[[quoteright:350:http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spoiler_shirt.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[TVTropesRuinedYourLife There! You'll never be surprised again.]]]]

->''SNAPE KILLS TRINITY WITH ROSEBUD! Then it turns out they were both Tyler Durden.''
-->-- ''[[http://xkcd.com/109/ xkcd]]''

This trope is for a TwistEnding that used to be guarded carefully as a {{Spoiler}}. However, thanks to PopculturalOsmosis, everyone within the target demographic knows the ending already, even those who haven't even seen the original film or TV show, and it's probably never going to surprise anyone again. In many cases, the twist becomes the central fact known even to those only noddingly familiar with the work, and other adaptations take it as read from the beginning.

Naturally, any movie or series that is based on a historical event gets this by default. For example: "The Spartans all die" in ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]'', or "The ship sinks" for ''{{Titanic}}''. It's a ForegoneConclusion.

Named after the best-known example, from Orson Welles' film ''CitizenKane''.

'''Spoilers ahead''', of course. Or not. After all, that ''is'' the point of this trope... but there's a good chance that some Troper added a twist which really doesn't belong here, or you may be in the dark about it anyway, so read at your own risk. If a work is not too well known, but is only really recognized for its spoiled ending, then it's AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame.

Also, before adding a new example to this page, take a jaunt on over to the [[ItWasHisSledDiscussion discussion page]] and see if it's been removed before. If it seems glaringly obvious to you and it's not here already, it's likely that someone else has already added it before and we reached consensus that it doesn't belong. Many borderline examples have been added in the past and eventually found wanting, so make sure you're not treading familiar ground. Just because it's [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready known to all the fans of a particular work or series]] doesn't mean it belongs here; the standards are somewhat higher than that. New works and works with relatively narrow audiences, in particular, need to withstand fairly intense scrutiny to avoid getting nuked here (no matter how well-known it seems to you).
----
'''Examples:'''

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* {{Bleach}}: Aizen is the BigBad.
* ''SailorMoon'' (first season): Usagi [[ChangelingFantasy is the moon princess]] everyone's been looking for. This, along with other plot points, is [[{{Macekre}} ruined in the English dub, as well as a few other dubs]] by being revealed to the viewers in the first episode in a scene that didn't appear until ''much'' later originally.
** Also, Tuxedo Mask is Mamoru in disguise.
** Additionally, Chibi-Usa from the second season is their daughter from the future, which isn't outright said until around 3/4's of the way through R.
** Plus, all the Senshi's true identities are not typically spoiler marked, which are all spoilers (with the possible exception of Pluto), but it is most [[TVTropesWikiDrinkingGame egregious]] in the case of Hotaru/Sailor Saturn, which is a fairly monumental [[TheReveal reveal]]. The fact that alot of promotional mateiral shows them in Senshi form, and they then look identical, kind of ruins it even for the average joe.
***Sailor Pluto doesn't get the same treatment in this regard due to the fact that she's shown as a Senshi First, then appears as a civilian in the next arc. We're already familiar with her appearance by this time it's obvious who she is.
* ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'': The card game Duel Monsters is based on ancient Egyptian "shadow games". This isn't revealed until the beginning of Battle City in the original version, but the American adaptation gives you this fact in the second episode. (It's [[DubInducedPlotHole mysteriously still treated as a surprise]] when it happens then.)
** Actually the intros to the earlier episodes in Japanese did somewhat spoiled it already, or did it just mention sorcerers in ancient times?
* ''SpeedRacer'': Unknown to Speed, Racer X is Speed's older brother Rex who ran away from home. The constant mentioning of the fact that Racer X is Speed's older brother Rex by the narrator wouldn't be so bad, if he didn't seem to treat the fact that Racer X is actually Rex, the older brother of Speed as such a frickin' revelation ''every single time''. The fact that "Racer X" (in fact the older brother of Speed, Rex) is also pronounced identically to "Racer Rex" just makes the revelation that Racer X is in fact a disguise worn by Speed's older brother Rex even worse. The 2008 LiveActionAdaptation movie handles this- the surprise twist that Racer X, unknown to Speed, is in fact his missing older brother Rex Racer- in a much better manner, but saying more would be a {{Spoiler}}.
** ''DextersLaboratory'' sorta spoiled this in making DeeDee Racer X in their homage.
* ''{{Naruto}}'': Sasuke pulls a FaceHeelTurn.
