapped in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber? He can tear holes between dimensions ''by screaming''. Gohan is now powerful enough to overpower Super Buu? Buu absorbs him. All the Z warriors plus Fat Buu are torn out of Super Buu, reducing him to a childlike form? This one's the worst of them all, because what he lacks in power he more than makes up for in ''sheer insanity''.
52** This is practically Dragon Ball's hat. You defeated the evil green demon lord with a headbutt through the stomach! Hey, what was that coming out of his mouth? Oh well. You defeated your evil brother from space! ...His much more powerful friends will be along shortly. You defeated the alien warlords! ...But the {{Plot Coupon}}s that can revive your fallen comrades are on another planet, being hunted by their boss. You defeated their boss and have an EverybodyLaughsEnding! ...He rises up and kills your best friend. Okay, you DEFINITELY killed him this time! [[WeCanRebuildHim ...He comes back as a cyborg.]] This cool new guy killed the cyborg! ...Andro-what-now? Wait, these androids don't seem like much of a problem... turns out, these aren't the real androids, and the real ones are ''far'' more powerful. Okay, so the new androids have turned out to be pretty chill -- now who's that mysterious green dude drinking people with his tail?
53** Zamasu in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' continues the trend, having to be killed ''three times'' to finally put him down. Beerus atomizes him in the past? Because of time travel shenanigans, his future selves continue to be a problem. Being bisected from the groin up after enduring a brutal beatdown from Vegito? Hi there, [[EldritchAbomination Infinite Zamasu]]. In the end, after either merging his soul with the Future Trunks multiverse or cloning himself indefinitely with each clone having all the power of Fused Zamasu, it takes Future Zen'o causing a ApocalypseHow to the timeline to finally put him down for good.
54* ''Manga/FairyTail'': After everybody combines their strength to prevent the lacrima from crashing into Extalia, Erza Knightwalker shoots Pantherlily InTheBack, and her army arrives to attack the heroes.
55** The end of the Tenrou Island arc. The group manage to fend off the dark guild Grimoire Heart and protect the island. All seems well and the only matter now is to have the heroes heal up... And then an evil dragon unintentionally summoned appears.
56* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''
57** The TV series has a literal example of this trope as Kenshiro enters the hideout of his [[TheRival rival]] Shin to [[SaveThePrincess rescue his kidnapped fiance]] Yuria, only to be told by Shin's informant and FillerVillain Joker that Shin has moved his army to a new hideout. This also happens in TheMovie, when Kenshiro arrives too late to Southern Cross after Raoh has beaten Shin and taken Yuria.
58** Another example is when Rei and Kenshiro are looking for Juda to fight him, so that Rei can take revenge on him for Mamiya's honor, but Juda has already moved to another hideout, wasting one of the precious few days that Rei has left in his life.
59* Well, Ed, after only a couple of volumes of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' spanning a few years of misadventures and a recent attack by a serial alchemist-killer, you've finally found a guy who has the thing that will solve all your problems: the Philosopher's Stone. Wait, he won't give it to you? It's got [[PoweredByAForsakenChild a terrible secret?]] Well, crap.
60* Occurs in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi.'' Miaka's quest to summon the god Suzaku looks like it's on track to succeed, but when they finally get all the warriors together for the critical ceremony, it's sabotaged. This requires the good guys to go searching for the {{Cosmic Keystone}}s that will allow them to try again, which takes up the second half of the series. And ironically, as a direct result of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard their efforts to sabotage the Suzaku ceremony]], the Seiryuu warriors ''also'' are prevented from summoning their god, and have to go looking for the same magical items.
61* ''Anime/GaoGaiGarFINAL'' serves up a variation in the form of a ''battle'' with a bit of a LensmanArmsRace thrown in. Several times during the final battle between 3G and the Sol Masters, it looks as if one side or the other has won the fight only for the other side to come back and kick some more ass. First, all the good guys transform/combine and bust out their best moves, only for the Sol Masters to regenerate and "kill" the heroes. Then Mamoru gets a {{Determinator}} moment that kicks off a slew of MyNameIsInigoMontoya moments from the defeated heroes, coupled with more than a few {{Limit Break}}s and {{Eleventh Hour Superpower}}s which seem to defeat the villains for real... only for the villains to regenerate ''in droves'', and seemingly kill off any hope for the heroes to win...
62--> ''' Palus Abel:''' It appears that you've lost, doesn't it?\
63'''Soldato-J:''' ...you think so?\
64''[cue the dropping of hammers]''
65* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', the main characters are all dead, there's a nice ending monologue, and everything looks wrapped up... in the fourth episode. Turns out it ''is'' over... [[StoryArc Onikakushi-hen]], anyway...
66* Towards the end of ''Anime/IdolmasterXenoglossia'', [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Turiavita]] is destroyed, their island vaporized, and their attack on the city over. However, since all five [[MacGuffin idol cores]] were in the same area, [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Auryn]] appears where the moon once was and threatens the world, requiring the heroines to stop it in the next (and final) episode.
67* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': Happens a lot to Team Inuyasha whenever they battle Naraku; by the time he goes down for good, they've been to as many castles and killed as many fake {{Big Bad}}s as Mario himself.
68* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' has 'invasions to end the war' happening near constantly. Given that the show is 110 episodes long, no one is really expecting invasions in Episodes 20 or 40 to really succeed.
69* Subverted in ''Manga/MagicalCircleGuruGuru.'' After our heroes have defeated their first boss, Kasegi Gold, the stage he appeared on lights up and the heroes freak because they think something worse is about to show up. The good news is, it's just the Old Kita Kita Man. The bad news is that, given Kita Kita Man is an old guy in a hula skirt who dances non-stop, he ''is'' arguably worse than Kasegi Gold.
70* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': BigBad Dr. Hell is defeated before the final episode... and, needless to say, the final episode wasn't just a peaceful day. Basically, one of the CoDragons was a DragonWithAnAgenda was working for a GreaterScopeVillain, and he sent several {{Robeast}}s to destroy Mazinger-Z, more powerful than anything Dr. Hell had ever built. They completely succeeded in destroying all HumongousMecha of the heroes and their HomeBase, but before Kouji got killed, he was saved by Tetsuya Tsurugi and his brand-new HumongousMecha performing the first of his many BigDamnHeroes. All of it was done to set up the sequel, ''Anime/GreatMazinger''.
71* The central plot of ''Anime/MyHime'' seemingly gets resolved with the defeat of the Searrs AncientConspiracy. Even the end credits change... except that can't possibly be it, as it's only Episode 15 of 26. In the next episode, a rather cruel twist is promptly thrown in.
72** The [[Manga/MyHime manga version]] also throws this in halfway through, when the [=HiME=] unite to defeat Nagi and the Orphans. Right after their celebration, Searrs arrives on the scene and shoots everything to hell by deposing Mashiro as headmaster and effectively holding the entire school hostage, stating that she and the [=HiME=] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness have outgrown their purpose]] now that the Orphans are "no longer a threat".
73* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Well Sasuke, you finally killed your brother and avenged your clan... wait Itachi was doing it because higher-ups at Konoha told him to? Fuck.
74** In the Land of Birds filler arc, Naruto, Tenten and Neji seemingly prove that the Strategist impersonated the Cursed Warrior in order to plan a coup at the end of the second episode in the arc. The arc gets more complex from there.
75* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Well, Luffy, it seems you finally got to the Sixth Level of [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]] to [[RescueArc rescue your imprisoned older brother]]. Sure it literally [[EquivalentExchange took ten years off your life]] and you had to suffer eighteen hours of excruciating agony to be healed after being [[CurbStompBattle wiped off the floor]] by the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking head warden]], but at least you got there in ti-- OhCrap, it looks like you just missed your brother being transferred to his execution site! Tough break, buddy.
76** And then you fought your way through the biggest battle that's ever been fought, taking huge amounts of damage, watching people die around you, and you FINALLY rescued Ace. Great! Wait, what's that? [[ShootTheShaggyDog Ace got killed]]? And then [[BigBad Blackbeard]] showed up and [[FromBadToWorse killed Whitebeard and took his world-destroying power]]? Well, shucks.
77* Near the end of ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'', during the climax of Team Flare's plot, Ash, Alain, and Malva manage to defeat [[BigBad Lysandre]] (who seems to jump off Prism Tower) while Clemont shuts off the device controlling both Zygarde and Serena and Marian rescue Marian's Chespin, Chespie, meaning Team Flare has been stopped. '''WRONG!''' Chespie is then sucked into the Megalith at Lysandre Labs, which takes on the form of Zygarde and heads for the Anistar Sundial with the intent of consuming it and creating an energy wave that will end all life. However, Ash and Alain enter the Megalith and rescue Chespie, with the thing shutting down. All over, right? '''WRONG AGAIN!''' Lysandre is revealed to still be alive and is now controlling the Megalith, keeping it on its destination.
78* Happens in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion''. Everything seems to be all neatly wrapped up and set for a [[BittersweetEnding moderately happy ending]]... [[CruelTwistEnding when suddenly]] Homura decides that she's had enough of Madoka sacrificing her own life for everyone else's sake and uses ThePowerOfLove to [[FaceHeelTurn become the Satan to Madoka's God]], forcibly seal her powers and creating a LotusEaterMachine world for her to live in. This is the "rebellion" the title was referring to, and it happens within the last 10-15 minutes or so of the movie. There ''were'' hints that this would happen, but they were [[RewatchBonus so vague and subtle]] that the ending took almost everyone off guard.
79* At the end of ''{{Anime/Rebuild of|Evangelion}} [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]] 2.0'', Shinji apparently starts Third Impact, which those who have watched the original know marks the end of things. This early? Even those who haven't would guess that it's not over given that four films are intended. Well, nope. A lance impales Unit 01 and Kaworu descends in Unit 06. Time to wait for 3.0!
80** The trope actually pulled double-duty; way to stop Third Impact there, Kaworu, you saved the human race! rong, Third Impact happened in those ten or so seconds. More than 90% of the already barely surviving human race is dead and gone. Almost the entirety of 3.0 is one side or the other of the civil war between the remnants of NERV (Gendo, Fuyutsuki, Rei and Kaworu) and ''everyone else'' seemingly about to win only for enough plot twists to arise to make Creator/MNightShyamalan get dizzy!
81** 3.0 pulls this trope again: according to Kaworu, he and Shinji can use the two spears buried deep beneath NERV to undo the damage from (Near) Third Impact. But when they get there, there are two identical spears, instead of the two different ones Kaworu expected to find. Shinji tries to use them anyway, and ends up causing yet another Impact. [[ShootTheShaggyDog Kaworu kills himself to stop it, thoroughly traumatizing Shinji and putting everyone else back to square one.]]
82* ''Anime/{{Raideen}}'' is about aliens called Demon Empire trying to take over Earth. Luckily, at the same time, a young boy named Akira is called by a mysterious SuperRobot named ''Raideen'' to pilot it, and thwarts their efforts each time. Eventually, the demons figure out they can hold Akira's father Ichiro hostage to lure him out, not once, but multiple times. When he's kidnapped for the last time, the Copelanders rescue him, and he and Akira tearfully reunite.
83* A couple of good examples from ''Anime/RODTheTV'': In the first episode, a nameless villain tries to take out Nenene with a bomb. He gives a little speech and gets beaten up by the Paper Sisters. Nenene waves goodbye and boards her plane back to Japan. Cue credits? Nope, turns out the bomber's brother is waiting for her on the plane. Later in the series, the sisters are sent back home to Hong Kong and what follows is a sweet episode about Anita saying goodbye to her friends at school, and Hisa trying to work up the nerve to express her feelings to Anita. The girls have their positive moment, and just when you think it's over, Lee strolls in, reveals that he actually works for Dokusensha, and kidnaps Nenene with a group of armed guards.
84* Happens in many MagicalGirl series, but notably in ''Anime/SailorMoon S''. TheDragon is cornered, Sailor Moon is powering up her attack, it's even playing the Moon Spiral Heart Attack stock footage -- but it's way too early in the episode for it, the stock footage is intercut with the Dragon's reaction, and the background music hasn't segued into Sailor Moon's theme ... you're not even ''supposed'' to think this is going to work.
85* Episode 23 of ''Manga/SoltyRei'' ends with Ashley and Eunomia defeated, and the city rebuilding, complete with HardWorkMontage. Unfortunately, Solty discovers that Eirene is about to pull a ColonyDrop on the city. Not good.
