History Main / MandatoryTwistEnding

** The season finale has an absolutely merciless one of these, which might be Gainax parodying itself. People expect [[GainaxEnding their endings to be completely out of left field]], so they took those expectations and ran with them. At the end, [[spoiler: the BigBad is defeated, all is well, the crew returns home, and then suddenly out of nowhere Stocking kills Panty, chops her corpse into 666 pieces, and announces she was a demon all along, even though this makes no sense. Garterbelt then explodes for no reason. The villain then comes back to life (also for no reason) and announces that the surviving characters will now have to gather all 666 pieces of Panty to bring her back. Then Garterbelt un-explodes (again for no reason) and announces that this will be the premise of season two. Also, season two may not actually exist.]] Well played, Gainax.

** The most famous tale, ''[[Fanfic/DoomRepercussionsOfEvil Repercussions of Evil]]'', featured a dark ending where [[spoiler: after the radio tells protagonist John Stalvern he ''is the demons'', John becomes a zombie for no particular reason. Or maybe he was one all along. We're not quite sure.]]

* Parodied in ''Film/MysteryTeam''. The case is solved, Duncan is [[spoiler: going off to college]] and everything seems well.... Until [[spoiler: a man comes running out of the woods, castrated, unaware of his name and carrying a picture of himself in a lab]] having sex with a panda.

** ''The Beast from the East'' also doubles as a CruelTwistEnding, as [[spoiler: the existence of the twins convinces the Beasts they'd been "playing" with that they're Level Three players, and thus ineligible to play in a Level One game - only for a Level Three Beast to tag them [[HereWeGoAgain on the very last page]].]]

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'', though not so much a mandatory twist ''ending'' as a mandatory twist at ''some'' point during the episode (especially in the first few seasons with back-story [[TheReveal reveals]], the most significant of these probably being the one from "Walkabout"). However, the season finales are of special note -- it was so well known that there will be a twist at the end of each season that the producers gave the twist scene a special name -- The Bagel: [[spoiler:Walt gets taken]], The Challah:[[spoiler: the first off-island scene indicates Penny is searching for them (and may have found the island)]], The Rattlesnake In The Mailbox: [[spoiler:The flashback is actually a flash''forward'', with Jack and Kate off the island]], The Frozen Donkey Wheel: [[spoiler:Locke is revealed to be dead off of the island]], and The Fork In The Outlet (named in a contest by fans): [[spoiler:Jacob is stabbed by Ben.]] Whew. The fourth one's name is even a red herring -- judging from the name, you'd expect it would refer to the scene where [[spoiler:Ben turns a literal frozen donkey wheel to move the island]].

* ''Series/TheEvent'' was probably ''too'' dependent on this. The most ridiculous example probably being the third episode's "twist" which revealed that [[spoiler: the previous episode's twist was a fake-out.]]

* ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'': WordOfGod has admitted that [[spoiler: Dean and Castiel being dragged into Purgatory]] at the end of season 7 was initially only conceived so that the season finale could end on a cliffhanger, and that when it came time to actually write season 8, they weren't sure what to do with it. As a result that arc got very little screentime and was never tied into the main plot of season 8. Despite this, [[spoiler: the escape from Purgatory]] still became one of the season's most popular stories.

* Anthrax's "N.F.B. (Dallabnikufesin)", played like a sappy love song, is a slightly over-the-top boy-meets-girl, girl-cheats-on-boy, boy-forgives girl plot. The last line: [[spoiler: "She got hit by a truck"]], followed by copious crying.
* Common in music videos that include a storyline, as their extremely short duration can make a visual TwistEnding the ''only'' plot development there's time for. The revelation at the end of Music/TheProdigy's "Smack My Bitch Up", that the beer-swilling, dirty-fighting, lecherous brute [[spoiler: is a woman]], is a classic example.
* Bread's "The Diary" has a twist ending. The singer finds his girlfriend's diary under a tree and is amazed to read so many wonderful things about himself that his girlfriend is apparently too shy to show him in person. "Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it." [[spoiler: he finally reads that the person she is making all these complimentary remarks about is another guy and not him. The song refrains once more. ''Wouldn't you know it, she wouldn't show it.'']]
* The album version of the Music/GarthBrooks song "The Thunder Rolls" ends with "another love growing cold" when a wife smells another woman's perfume on her husband. In the concert version he sings an additional verse, [[spoiler: in which her husband "grows cold" because she ''murders him for cheating'']].