* ''{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}'' is a weird example. Everyone remembers what everything ''looked'' like, but no one could [[MindScrew understand what was happening]]. Most people after seeing it for the first time would conclude that [[KillEmAll everyone dies]].
* [[CowboyBebop Spike dies.]]
** [[FlipFlopOfGod Maybe]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* ''Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}}'': Gwen Stacy is killed during a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. It was, in fact, hyped with TonightSomeoneDies, but in the days when fans [[SarcasticConfession would be likely to assume a trick]].
* Jean Grey dies. And is reborn. And dies again. And so on. Perhaps her code name (Phoenix, a mythological creature that is constantly in a cycle of death and rebirth) added to the spoiling?

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* [[DoomRepercussionsOfEvil John Stalvern]] [[YouAreTheDemons is the demons]].
** And then he was a zombie.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''CitizenKane'': [[TropeNamer Rosebud was his sled]]. Although he provided the trope name in the formerly above quote, [[FamilyGuy Peter Griffin]] was not the first to spoil it -- that ship sailed for good when Charles Schulz, with uncharacteristic thoughtlessness, gave it away in a 70s ''{{Peanuts}}'' [[http://comics.com/peanuts/1973-12-09/ strip]].
** It was spoiled by ''[[McDuck Don Rosa]]'' in the final chapter of ''The Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck'' (or rather, the author's introduction to it), although I didn't realise it until later (I was too young to get the reference at the time).
** Many of us who grew up in the 1980s had this ruined for us by an episode of ''[[TheRealGhostbusters The Real Ghostbusters]]'' cartoon, where the ghost was that of Charles Foster Kane and he was convinced to stop haunting at the end when he was ''given the sled back''! Seriously.
** And those who spent the early nineties watching afternoon television got it spoilt by an episode of Columbo. 'Rosebud' is the control word for the dogs used to commit the murder.
**Olsen & Johnson spoiled this ''the same year Citizen Kane came out in 1941'' in ''Hellzapoppin,'' when Chic Johnson bumps into the sled and says "Thought they burned that..." (seen at 8:33 [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8okW69O4mY here]])
** Julie Brown ended her song "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" with her friend Debi gunned down during her shooting spree - as she lays dying she croaks "I did it...for Johnny!". Julie is puzzled; she doesn't know any Johnnys, and exclaims "Omigod, this is just like that movie Citizen Kane where you later find out Rosebud was a sled? But we'll never know who Johnny is, 'cause, like...she's dead!"
** ''MoreInformationThanYouRequire'' did not spoil it. Because the book consists entirely of [[LittleKnownFacts lies]], we are told that "Rosebud" was William Randolph Heart's nickname for TheodoreRoosevelt.
** Also spoiled in and {{Animaniacs}} [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQzKZE85JzQ intro]]
* ''[[StarWars The Empire Strikes Back]]'': [[LukeIAmYourFather Luke is the son of Darth Vader]]. This is arguably more famous than Rosebud, because some of the younger generations haven't heard of ''Citizen Kane''. Although really, "vader" is Dutch for "father", so it shouldn't have come as that much of a shock.
** The third season ''TheSimpsons'' episode "I Married Marge" has a flashback where the young Homer spoils this for a long line of moviegoers by coming out of the cinema and exclaiming loudly "I can't ''believe'' that Darth Vader turns out to be Luke's father!" Cue groans, and the line grumpily dispersing.
--->'''Guy in line:''' ''Thanks, Mr. Blow-The-Picture-For-Me!''
** ''Return of the Jedi'': Leia is Luke's sister.
*** And Mark Hamil hints at this before the movie opens. Lampshaded in a Luke\Leia toy release.
* ''TheCryingGame'': Dil [[DroppedABridgetOnHim isn't the usual sort of woman]].
** See AllThereIsToKnowAboutTheCryingGame.
** This one was even on an episode of the TheSimpsons, where Mayor Quimby announced it to the people in a speech.
* ''{{Psycho}}'': Norman Bates's murderous mother is actually Norman's other personality. The murder itself, [[SacrificialLion killing off the hitherto most important character halfway through the movie]], was originally meant to be a surprise, too.
* ''{{Film/Soylent Green}}'' is made out of people.
** Although in the book it's ''soy''beans and ''lent''ils. (Soylent Red adds coloring to make it look more like meat.)
*** But soybeans are genetically modified and may in fact have human genes in them.
** Sadly enough, the big twist can be ruined [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giss0vmT1JU&feature=player_embedded by the goddamn trailer]] if you happened [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil to put two and two together.]] (At 2:20 or so into the trailer, you can see Chucky Heston sneaking into a factory where there are inconspicuous white body bags on a conveyor belt. [[SarcasmMode Wonder what those could be?]])
