Basic Trope: The writers set up a good plot... and then go with something else.
- Straight: Rather then fighting the Big Bad's invasion force, we're going to have an hour of relationship melodrama.
- Exaggerated: Rather than fighting the Big Bad's invasion force, we're going to spend an hour discussing how awesome it was.
- Justified: We're shown what would've happened if the Hero did that awesome thing that was set up: he would've gotten creamed so badly he was actually cheesed.
- See "Plotted a Good Waste".
- Inverted: All the indicators point to a boring filler episode, then we cut to a different group of heroes fighting the Big Bad's invasion force somewhere else.
- Subverted: They set up a possibly awesome plotline, then we cut to a relationship melodrama for an episode, but we cut back to the awesome plotline, which the relationship melodrama helped set up the resolution to.
- Double Subverted: Following the cut-back outlined above, the "awesome plotline" is simply and easily resolved, but the relationship melodrama still needs resolution.
- Parodied: Rather than fighting the Big Bad's invasion force, we're going to show a still image of a jar of mayonnaise for an hour.
- Deconstructed: A character is also forced out of the event in question, which they really don't want, and they react accordingly.
- Reconstructed: They then come to realise that this "inferior" development is actually pretty good for them, and the way they wanted to go would've only ended in tears.
- Zig Zagged: Just before the climatic last battle, the heroes start a relationship melodrama. However, between dialogues they accomplish some minor action that could be a prelude for the battle, only it just never start. At last, it's revealed that all the dialogue where meant to cover their action from the Big Bad's spies, and they are now just ready for the action. The Big Bad shows up, but is no more interested in the battle, and now just want to know why the hero refused the princess' hand. While they explain, Big Bad's army starts a surprise attack, just seconds before the closing titles.
- Averted: The awesome plotline that was promised is fully delivered on.
- Enforced: "We've written ourselves into a corner. That really awesome plot twist we set up turns out to be really hard to write. I guess we'll just have to do something else, instead."
- Lampshaded: "I'll bet that if we went down that path, we would've had some amazing stuff happen." "Yeah, but we went down this one."
- Invoked: The main character is a Dirty Coward who wants nothing to do with the awesome plotline.
- Defied: The melodrama is abruptly interrupted when the Big Bad's invasion force suddenly ambush our heroes by surprise, calling the heroes to keep fighting.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "How do you screw up the hero fighting two hundred Elite Mooks in a room filled with deadly traps?"
- Plotted A Good Waste: We're told about how, to bring down the enemy force field, they need to fight hundreds of Elite Mooks across a room filled with deadly traps... when the Hero points out that they're right next to a vent for the force field generator, and they have rocket propelled grenades.
- Alternately: Rather than fight the Big Bad's invasion force, we're going to have an hour of relationship melodrama... because the main characters are far too wrapped up in their own petty lives to consider what's going on in the world around them, and they're the one's we're following around.
I can't believe that the writers, instead of developing this perfectly good page more, decided to cop and and just go to
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot!
