History Main / ChekhovsGun

Anton Chekhov, master of the short story, gave this advice: [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail If it's not essential, don't include it in the story]].

'''This trope contains spoilers by necessity. Read at your own risk.'''

!!Example Subpages:

Chekhov, master of the short story, gave this advice: [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail If it's not essential, don't include it in the story]].

The term has come to mean "an insignificant object that later turns out to be important." For example, a character may find a mysterious necklace that turns out to be the power source to the DoomsdayDevice, but at the time of finding the object it does not seem important. The necklace was essential to the story, but its introduction downplayed its importance. Chekhov's advice was not necessarily to conceal importance, but to just not spend time on things that are not important.

A lot of people consider the phrase "Chekhov's gun" synonymous with {{foreshadowing}}. They are related; a gun that goes off in the third act that hasn't been in the play at all before then is going to feel like a real AssPull, but that's not key to the meaning of the phrase.

!!Other examples:

[[folder: Audio Plays]]

[[folder: Gamebooks]]

[[folder: Myths & Religion]]

[[folder: Music]]
* The music video for Music/{{Nickelback}}'s song [[https://youtu.be/_JQiEs32SqQ "Savin' Me"]] shows the protagonist walking behind a statue being lifted by a crane at about the halfway point of the video. [[spoiler: At the end of the song, it crashes down on the car of the woman the protagonist saves, because he can see her timer running out.]]

[[folder: Podcasts]]

[[folder: Pro Wrestling]]

[[folder: Radio]]

[[folder: Roleplay]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Theme Parks]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovieFourDANewAdventure'' at Ride/{{LEGOLAND}}, Risky Business's Micro Manager replica sprays lemon water, which he mentions is only harmful to electronic devices. Emmet and Wyldstyle later get the idea to use it to short-circuit the mind control devices brainwashing their friends.

[[folder: Web Videos]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovieFourDANewAdventure'' at Ride/{{LEGOLAND}}, Risky Business's Micro Manager replica sprays lemon water, which he mentions is only harmful to electronic devices. Emmet and Wyldstyle later get the idea to use it to short circuit the mind control devices on their friends.

* A souffle -- [[EndangeredSouffle It will collapse]].

[[folder:Audio Plays]]

[[folder:Gamebooks]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

[[folder:Music]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]

* Wrestling/MickFoley brought a chair with him to the ring for his confrontation with Wrestling/{{Ryback}} on the April 22, 2013 ''Raw.'' Mick left before the chair could be used. Then Wrestling/TheShield showed up and looked to be targeting [=Ryback=]. [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWE Champion]] Wrestling/JohnCena walked out and it looked like he was going to simply stand back and let the Shield beat up on Ryback, in retaliation for Ryback having done the same thing the week before. Instead, Cena grabbed the chair and used it on the Shield.
* Averted during Wrestling/JerryLawler's first-ever WWE Championship Match against Wrestling/TheMiz on the November 29, 2010 ''Raw.'' The Miz had set up a table outside the ring for him to slam Jerry Lawler through. During the last minutes of the match, [[spoiler:after having already disposed of Alex Riley]], Lawler managed to push The Miz off the top turnbuckle and through that exact table The Miz set up for him earlier. [[spoiler:Averted as Lawler still lost the match due to Wrestling/MichaelCole interfering on The Miz's behalf]].

[[folder:Radio]]

[[folder:Roleplay]]

* ''Roleplay/TheMurderverse'': Early in ''Roleplay/AGameOfMafia 2'', [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne the Demi-fiend]] takes a cheap shot at Timeline Master Awe with an agility-reducing debuff skill, which goes entirely unnoticed and unmentioned by the other characters. Much, much later, [[spoiler:during the climax, the agility reduction results in him [[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll taking visible damage for the first time in the entire series]].]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]

* ''Roleplay/TheMurderverse'': Early in ''A Game of Mafia 2'', [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne the Demi-fiend]] takes a cheap shot at Timeline Master Awe with an agility-reducing debuff skill, which goes entirely unnoticed and unmentioned by the other characters. Much, much later, [[spoiler:during the climax, the agility reduction results in him [[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll taking visible damage for the first time in the entire series]].]]

** ChekhovMIA: Remember that missing character? It's actually a ChekhovsGunman.
** KingIncognito: When Chekhov's Gunman is a famous/important person in disguise.

** WorkplaceAcquiredAbilities: When the abilities obtained in one's professional career come in handy.

** TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: The analogue for CGI, newer cartoons, and more video games.

%% Images, caption, and format selected per Image Pickin' discussion: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1337621148027340100
%% Format adjusted per IP thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1581294241002641800
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ShaunOfTheDead https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chekhovs_gun.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:There's a rifle above the bar because the name of the place is "The Winchester".]]

->''"If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."''
-->-- '''Creator/AntonChekhov''' (From S. Shchukin, Memoirs. 1911.)

* In a game module in the ''TabletopGame/StarWars'' RPG, a couple of Squib merchants arguing with another group of merchants near the entrance to a ruined Jedi Academy have a burned out lightsaber for sale. This lightsaber allows you to interact with an important NPC later on, finding out some key info.

* The web series ''[[http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/archive/cHustle/date/desc commodoreHustle]]'' (by the guys at ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun'') introduced Mr. Ballsmatron in episode 7, and other than a few cameos, it never played a role until the season finale, with an ultimate ball kick and its destruction. Making it possibly the first appearance of a Chekhov's Ball-kicking robot.
* Mocked in WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's review of ''Film/{{Showgirls}}''. During Nella's song at the end, she mentions the Chekhov's Stairs (that the lead pushed someone down at the climax of the film) that have been there since Act One.

* In ''WebVideo/TheCartoonMan'', Roy and Karen find a number of random objects in a hollowed-out tree, including a pen, a feather, and a glove. [[spoiler:The pen turns out to be a "transponder" that opens a portal to an AlternateTooniverse, and in the sequel, the feather magically turns a man into a talking piece of paper.]]

* ''LetsPlay/{{Mahu}}'', in this case uses a "Chekhov's Game Bug". During his narrative let's play of "The Crownless Eagle", for some odd reason Istanbul makes the game turns go at a snail's pace. In his next series, "Second Chance", it is discovered the reason for this: The hidden portal which will allow humanity to flee their doomed planet.
* ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has the Freeze Ray, mentioned throughout Act I and II as something of a joke, comes back with a vengeance in Act III.
** Penny sings, "So keep your head up Billy buddy" to Dr. Horrible in Act II. Later, when Dr. Horrible gate-crashes the Captain Hammer statue unveiling at the end of Act III, he pep-talks himself into killing Hammer, singing, "head up Billy buddy," thus clueing in Penny that her friend Billy is the villain.

[[/folder]]

-->-- TropeNamer '''Creator/AntonChekhov''' (From S. Shchukin, Memoirs. 1911.)

* The music video for Music/{{Nickelback}}'s song "Savin' Me" shows the protagonist walking behind a statue being lifted by a crane at about the halfway point of the video. [[spoiler: At the end of the song, it crashes down on the car of the woman the protagonist saves, because he can see her timer running out.]]