* The ''PlanetOfTheApes'' is [[PlanetOfTheApesEnding really a post-apocalyptic Earth]].
** The final reveal of this one is frequently blown in the advertisement or dvd-cover...
***I guess in this way humans really aren't smarter than apes.
** It was well-known enough for Mel Brooks to parody the ending in ''{{Spaceballs}}''.
** And for {{The Simpsons}} to parody the ending as a musical {{Show within a show}} starring Troy McClure as Colonel Taylor, complete with a Statue of Liberty prop rising in the background as he sang, "It was Earth all along."
* In ''OldYeller'', the kid has to ShootTheDog. Literally.
* ''TheThirdMan'': Orson Welles' character isn't dead.
* ''TheSixthSense'': Bruce Willis, however, was dead the whole time.
** Also, "I see dead people" was supposed to be a twist, explaining what the heck was going on for the first half of the movie, but [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil it was featured in the trailers.]]
* TheWizardOfOz is, in both the film and the book, just an American con man. Also, in the movie (and [[AdaptationDecay only the movie]]), it was AllJustADream, "a wonderful dream."
* ''{{Casablanca}}'': Rick lets Ilsa go to be with her husband, who needs her to inspire his fight against the Nazis, and then he and Louis go to Brazzaville, fight more Nazis, and have a [[HeterosexualLifePartners beautiful friendship]].
** This might have been less of a twist to contemporary audiences, as there would be no way to get a wife abandoning her husband past the censors of the time.
*** The husband could've died. That would've freed up Rick and Ilsa to live happily ever after, and the husband was obviously in a lot of danger.
* The ''DisneyAnimatedCanon'' has plenty, in part because it frequently draws from older sources. A few of the more famous include:
** ''{{Bambi}}'': Bambi's mother dies.
** ''TheLionKing'': Mufasa dies.
** ''SleepingBeauty'': Princess is awakened by the Prince's kiss.
*** So is ''SnowWhite''. Suspiciously, it looks like [[{{OT3}} it may have been the same prince]].
* ''{{Shrek}}'': Fiona becomes an ogre at night. Made obvious by the two sequels.
**I'd venture to say that was not just a twisted ending; it was the second half / middle third of the plot.
* ''KingKong'': He climbs to the top of the Empire State Building and gets machine-gunned by aeroplanes until he falls down. But it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.
** Token PennyArcade, [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/12/5/ played straight]].
* [[http://snake.phys.lsu.edu/~gclayton/film-endings.html This comprehensive list]] of {{Twist Ending}}s from ''The New York Times''.
* ''{{Titanic}}'': Besides [[ForegoneConclusion the obvious]], it's become well known that Rose had the jewel the whole time (to the point that the final scene was parodied in an insurance ad).
** Also mentioned in the music video for "Ooops, I Did It Again," by Britney Spears. [[OrSoIHeard Or so I heard...]]
** The sinking of the ship would also count here as well. Anyone who was surprised that the Titanic would kiss an iceberg and wake up at the bottom of the ocean the following morning both DidNotDoTheResearch and [[YouFailHistoryForever Fails History Forever]].
*** I think that's what is meant by "the obvious."
* Even first-time viewers of ''Film/{{Alien}}'' these days are not surprised by the chestbursting scene.
* ''{{Terminator}} 2'': [[HeelFaceTurn Arnold's the good guy in this one]]. Most people don't even ''know'' that was supposed to be a surprise, as [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil the marketing totally ruined it]].
** ''{{Terminator}}'' itself. For the first forty minutes, you're not supposed to trust Reese. Of course, by now you probably know that Reese is there to save Sarah.
* In ''{{Fight Club}}'' Tyler Durden is the Narrator's split personality. Thank you, Rosie O'Donnell.
* ''TheUsualSuspects'': Verbal Kint is really Keyser Soze.
* ''TheFly''. In the original version the fact that the teleporter combined the MadScientist with a fly is supposed to be a huge surprise. Even though it's in the title.
* ''TheWickerMan''. They burn the policeman. In a big wicker man.
* ''StarTrek [[StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan II: The Wrath of Khan]]''. Spock dies (until [[BackFromTheDead the sequel]]).