86* In the 1980's ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' episode "The Race for Life", Speed managed to have the antidote to save the mayor of a South American village from snakebite poison delivered on time, thwarting the local crime boss's plan to take the mayor's place and get the village's treasure while also exposing that the crime boss was the one behind the mayor's poisoning. Everything should be wrapped up, only for the crime boss to then declare that [[IfICantHaveYou if he can't be in charge of the village, then there will BE no village]], his henchmen setting the village on fire, releasing bulls to trample over it, and him taking the treasure during the chaos, prompting Speed to chase after him.
87* Happens in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. Simon leads an army of rebels to destroy the evil king that's forcing humanity to live underground. The mission is a success, the empire is destroyed, and everyone lives happily ever after... until it's revealed years later that the king was keeping them underground to hold off a larger enemy in space. Guess what happens next?
88* Used in ''Anime/VoltesV'', in regards to the whereabouts of Professor Kentarou Go. One of his sons' and disciples' main goals is to find him. And they do. But DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou guys...
89* In ''Manga/TheWorldGodOnlyKnows'', great job, Vulcan! Thanks to you, the cursed knife is pulled out, and Kanon is saved! Huh? Why isn't she waking up...? Apollo put herself in magical stasis to survive the curse, and we need to find your sister Mercury to get through to her? HereWeGoAgain.
90* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'':
91** Just when Seto Kaiba is about to save his little brother, Pegasus traps Mokuba's soul in a trading card. Parodied in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', when Pegasus actually says: "I'm afraid your Princess is in another castle, Kaiba-boy."
92** Also a common structure for individual episodes: if the hero's just played a game-winning combo, the victory music is swelling, and [[SpoiledByTheFormat there's more than three minutes left in the episode]], something's about to go wrong.
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Comic Books]]
96* In one [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] story, Billy Batson is forced to storm a tower in his normal form to rescue [[ComicBook/MaryMarvel his sister]]. (The tower was indestructible, and the openings and passages are really small because the villains were tiny aliens). After going through hell, when he finally reaches the top... Mary was in the next tower over all along.
97* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': You would think that, once the Hulk has been defeated and the team had its baptism of fire, and some view over the consequences of said battle, the series would be done. Not Quite. Remember those aliens that Cap fought in WWII? They are back... and it's still the same miniseries, not a sequel one.
98* ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'': In Volume 7 "Le Couvent des soeurs de sang", Requiem has sneak in to the eponymous convent to rescue his love interest Rebecca, who was taken there to join {{Dracula}}'s [[RoyalHarem harem of brides]]. He ends up finding out from the women inside that she was taken somewhere else by another vampire.
99%%* Thank you [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna Troy]], [[Franchise/GreenLantern Kyle Rayner]], [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd]], and Bob the Monitor! [[Comicbook/CountdownToFinalCrisis But Ray Palmer Is In Another Universe.]]
100%%Zero-context example.
101* Creator/ScottMcCloud's ''ComicBook/{{Zot}}'' featured a story dealing with a high school girl who is experiencing attraction to another girl. The second girl is known to her classmates to be a lesbian, and is tormented because of it. The first girl is trying to suppress her feelings. The story ends with the second girl passing the first in the hallway, and trying to be friendly. The first girl ignores her, looks very sad, and then the letters page appears, which traditionally is printed at the end of a comic. But after the letters page, the first girl calls back to the second girl, and a later issue shows them to have started a happy relationship. (In the collected edition, the letters page was replaced with commentary by [=McCloud=], so it still works.)
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Fan Works]]
105%%* The final line of dialogue of ''Fanfic/QuarterLifeHalfwayToDestruction''.
106%%Zero-context example.
107* ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorneyCase5TurnaboutSubstitution'': So, you've proven [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep Judge Chambers]] innocent of the murder against Robert Erlenmeyer, even proving Erlenmeyer was never killed to begin with. And in one day, too! Good job! But wait! Shortly afterwards, you get a new defense request, and this time someone really ''is'' dead: Judge Chambers. And the defendant is Robert Erlenmeyer, too. Good luck with that.
108* Examples from Fanfic/{{the Calvinverse}}:
109** Chapter 19 of ''Fanfic/RetroChill'' has this. The antagonists have all been [[AndIMustScream trapped in frozen time forever]], and the heroes have all gone home. Of course, one of the other villains had been left there to conquer the Earth, and the 20th and final chapter deals exclusively with this.
110** Explicitly pointed out by the narrator in ''Fanfic/ThePezDispenserAndTheReignOfTerror'':
111--> "Can I just say…if you thought that this story was nearly over…it's ''barely'' even begun."
112* In the ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' this happens in Dark World: the heroes manage to redeem themselves, storm Discord's palace, defeat or purify all his minions, defeat TheDragon, and finally challenge him...only to discover that the same situation has played out over and over again for Discord in a GroundhogDayLoop for ''several hundred million years''. This means they still have to defeat the ''actual'' villain who reduced Discord to a tortured PuppetKing, Twilight's [[FutureMeScaresMe potential future self]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Eclipse]], before she can [[OmnicidalManiac delete the timeline again]].
113* In ''[[Fanfic/BecauseIKnewYou Multiverse of Madness: Clea Cut]]'', just when the dimensionally- displaced heroes have returned to their world and America seems to be talking Clea down, Mordo stabs Clea in the back and takes America’s powers for himself with the goal of destroying magic across the multiverse.
114* ''Fanfic/TheEquestrianWindMage'': Season 2 does this twice with its FinalBattle. First, when Vaati and the Mane Six show up at the Crystal Empire to finally face down Ganondorf, his armies have been broken and he's been greatly weakened by fighting the Princesses. But he realizes that in this state he'd lose, so he grabs the unconscious Princesses and flees back to occupied Canterlot, in order to regain his strength, with the heroes following in the hopes of defeating him while he's still weakened. And then, even when they do so, it just results in [[TrueFinalBoss Demise being reborn out of his body]], leading to an entirely different fight against ''him''.
115* Parodied in [[http://daniel-sg.deviantart.com/art/Plumbers-Don-t-Wear-Crowns-Update-415919200 this]] ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' deviantart.
116* ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'': In the technically final story, ''Cold'', Jacques Schnee's tyrannical rule over Atlas has fallen by the titular characters and the resistance, but then [[BigBad Salem]] acquires the Sword of Destruction from Vacuo and comes to Atlas with all four Relics to finally awaken [[GreaterScopeVillain Void]], setting the stage for the final battle.
117* [[Anime/RanmaOneHalf Ranma Saotome]] manages to combine this with SnipeHunt in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13250586/2/Ranma-Restart-Bid-for-Freedom Ranma Restart: Bid for Freedom]]. [[MentalTimeTravel After returning to his six-year-old body]], Ranma left a note addressed to Genma from Hideki Yamamura saying that he found Ranma and had taken him as per their marriage agreement. Meanwhile, he sent a letter to Hideki saying that he had freed Ranma from his father Genma and detailing some of his fathers misdeeds, addressed from Seto Tachibana, Seto got a similar letter addressed from Naoto Tozawa...meanwhile, Ranma went in a different order from what the people following the letters would follow in order to annul all of the marriages his father had conned the other MartialArtsAndCrafts masters of Japan into.
118[[/folder]]
119
120[[folder:Film - Animated]]
121* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', Aladdin, in his prince guise, has won Jasmine's heart, freed the Sultan from Jafar's mind control and exposes his true nature, forcing him to run. Unfortunately, Aladdin realizes that he can't continue his charade without Genie and therefore cannot [[FreeingTheGenie grant his freedom]], [[PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure harming their friendship.]] Even worse, Jafar learns Aladdin's secret and has Iago steal the lamp and take over the kingdom.
122* Early on in ''WesternAnimation/BandsOnTheRun'', the bands make their way to a gas station and get picked up by kids, which is exactly what the bands wanted. Then, the kids' mother stops them since she thinks the rubber bands are just trash, and they get thrown out.
123* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie'', [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick finally make it back from Shell City with King Neptune's crown and [[LastMinuteReprieve save Mr. Krabs from being executed]], only for Plankton to plant [[MindControlDevice a bucket mind-control helmet]] on [[HijackingCthulhu King Neptune himself!]]
124-->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Plankton cheated.
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127[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
128* ''Film/AirForceOne'' has been secured, the (surviving) hostages freed, the hijackers killed, and the evil general has been stopped from getting out of prison. Of course, they are still in the middle of hostile airspace, with enemy [=MiGs=] now closing in with the failure of the hijacking plot, and [[ChekhovsGun Halo Flight's]] [[CoolPlane F-15s]] still haven't had the chance to do anything really cool. Oh, and the hijackers' [[TheMole Mole]] still hasn't been caught.
129* ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. Ripley rescues Newt from the Hive, they escape the planet along with Hicks and Bishop just before the fusion reactor explodes, and all seems well. Then it turns out that the Queen Alien hitched a ride.
130* ''Film/AmericanDreamer'' has a fake out ending, where it turns out Cathy's antics under EasyAmnesia got her into trouble with drug lords.
131* In ''Film/AustinPowers in Goldmember'', Austin gets Dr. Evil arrested in the very beginning, making it clear that something will inevitably go wrong. Dr. Evil even does a musical number pointing this out ("Austin caught me in the first act/it's all backwards, what's with that"?).
132%%* ''Film/{{Australia}}''. The film could easily have been split in two, [[EndingFatigue which might have been for the better]].
133%%Zero-context example.
134* In ''Film/BigGame'', the Pentagon quickly scrambles Navy SEAL teams to the location of the escape pod's homing beacon. Unfortunately, it fell off the pod during the crash and leads them to a farm in rural Norway instead.
135* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' featured a lovely ending: Le Chiffre has lost and died and James Bond gets the Bond Girl he's been eyeing for the entire movie. They kiss and begin a romance, with Bond deciding to quit [=MI6=]. Everything is hunky-dory ... then Vesper betrays Bond, running away with the cash to pay her fiancee's ransom.
136* In ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|1981}}'', Perseus frees the city of Joppa from its curse fairly early in the film, and the good guys throw a big party -- only for a much ''worse'' crisis to then present itself before they're even through celebrating.
137%%* Happens in ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}''. Twice.
138%%Zero-context example.
139* Happens in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' -- it looks like Dent is being set up for a SequelHook, then the other third of the movie happens. Or, arguably, even earlier. Joker's in the MCU and Batman can rest easy... then MCU blows sky-high, as does Rachel Dawes.
140%%* Occurs in ''Film/DarkStar'', where the self-destruct has seemingly been aborted.
141%%Zero-context example.
142* In ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'', after Godzilla and his friends barely manage to defeat King Ghidorah, they don't even have time to rest before the Kilaaks unveil their second trump card, the Fire Dragon.
143* In ''Film/{{Doomsday}}'', the protagonist has dealt with both Sol and Kane, and is on her way to the border with the MacGuffin. Sol shows up for [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge round 2.]]
144* ''Film/{{Dragonslayer}}''. The villagers celebrate when Galen causes an avalanche to block the dragon Vermithrax's cave entrance, despite [[NeverFoundTheBody never seeing the dragon actually die]] or taking into consideration that there might be ''more'' caves leading out of its lair. All Galen did was ''piss it off''.
145* In ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'', William Cage's connection to the alien HiveMind starts to give him visions of the Omega alien's location. Much of the movie is spent with him using his GroundhogDayLoop ability to try to find a survivable path to it. After numerous setbacks and failures, he finally reaches the location on his own only to discover that the visions were a trap, and that the Omega was never really there.
146* The ''Film/FinalDestination'' series do this constantly. There are even cases where it is done more than once.
147** [[Film/FinalDestination The first film]] has the events after Alex saved Clear from being electrocuted. The movie cuts to Paris, where Alex, Clear, and Carter celebrate beating Death. A vehicle abruptly crashes on the restaurant, making it clear that Death is not giving up catching them. When Carter asks Alex who is going to die next, a neon sign swings to him from the back before it SmashToBlack.
148** ''Film/FinalDestination2'' has two cases. The first is when Kimberly and Thomas see Isabella giving birth to her child, which apparently stops Death's List. Then a fire abruptly breaks out of Eugene's room, killing him and [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome Clear]]. Kimberly realizes that Isabella was never meant to die in the pileup and has nothing to do with their predicament. Bludworth's "new life defeating Death" is not a literal new life coming out of someone, but someone being resuscitated after near death. She boards an ambulance and speeds into a nearby lake to drown herself before being resuscitated, which finally stops Death's List...until the very end, where a kid who was inadvertently put in Death's List gets [[BloodyHilarious blown to bits]], hinting that Kim and Thomas might not be safe forever.
