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1->'''Gumball''': Man, I really wish something that once seemed insignificant would show up and save me!\
2(''Darwin charges at Bobert, but he gets knocked away for the second time.'')\
3'''Gumball''': Okay, something else insignificant.
4-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', "The Robot"
5
6->'''Thornton Reed''': Take this, Dag.\
7'''Dr. Rick Dagless M.D.''': What is it?\
8'''Thornton Reed''': ''Something that might come in handy.''
9-->-- ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'', "Scotch Mist"
10
11->It appears that you're heading directly into the heart of the volcano. On reflection, this was inevitable, really. I mean, you can't just have a Final Boss Battle near a volcano. It would be like having a [[ChaseScene car chase]] in which the [[FruitCart fruit cart]] doesn't get knocked over. Or fighting crime in a [[GiantRobot giant robot]] and never using RocketPunch.
12-->-- ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''
13
14->'''TG:''' you just HAD TO FIGURE all that juice was going to come back to haunt me\
15'''TG:''' like frankensteins incontinent fucking ghost\
16'''TG:''' it was like\
17'''TG:''' chekhov's juice
18-->--'''Dave Strider''', ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''
19
20->''You know how at the start of an adventure, you find some seemingly trivial thing that turns out to be important later?\
21But at the time you have no idea why or how it'll turn out to be important?''
22-->--'''Creator/AndrewHussie''' to Caliborn, ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''
23
24->''"Cool, I'm sure this won't be relevant ever!"''
25-->-- '''Creator/MaryCagle''', [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/chapter-11-page-20 author's notes]] on ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain''
26
27->'''Vyvyan''': "It's a potion I've invented, where, when the patient drinks it, he turns into an [[AxCrazy axe-wielding homicidal maniac.]] It's basically a cure...[[PsychoSerum for not being an axe-wielding homicidal maniac.]] The potential market's enormous!"\
28'''Neil''': "Is this it?"\
29'''Vyvyan''': "Yeah, yeah, I put it in a Coke can so nobody'd drink it by mistake."\
30'''Neil''': "[[LampshadeHanging Y'know, I just bet a bit later on somebody does drink that and turns into an axe-wielding homicidal maniac.]]"\
31'''Rick''': "Yes, I bet that as well. That's just the sort of crazy, imaginative thing that happens around here."
32-->--''Series/TheYoungOnes''
33
34->''This means nothing right now, but obviously will later.''
35-->--'''Creator/AndrewHussie'''
36
37->'''Goops:''' Hey Snoozy. Why is there a gun in the drawer?\
38'''Suzy:''' Oh. That. It's a Chekhov's Gun. It's a literary device, basically a notable but seemingly-insignificant item that becomes important later in the plot.\
39'''Goops:''' Ok. Why is it here?\
40'''Suzy:''' Some weird magical girl appeared one day and gave it to us. [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/guest-comic-ayme-sotuyo Rough edge, or something?]] It's good to have around in case monsters attack or somebody threatens a tenant. It's surprisingly good at inflicting blunt-force trauma.
41-->-- ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26390635 Praesperavero]]'', a ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'' fanfic
42
43->''[[{{Foreshadowing}} Remember that, Annie]]: [[SkeletonKey A key that opens any lock]]. That could be useful.''
44-->--''WesternAnimation/ItsPony''
45
46->'''Casey''': Well, you know what they say about a gun in the first act, Ron.\
47'''[[TheDitz Kyle]]''': First act of what?
48-->--''Series/PartyDown''
49
50->''"We’ve been trained by movies that if you find some seemingly unimportant bauble, then the story will later create a situation where it will be the key to solving a problem in an unexpected way."''
51-->--''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings''
52
53->'''Archer:''' God, I SAID the cap slips off the poison pen for no reason, didn't I?!\
54'''Cyril:''' I know, I know, but I just assumed that if anything bad happened it-it would've been-\
55'''Archer:''' No, do NOT say the Chekhov gun Cyril! THAT, sir, is a facile argument!\
56'''Woodhouse:''' [[GeniusBonus Also woefully esoteric.]]
57-->-- ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''
58
59->''The coffin was the trap, the coffin was the solution. [[LampshadeHanging That's so neat I could write a thesis.]]''
60-->-- '''[[Series/DoctorWho The Eleventh Doctor]]''', ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''
61
62-> ''Works like a charm. I could build a mechanical barrel-maker in my sleep, but for ''real'' inventing genius, these ''Brain-Transfer Helmets have to be my pièce de résistance!''
63-->-- '''Cranky Kong''', in a scene from ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' which shouldn't need any further explanation.
64
65->''[Film/JamesBond] always used every single item. [[DeconstructedTrope He never came back and said "Q, I've got a lot of stuff I didn't use on that adventure."]]''
66-->-- '''Creator/EddieIzzard''', ''Unrepeatable''
67
68->''Show a gun on the mantelpiece in the first act. Before the curtain goes down, it's going to blow someone's scrotum off.''
69-->-- '''[[MadArtist Sam Krieg]]''', ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld''
70
71-> ''I won't find it fantastic or think it absurd\
72When the gun in the first act goes off in the third.''
73-->-- '''Music/AimeeMann''', "Frankenstein"
74
75->''[[RecordNeedleScratch Cut the music!]] Go back and look at that fern. Stanley, this fern will be ''very important'' later in the story. Make sure you study it closely, and remember it carefully.''