** The makers try to mess with us here: The news that Spock's death was planned leaked fairly early on in development, so the first scene (the famous ''Kobiyashi Maru'' scene) was edited so that most of the characters (including Spock) 'died'. After the sim ends, Kirk even asks Spock: ''"Aren't you dead?"'' This was to preserve the twist; first-time moviegoers would assume the spoilers referred to this scene, and would then be surprised when Spock died For Real This Time. Today no one notices ''any'' of this.
** KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!
** This Troper was narmed by Spock's (actually good played) death, knowing, that the next movie rented is called [[StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock "The search for Spock"]].
* ''TheBrood''. The EnfanteTerrible killers are the [[TheHeartless physical manifestations]] of Nola's misdirected anger. This information is right there on the DVD case, and it comes as a bit of a surprise that it was even intended as a TwistEnding at all.
** An odd one here is ''{{Scanners}}''. The fact that [[YourHeadASplode one dude's head explodes]] has become an [[MemeticMutation cultural meme]], but a lot of people don't know that it's from this film. Once the scene starts, however, everyone recognizes the guy (he looks a little like Dr. Phil), says "Oh, it's from ''this'' movie!", and knows how the scene will end.
** ''{{Videodrome}}'' gives you brain tumours.
* TheDarkKnight: Rachel dies, provoking Harvey Dent to becomes Two-Face. A lot of people thought that this was being saved for part 3. Sadly, they killed off Two-Face and kept the Joker, but the Joker's actor died, while Two-Face's lived. Murphy's Law at work.
* {{Dead Poets Society}} : Neil is DrivenToSuicide.
* ''{{Cloverfield}}'': We never find out whence the monster came.
* ''TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'': Francis is insane and the whole thing is his [[TalkativeLoon babbling]]. The real cabinet is in his head, and vice versa.
* ''{{Nosferatu}}'': Orlok is killed by [[ItBurns sunlight]].
* Although DrStrangelove regains the ability to walk, the mission to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is a failure, and the film ends with footage of nuclear explosions while "We'll Meet Again" [[SoundtrackDissonance plays]].
* ''{{Saw}}'': The Jigsaw Killer [[http://www.impawards.com/2006/saw_iii_ver8.html is]] [[http://www.impawards.com/2007/saw_iv_ver4.html some]] [[http://www.impawards.com/2008/saw_v.html old]] [[http://www.impawards.com/2009/saw_vi_ver5.html guy]] played by Tobin Bell.
* ''{{Network}}'' has Howard Beale murdered live on TV.
* ''WhenAStrangerCalls'': The calls are coming from inside the house.
* Sidney Poitier gets a coffee mug with ''To Sir, With Love'' written on it from one of his students.
* [[{{Oldboy}} Mi-Do is Oh Dae-Su's daughter]]. Yeah, [[ParentalIncest eeyew.]]
* [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment And while we're on the]] [[ParentalIncest subject]], [[{{Chinatown}} Noah Cross had a daughter with his daughter]]. Meanwhile, TheBadGuyWins.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Folktales ]]

* [[AnAesop The tortoise wins. And the moral of the story is: slow and steady wins the race.]]
** Any Aesop has a foregone conclusion.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* ''TheStrangeCaseOfDoctorJekyllAndMrHyde'': [[JekyllAndHyde The two title characters are the same man]]. This was a TwistEnding in the original novel, but it's so well known today, all of the adaptations make it part of the plot from the beginning. Because of this, some people are unaware that it ever ''was'' a twist.
* ''TheScarletPimpernel'' is Sir Percy Blakeney. Once again, in the original book, the reader doesn't discover this fact until Percy's wife does, but this has become another case where the twist is so well-known that most TV and film adaptations reveal it at the very beginning.
* ''HarryPotter and the Half-Blood Prince'': "Snape kills Dumbledore" quickly became an [[http://xkcd.com/109/ internet meme]] within days of the book's release.
** In its 18th season, {{The Simpsons}} pretty much validated this spoiler during an episode in which Homer read the latest ''Angelica Button'' book to daughter Lisa. Later he skipped ahead, then announced, "They killed [headmaster] Greystache!"
* ''AliceInWonderland'': It was AllJustADream.
** ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'': Again, it was AllJustADream. But just to mess with our heads, we're left with the question "Was it Alice's dream, or the Red King's dream?"
* ''TheDaVinciCode'': The heroine's family have been in the Priory of Sion for generations, and the Holy Grail (i.e. the tomb of Mary Magdalene) was hidden in the Louvre the whole time.
** ''AngelsAndDemons'': Camerlengo Ventresca was behind everything.
* ''Anna Karenina'': Anna commits suicide by jumping under a train. When Vladimir Nabokov taught this novel, he was particularly fond of the trope; he intentionally gave away the ending to his students before they started reading the book, so they would not focus solely on the plot.