149** ''Film/FinalDestination3'': With Wendy, Kevin, and Julie saving each other from their near-deaths in the Fourth of July fair, it seems that Death's plan is derailed. The movie cuts to three months later, where they reunite while boarding a subway. Wendy suddenly remembers something crucial which puts everyone in danger. The subway crashes, killing everyone on board. [[DaydreamSurprise Oh wait, that was just Wendy's premonition]]. The trio try to stop the subway before it SmashToBlack and the sound of the crash is heard, [[BolivianArmyEnding leaving their fate unknown]].
150** ''Film/FinalDestination4'': Nick and Lori successfully save Janet and George from being killed. Lori and Janet celebrate by watching a movie. However, Nick remembers that there is a survivor unaccounted for from the stadium collapse and tries to save him, but fails. George is then killed, leaving Nick racing to save Lori and Janet, but he fails again. [[HistoryRepeats Oh wait,]] [[DaydreamSurprise that was his premonition]]. He is unable to save George, but manages to save Lori and Janet. They celebrate several months later in a restaurant. Nick suddenly comes to a realization that since having a premonition is what's putting people to Death's List, this means Death is really the one behind the premonitions. [[ShootTheShaggyDog A vehicle crashes through the restaurant and kills all three of them]]. The end.
151** ''Film/FinalDestination5'': Sam kills Peter before he is able to murder Molly, which Bludworth predicted would add Peter's lifespan to his. The movie cuts to the JFK airport, where Sam is scheduled to move to Paris to work at a restaurant, with Molly tagging along. The two watch a ruckus going on nearby, where [[StealthPrequel a high schooler named Alex Browning is escorted out of the plane, followed by a few of his friends and teacher]]. [[DoomedByCanon It is Flight 180 and the year is 2000]].
152* In ''Film/Godzilla1998'', the military blows up Madison Square Garden just after Nick and the others manage to escape, destroying Godzilla's offspring and ending his species, Nick and Audrey have reconciled, triumphant music is playing and it looks like the movie is over...but then Godzilla bursts out of the ground, having survived his DisneyDeath from earlier and, [[PapaWolf enraged over the death of his children]], pursues the group in a final ChaseScene.
153* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'': After successfully breaking into Orgocorp and getting the information they need to deactivate the kill-switch, it looks like the The Guardians have won... Only to find out the High Evolutionary is two steps ahead of them and has removed the code needed to save Rocket, meaning they now have to go to Counter-Earth, and into an obvious trap.
154%%* The ''Film/{{Halloween 2007}}'' remake features the famous exchange in which Michael Myers is compared to the boogeyman. For those who watched the original, movie's over, right? Not exactly...
155%%Zero-context example.
156* In ''The Haunting in Connecticut'', after Reverend Popescu finds Jonah's remains and removes them from the house, he assures the Campbells that the house should now be safe, and drives away. As it turns out, this only makes things worse -- Jonah wasn't a malevolent spirit, but was trying to protect the family from the real evil force in the house, the angry ghosts of the people Aickman desecrated with his necromancy.
157* Like [[Theatre/IntoTheWoods the musical]], the halfway point of ''Film/IntoTheWoods'' serves as a sort of fake out "happy ending"; Cinderella and her Prince get married (as do Rapunzel and her Prince), Jack and his Mother become wealthy, the Witch regains her youth and beauty, and the Baker and his Wife finally get the child they've always wanted. Right in the middle of the royal wedding, everyone (including the narrating Baker) is interrupted by the quaking stomps of the Giantess, and it is ''then'' that the darker second half begins.
158* In ''Film/JackReacher'', the titular hero takes out the bad guys guarding a building where he assumes a hostage is being kept, only to find out the building is empty and the hostage is in another building close by.
159* ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'': Roderick is dead, the princess is saved, the beanstalk has been chopped down, stranding the giants in their land... Shame on you if you expected the movie to end at this point.
160* ''Film/JohnWick''. Did you really think John would be able to bag Iosef at the nightclub? Or that it would be over once John gets his man, with an irate and not quite rationally-thinking papa wolf of a mob boss?
161* ''Film/LAConfidential'', Lt. Det. Edmund Exley has killed the runaway culprits of the Nite Owl massacre, he is condecorated by the Chief of Police and considered a hero... But there's something off. Bud White feels something in the resolving of the Nite Owl that is really wrong.
162* ''Film/LettersToJuliet'': Sophie's boss wonders this about her article.
163* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'', Frodo and Sam initially think their journey is over after they get the Ring to Rivendell for safekeeping at around halfway through the movie. Unfortunately, Elrond realizes that they cannot keep it there, and Frodo accepts the task of destroying it.
164** There is another moment around this time, after the council of Elrond, when the Fellowship is formed. The nine stand in a pretty line, Elrond pronounces "you shall be the Fellowship... of the Ring!", the theme swells and half the audience start to retrieve coats, finish off drinks and generally make ready to leave. Then find out there's another hour and a half to go. And, in some cases, hadn't realised that even then there were ''two more films'' before ring meets lava.
165** Also, Sam thinks his journey is over when the fellowship reaches Redhorn Mountain, which he confuses with Mount Doom. Not that it isn't a mountain of doom by itself.
166** In the book you would think everything is done once the Ring is destroyed, but then we have the Scouring of the Shire, which was left out of the movie for both this reason and lack of time.
167* Toward the end of ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' the main characters have escaped the raptors, they're on the helicopter, and all seems right with the world. [[SpoiledByTheFormat Oh wait, we have a half hour left?]] Time for the ''T. rex'' to romp through the city.
168* ''Film/MortalKombatTheMovie'' (which set up a [[Film/MortalKombatAnnihilation sordid sequel]]). [[BigBad Shang Tsung]] is dead and [[TheHero Liu Kang]] won the tournament, preventing the [[TheLegionsOfHell forces of Outworld from invading the Earth Realm.]] Everyone is about to leave the island and head home when [[TheManBehindTheMan the Emperor, Shao Khan]], appears and announces his plans to invade anyway. Raiden says "I don't think so," and everyone enters an AssKickingPose as the [[SequelHook credits roll.]]
169* In ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'', Tangina Barrons successfully tells the malevolent ghosts to cross over, sends Diane in after Carol Anne, declares "This house is clean", and departs. The next scene feels like you should be reaching for your coat and gathering up your empty popcorn buckets; the family is happily reunited and getting ready to leave the house forever. But then all hell breaks loose, the "Beast" attacks again, the sinister clown you've been waiting all movie to go berserk finally does, coffins erupt out of a swimming pool, and the entire house ''implodes''. THEN the movie is over.
170* ''Film/TheRing'' movies lead to a (seemingly) climactic scene in which the heroine goes inside the well to find the earthly remains of the Cursed Video's creator. These scenes are filled with dread and anticipation, as the heroine is minutes away from the 7-day deadline (and so, it's a race against her own death.) When they do find the body, the movies release the tension as though the whole plot had been a "give the ghost a proper burial and give her peace." The American remake is particularly blatant about this angle. Cue the heroine returning home, having defeated the curse... only to find out her ''ex-husband'' didn't, finding the body did ''nothing'', and the terror comes back full-force. "You weren't supposed to help her." Gee, thanks, [[CreepyChild Aiden]], you could have told us that half an hour ago.
171* ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'' does this multiple times. Scott defeats the BigBad who turns out to be NotQuiteDead and then kills Scott. Scott has an extra life, though, so he comes back and defeats the BigBad again, who turns out to be NotQuiteDead again, but this time Scott is prepared and defeats him once and for all. Then it turns out Scott has to defeat his evil alter ego, Nega-Scott, but this "battle" takes place off-screen rather than becoming EndingFatigue.
172* ''Film/{{Se7en}}''. You think the movie is about catching the serial killer, do you? Well, he gives himself up when there's half an hour of movie left.
173* In ''Film/{{Species}}'', the protagonists prematurely celebrate when the creature apparently dies in a car crash, but in fact she [[FakingTheDead faked the whole thing]].
174* ''Film/{{Speed}}'' did this multiple times. First it appears that the BigBad will be caught when they figured out who he is. It turns out it was a trap. Then later they managed to get all the passengers out of the bus safely without the villain knowing and sets a trap to capture him. But he caught on and the movie still goes on. Then the villain is finally killed. [[RuleOfThree Yet there's still a couple more minutes of movie time left]].
175* Happened in ''Film/SpyGame''. Robert Redford thinks he's successfully plotted to rescue Brad Pitt, starts walking out of the building, hands his tag to the security guard, jubilant music plays... and we're only an hour into the movie.
176* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' saga became this as of [[Film/TheForceAwakens December 18th 2015]]....That big Ewok dance party/Pan-Galactic celebration montage and the triumphant defeat of TheEmpire in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' now feels like Tangina in ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'' saying "The house is clean".[[note]]It may have taken 30 or so years but, still....[[/note]]
177* ''Film/TakingLives'', in which a police chief says, "Ah, it's over", after about 70 minutes. Naturally, it isn't.
178* In ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', James Cole finally figures out who the Army of the Twelve Monkeys are: Relatively harmless pranksters. Convinced that the BadFuture was just a figment of his imagination, he books a flight to the tropics with Kathryn. But before he can board the plane he receives another message from the future: TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is at hand and he can still stop it.
179* At around the two-hour mark of ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', Judy's makeover into Madeleine is complete, Scottie is happy (the same can't be said for Judy), and they have an OrbitalKiss, then we fade to black. So, movie's over, right? But wait a minute: Scottie never found out that Judy was Madeleine. Hitchcock even holds it in black a couple of seconds longer than a typical transition, to turn it into a FakeOutFadeOut. But we fade back up to Judy and Scottie, then Scottie recognizes her necklace and the ''real'' climax begins.
180* ''Film/WarGames'': Deciding to ride out the second strike, the military officials at NORAD realize there was no Soviet threat, so it's over, right? Wrong. [[PasswordSlotMachine JOSHUA is trying to find the password to launch the missiles himself]].
181* In ''Film/{{Zardoz}}'', the scene where Zed reveals how he learned Zardoz was actually ''The Wi'''Zard''' of '''Oz''''' makes you think the movie's wrapping up when, in fact, there's still almost an hour to go.
182[[/folder]]
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184[[folder:Gamebooks]]
185* Subverted in the final book of the ''Literature/{{Sorcery}}'' series, ''The Crown of Kings'' - it turns out you were in the right castle in the first place.
186[[/folder]]
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188[[folder:Literature]]
189* ''Literature/AgentAngel'' does this in the second book, "Losing The Plot". Mel and her friends think the Elizabethan mission is over, but they get back to Heaven, and they can tell something is wrong. They realize they weren't finished after all, go back down in the middle of the night and have another try at their mission.
190* Creator/DavidEddings' ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' has a very bad case of this. We're repeatedly told that the fight between Garion and Torak is going to be the end of all the fighting, the war between dark and light, all of it. And then suddenly the ''Malloreon'' comes along and tells us that no, the fight was a big event, but actually there's another thing that has to happen, and ''then'' it's going to be over.
191** Or, to be more accurate, then it will begin as the world will finally be released from the recursive loop it's been in since 'the Prophecy' split two for one.
192* Used in ''Literature/{{Binary}}'' by "John Lange" (a then pen-name of Creator/MichaelCrichton, not to be confused with "John Norman", a pen name used by Dr. John Frederick Lange, Jr. to write his ''Literature/{{Gor}}'' novels). The BigBad, John Wright, plans to release nerve gas in San Diego, killing the President and a few hundred thousand bystanders. When Wright finds out that federal agent John Graves is investigating him, and that Graves is likely to stop at the obvious solution, he devises two release mechanisms for the nerve gas, one obvious, one invisible.
193* Creator/AgathaChristie is the queen of this trope. If there are more than twenty pages left to go, there's a twist on the way.
194* Literature/{{Discworld}}:
195** Done three times in ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'' ("You think it's over?"), as a ShoutOut to an incident at the end of a RealLife UK football match.
196** In ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', where the words "THE END" are followed ''immediately'' by another four pages of story, fooling nobody.
197* In ''Literature/DoraWilkSeries'', a large chunk of the final novel is devoted to dismantling the organization of a man who's said to be holding Varg prisoner for Bruno. When Dora finally raids his compound, it turns out Varg was never among the trapped shifters and the search has to start anew.
198* Creator/JimButcher does this on the ''last page'' of ''[[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Changes]]''. And it's a doozy.
199* In Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror'', the Old Man Whateley prophesied a grandson of him will cry the name of his father on the mountaintop. Not many paragraphs later Wilbur Whateley screams the name of Yog-Sothoth on the top of the mountain... but the story still has six chapters to go. Turns out Lavinia Whateley had [[EldritchAbomination another son]].