76-->-- '''The Narrator''', ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable''
77
78->''"He takes out from his pocket a .44, and checks it's loaded. (beat) [[LampshadeHanging I don't know why he checks it's loaded, surely he is the one who loaded it.]]"''
79-->-- '''Hans Kieslowski''' adding to the script, ''Film/SevenPsychopaths''
80
81->''"Ha! I threw that shit before I came in the room!"''
82-->-- ''Film/BlackDynamite''
83
84->''"So the moral of the story is, you never know when random, seemingly unimportant, stuff will turn out to be very important. Which is why you shouldn't question me when I tell you to build me something like a hammock, or...a human slingshot."''
85-->-- '''[[LazyBum Grif]]''', ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy'', "Something Else Entirely"
86
87->'''Francis''': You lied to me, Bluebeard. What's more, you withheld important information from me. And you know exactly what I mean, my friend. But I'm still puzzled why you did it.
88->'''Bluebeard''': Well, uh...I thought maybe it wasn't that important.
89->'''Francis''': Not that important? When it's a matter of solving a case as complex as this one, every detail is important, Bluebeard, every single one! Any little thing can unexpectedly become important under certain circumstances.
90-->--''WesternAnimation/{{Felidae}}'' ''(novel only)''
91
92->''"I guess you want me to repay that favor I've been owing you for half a century, right?"''
93-->--'''Tránsito Soto''', ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits''
94
95->[[AC: Prime Directives]]
96->[[AC: 1: Serve the public trust]]
97->[[AC: 2: Protect the innocent]]
98->[[AC: 3: Uphold the law]]
99->[[AC: 4: Classified]]
100-->--''Film/RoboCop1987''
101
102->'''Unseen Narrator:''' Now pay close attention to that ham. Cause it’s not the last time you're gonna see that ham in the story!\
103''[later]''\
104'''Gaz:''' ''[shouting]'' Dib! Do you still have that ham I gave you?\
105'''Dib:''' Of course! ''[pulls ham out]'' THE HAM!\
106'''Narrator:''' See? There’s that ham again!
107-->--''WesternAnimation/InvaderZimEnterTheFlorpus''
108
109->''"GRAPPLING HOOK! Told you it will come in handy!"''
110-->--'''Mabel Pines''', ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' (In which Mabel uses the grappling hook she grabbed in the [[Recap/GravityFallsS1E1TouristTrapped first episode]] to [[spoiler:save Dipper and herself from a deadly fall in the [[Recap/GravityFallsS1E20GideonRises first season finale]]]].)
111
112->'''Polly:''' Hey, what do you think made these holes?\
113'''Hop Pop:''' Mmh, better not to ask. Come on!\
114'''Polly:''' I feel like this is going to come back later!
115-->--''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', "Marcy at the Gates"
116
117-> '''Kevin''': (As Katherine tiptoes through the sorority house with a gun) Anton Chekov was at the premiere and he said loudly, "Oh, they showed a gun in Act One and now they're using it in Act Three! Wonder where they got ''that'' idea?!"
118-> '''Bill''': Bitter, bitter man.
119-> '''Kevin''': Yeah.
120--->-- ''Podcast/RiffTrax'', ''Film/TheHouseOnSororityRow''
121
122->''"It ended up being useful in a roundabout way"''
123-->--'''[[WebAnimation/{{Hololive}} Calliope Mori]]''' while playing [[VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries Henry Stickmin]]
124
125->''"That's a surprise tool that can help us later."''
126-->--'''Mickey Mouse''' describing the Mystery Mousketool, ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseClubhouse''
127
128->''"What, your cellar? Oh yeah, right, I'd forgotten all about that. You mean it's actually important now?"''
129-->--'''Sasha''', ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''
130
131->'''Luxord:''' Take this card. It will be useful in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIV''.\
132'''Sora:''' Nice!\
133'''Luxord:''' [[SequelGap When it releases in 2024.]]\
134'''Sora:''' Not nice!
135-->-- ''[[WebVideo/KingdomHeartsInANutshell Kingdom Hearts 3 in a nutshell]]''
136
137->'''Roy:''' Does anyone have any additional skills or talents that haven't come up so far?\
138<The team members reveal they have various talents such as basket-weaving, crocheting, blowing smoke rings, making soap, and beekeeping>\
139'''Roy:''' '''''Uggh.'''''\
140'''Haley:''' You were hoping for something more useful? \
141'''Roy:''' No, I'm just pre-emptively annoyed that one of those is going to end up saving the day later.
142-->-- ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' ''[[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1268.html 1268]]''
143
144->'''Mr. Gus:''' Remember earlier when we flashed back to that flashback?\
145''(Mr. Gus and Pizza Steve [[NestedStory remember themselves remembering]] Uncle Grandpa's party foul)''\
146'''Pizza Steve:''' Oh yeah, I knew that was gonna be significant to the story.
147-->-- ''WesternAnimation/UncleGrandpa'', "Shower Party"
148
149->“Well, they gave me the gun. I had to do something with it.”\
150“Chekhov,” she said.\
151“Check off what?”\
152She rolled her eyes. “Creator/AntonChekhov, Keller. The Russian writer.”
153-->-- ''Hit List'' by Creator/LawrenceBlock
154
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