Main Tropes Index

Troperville

Editing

Tools

Toys

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

Custom Search

Guess what she looks like under those bandages.

The resolution of a plot (usually but not always for a Speculative Fiction story) by the sudden revelation of some important detail which has been deliberately hidden from the viewer. Had this detail been made known at the beginning of the story, much or all of the dramatic tension would have been missing from the plot. Usually, it hasn't been hidden from the "viewpoint" of the character(s) or sometimes, it has been hidden from "one" character, so that subject will be just as surprised as we are.

In skilled hands, a Tomato Surprise can make for a stunning ending with a powerful impact. Unfortunately, in the hands of a hack or novice writer, it will almost always come off as a cheat or an Ass Pull.

The trope name comes from a set of writer's guidelines distributed circa 1980 by Analog magazine, written by its then-editor, George Scithers. The guidelines named the trope and gave as one of the examples hiding the fact that the hero is, in fact, a tomato. Obviously, this trope is easier to implement in print than on screen.

See Planet Of The Apes Ending, Tomato In The Mirror, The All Concealing I.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime 

    Comic Books 

    Fan Fiction 

    Film 

    Literature 

    Live Action TV 

    Machinima 

    Music 

    Radio 

    Video Games 

    Western Animation 

« Plots »