200* [[Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes The Armageddon Inheritance]] makes good use of this. You've destroyed the enemy vanguard with a [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill supernova]], you've successfully lured the main body of their fleet into a trap and what's left is running away with their tails between their legs. Wait, what do you mean they've still got [[WeHaveReserves another quarter of a million ships]], which just happen to be their largest and most powerful designs? But we've not even got two dozen ships left! And our [[CoolShip flagship]] has engine damage!
201* In the third ''Literature/{{Fablehaven}}'' book it turns out that one of the artifacts has been moved. When Kendra and her allies attempt to retrieve the artifact hidden in the Lost Mesa, it turns out that Patton Burgess, a previous Fablehaven caretaker, had long ago moved the artifact to a new location in Fablehave for safekeeping... shame that three people had already died getting in before they found that out.
202* In ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'': the protagonist Jiang Ziya knows very well that before the western domain of King Wu can move against the corrupt emperor, King Zhou, the land of Xiqi must first survive 36 invasions from various enemies. After the defeat of general Hong Jin, Jiang Ziya is promoted to Commander of the counter attack and leads the forces eastwards to start the campaign, but faces an incredibly strong resistence from yet another general, Kong Xuan. At this point he does the math and realizes that Hong Jin was the 35th invasion, which means that he must overcome the seemingly-invincible Kong Xuan before he can actually begin the counterattack.
203* In John Fowles's ''Literature/TheFrenchLieutenantsWoman'' there are not two but three endings, the first of which comes about halfway through the book.
204* ''Halfway to the Grave'', the first Literature/NightHuntress book, is drawing to a conclusion when 30 pages from the end a new plot twist develops for a CliffHanger / DownerEnding.
205* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
206** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'', Harry and friends capture Peter Pettigrew, the traitor who caused the death of Harry's parents, and seem set to hand him over to the authorities and clear Sirius' name. Then Pettigrew escapes, Sirius is forced to go on the run and Harry realises a prophecy he heard means [[SequelHook Pettigrew is going to bring back Voldemort]]...
207** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'', Harry and Dumbledore risk life and limb, and give Draco the opportunity to invade the school, to get their hands on one of Voldemort's horcruxes. Dumbledore dies, Snape betrays them all, Neville is seriously hurt, and Bill is permanently scarred. And then the Horcrux turns out to be a fake; the real one was stolen years ago. Sorry Harry, but your Horcrux is in another castle.
208** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'', when they go to Godric's Hollow because they think Gryffindor's sword is there, they end up being ambushed by Nagini disguised as Bathilda Bagshot, and as it eventually turns out, the sword was never there after all -- Snape had it all along.
209* At the start of the ''Literature/HIVESeries'', we're under the impression that the first major villain, Overlord, is dead. In book three, we find out he was never actually dead, but Otto and [=H.I.V.E.mind=] kill him, only for him to return two books later. He apparently is defeated again in book five by Laura, but then he returns in book six, when he is finally killed. We think.
210* In the ''Literature/HollowKingdomTrilogy'', Kate sacrifices herself to the goblin King, Marak, and becomes his wife in order to save her sister, Emily. Sad ending, right? Nope. The story then skips ahead more than a year for the last few chapters and introduces a new sorcerer villain who is out to enslave the goblins.
211* The Soviet fleet carrying out ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'' has withdrawn after the eponymous sub's apparent scuttling and the defectors seem home free about 80% into the book. Cue one lingering Soviet attack sub and its attempt to take the ''October'' down.
212* In the first ''Literature/KateDaniels'' novel, Kate finds the bad guy right where they were supposed to be, foils the evil plot and the evil back up plot, and even manages to go on a semi-successful date. Only something keeps nagging her -- catching the bad guy was too easy and there are too many loose ends. None of the other characters believe her, but the reader does because [[SpoiledByTheFormat we're only 75% through the book]]. And sure enough, the next chapter has another body turn up.
213* Every ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' book that stars Kimball Kinnison (''Galactic Patrol, Grey Lensman, Second Stage Lensmen'', and '''''possibly''''' ''Children of the Lens'') end with him and the rest of Civilization thinking that they've finally for real this time finished off the Boskonian empire.
214* There's a fairly nasty use of this in Creator/TadWilliams' epic fantasy series ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn''. Near the end, as the heroes are fighting their way into Green Angel Tower for the final confrontation with the [[BigBad Storm King]], they encounter EvilSorcerer Pryrates finishing off the last of the heroic army's decoy soldiers. [[RebelliousPrincess Miriamele]] catches him by surprise and apparently kills him with a Norn arrow. Of course, it's not that easy, as he proceeds to get up a moment later, complete with EvilGloating.
215* Near the end of ''[[Literature/MrMen Mr. Wrong]]'', Mr. Wrong feels happy that Mr. Right made him smart. He lived happily, and right, ever after, right? WRONG. Mr. Right and Mr. Wrong both became the opposite of each other.
216* Done superbly in Laurens Van Der Post's "A Story Like the Wind." It initially seems like a story about a French boy growing up in Africa, coming of age, dealing with the death of his father, and falling in love. The book winds down with most of the plotlines reasonably tied up... then in the last eleven pages, revolutionaries show up and kill almost everyone. Then you realize that the entire first book was there to convince the reader that Francois really is awesome enough to pull off all the crazy stuff he does in the second book, beginning with him sneaking past enemy lines back to his house and blowing it up.
217* In ''Literature/WarriorCatsOmenOfTheStars'' book ''The Fourth Apprentice'', the heroes are about to have their confrontation with the beavers, but there is still a quarter of the book left. Cue the heroes being on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle and having to find a different way to defeat the beavers.
218** Also in ''Literature/WarriorCats'', during the ''Graystripe's Adventure'' [[ExpandedUniverse spinoff]], the plot was about getting home to the Clans. At the end of ''[[Recap/WarriorCatsWarriorsRefuge Warrior's Refuge]]'', Graystripe and Millie finally manage to reach Graystripe's forest, but as everyone who was following the series knows, the forest was destroyed and the Clans left to find a new home. This led to the events of the final book in the spinoff, ''Warrior's Return''.
219* By the end of Part 3 of ''Literature/TheWildOnes'', Kit has successfully retrieved the Bone of Contention. Ankle Snap City can now be saved, Titus and the Flealess will back off, and then -- NOPE. Turns out Basil betrayed the Wild Ones, and he immediately devours the bone and slithers away.
220* In ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', the story should end once the Wizard has been exposed, all the companions have what they were looking for, and he can take Dorothy home, right? However, when the Wizard leaves, there's still another third of the book where Dorothy has to get help by asking Glinda, the Witch of the South, and has more adventures on the way to finding her.
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224* ''Series/TwentyFour'' does this so frequently that it can be considered a mainstay of the series. Any time the good guys raid a location in which they suspect the BigBad is hiding, you only have to check the episode number to know how the scene will end. If they ''do'' capture him, either he'll escape, TheManBehindTheMan will reveal himself, or some other terrorist will come forward with some new plot.
225** The sixth season plays right into this by having Jack stop the terrorists seven hours early. The plot then changes to focus on the Chinese holding Jack's assumed dead girlfriend hostage.
226** After spending twelve hours running around L.A. as a glorified errand boy, Jack kills BigBad Ira Gaines in only the thirteenth episode of the first season. However, CTU soon learns about a heretofore-unmentioned second assassin who has flown in to kill Senator Palmer.
227** Midway through Season 4, Jack and Paul Raines hole up in a sporting goods store and defeat a group of military commandoes. This is accomplished with twenty minutes left in the episode, leading people to suspect something's up. Then, the guy who hired the commandoes (who [[NotQuiteDead wasn't quite dead]]) shoots a supporting character, and the focus turns to saving one of two critically-injured people in CTU's medical wing.
228** Season 7 did it again in Episode 10... the master list of every government official on Dubaku's payroll has been found and safely delivered to the FBI. Of course, TheMole tries to crash the system and erase the file...only for Chloe to get it back. Since we hadn't yet hit the halfway point of the season, there has to be more...and there is, as the previews have a very confusing montage of people running, another terrorist attack and President Taylor almost(?) getting killed. Sorry, Jack, but it's only six p.m... what did you expect?
229** Most of the season finales fall under this:
230*** In the final episode of Season 1, Jack kills Andre and Victor Drazen before the episode is half over, leading people to think that he's solved the main plotline. He gets to talk to his daughter, and promises that everything's alright...then, when he's driving back to his office, he gets the surveillance footage for Jamey Farrell's holding cell when she died earlier in the day, and realizes that Nina is the mole.
231*** Jack kills Peter Kingsley at the end of Season 2 (and the main plot regarding falsified audio recordings is solved)… but there's still twenty minutes left in the show, which means several cliffhangers are set up.
232*** The first ten minutes of the Season 4 finale are spent with Jack successfully stopping the terrorists and destroying the nuclear missile headed towards Los Angeles. Except there's still half-an-hour left in the show, which is spent detailing Jack faking his own death and going on the run.
233** President Logan is arrested in the Season 5 finale! And Jack even gets to make a phone call to Kim, who he hasn't talked to in...wait, why are there fifteen minutes left in this episode?
234* The end of "Phase One" of ''Series/{{Alias}}''. The Alliance has been destroyed, Sydney and Vaughn have kissed... then Francine gets offed with a headshot by someone who's been genetically altered to look like her.
235* In ''Series/TheAmazingRace'', this is used on the contestants themselves in Seasons 7, 8, 9, and 14. The teams get a clue telling them to go to mat and find Phil, only to have him tell them that the leg is not over, and hand them their next clue.
236* Happened on quite a number of occasions on ''Series/AmericanGothic1995''. The two most memorable would have to be "Resurrector", when after a morality tale of a radio talk-show host, his seemingly murdered wife, and Buck in one of his most despicable acts of [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastardry]], the interspersed attempts of Caleb to bring Merlyn's spirit back to him results in [[WellIntentionedExtremist decidedly mixed]] [[LightIsNotGood results]]; and "The Buck Stops Here", where after the sheriff is killed and Caleb becomes a regular little Damien, nearly killing Gail and bringing the whole town, even Selena, under his thrall, we are treated to the last shot of Buck's eyes opening in his grave.
237* ''Series/BabylonFive'' ends the major conflict that drove the show (the Shadow war) just six episodes into Season 4. The remainder of Season 4 was mostly about resolving the secondary conflict of the show (President Clark's regime on Earth), and the entirety of Season 5 consisted mainly of tying up loose ends.
238** The story had originally been planned with a five-season arc (though the Shadow war would have, even in the original plan, been wrapped up during Season 4). Then, at the beginning of writing Season 4, the creators were told that they were not going to get a fifth season, so they set about compressing the original plotline so they could wrap almost everything up by the end of Season 4 (with the exception of the Centauri Prime arc, which would've been resolved in the canon novels). Then they discovered they were getting a fifth season after all on a different network, but by that time it was too late to rewrite. As a result, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen what would've been]] most of the first half of Season 5 is compressed into 3 episodes at the end of Season 4, and the arc with Byron's telepaths was stretched out over the broadcast fifth season's first half in order to fill the gaps.
239** It's also another remnant of the parallels between B5 and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' -- there's the entire "Scouring of the Shire" part after the Ring is destroyed, and there are quite a few similarities between that storyline and the rest of Season 4.
240* [[Recap/BattlestarGalactica2003S02E20LayDownYourBurdensPart2 "Lay Down Your Burdens"]], the second season finale of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. At the 55-minute mark everything seems returned to the status quo, even if Roslin had a rig an election for it. Then Gaeta uncovers the fraud, and the extended-length episode runs for another 30 minutes setting up the first story arc of Season 3.
241** Played straight with freaking [[Recap/BattlestarGalactica2003S04E10Revelations "Revelations"]]. They find Earth, [[VideoGame/CaveStory huzzah!]] But there's still half a season left, and all is not joyous as it seems.
242** The cliffhanger version of this trope happens in [[Recap/BattlestarGalactica2003S01E13KobolsLastGleamingPart2 "Kobol's Last Gleaming"]]. Boomer discovers beyond all doubt that she's a Cylon, but blows up the basestar as ordered. It appears next season will be about how Boomer copes with this newfound knowledge. Instead her Cylon side forces the issue by shooting Adama twice in the chest.
243* The season 8 ''{{Series/Bones}}'' opener. Brennan’s cleared of killing someone and Pelant is in custody, but then Caroline, the district attorney, says he was released because he didn’t match Pelant’s ID. He hacked the computers and totally changed his identity.
244* The title character of ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'', being a GenreSavvy mystery writer, seems to be [[InterdisciplinarySleuth very good at spotting these moments]].
245** He keeps digging in the pilot after the seemingly obvious suspect has been arrested because his writer's sensibilities are offended by the killer's identity being 'too easy' ("The reader would never buy it!"), and he's often quick to point out when he thinks a likely suspect is a RedHerring.