** In a class discussion of irony and foreshadowing in literature, ThisTroper said, "Anna Karenina met Alexy Vronsky at a train station, and she killed herself by jumping under a train!" The teacher {{facepalm}}ed and responded, "Thank you for that. Nobody really ''wanted'' to find that out for themselves, after all."
* ''TreasureIsland'': The ship's cook, Long John Silver, turns out to be a pirate. Of course, these days the name Long John Silver is as strongly associated with piracy as Black Beard.
** Also, Ben Gunn had the treasure all along. And John escapes with a sack of coin.
* ''StarWars: [[ExpandedUniverse Vision of the Future]]'': Luke and Mara get married. Even Mara's Wikipedia page gives this away.
** And the cover of ''Sacrifice'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* In Len Deighton's {{Bernard Samson}} sequence, the twist at the end of the first novel, Berlin Game, is essentially given away the back cover of every subsequent novel in the sequence "Bernard Samson is a bit distraught that his wife is a traitor'.
* Parodied and subverted in ''MoreInformationThanYouRequire'', when Hodgman discusses W.R. Hearst, and reveals that "Rosebud" was Hearst's nickname for TheodoreRoosevelt.
* ''WarOfTheWorlds'': The aliens are ultimately brought down by the common cold.
* ''TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The answer to the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" is 42.
* ''NineteenEightyFour'': The Brotherhood is a trap, O'Brien works for the party, Winston tells them to do it to Julia, and in the end, he loves Big Brother.
* ''TheBible'': Jesus dies for our sins and comes back to life.
** John has a prophecy about the world ending.
*** You mean even the Bible contains spoilers? Thanks for that, God!
* ''GoneWithTheWind:'' Rhett leaves Scarlett. That's the entire point of "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"
* ''Twilight'': Edward's a vampire. I've been told that it's supposed to be a spoiler, but even the back jacket announces it.
** Also, Jacob is a werewolf.
** The granddaddy of these is Dracula. In the novel, now a century old, the revelation that Count D is a vampire was a major reveal.
* ''The Maltese Falcon'' is a fake. General Kemidov still has the real one. Also, Bridget shot Archer.
* TheDarkTower: Roland leaves Jake to die. [[IGotBetter He gets better.]] The top of the tower [[GroundhogDayLoop sends him back to the beginning of the first book.]]
* TheGreatGatsby: Gatsby dies.
* LordOfTheRings: Saruman is TheDragon. Boromir succumbs to the ring and dies. Gandalf turns out to be alive. Gollum seizes the ring at the cracks of doom, and while dancing with joy, accidentally falls into the lava taking the ring with him.
* HPLovecraft gives us a few:
** ''The Call of Cthulhu'': Cthulhu rises, and then goes to sleep again.
** ''The Dunwich Horror'' is the giant, invisible brother of Wilbur. Both of them are the sons of Yog-Sothoth.
** ''Pickman's Model'' is a giant ghoul.
** ''The Rats in the Walls'' are actually in his head, and his ancestors were cannibals.
** ''The Haunter of the Dark'' is an avatar of Nyarlathotep. It drives the protagonist mad and probably eats him.
** ''{{At the Mountains of Madness}}'', there are dead aliens, and a few live ones.
** ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' is the fact that its townsfolk are descended from demonic fish-creatures. The protagonist is, too.
* ''TheCanterburyTales'' [[NoEnding don't really end]].
* {{Beowulf}} dies after he and Wiglaf kill a dragon.
* ''TheCryingOfLot49'': We never find out what was going on. And the book ends before the actual crying starts.
* ''TheGiver'': [[ReleasedToElsewhere "Release"]] = euthanasia.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In {{Lost}}, the FanNickname for the mysterious... thing... was just the "Monster". Now it's the "Smoke Monster".
** No, it's Cerberus. It's written on the big metal door in the Hatch.
*The twist endings to several episodes of ''TheTwilightZone'' have fallen victim to this. The most famous are probably the ending of "ToServeMan" ("It's a cookbook!") and [[PlanetOfTheApesEnding "I Shot An Arrow Into The Air"]].
** It's not fair! There was time now!
** I'm a pretty girl in a world of ugly pigpeople who consider themselves the standard bearers of beauty!
*''{{Dallas}}'': Kristin shot J.R.
** It was AllJustADream!
* The final ''{{Newhart}}'' has probably reached this point by now: It's all a dream of the main character of ''TheBobNewhartShow''.
