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Florestan
Since: May, 2015
Alex2422
Since: Sep, 2018
9th Jul, 2022 07:39:55 AM
(a) sounds like Reset Button and My God, What Have I Done?
(b) is probably Meaningless Villain Victory (which is listed on Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Edited by Alex2422
Even searching the Indiana Jones page there doesn't seem to be a trope for the plot where the hero effectively might as well not have turned up, or for any of its variants (a) the hero achieves their goal, learns they were misled, and has to undo everything, b) the hero fails at their goal but was only trying to stop something that would never have worked anyway). Is this there? Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing seems to cover the character deliberately and knowingly not acting, and "Shaggy Dog" Story seems a bit general.
Edited by hyphz