246** Done extremely effectively in one episode when, after the killer commits suicide, Castle is shown going over crime scene photos with about 5 minutes left in the episode, only to deduce that the body they found was [[IAmNotLeftHanded Not Left Handed]], the real killer faked his death, and Beckett's life is still in danger. Very effective if you didn't realize that this episode was the first half of a two-parter.
247** The episode "Recoil" has an interesting variation. Beckett is the one to notice this time, after Castle argues that it is an OpenAndShutCase. While never said outright, it is likely that Castle wanted the plot to succeeed and kill Bracken.
248* This happens so often in ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' that it's almost become part of the usual plot formula.
249** The second season finale is particularly bad. The bad guy's been defeated, the wedding was ruined, the wedding was saved, everything's set up for the next season! And there's still another ten minutes to go.
250* In the final episode of ''Series/CowboyBebop2021''. Vicious takes Jet's daughter Kimmie hostage to force Spike out of hiding. Spike and Jet [[HopeSpot appear to have defeated Vicious' goons]], but when they try to ShootTheHostageTaker they find the bullets go straight through Vicious, as he and Kimmie are {{hologram}}s transmitted from another location. Then even more goons arrive and put laser dots on them, forcing their surrender.
251* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': "[[Recap/CSINYS03E04 Hung Out to Dry]]," the first ep of the multi-season Shane Casey storyline. The ep's over and he's arrested, looks like everything's tied up. Whoops, he just escaped from custody...
252* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
253** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks "The Daleks"]]: At the end of Episode 4, the Doctor and his friends have escaped from the Dalek city and saved the Thals from the Daleks' ambush. They're all set to get back in the TARDIS and continue their travels... until Ian remembers the Daleks took a vital TARDIS component from him, meaning they're stuck on the planet. Cue perilous trek ''back into'' the Dalek City... (Note that this was only ''Doctor Who'''s second story and the first was four episodes long.)
254** A similar example at the end of Episode 5 of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E4MarcoPolo "Marco Polo"]]: The travellers have outwitted their hosts/captors and regained control of the repaired TARDIS. Then, as Susan is about to join the others inside, Tegana grabs her from behind.
255** At the end of Episode 6 of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]], the Doctor and company escape from the Daleks, having rendered their doomsday weapon useless, and go off for a fun Christmas episode involving Hollywood producers and Liverpool policemen and...hang on, the Daleks are back. Is this still the same story?
256** Episode 2 of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E6TheArk "The Ark"]] ends with the Doctor curing the plague that had infected the Ark and departing in the TARDIS. Then they rematerialise back in the same spot, except now the statue that was meant to take 700 years to complete is finished... and has a Monoid's head.
257** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime "The Invasion of Time"]]: The Doctor's XanatosSpeedChess against the Vardans has paid off, and everyone's ready to celebrate, but wait... what's this? ''Sontarans?!'' OhCrap Partially spoiled by the BBC announcer who called it a six-part serial from the start, confirming that things wouldn't be resolved by the end of Episode 4.
258** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E3TheCreatureFromThePit "The Creature from the Pit"]], main villain Lady Adrasta is killed with about 20 minutes to go, seemingly leaving the Doctor to simply arrange a treaty between Chloris and Tythonus. Then the Tythonians decide to destroy Chloris in retribution for her actions and various [[DragonAscendant minor villains]] get in the way of the Doctor trying to stop them.
259** At the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken "The Keeper of Traken"]], the Master has been defeated and possibly killed and the Doctor has left. Then the Master reappears, kills Tremas and gains a new body, and it turns out to be the first part of a trilogy.
260** The Doctor manages to kill the Borad with about 10 minutes to go of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E5Timelash "Timelash"]]. Then the Bandrils decide to attack Karfel anyway. ''Then'' it turns out the Borad who was killed was a clone...
261** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]]: Lazarus has been seemingly defeated, and his prone body is being loaded into an ambulance. But it's only the beginning of the third act, so he turns back into a monster and kills the ambulance crew.
262** The show also does something similar in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]]. Up until then the new series had only had ''two-''part season finales. That season seemed to follow this, as the problem of the episode had been solved by the end... but a new problem shows up at the same time, as {{the Master}} comes back, leading to a CliffHanger into the last two episodes.
263** The very end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E8SilenceInTheLibrary "Silence in the Library"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead "Forest of the Dead"]] two-parter. The day has been saved, including restoring CAL and bringing back Donna along with four thousand other vanished people, but River died in a HeroicSacrifice stopping the Doctor from doing the same. The camera lingers on River's diary and sonic screwdriver as the Doctor and Donna walk sadly away, with a voiceover from River musing that travel with the Doctor always ends, and everyone dies eventually... but the Doctor will never accept that, and he dashes back onto the screen, grabs the screwdriver, and goes into a mad rush to save River with a minute left in the episode.
264** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]] pulls this, as the Doctor's plan succeeds brilliantly with almost no loss of life... except the episode's only half over, [[FromBadToWorse the Headless Monks may still be lurking around]], as they have no actual life signs to monitor, [[WhamEpisode Melody is revealed to be part Time Lord]], and everything generally goes to hell as the monks launch a counter attack. ''Then'', the ''bad'' stuff begins to happen. Madame Kovarian pulls the rug out from everyone by showing she still has Melody, and the "Melody" they thought they had rescued was just a Ganger, and, oh, yeah, River Song reveals herself to be Melody, all grown up.
265* Every season of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' ends on one of these, with the cliffhanger usually resolved in the first episode of the next season. Season 4's finale was especially flagrant, as it teased the viewer with the prospect of an actual happy ending in the ''Farscape'' universe before shattering that pipe dream.
266* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In the series finale Ross and Phoebe [[RaceForYourLove rush to JFK airport]] to try and stop Rachel from going to Paris. They hurriedly buy tickets to get through security but Ross can't find Rachel's flight on the departure board. He calls Monica to check the flight number, which he has correct, only for Monica to reveal that Rachel's at ''Newark'' airport...and a cut reveals she's already boarding her plane.
267* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': As Littlefinger tells Sansa in "Valar Morghulis", Joffrey's new compromise with Margaery does not mean she's to be set free nor does make her safe from Joffrey if he still wants to take her while married to another woman.
268* Multiple episodes of ''Series/{{House}}'' seemingly end with House and his cronies having cured the patient ''du jour'', only for them to develop a crazy (and often, violently disgusting) new symptom, deepening the mystery. One episode did the opposite; they let their patient die, but then, [[OnlyMostlyDead just as they start the autopsy...]]
269* In the first season finale of ''Series/TheInsideMan'', "Checkmate," the Handler tells Mark Shepherd that it doesn't matter if he's put a stop to him, that there are much bigger fish in play who will keep coming.
270-->'''Handler''': Well, isn't that great? You saved the day. As in one day.
271* One episode of ''Series/JoanOfArcadia'' has Joan and her friend Grace resolve their differences and then sit on the porch while the camera pulls away, a song plays, and the screen fades out. There was still twenty minutes left.
272* In order to save TheMultiverse, ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' was tasked with the mission of going over to 9 worlds of the Heisei Riders and helping the Riders there. Once he's finished with all 9 worlds, Decade and crew seemingly return to their home dimension. However, Decade soon learns that it's not over; not by a long shot. The dimension they returned to was ''not'' their home. Decade's QuestForIdentity, which was his ulterior motive in this mission, still draws blank. There's [[LegionOfDoom Dai-Shocker]] waiting in the shadows for their Great Leader to return so that they can start their conquest. Finally, TheMultiverse is ''still'' on the brink of destruction.
273** This happens again in Double. The duo finally defeat Ryubee Sonozaki and it seems that everything is coming to a close. Cut to Kazu carrying Wakana's body. The kicker? Shotaro even ''knows'' it's not the end due to them [[NeverFoundTheBody not finding Wakana's body]].
274* Nearly every episode of ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' is like this; if they don't have the wrong suspect in the beginning, then the case is quickly wrapped up only for [[MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot something leading to the investigation of a more horrific or serious crime to appear]], such as an episode where a simple open-shut case of a peeping tom pedophile reveals that one of his victims was also the victim of parental child abuse.
275** One episode of starts with the detectives investigating the robbery of a safe deposit box vault and the murder of a guard. This case is solved quickly, but amongst the loot recovered from the thieves is a gun used in a 30 year old murder that had been in one of the boxes. Cue segue into a new investigation.
276** There was also the time the perp was caught and plead out by about :20, only for [=McCoy=] to decide to go after the makers of the illegally modified pistol used to commit the crime.
277** There was the time there was a rash of serial killings of young teenaged black boys that looked like copycat killings of a white supremacist [=McCoy=] successfully prosecuted years ago. The detectives discover the killer is a black religious fanatic who confesses to everything...and reveals he was no copycat. He was the original serial killer all along. The white supremacist was innocent. The rest of the episode focuses on the mounting legal troubles [=McCoy=] faces for this blunder. It turns out his female assistant (and lover) at the time deliberately withheld evidence that would not only have cleared the white supremacist, but also pointed to the real killer. This became a OnceDoneNeverForgotten moment for [=McCoy=] (though it didn't stop him from eventually becoming the head DA).
278** One of the spin-off shows, ''[[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit SVU]]'', has a habit of doing this in a bizarre way. Occasionally, the investigation of a sexual crime will uncover a bizarre and extensive GovernmentConspiracy [[WriterOnBoard worthy of Fox Mulder]].
279*** One of the best examples is an episode which starts off with a murder that is resolved in the first twenty minutes -- then out of nowhere it's discovered that one of the possible suspects is not the father of the boy he thinks is his son. This thread goes on for a while and it ends with his arrest for murdering his wife so that he can keep his son -- but there's still twenty minutes left. Turns out while Eliot was arresting the perp, his wife went into labor *and* got in a car crash...
280* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' does this every week. Their plan is working perfectly, then somewhere between the 20 minute mark and the 40 minute mark something goes awry and they have to [[XanatosSpeedChess improvise]].
281* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': It looks like the plot of season 1 is resolved by episode 6. Adar and the Orcs are defeated, Sauron was KilledOffScreen by Adar sometime before the show began, thus ending Galadriel's mission to find him, and the Southlanders found their long awaited king in Halbrand. But Orodruin just had to erupt and ruin everyone's good time. Oh, Adar escapes, and two 2 episodes later is revealed that Halbrand is Sauron. [[SarcasmMode The future is looking bright]].
282* Naturally, a twist-loving show like ''Series/{{Lost}}'' does this a few times.
283** A notable example is the third season finale, at the end of which Jack has called a boat that appears to be coming to rescue them, the Others have been largely defeated, Ben is a captive, the Rousseaus have been reunited, and everyone is cheering and ready to leave forever. This seems like a good time to end the season and perhaps even the series (massive unanswered questions notwithstanding). But there are still 4-5 minutes left in the episode, just enough time for one final flashback revealing the episode's flashbacks have actually been flashforwards to a time when Jack and Kate have been rescued, and Jack desires to return to the island.
284** The Season 5 finale seems to resolve both major plotlines (the hydrogen bomb and pilgrimage to Jacob) by the end of the episode, but cuts back to 1977 for one final, short scene in which a still-living Juliet whacks the bomb until it explodes.
285** There are three episodes that involve a sudden final flashback to a character uninvolved with the main centricity, usually revealing a plot twist. The first is Season 2's "Dave", where a Libby flashback shows she was in the same mental ward as Hurley. The second is Season 6's "Ab Aeterno", where a flashback shows the Man in Black conversing with Jacob in 1867 about the former's attempt to kill the latter. And the third is Season 6's "Everybody Loves Hugo", where a Desmond flashsideways shows him intentionally hitting Locke with his car, then speeding off.
286* Ditto for Sunday night detective dramas like ''Series/MidsomerMurders''. If the detectives have it all neatly worked out, and there's more than twenty minutes left of the two hours, then they've missed something. (Or [[NeverOneMurder someone else is about to drop dead]].)
287* This trope is abused (like so many other tropes) in the ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' skit "Secret Service Dentists".
288* ''Two in a row'' in this example. In ''Series/OddSquad''[='s=] famous season finale, "O is Not for Over", Agent Otto defeats Odd Todd and the other agents, including Olive, the new Ms. O, reveal themselves. Everyone congratulates Otto on doing so...before Agent Ohlm races up and accuses him of working with Odd Todd. In a flashback, Otto tells the story of [[HowWeGotHere How They Got Here]], and thus, the conflict is resolved...until everyone realized Otto opened up ''all the doors in Headquarters'' and run to the bullpen to fight everyone released.