** As well as the final ''StElsewhere'': It's all a fantasy of an autistic boy.
** ''{{Roseanne}}'': Everything after a previously unremarkable episode had been Roseanne's idealized semi-autobiographical novel.
* Obligatory BuffyTheVampireSlayer example: In the first season, {{Angel}} being a vampire was a big plot twist revealed mid-way through the season. Yeah.
* Certainly the sudden blackout ending of TheSopranos counts, considering how much the media talked about it.
* Susan Boyle on ''BritainsGotTalent'' looks like she's going to be one of those HopelessAuditionees. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91pOIWv8QZY She isn't.]]
* [[DoctorWho Prof. Yana is The Master.]]
*TheShield's twist in the pilot, where the paint-by-numbers corrupt cop with a heart of gold Vic Mackey murders in cold blood good guy cop Terry Crowley, helped elevate Michael Chiklis's character to a new level of magnificent bastardom and make the Shield not just another cop show, by sending Vic over the MoralEventHorizon and asking fans to [[ItGotWorse follow him on his way down to even further villainy]].
* [[PowerRangersInSpace The Z-Wave]] which brought to a end, the [[MightyMorphinPowerRangers six-season]] [[PowerRangersZeo story]] [[PowerRangersTurbo arc.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Poetry ]]

* In "Casey at the Bat", [[TheAce mighty Casey]] [[DownerEnding strikes out]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Theatre ]]

*[[AStreetcarNamedDesire Stanley rapes Blanche, she goes crazy, and announces that she has always depended upon the kindness of strangers.]]
* The endings to many of {{Shakespeare}}'s plays are well known. Most don't have an actual TwistEnding, but ''{{Macbeth}}'' comes [[NoManOfWomanBorn pretty close]].
** The ending of ''Titus Andronicus'' fits the "twist" ending well: Titus bakes the guys who raped his daughter into a pie, and feeds it to their mother and stepfather. This was the inspiration for the ''SouthPark'' episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die".
** ''KingLear'' had a twist ending, at least at the time it was released. Theatre-goers of that time would have been extremely familiar with the story of King Lear, which, until Shakespeare, always ended with Lear being restored to his throne and ruling well until dying of old age.
** Romeo drinks some poison and Juliet stabs herself because, in an odd twist of fate, they both think the other one is dead. And if you're still singing songs about a "Romeo and Juliet romance" then you fail literature FOREVER.
* Exception: The ending of the long-running play ''TheMousetrap'' is the most infamous open secret in theater history - the audience is sworn to secrecy at the conclusion of each performance, and the terms of the original contract prevent the story from being published or filmed until after the show has closed. Everyone who has seen the play has done a fairly good job over the years of keeping mum, and the text of the play has never been published in the UK. (There is, however, an urban legend regarding a cab driver who dropped a number of playgoers off at the theater in question, was stiffed on the tip, and shouted as he drove away, "[[spoiler:Sergeant Trotter]] did it, you cheap gits!"). Indeed, when the play ''The Real Inspector Hound'' openly plagiarized ''The Mousetrap'', its producers refused to sue on the basis that doing so would publicly reveal the ending.
** However, the partwork ''The Agatha Christie Collection'' '''did''' publish the text of ''The Mousetrap''. Regarding the cab-driver anecdote, in some versions of the story he's said to have shouted "The butler did it!", which is said to be the origin of this phrase. (There is no butler in ''The Mousetrap''.)
* ''WaitingForGodot'': Godot never shows up.
** ''Happy Days''. You think being buried up to your waist in sand is bad? How about being buried up to your neck?
* ''WaitingForLefty'': Lefty never shows up either, mostly because he's been shot. The cabbies strike.
*OedipusRex. Oedipus married his mother. Not much of a twist considering it was in the opening narration but it still occasionally surprises people.
* In ''Oedipus at Colonus,'' the titular character reveals that his children were the product of incest. For modern audiences this is how the myth is assumed to go, but it is presumed that an earlier version of the myth would have some or none of the children born of incest, instead the product of a polygamous marriage.
** Similarly, {{Euripides}}' version of ''{{Medea}}''. In all versions of the Medea myth, her children die but most versions have it happen by accident or bring the children back alive at the end of the story (usually because of mistaken identity). Ancient Greek audiences would have been shocked at Euripides' ending, where Medea is the willful murderess of her own sons we know today.