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'': In one segment, a Hollywood executive suggests that they should re-release all their classic movies with a twist ending added to them, and the studio rolls with it. As a result, ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' now ends with Dorothy waking up in a far-future Kansas inhabited by sentient corn, ''Film/Titanic1997'' ends with Rose revealing that she's actually an alien queen who caused the ship to sink, and infamous Creator/AdamSandler dud ''Film/JackAndJill'' gets a SurpriseCreepy ending where Jack realizes [[TomatoInTheMirror Jill died as a child and he's just been pretending to be her the entire time]] which is why she looks exactly like him, and then kills himself by [[SlashedThroat slitting his throat]] with a glass shard.

** The season finale has an absolutely merciless one of these, which might be Gainax parodying itself. People expect [[{{gainax ending}} their endings to be completely out of left field]], so they took those expectations and went UpToEleven. At the end, [[spoiler: the BigBad is defeated, all is well, the crew returns home, and then suddenly out of nowhere Stocking kills Panty, chops her corpse into 666 pieces, and announces she was a demon all along, even though this makes no sense. Garterbelt then explodes for no reason. The villain then comes back to life (also for no reason) and announces that the surviving characters will now have to gather all 666 pieces of Panty to bring her back. Then Garterbelt un-explodes (again for no reason) and announces that this will be the premise of season two. Also, season two may not actually exist.]] Well played, Gainax.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' films. A twist at the end is more or less expected, ever since the [[Film/SawI first film]].

* Every main ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' installment has a massive twist regarding the circumstances of the killing game.

* A staple of ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' and ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963''. It can get so bad it's an ''exception'' when there's an ambiguously good or open ending. ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' revival of the 1990's was much worse about this than either of the originals.

* Creator/AndyKaufman spent his entire career screwing with his audience. Eventually he couldn't surprise them anymore, because no matter how egregious he got, people figured it was part of the gag. It got so bad that, when he was diagnosed with cancer, some of his fans [[CryingWolf assumed it was an elaborate hoax]]. Even dying of cancer didn't convince everyone it was real and [[HesJustHiding many still believe he is out there, somewhere.]]

As one might expect, it also has the side effect (for good or ill) of making audiences become GenreSavvy and ''expect'' there to be a TwistEnding at the end. At its worst, the audience decides [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy they shouldn't bother even caring or watching.]] This trope [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools isn't a negative one]], though. Authors can make this an element of their style. It's ''overuse'' or ''misuse'' that causes problems, as the page quote shows. Clever authors can use the existence of this expectation to use a MetaTwist, the ''[[AvertedTrope absence]]'' of the expected twist, with one way of pulling this off being the ShockAndSwitchEnding.

** ''Vampire Breath'', in which Cara and Freddy [[spoiler:find a bottle of "Werewolf Sweat".]]

As one might expect, it also has the side effect (for good or ill) of making audiences become GenreSavvy and ''expect'' there to be a TwistEnding at the end. At its worst, the audience decides [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy they shouldn't bother even caring or watching.]] This trope [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools isn't a negative one]], though. Authors can make this an element of their style. It's ''overuse'' or ''misuse'' that causes problems, as the page quote shows. Clever authors can use the existence of this expectation to use a MetaTwist, the ''[[AvertedTrope absence]]'' of the expected twist.

