This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Basically the villain has hostages. The Cavalry are ready to storm the fortress and rescue them. Suddenly the heroes (or just the viewer) realise that the villains have restained the hostages, forced them in to their uniforms, put tape on their mouths and fastened weapons to their hands. This can turn out in three different ways;
- The heroes manage get the message across in time.
- The Cavalry end up accidentally shooting the hostages.
- The heroes are forced to stop The Cavalry by force.
The Cavalry are always fooled by this.
Examples;
- The season 4 finale of CSI: New York had Irish Terrorists do this to captured police officers. One of the main characters was able to free himself (he was tied up near by) and stop the police from shooting them.
- In The Dark Knight The Joker does this with his hostages, forcing Batman to disable the police officers.
- An (anti-)heroic example: in the V For Vendetta film The police shoot a hostage because they're all wearing V masks
- Subverted in Quick Change (1990). Grimm (Bill Murray) robs a bank while dressed as a clown. He takes everyone inside hostage and demands getaway vehicles. Police Chief Ratzinger thinks he'll dress some of the hostages as clowns and take them out to the vehicles in a group so police snipers can't target him. Grimm actually has something else in mind: he and two confederates inside the bank will pretend to be released hostages (with the cash taped to their bodies under their civilian clothes) and escape while the cops are concentrating on the bank.
- This kind of thing was done to the Big Bad in the F/X movie.
- It was mentioned that the Fire Nation in Avatar The Last Airbender did this with prisoner Earth Kingdom soldiers. I think it was in "Zuko Alone".