*** On top of that, Medea was also a shocker for Ancient Greek audiences because Euripides was one of the first Greek playwrights to show death onstage! Previously, a death would only be reported by a messenger. Medea killing her children mid-monologue would have been unheard of.
** To a lesser extent, {{Aeschylus}}' ''Agamemnon'' - in the conventional myth, the titular character is murdered by Aegisthus, with Clytemnestra as his accomplice. Clytemnestra being the sole murderer would have been a surprise to a Greek audience (though it's obvious fairly early on).
*JM Synge's ''Riders to the Sea'': Bartley drowns. Everyone knows this from Maurya's famous monologue:
-->They're all gone now, and there isn't anything more the sea can do to me.... I'll have no call now to be up crying and praying when the wind breaks from the south, and you can hear the surf is in the east, and the surf is in the west, making a great stir with the two noises, and they hitting one on the other. I'll have no call now to be going down and getting Holy Water in the dark nights after Samhain, and I won't care what way the sea is when the other women will be keening.
* ''Hedda Gabler'' shoots herself.
** Nora leaves her husband in ''The Doll's House''.
* The ''Three Sisters'' never get to Moscow. Also, Baron Tuzenbach dies.
* ''The Ghost Sonata'': Nothing gets better.
* ''Woyzeck'' stabs Marie to death, and then ambiguously drowns himself while trying to dispose of the knife.
* [[LongDaysJourneyIntoNight Long Day's Journey into Night]]: Edmund has tuberculosis, and wishes he were a seal or a fish.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''FinalFantasy'': Garland is actually Chaos, the BigBad. This one was spoiled by ''Dissidia:FinalFantasy'' and is even a plot point.
* ''FinalFantasyII'': The Emperor isn't quite as dead as you'd think...
* ''FinalFantasyIV'': Cecil becomes a paladin, and Golbez is his brother who's being mind controlled by the real BigBad, Zemus.
* ''FinalFantasyV'': Exdeath is actually a giant tree. Not even ''Dissidia'' avoids making fun of this one.
* ''FinalFantasy VI'': Kefka is the real BigBad, and the Floating Continent is not the final dungeon.
* ''FinalFantasyVII'': Aerith [[PlotlineDeath dies]]. [[FinalDeath Permanently]], despite [[UrbanLegendOfZelda rumors to the contrary]].
** Of course, there ''is'' a way to keep her alive... with a GameShark.
* ''FinalFantasyX'': Yuna does NOT die; I'm not sure it's soon enough to reveal the rest.
** Tidus is a dream construct of the Fayth and Auron died ten years ago trying to defy Yu Yevon. Game's been out for eight years, bro.
* Would you kindly not spoil the twist to ''Bioshock''?
** [[TemptingFate Andrew Ryan gets you to kill him in a cutscene and is replaced with Frank Fontaine as]] BigBad.
** Your character is actually a clone engineered by Atlas who turns out to be Fontaine.
* ''TheLegendOfZelda: Ocarina of Time'': Sheik is Zelda [[GenderBender in disguise]]. This is so out that ''SuperSmashBros'' series has the Zelda-Sheik transformation as a special move.
**Midway through the game you travel seven years into the future.
** Oh, and the tomboy-pirate from ''TheWindWaker'', wearing the same bandages around her wrist as Sheik and having the same tan? Yeah, she's a Princess Zelda too. Even though the mentioned hints weren't really obvious to recognize on first glance, a visit on this page, DeviantArt or YouTube will certainly make you recognize them. ''After'' spoiling the whole twist to you. And if that's not enough, her Trophy in SuperSmashBros and the intro of ''PhantomHourglass'' completly ruin it.
** ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Faces of Evil]]'': Link defeats Ganon, but Zelda still won't kiss him.
** ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames Wand of Gamelon]]'' Duke Onkled betrayed the King! And after he's scrubbed all the floors in Hyrule, ''then'' they can talk about mercy. Also, Link was somehow trapped inside Lady Alma's mirror.
* Solid Snake's commanding officer, Big Boss, is secretly the enemy commander in the first ''Metal Gear''.
*** Ah ha! But it turns out, that was all just a ploy to make America look good and to found the foundation of the Patriots!
** In ''Metal Gear Solid'', Solid Snake and Liquid Snake (don't forget Solidus) are actually clones of Big Boss.
** Raiden is the main character in ''Metal Gear Solid 2''.
** You have to beat Psycho Mantis by switching the controller to port 2. (In ''The Twin Snakes'', it's port 4).
*** You ''can't'' beat Mantis in MGS4 by switching to controller port 2.
** ''And he didn't die.''
* ''{{Metroid}}'': SamusIsAGirl.