* Creator/TetsuyaNomura does this all the time. His directorial debut, VideoGame/KingdomHearts featured a major twist ending in the form of [[BigBad Ansem]], and the story was deliberately designed with plot holes to fill because Nomura was unsure whether a sequel would be worth making. Subsequent games eventually followed suit, with Nomura going on to declare that he will always throw [[EasterEgg easter eggs]], twist endings, and other bizarre, unresolved mysteries into his games so as [[EpilepticTrees to keep fans guessing]] right up until when and if he decides to make a sequel, which in turns [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants answers half of those mysteries while also creating new ones]]. However, this approach has since become his own undoing, as ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has grown increasingly infamous for its [[{{Retcon}} Retcons]] and [[KudzuPlot needlessly convoluted storyline]], thus [[TheChrisCarterEffect burning out longtime fans]] while simultaneously [[ContinuityLockout alienating newcomers]].

* Creator/TetsuyaNomura does this all the time. His directorial debut, VideoGame/KingdomHearts featured a major twist ending in the form of [[BigBad Ansem]], and the story was deliberately designed with plot holes to fill because Nomura was unsure whether a sequel would be worth making. Subsequent games eventually followed suit, with Nomura going on to declare that he will always throw [[EasterEgg easter eggs]], twist endings, and other bizarre, unresolved mysteries into his games so as [[[[EpilepticTrees to keep fans guessing]] right up until when and if he decides to make a sequel, which in turns [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants answers half of those mysteries while also creating new ones]]. However, this approach has since become his own undoing, as ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has grown increasingly infamous for its [[{{Retcon}} Retcons]] and [[KudzuPlot needlessly convoluted storyline]], thus [[TheChrisCarterEffect burning out longtime fans]] while simultaneously [[ContinuityLockout alienating newcomers]].

* Creator/TetsuyaNomura does this all the time. His directorial debut, VideoGame/KingdomHearts featured a major twist ending in the form of [[BigBad Ansem]], and the story was deliberately designed with plot holes to fill because Nomura was unsure whether a sequel would be worth making. Subsequent games eventually followed suit, with Nomura going on to declare that he will always throw [[EasterEgg easter eggs]], twist endings, and other bizarre, unresolved mysteries into his games so as to keep fans guessing right up until when and if he decides to make a sequel, which in turns answers half of those mysteries while also creating new ones. However, this approach has since become his own undoing, as ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has grown increasingly infamous for its [[Retcon Retcons]] and needlessly complicated KudzuPlot, thus [[TheChrisCarterEffect burning out longtime fans of the series]] while also [[ContinuityLockout alienating potential newcomers]].

* The season finale of ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' has an absolutely merciless one of these, which might be Gainax parodying itself. People expect [[{{gainax ending}} their endings to be completely out of left field]], so they took those expectations and went UpToEleven. At the end, [[spoiler: the BigBad is defeated, all is well, the crew returns home, and then suddenly out of nowhere Stocking kills Panty, chops her corpse into 666 pieces, and announces she was a demon all along, even though this makes no sense. Garterbelt then explodes for no reason. The villain then comes back to life (also for no reason) and announces that the surviving characters will now have to gather all 666 pieces of Panty to bring her back. Then Garterbelt un-explodes (again for no reason) and announces that this will be the premise of season two. Also, season two may not actually exist.]] Well played, Gainax.
** [[spoiler: ''Geekboy: Homecoming'' then reveals Season 2 ''did'' happen, entirely offscreen, then adds a few twists of its own at the end: Panty's memory gets reset, she's back to her old maneater ways, and she and Brief now travel with an amnesiac that CameFromTheSky after Panty blew a hole through Corset. Said boy also happens to be from [[Anime/SpacePatrolLuluco an alternate universe]] that's not even owned by Gainax.]]

** Not to mention ''Batman: Nemesis Fight'' in which Robin leaves Batman forever.

* Science fiction writer Creator/PhilipKDick ''somehow'' managed to load most of his novels with bizarre plot twists, though he remarked in an interview once that (like [[Creator/MNightShyamalan Shyamalan]] later) he found fans expecting twist endings.
** He did this to the point where it was a [[MetaTwist genuine surprise]] when a Philip K. Dick story ''didn't'' have a TwistEnding or a GainaxEnding.

