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alt title(s): Reveal
"What a twist!"
— Every M Night Shyamalan movie ever made

The pivot in any plotline is often The Reveal. A character is revealed as another character's mother, a god, or secret suitor or arch nemesis in disguise. More broadly, the audience is given new information which had been withheld to create suspense. The Reveal changes the nature of the plot, often pushing it from suspense towards action. A good reveal will also create a new set of questions and further suspense.

A key moment in most Xanatos Gambit plots, when the heroes or the audience discover how the villains have been manipulating everyone. Can also be used to make a Cliffhanger more dramatic. Myth Arc and Mind Screw series love springing these; Jigsaw Puzzle Plots pretty much require them.

If The Reveal is withheld for too long, the audience typically gets frustrated, as was the case with Twin Peaks fans and Laura Palmer's murderer.

If you're set up for this but it's then subverted by not revealing it, it's The Unreveal. When made too obvious ahead of time, it's The Untwist. If it comes out of nowhere and serves no purpose other than to be a twist, it's a Shocking Swerve. If a Driving Question is involved, this is where it's finally put to rest.

Aristotle referred to it as anagnorisis (generally translated as "discovery" or "recognition") in his Poetics, making this one Older Than Feudalism. He considered it one of the hallmarks of a superior play.
Warning: Expect every example to be a spoiler for something.

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