289** "Rise of the Hydraclops" has Olive, Otto and Oscar going to search for the ultimate weapon that will defeat the eponymous creature. However, every time the two Investigation agents are led to a treasure chest by Oscar, it just contains another map to the chest where the weapon is buried, much to their annoyance. Eventually they manage to find it and defeat the Hydraclops.
290** In "Villains in Need Are Villains Indeed", every time Odd Squad thinks that Benny the robot is destroyed for good, a villain will pipe up that he is indestructible and has emerged from whatever threat he is steered toward. The eventual solution is to have him go in a square between four different areas until something kills him (since he runs on long-lasting battery power).
291** In "It Takes Goo to Make a Feud Go Right", Olympia, Otis and Ms. O settle things with Queen Goo and King Berry...just before Ms. O realizes that she invited a ''third'' Goo person over for lunch.
292** In "Teach a Man to Ice Fish", Orla, Oswald and the other Arctic agents manage to slide the Arctic precinct's large computer across the floor by making it icy. However, Orla and Oswald find out that the outlet they need to plug the computer into isn't on the bottom floor -- it's on Arctic Mr. O's desk, which is on an elevated floor that has no ramp.
293* In the penultimate episode of ''Series/OnceUponATime'' Season 1, "An Apple Red as Blood", Snow White and friends successfully launched a daring rescue for Charming... only to find that her prince was in another castle.
294* ''Series/PeepShow'' episodes almost invariably have a moment around the twenty-minute mark where, [[HappilyEverBefore if the show ended there]], everything would be fine. But of course [[FromBadToWorse It Gets Worse]].
295* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
296** In ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'', every time they thought they'd found the next jewel, it turned out to only be the next clue, which led to the next, and the next, etc. Of course, the clues were also often powerful devices on their own.
297** In ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' The Nexus is destroyed, Master Org's ritual has (seemingly) failed and turned him to dust, and the last 2 orgs Jendrix and Toxica [[HeelFaceTurn declare a truce]] and wander off for a road trip. Then [[LastVillainStand Master Org comes back]] and [[OhCrap systematically destroys their animal crystals thus depraving them of their zords]] [[FromBadToWorse which tangically unmakes their morphers, so they can't morph]] and the Animarium comes crashing back to Earth [[CombatTentacles while his vines are taking over the city and his foot soldiers are attacking the people]] And this is only part 1 of the two parter. Thankfully our heroes restore their powers though sheer HeroicWillpower and proceed to curbstomp Master Org by an energy blast from about 40 billion revived animal crystals in the DeusExMachina of all endings.
298* Partly subverted in the original ''Series/PrimeSuspect''. From the start the police have an obvious suspect and appear to be well on the way to solving the case. They even anticipate beating the force record. But if you thought "it can't be him", you're wrong. It was him, and at no point is there any suggestion that they had the wrong suspect. It just turned out to be a bit more difficult to prove it than they thought.
299* In ''Series/PrisonBreak'', it happens all the time, but the worst is the series finale when the gang are all cleared with twenty minutes to go. Michael and Sarah are walking down the beach, talking about their future, when Michael starts bleeding from the nose. The flash forward has him dead.
300* In the ''Series/{{Psych}}'' episode "Tuesday the 17th", it was clear something else was up when the mystery was solved at the half hour mark. The fact that the first part was a spoof of ''April Fools'' should have been a clue for what was coming next.
301* You can count on this happening two or three times on any ''Series/QuantumLeap'' episode, as Al's suggestions for how to set things right wind up having worse consequences and Sam has to change something else.
302* Similar to the ''Sherlock'' example, one episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' has Turk being stuck in surgery, making him late for his wedding. His boss lets him leave early and he arrives at the church {{just in time}} (the priest is about to leave), only to accidentally arrive at the wrong church. Though when Turk later goes to check on a patient after the wedding, the patient is [[ContrivedCoincidence revealed to be a priest]], so he and Carla are still able to get married that night. If you pay attention, you might remember [[LawOfConservationOfDetail Carla mentioning that they recently changed the venue for the wedding.]]
303* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': In "[[Recap/SherlockS01E03TheGreatGame The Great Game]]", Sherlock's [[BigBad infamous arch-nemesis]] Moriarty, having seemingly left Sherlock and John unharmed following a tense showdown involving explosives and a sniper, returns at the last minute, declaring "I'm so changeable!" as additional snipers reveal themselves. At this, Sherlock aims a handgun at the previously mentioned explosives, before the shot cuts to a BlackScreenOfDeath... Cue a year-long wait for Season 2.
304* The GrandFinale of ''Series/TheShield'' sees Vic all set to go out as a KarmaHoudini; instead, he is hit with a HumiliationConga, where he ends up being an office drone. EvilCannotComprehendGood, indeed.
305* Happens from time to time in ''Series/{{Sliders}}''. Whew, we're home! No, we're not. It's just very similar. Dang.
306* ''Series/SquareOneTV'': In one ''Mathnet'' story, "The Case of the Parking Meter Massacre", the culprit, played by celebrity guest Wayne Knight, was caught on Wednesday. Naturally, there was a copycat criminal out and about.
307* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had a tendency to play this trope, notably in the search for the lost city of Atlantis, and the quest for the Holy Grail/Sangraal/Anti-Ori weapon. In the latter case, the team was actually presented with what they thought was the object, only to discover that it was a hologram.
308* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Aquiel," both people (Morag and Aquiel) suspected of being the coalescent organism are taken into custody — and just in time, too, as it seems Geordi was only seconds away from being absorbed. But there are still four and a half minutes left in the episode! Cut to Riker in Geordi's quarters, telling him he's had a rough couple of days and that he should get some rest, all while Geordi is petting Aquiel's dog Maura. Then Riker leaves, and Maura starts acting kind of weird...
309* In ''Series/TeenWolf'', The DrivingQuestion of Season 2 was "Who is the Kanima?" Mid-season, it was revealed to be Jackson's SuperpoweredEvilSide, and the question became "Who is the Kanima's master?"
310* ''Series/WhiteCollar'': "Free Fall", Neal, in the belief that he had finally found his {{Love Interest|s}} Kate, storms into a hotel room to rescue her. She is not there.
311[[/folder]]
312
313[[folder:Music]]
314* The FakeOutFadeOut is the music world's version of this. A famous example would be the one in "Strawberry Fields Forever" by Music/TheBeatles. Sometimes it's just a little postscript riff, like in "Wonderwall" by Oasis. Also, "Mr Slator's Parrot" by Music/TheBonzoDogBand...
315* Encores at concerts. Although audiences usually expect them (especially if a band hasn't played its biggest hit yet), bands will typically pretend the show is over at the end of the main set, maybe even thanking the audience and saying good night.
316* The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" also does this. Twice. Which turns into a video games example when songs containing one show up in ''VideoGame/RockBand'' or ''VideoGame/GuitarHero''.
317* Used to superb effect in "Over The Hills And Far Away" by Music/LedZeppelin, as well as "Anne's Song" by Music/FaithNoMore.
318* Rob Cantor's "Music/{{Shia LaBeouf|Live}}" tells the story of survival against the eponymous actors attempts to eat you. Halfway through the song, the narrator describes killing Shia [=LaBeouf=] with a stab to the kidneys. But the song isn't over yet...
319* The video for Tupac Shakur's "Changes", the first song released after his death, does this very impactfully. For two verses Tupac raps about social issues and the problems of the black underclass over clips from his previous videos and from rare home videos. At the end of the second verse, we see a collage of video and audio clips from Tupac's life, while in the background Tupac speaks over a fading chorus. It ends with the collage resolving into a mosaic depicting Tupac's face, a fitting memorial to his life and work... and then the third verse starts up with the words, "And still I see no changes; Can't a brother get a little peace?"
320* A few years before Tupac's death, Music/OingoBoingo recorded a song called "Change" that glides to a comfortable ending after 15 minutes, only to return for the final verse and chorus.
321* Subverted in one version of the children's song "Be Kind To Your Fine Feathered Friends," which cuts off -- much earlier than you'd expect it to -- with the words "You may think that this is the end...and it is." The other version ends "You may think that this is the end...and it is, [[DoubleSubversion but there is another ending]]. This is it."
322* Could also be the 'hidden tracks' on some albums as well. Jay Z did this on his album The Blueprint, with the final song 'Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)' ending, then two more full songs, 'Lyrical Exercise' and 'Girls Girls Girls Remix' playing on the same song number of the CD.
323* Richard Strauss's "Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra" has a fake ending somewhere about halfway through, where a thrilling double fugue culminates in the entire orchestra blasting out the opening theme in a seemingly triumphant manner, pipe organ and all. After a moment of silence, the orchestra resumes playing what it had been, only much more slowly and faintly. (The actual ending is quiet and deliberately anticlimactic.)
324* The ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' song ''I'm So Worried'' has three verses that could be the last verse in succession, with the latter two being about the singer's concerns that he should have ended the song with the previous verse.
325* Music/StoneTemplePilots' Plush seems to end about 3/4 of the way through, for only about half a second, when it picks up again.
326* An alternate recording Music/TheBeachBoys made of "Help Me, Rhonda" has the repetition of the refrain and the end with alternating stanzas fading out then slamming in at normal range on the ensuing stanzas.
327* Music/TheyMightBeGiants' "Everything Right is Wrong Again" halfway through has the repeated lyric, "And now the song is over now, the song is over now," but the song continues for another minute or so after that.
328* Music/TheMountainGoats have a song by the name [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnbYyTlz1Tw "Thank You Mario, But Our Princess Is In Another Castle!"]], with a bit of a PerspectiveFlip -- it's from Toad's viewpoint.
329* This happens in Music/{{Carpenters}}' "I Believe You". The first time you hear what appears to be the final verse that slows down and stops a bit, you think it's over but then, BAM! A repeat of the bridge and the final verse again, this time once more.
330[[/folder]]
331
332[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
333* Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon pulled this on Wrestling/TripleH when he faced Mideon and Viscera in a handicap casket match. Triple H had put Mideon in the casket and thought he had won, but Shane, who had been assaulted by Triple H not long ago, clarified the ruling that he had to put BOTH Mideon (nearly 300lbs) and Viscera (nearly 500lbs) in the casket at the same time. Obviously, Triple H didn't stand a chance.
334* After Wrestling/LowKi had clearly beat Xavier for the Impact Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title, perched atop him and ''two'' ladders holding the title belt high, Xavier slipped off and the both of them crashed down, the belt landing on Xavier and the referee, in a particularly jarring instance of incompetence, declared Xavier the winner. When another referee disputed this, it led to the match being restarted.
335* The Black Birds were awarded the Wrestling/{{N|ational Wrestling Alliance}}WA Mid-South Tag Team Championships on October 14th 2005 only to then lose them to the New Bounty Hunters.
336* Any time Money in the Bank is cashed in right after the Champion had already won a hard-fought title match. Notable examples include Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} cashing in on Wrestling/JohnCena after an Elimination Chamber, Wrestling/CMPunk cashing in on Wrestling/JeffHardy after a ladder match with Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, and Wrestling/TheMiz cashing in on Wrestling/RandyOrton after a title match with Wrestling/WadeBarrett. The last one is particularly notable because it happened on an episode of Raw and anyone who looked at the clock after Orton beat Barrett would have guessed that something like this would happen.
337* Wrestling/{{R|ingOfHonor}}oH's ''Glory by Honor VI: Night One'', Wrestling/ChrisHero made Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness tap out, only to not be awarded the World Championship due to [=McGuinness=] being underneath the bottom rope at the time and then was forced to submit himself, giving Nigel another successful retention.
338* A double example: in 2009, Wrestling/CMPunk attempted to cash in on an exhausted Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, only for Wrestling/{{Umaga}} to storm the ring and give Punk a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
339* At ''Elimination Chamber 2010'', Wrestling/{{Batista}} pulled this on Wrestling/JohnCena after his grueling match by simply requesting an immediate title shot from Wrestling/VinceMcMahon.
340* Averted at Money in the Bank 2011 by Wrestling/CMPunk, who kicked Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio in the head and fled the arena before Del Rio could cash in his contract following Punk's hard-fought WWE championship victory over Wrestling/JohnCena.
341* Often, a wrestler will win a hard-fought match, only to be assaulted from behind by another wrestler whom they weren't feuding with (yet). For example, in 2011 [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]], Wrestling/VelvetSky had just handily defeated [[Wrestling/KatarinaWaters Winter]], Wrestling/AngelinaLove, Wrestling/JeffJarrett, and Karen Jarrett. She had declared that she will put these rivalries behind her and get into the Knockouts Title hunt. She starts saluting the crowd and walking to the back... only to be assaulted by ODB, who hasn't been seen in about a year. A few weeks later, Velvet beats ODB in a street fight... only to be assaulted by Wrestling/{{Jac|queline}}kie Moore, who hadn't been seen for about ''two'' years.