** A hot one, at that.
* Not for the game being notable, but for the twist being so retarded, Bionic Commando and its "Your arm is your wife" has achieved major notoriety.
* ''{{Castlevania}}: Aria of Sorrow'': Soma Cruz is the reincarnation of {{Dracula}}. (The direct sequel, ''Dawn of Sorrow'', states this pretty early on.) Also, the mysterious "J" is actually Julius Belmont, making him a descendant of the clan known for going against Dracula over the years. (''Dawn of Sorrow'' states this as well.) Oddly, the ''Aria'' reveal that ''wasn't'' explicitly stated until ''Dawn'' was the first one players figured out, thanks to a particularly unsubtle hint from Yoko. Genya Arikado is Alucard.
** Arikado ... Alucard ... is this really supposed to be a secret from the ''player,'' or is it meant to be [[DramaticIrony obvious to the player but not to the characters]]?
* ''{{Portal}}'': The cake is a lie. OrIsIt?
* There are bigger threats than the Covenant in ''{{Halo}}'', as the demos and publicity carefully did ''not'' tell you.
* ''BaldursGate'': You're one of the children of the dead god of Murder, as are [[CainAndAbel most of the antagonists]]. When the ''creators'' declare 'ItWasHisSled' (by marketing the series as "The Bhaalspawn Saga") you know the twist is dead.
* ''[[KingdomHearts Kingdom Hearts II]]'': Roxas is Sora's nobody. C'mon, with [[SignificantAnagram that name]] and appearance, who else could he be?
** Regardless of whenever or not you've heard it before, it's most likely you'll just guess it quite early in the game's story. It's '''''that''''' obvious.
* ''[[SonictheHedgehog Sonic Adventure 2]]'': Shadow dies (until ''Sonic Heroes'').
* ''{{Shadow The Hedgehog}}'': Black Doom gave his blood as the base for Shadow's creation, making him his biological father (of sorts).
* In ''{{Pokemon}}'' ''Red'' and ''Blue'', your rival is the Champion and you have to defeat him in order to beat the game. As if you didn't see it coming anyway.
** And the hidden Pokemon Mew is mentioned in the storyline.
** In Gold and Silver, you have to fight Red. Also, by the time Nintendo "revealed" [[OlympusMons Arceus']] existence, everyone already knew about it.
* ''MegaMan'' series: It's ''always'' Dr. Wily.
** ''Mega Man 3'': Breakman is Protoman. Even ''MegaMan Anniversary Collection'' doesn't pretend this is a surprise. He's your Navi for cryin' out loud!
* CallOfDuty4: The USMC faction is killed by the nuke.
* In FinalFantasyVI, the world is destroyed halfway through the game.
* TheWorldEndsWithYou: All the players are dead, and the game is their only way to come back to life.
* In Persona4: Naoto is a girl.
* GuiltyGear: [[DroppedABridgetOnHim Bridget has a penis]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* [[TheSimpsons Maggie shot Mr. Burns]]
*''FamilyGuy''. Stewie doesn't kill Lois; it was just a simulation.
* [[SouthPark Cartman made Scott Tenorman eat his parents]]
* [[TransformersAnimated Longarm is Shockwave.]]
* [[LooneyTunes Elmer strikes Bugs Bunny down with lightning in What's Opera Doc?]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* You die.
** And pay taxes.
**** ''Usually'' not in that order, but [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_(United_States)#The_.22Death_Tax.22_neologism not]] always.
* Elvis is dead. [[ElvisHasLeftThePlanet Maybe.]]
* Santa Claus is a lie your parents tell you so you will brush your teeth.
** Same with the Easter Bunny.
*** And the Tooth Fairy. Though not really, since you get money if your teeth fall out.
* Most nerds do not end up as billionaires because they had to raid that night.
** Many jocks do in fact become your bosses because they had the charisma and connections to do so.
*** And rich parents.
* Germany lost both of the World Wars.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Religion ]]

* [[TheBible Jesus]] dies.
** [[IGotBetter He Gets Better]].
*** Then floats away.
* John (the [[ApocalypseHow Revelator]]) "dies" at the end.
** As in, he is no longer on this earth, but rather in the Heavenly plane.
*** What we mean to say is, [[MontyPythonsFlyingCircus he is an ex-prophet.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Meta ]]

* This page spoils twists.
----
<<|{{Fan-Speak}}|>>
<<|MetaConcepts|>>