342* Another instance, this time involving Wrestling/TheNexus. After months of tormenting WWE, attacking almost every single superstar on the roster, including ''Wrestling/TheUndertaker'', and even getting Wrestling/JohnCena [[TenMinuteRetirement fired for a little while]], leader Wrestling/WadeBarrett suffers a pretty decisive defeat from Cena, leading everyone to assume the group was done. However, two weeks later, Wrestling/CMPunk, one of the most talented, charismatic, but also [[SociopathicHero one of the most ruthless]] wrestlers in WWE, decided to become Nexus' new leader after being fed up with Cena's attitude. [[OhCrap Uh oh]].
343* Probably one of the biggest examples of 2013 happened at Wrestling/SummerSlam. It was Wrestling/DanielBryan going up against then WWE Champion Wrestling/JohnCena for the title. After a long, hard fought match, Bryan pulls off what people thought he never could when he entered the company, and defeats Cena with a new finisher to finally claim the WWE Championship. He's celebrating, Wrestling/TripleH is congratulating him (he was Special Ref for the match), the streamers are coming down. History has been made...then Wrestling/RandyOrton storms down with the Money in the Bank briefcase. The good news for Bryan at the time was that A) he still was healthy enough to at least attempt to fight off Orton and B) Orton had pretty much reminded everyone every week that he would probably cash in at Wrestling/SummerSlam. Orton seemed to agree and started to walk away, and thus Bryan resumed his celebration. THEN Wrestling/TripleH turns him around and [[FaceHeelTurn Pedigrees him]]. Orton hands in the briefcase, pins Bryan, becomes the new Champion and thus [[Wrestling/TheAuthority a new Corporation-like faction]] was born.
344* In February and March 2019, Wrestling/KofiKingston was on a roll after replacing an injured Mustafa Ali in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship and lasting an hour in a Gauntlet match for the final entrance in that match. He was the final man eliminated in the Chamber match (won by defending champion Daniel Bryan), and then Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon names him #1 contender to the title at Fastlane. Only to be removed from the match by Wrestling/VinceMcMahon and replaced by Mustafa Ali, while he gets promised a triple threat match, but instead gets a 2-on-1 match against Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} and [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]]. And then Vince tells him on [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]] that he'll get the match if he can win ANOTHER gauntlet match, this time against Sheamus, Cesaro, Wrestling/RandyOrton, Wrestling/SamoaJoe and Wrestling/ErickRowan. Sure enough, Kofi wins the gauntlet, only to be told 30 seconds later by Vince that he must beat Bryan as well to earn his Wrestlemania match. Of course, Bryan defeats him easily.
345* A perfect example of this trope is Wrestling/LivMorgan in early 2024 when she returned from injury. Swearing revenge on her former friend and tag team partner Wrestling/RheaRipley for causing said injury that put her out for 6 months, Liv enters the Wrestling/RoyalRumble at #30 only to come up heartbreakingly short as she finishes runner-up for the 2nd year in a row, this time to Wrestling/Bayley after the aforementioned Ripley had dashed her dreams the year before. The next month at Wrestling/EliminationChamber, Liv is entered into the titular match with the winner going on to face Ripley at Wrestling/WrestleMania but once more suffers utter heartbreak as she finishes runner-up to old rival and EnsembleDarkhorse Becky Lynch. Poor girl just can't catch a break.
346[[/folder]]
347
348[[folder:Roleplay]]
349* During ''Roleplay/NothingIsSacred'''s Duelist Kingdom Arc, a successive series of obstacles continuously appears to prevent Stella from finding the perpetrator who took [[AFriendInNeed Abidos' soul]]. The action taken violates the rules of the Chosen, necessitating the Monarchs to step in and rectify the situation? The perpetrator has yet to accept their position as Chosen, [[LoopholeAbuse meaning that they are not yet bound by the Monarchs' rules.]] You've successfully retrieved your friend's lost deck and can question the spirits inside on the culprit's identity? The Gadgets turn out to be both [[OtherworldlyCommunicationFailure incapable of human speech]] and [[AwfulArtist awful artists]]. You've discovered the location of and gained access to the server room containing information on both your suspect's identity and their deck composition? Your suspect used their administrative access to wipe all records of their battle from the system. You've gained entrance to the island's castle and confronted someone who perfectly matches the description of the assailant? Only the gadget most focused on physical appearance thinks he is the culprit, [[LatexDisguise while the other two do not]].
350[[/folder]]
351
352[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
353* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', ''Magazine/{{Imagine}}'' magazine #5 adventure "The Taking of Siandabhair". The PlayerCharacters are sent on a mission to rescue Princess Siandabhair from the underwater lair of the Old Woman of the Bay. When they search the lair, they find that the Princess has been moved to the home of the Old Woman of the Lough. And once they explore that place, they discover that she's been moved to a third location, that of the Old Woman of the Mountains. After they fight their way through ''that'' area, they can finally rescue her.
354[[/folder]]
355
356[[folder:Theatre]]
357* In ''Theatre/TheFantasticks'', the cast also appears to get their HappilyEverAfter at the end of Act 1. It doesn't work out the way everyone hoped.
358* This trope is the raison d'etre of the Sondheim musical ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods''. At the conclusion of the first act, all the subplots are resolved and every fairy tale character is literally singing Happy Ever After. After the intermission, of course, consequences of the first act unfold, and everything goes to hell.
359** Averted with ''Into The Woods Junior'', a {{Bowdlerise}}d version of the play for children's school and community theater productions that literally omits the entire second act.
360* At the end of ''Theatre/MammaMia'', after what appears to be the final bow, the company reprise the title song, then Donna & The Dynamos come back on stage in Music/{{ABBA}}-esque shiny outfits and perform "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo" beneath disco lighting, [[AudienceParticipation inviting the audience to dance along]].
361* ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice''. Shylock has been defeated! The eponymous Merchant is saved! Mercy's quality avoids straining! Everything the audience cares about is over! Meanwhile, in Act Five...
362* The Physicists by Dürrenmatt. The main conflict is resolved, all strings tied up, the scientific notes destroyed, Möbius, Einstein and Newton have agreed to remain locked away from the world for its safety. Then, in the final scene, the head nurse reenters, proves herself to be the only real insane in the asylum and declares her intentions to take over the world through the discoveries, she had already copied, with the protagonists helpless in their self-imposed prison. The End. Due to its brevity, the twist even works in book form.
363[[/folder]]
364
365[[folder:Theme Parks]]
366* Several of Ride/UniversalStudios' past and present attractions include endings that trick guests into thinking the ride is over, including ''Ride/KungFuPandaAdventure'', ''Ride/RevengeOfTheMummy'', ''Ride/TheSimpsonsRide'', and ''Ride/JimmyNeutronsNicktoonBlast''.
367[[/folder]]
368
369[[folder:Visual Novels]]
370* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
371** Case 1-4 of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney''. Despite a bit of interference, you manage to prove Edgeworth isn't the murderer... and then it turns out the whole trial was a BatmanGambit by Manfred von Karma to get Edgeworth to confess to his own father's murder 15 years ago.
372** In Case 2 of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', after you prove your client innocent of theft by proving that he was in another place at the time. Right after the verdict, it is found that at the same time as the theft, there was a murder exactly where you proved he was. At which point you then have to prove that the guy that you've ''proven'' as the real thief is actually the real ''murderer'', despite the fact that he did indeed pull off ''both'' crimes, which happened ''at the same time''. Phoenix understandably freaks out several times. A very memorable case.
373** In the DLC case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', Phoenix proves that the orca isn't responsible for the aquarium owner's death on the first trial day, only for the prosecutor to immediately have her trainer arrested for murder.
374* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': Korekiyo invokes this when he admits that he killed Tenko and taunts Himiko that even though she hates him, she can't do anything to him because Monokuma states they're only looking for Angie's killer...unfortunately for Korekiyo, he left behind evidence that he did indeed kill Angie too.
375* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' seems to be about to reach its story's climax with the school festival -- although things have got a little worrying by then -- but then it suddenly gets derailed and you get what [[FissionMailed seems]] to be a BadEnding. However, what is really happening is that to advance the story, you have to start the game again from the beginning, and this time it will be... different. Let's just say different.
376* ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'': In a rare example where the revelation that the ending was fake is actually a ''good'' thing, at the end of Refrain ''Little Busters'' comes to an apparently conclusive (if ''extremely depressing'') DownerEnding, and it's only after three minutes of credits (and, likely, sobbing on behalf of the player) that the game goes black...and then gives you one final choice, which leads to the epilogue and the true ending. ([[MindScrew Or, if not the true one, at least a much happier one.]])
377* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'': After killing Nero Chaos, Shiki assumes that all the vampire problems are over. Arcueid points out the obvious fact that Nero didn't leave corpses and ''couldn't'' have been the vampire responsible for most of the incidents. And the savvy reader realizes the story is way too short otherwise.
378[[/folder]]
379
380[[folder:Webcomics]]
381* In the "To Thine Own Self" arc of Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault, the alliance between GPF, the UGA and LaResistance of the Nega-Verse manages to capture Emperor Nicholas, Duchess Ki and General Duncan, as well as freeing the captured Nick. At that moment, the aliens with whom Nicholas had been fighting a HopelessWar attack, and the heroes discover that they are unable to use the Mutex to get home or contact the people in their dimension.
382* The debut strip of ''Webcomic/ItSucksToBeWeegie'' opens with Luigi having reached the end of a castle only to be told by a Toad, who identifies him as "skinny gay Mario", that the princess, well you know the rest. Luigi decides he doesn't really care to save a princess and just wants someone to talk to, but the Toad cruelly sends him away. Just another day in the unfair life of Luigi, the tall guy perpetually stuck in his shorter brother's shadow.
383* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' teaches us that people should not trust instructions given by a {{jerkass}} to a member of their group that they didn't get along with in the first place. It turned out that the coordinates Girard gave Soon for the location of his gate turned out to be a random spot in the middle of the world's largest desert. Because he didn't trust him. For a while, the Order of the Stick was stuck back at square ZERO because not only did they not have any idea where to go, this time they couldn't fall back on the Sapphire Guard for information.
384** The joke is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by the same guy in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0894.html this strip.]] Although THAT is later revealed to be a subversion: the cube in the strip is actually a lead-lined container for the actual gate, and Girard was GenreSavvy enough to realize that the Genre Savvy adventurers looking for the gate would be successfully turned away by a lame joke and some magic-blocking lead.
385* Invoked in the 2005 installment of the annually-published ''Website/PlatypusComix'' story "Keiki's Huge Christmas Epic". While trying to help Andrea escape government officials wanting to take advantage of her wish-granting powers, Beefer asks Keiki if they'll get to resolve the story "this year". Keiki, suspecting they'll have to add a chapter the following year, simply asks, "What do ''you'' think?" Indeed, on the very next page, Andrea gets trapped, and tries to escape by wishing she and her friends were the President (sic) of the United States, creating yet another {{Cliffhanger}}.
386* ''Webcomic/ReturnToPlayer'' begins with Sehan the only survivor of humanity. He has no reason to think this is anything except the of the world… until offered a second playthrough of the game.
387* In the ''Webcomic/SquareRootOfMinusGarfield'' strip [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=1469 NESField 3]], Garfield goes to a castle find frozen pudding pops only to find Jon has gotten there first.
388* Hilariously played with in ''Webcomic/ZeroEffort'', when the protagonists fought the dragon only to find out the reward is not what they wanted.
389-->'''Princess:''' Well... You didn't by any chance come here... in search of something, did you?\
390'''Zeef:''' Yeah. Treasure.\
391'''Princess:''' Oh, of course. Nope, no treasure here. Sorry.\
392'''Zeef:''' Great. What a waste of time. [[WrongGenreSavvy What the heck would a dragon guard besides treasure?]]
393[[/folder]]
394
395[[folder:Web Original]]
396* In ''WebVideo/DoctorWhoTheMovie'', the Doctor and Lucy spend most of the movie arriving just too late, defeating the monster left behind in this or that timezone by the Master only to realize that he has already moved on to the next one. Since two or three of the locations are in fact castles, the Doctor even gets to say "According to my time readings, he's in another castle", thus not only playing this trope straight, but even almost verbatim!
397* In ''Literature/GrandmasterOfTheft'', [[ClassyCatBurglar Cassidy]] has successfully won the challenge to steal [[MacGuffin Undine's Tear]] from [[LadyOfAdventure Narcissa]]. Or so it seems, it turns out it was a fake and she lied about even bringing the real one in the first place.
398* ''WebVideo/SearchForSandvich'': In "the Plot Thickens!", the mercs find a bakery with sandwiches... but they've lost the Medic, so they leave the bakery without a sandwich so they can start looking for the Medic too.
399* the ending of WebAnimation/WolfSongTheMovie plays out like this. Kara stabs the Death Alpha using the horn courtesy of her enhanced form and he twitches a couple times, but instead of dropping dead, he reveals he has one last nasty surprise for Kara: the brief moment of hesitation has allowed him to use the Stone she had used against him to take control of her father, forcing Kara to make a difficult choice that would determine the actual ending the next minute.
400[[/folder]]
401
402[[folder:Western Animation]]
403* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
404** In "The Earth King", a couple of minutes before the end of the episode everything seems to be going well. The Earth King has granted his support for the invasion, the EvilChancellor has been imprisoned, Sokka is about to meet his father for the first time in two years, Toph's just heard her own parents are in town and are willing to forgive her for running away, and the [[AmazonBrigade Kyoshi Warriors]] are on their way. Sokka, rather happily, announces "[[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong Everything is going to work out perfectly]]." Within the next ''minute and a half'', it's revealed Dai Li agents are still taking orders from [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]]. The "Kyoshi Warriors" are actually the QuirkyMinibossSquad in disguise, lead by [[TheDragon Azula]], and they now have the complete trust of the Earth King. Oh yeah, and the thing with Toph's parents was actually a trap set by people trying to kidnap her.
405** When Aang goes to the Royal Palace to fight the Fire Lord, he isn't there. When Team Avatar goes to the underground bunker, the Fire Lord's chamber, surprise! He still isn't there. Azula's there to stall them until their time window ends instead. Zuko finds and confronts the Fire Lord, though.
406* In ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans,'' the heroes actually defeat Cronus at least twice, but he always escapes before he can get thrown back into Tartarus.
407* ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' hilariously exaggerates this trope when an episode appears to be concluded in ''under two minutes''. The show then cuts to a Warner Bros. board meeting:
408-->'''Creator/StevenSpielberg:''' I don't get this. What is this? Dexter gets eaten, then fade out? The end? Where's Freakazoid?\
409'''Man at meeting:''' Well, he's not in this episode.\
410'''Steven Spielberg:''' Not in it? He's the star of the show. [[WhatWereYouThinking What are you thinking?]]\
411'''Second Man:''' Well, we were thinking of maybe ending the episode early today.\
412'''Woman at meeting:''' And showing some ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' reruns.\
413'''Steven Spielberg:''' Oh. I like that.
414** Followed by the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' opening theme. Spielberg then has a change of heart and decides that the preceding segment was just a dream.
415* There was an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' where Garfield cost the mailman his job. Garfield looks at the ex-mailman, who is sitting on the sidewalk and crying, and says "Gee, what a sad way to end a cartoon." and walks off. A U.S. Acres cartoon seems to start, but Garfield interrupts it and says [[DidYouActuallyBelieve "You didn't think I was really gonna let him stay fired, did you?"]] and the cartoon continues to show Garfield getting the mailman his job back.
416* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', "Phoebe's Little Problem": The bit with Phoebe's teacher talking to her seems to have been written with this trope in mind. For a moment it seems that he's just talked her back into returning to school... until he accidentally makes a FreudianSlip and says "fart" when he meant to say "Let's make a brand new start".
417* The Season 2 finale of ''WesternAnimation/HotWheelsBattleForce5'' has all the {{Big Bad}}s defeated, the Red and Blue Sentients making peace, and the eons old interdimensional war has come to an end...then [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil Rawkus]] reveals that [[EldritchAbomination the Ancient Ones]] have awakened and the battle is far from over.
418* ''WesternAnimation/JumanjiTheAnimatedSeries'' did this a lot. Anytime Judy and Pete got out of the board game with more than a few minutes left it meant one of a few things 1) Pete/Judy did something stupid/unethical and will spend the rest of the episode having to fix it 2) Something bad is going to happen.
419* The episode "Over the Moon" of ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'' had Flapjack and Captain K'Nuckles see and nearly touch Candied Island...but since it wasn't the GrandFinale, the moon's gravitational pull grabbed them back and they were forced to watch the sugar-coated island float off into the distance. At least Flap was able to taste it...
420* A ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'' cartoon does this with a ToBeContinuedRightNow slant. The cartoon is coming to the climax when it starts irising out and the narrator telling patrons to watch for the conclusion next week. It suddenly freezes frame as the narrator suddenly says we can't wait till next week and pleads the cartoon's conclusion go on.
421* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''
422** The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E4ApplebuckSeason Applebuck Season]]" has a great example. Applejack, stubbornly refusing help with the eponymous Applebuck Season, proudly shows off that's she's harvested the whole crop by herself. Only for her injured brother, Big Macintosh to point out, she hasn't even finished ''half.'' She finally collapses from exhaustion after the revelation.
423** Played in a more literal sense in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom Part 2]]" when Lord Tirek attempts to steal magic from the three other princesses. He thinks he's all-but conquered Equestria after draining and disposing of them, until a stained glass window reveals there's a ''fourth'' princess.
424* An Al Brodax ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon has Popeye and Brutus as competing farmers at a county fair. The final event is eating spinach and testing its strength. Brutus offers to shake hands with Popeye to make it fair, but he double crosses him and flings him across the field.
425-->'''Brutus:''' ''([[BreakingTheFourthWall to us]])'' You didn't think I was gonna play fair with that runt and take a chance against ''his'' spinach!
426* In the ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' episode about Daphne's room being stolen, they (of course) manage to catch and unmask who did the crime, a security guard, and the gang citing the "And you would've gotten away with it if it wasn't for us meddling kids." line for him. Suddenly, the guard says "What makes you think I ''still'' can't get away with it?!" and the robot dog (revealed to work for the guard), that was trying to usurp Scooby with solving the mystery captures the kids and Daphne's parents, forcing Scooby to now fight the robot dog.
427* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
428** There's a classic LampshadeHanging on this in the "Homer and Apu" episode as, almost exactly halfway through the episode, Homer comments that everything has wrapped up "much quicker than usual." Cut to Apu (who's been fired from the Kwik-e-Mart) lamenting that he wants his job back.
429** In the episode "Brawl in the Family," the plot (a social worker being assigned to teach the family how to cooperate) appears to be resolved halfway through the episode, prompting Lisa to almost [[BreakingTheFourthWall break the fourth wall]] by suggesting that now the family's getting along so well, this may be the "end of our series...of events". Then Homer's and Ned's Vegas wives from a previous episode turn up...
430** In "Lisa's Sax", Homer's story of how Lisa got her saxophone turned into a story about Bart starting kindergarten, which ends early in the episode.
431--->'''Homer:''' And that my children, is the story of Bart's first day of school.\
432'''Bart:''' Very nice.\
433'''Homer:''' Yeah.\
434'''Lisa:''' Yeah. Except you were supposed to be telling the story of how I got my saxophone!\
435'''Homer:''' (''{{beat}}'') D'oh!
436* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'', "The Doomsday Project", has a season-ending CliffHanger version. You see that the main characters have defeated Robotnik, and are celebrating... and then you see that Robotnik's nephew Snively has a new mystery villain. It ended up being the final episode, so the new mystery villain remained that way. [[WordOfGod The writers]] said it was intended to be Naugus, however.
437* One ''WesternAnimation/SpacePOP'' episode leads the viewers to believe the princesses are finally going to rescue their parents only for the parents to be taken away to another dungeon, resulting in the quest having to continue.
438* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' it is King Neptune's Birthday, except he's depressed because his son Triton is not there to celebrate with him. He was locked in a cage on the Island in the Sky thousands of years ago. So [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick, feeling sorry for Triton, go off to free him and reunite him with his father, even after learning that he was [[SealedEvilInACan he was locked away for a reason...]] [[SubvertedTrope although not as good a reason as Neptune thought at the time]]. It turned out, Neptune was actually depressed because of traumatic memories of having to seal away his son for showing interest in the affairs of mortals, which he himself saw as un-godlike behavior, and the 1,000 years Triton spent in that cage had left him bitter, which [=SpongeBob=] did not know until it was too late. Cue Triton causing destruction throughout Bikini Bottom as revenge against his father.
439* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'', "A Spy Is Born", has a similar CliffHanger. You see that the girls have captured a rogue filmmaker, and that he's been put on a plane... and then you see in the final scene that he's escaped and captured Alex. Cue part two of the season finale...[[OutOfOrder Which comes after a truckload of episodes before that (which confused a lot a fans)]].
440* The second season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' seemed like it was going this way. Decepticons defeated, day saved, Sumdac rescued, status quo restored...and then Sari is revealed to be cybernetic. Roll credits (and [[TheStinger bickering]]).
441[[/folder]]
442
443[[folder:Real Life]]
444* A distaff version happened in 1238 when assassins tried to kill King Henry III of England by stabbing him to death in his chamber. They broke in to find he wasn't there. He was actually in the separate chamber of his Queen, Eleanor of Provence, having sex with her.[[note]]The timing of this incident suggests this might also have been when they conceived his successor, King Edward I.[[/note]]
445* When UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte invaded UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia, he made it all the way to UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}} and seized the city, and expected the war to be over and the Russians to surrender. However neither the Tsar nor most of the city's population and resources were there and the Russians didn't even dream of giving up. Faced with the onset of winter and exhausted troops, Napoleon had no choice but to return to France, as continuing the war was out of the question.
446* ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso's phoned-in CharacterCatchphrase is "Not so fast, my friend!" He usually says it to one of his co-hosts who has made a pick in an upcoming game he disagrees with. It is typically lampshaded with graphics or some other way to call special attention to it when he says it.
447* Most of religions eschatologies are like this: the Judaism is waiting for the coming of the Messiah since 4 000 years ago. Jesus appeared in the first century but eventually left, saying he would come a second time for the Judgment Day to truly establish the Kingdom of God, and thus the Christians are also waiting since the time. In 622, Muhammad told the same more or less, adding "corrections" and notably details about the Mahdi, so Muslims are also waiting for somebody. In 1844, an Iranian called "the Bab" pretended to be the Mahdi, announcing the cycle of Apocalypse as foretold by the (Islamically corrected) Scriptures. He was eventually shot for blasphemy, and his adepts funded a new religion (the Bahaism) to continue his prophetism, but anyway, the Apocalypse looks stalled since the time. The Hinduism too got a lot of gods' avatars, but is still waiting for the "Krta Yuga" (the Golden Age). Same for the Buddhism, that 27 Buddhas taught to the World before the last we know, Siddhartha Gautama, and is still waiting for the great collapse of the world to begin a new cycle (which is not exactly the definitive end, however, just from our point of view). Whichever is true, anyway, everybody is still waiting in the meanwhile.
448* World History is like this, notably about the coming of an everlasting peace. After UsefulNotes/WorldWarI ended, people told it was the "war to end all wars" and the League of Nations was created to prevent this to ever happen again. Cue UsefulNotes/WorldWarII which started two decades later, and after this one, everybody created the United Nations, swearing never, ever, ever, ever again. Then the UsefulNotes/ColdWar began, yet less disastrous because the great confrontation was divided and relocated in lot of smaller wars in third countries. After the Cold War ended, and the fall of the Berlin Wall and USSR in 1989-91, Francis Fukuyama predicted that it was the end of History, and Capitalism would expand all over the World to bring prosperity and peace to everybody. After a not so peaceful decade (Yugoslavian War, UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar, Rwanda), UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror began...
449* Parallel to this is the question of economic growth and whether or not the pattern of boom and bust will ever end. Every few decades the idea that a permanent high of economic productivity has been reached will gain traction, so far none have stuck. However, people have steadily gotten vastly wealthier over time.
450* This is inverted in UsefulNotes/TheBeautifulGame: What people consider to be the FIFA World Cup for association football/soccer is referred to as "the final tournament". FIFA considers the entire four-year cycle of qualifications leading up to the "Finals" to be part of the actual FIFA World Cup.
451* No, the "Miracle on Ice" at the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 1980 Winter Olympics]] was not the game that won the United States men's ice hockey team the gold medal. It was only the first of two matches the United States had to play in the round-robin final round in order to determine medal placement per the tournament's format of the time. And going into the final round, the United States was already behind the 8-ball, since matches between common opponents from the Group Stage were included. This means the Soviet Union carried over a win over Finland, while the United States carried over a draw with Sweden. The 4-3 win over the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, only reversed the advantage. The United States would need a win over Finland to secure the gold medal, which they did on February 24, 1980, with a 4-2 victory.
452[[/folder]]
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