* Every Literature/HarryPotter book but ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'' ends with a twist (meaning that the ending of ''Order of the Phoenix'' answers all the questions raised, while in all the others, an unsuspected traitor '''or''' — not an exclusive OR! — a good guy mistaken for a villain is revealed).
* Jeffrey Archer's novels and stories are all about this.

* Arguably ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' falls into this, especially during the middle of ''World Tour,'' when the writers seemed to go out of their way to invent some kind of "twist" for every elimination--Chris decides to throw out a random intern while ''admitting'' he just wants to keep the rightful loser in, someone accidentally votes for themselves, someone accidentally votes for the wrong person to cause a tie and one contestant [[PlotAllergy randomly is allergic]] [[OverlyLongGag to the type of plant the tiebreaker challenge requires touching]]...without using their hands.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'': In one segment, a Hollywood executive suggests that they should re-release all their classic movies with a twist ending added to them, and the studio rolls with it. As a result, ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' now ends with Dorothy waking up in a far-future Kansas inhabited by sentient corn, ''Film/{{Titanic}}'' ends with Rose revealing that she's actually an alien queen who caused the ship to sink, and infamous Creator/AdamSandler dud ''Film/JackAndJill'' gets a SurpriseCreepy ending where Jack realizes [[TomatoInTheMirror Jill died as a child and he's just been pretending to be her the entire time]] which is why she looks exactly like him, and then kills himself by slitting his throat with a glass shard.

As one might expect, it also has the side effect (for good or ill) of making audiences become GenreSavvy and ''expect'' there to be a TwistEnding at the end. At its worst, the audience decides [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy they shouldn't bother even caring or watching.]] This trope [[TropesAreNotBad isn't a negative one]], though. Authors can make this an element of their style. It's ''overuse'' or ''misuse'' that causes problems, as the page quote shows. Clever authors can use the existence of this expectation to use a MetaTwist, the ''[[AvertedTrope absence]]'' of the expected twist.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': It would be much easier to count the amount of times that [[NebulousEvilOrganization The]] [[LegionOfDoom Light]] ''wasn't'' [[TheManBehindTheMan behind the events of the episode[[, or [[XanatosGambit obtained some kind of benefit]] no matter what the heroes did (and we ''do'' mean "[[GambitRoulette no matter what]]"), or the heroes managed to achieve a victory that [[HappyEndingOverride the Light hasn't been able to undo]] just for the sake of providing just one more last-minute twist. Hell, after three [[WesternAnimation/YoungJusticeOutsiders seasons]] (and counting), [[InvincibleVillain nothing has truly stopped the bastards]].

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': It would be much easier to count the amount of times that The Light ''wasn't'' behind the events of the episode, or obtained some kind of benefit no matter what the heroes did.

Some series and/or creator repertoires have {{Twist Ending}}s so frequently it practically becomes mandatory for it to happen OnceAnEpisode or book. Why does this happen? Though (almost) everyone likes a HappyEnding --with the smiling and the kissing and the vanquishing and the riding off into the sunset-- people also tend to get bored of too many happy endings in a row. So authors will try to surprise audiences using a DownerEnding; it's the DarkerAndEdgier way to end a movie or (if you're really ballsy) an episode or ''season'' in an ongoing series. This can do a lot in terms of adding a sense of urgency to a cliffhanger and fresh air to a series, especially if the series sticks to its guns and the badness is permanent (see KilledOffForReal).

The danger of using a TwistEnding too often is that, like most good things (er, bad things?), you can have too much of it. For whatever reasons, whether it's to be DarkerAndEdgier, pandering to [[BlackComedy dead baby humor]], or an insistence on using a CruelTwistEnding or DiabolusExMachina every episode, the series ''always'' ends with a DownerEnding and a TwistEnding of some sort most likely involving a BrokenAesop or two. Naturally, this tends to have such a high [[SortingAlgorithmOfMortality mortality rate]] that this can only happen in an episodic series with a high low-paid actor turnout. The only permanent and safe "character" is the preachy {{Narrator}}, ready to deliver his opening and ending FauxlosophicNarration.

As you might expect, it also has the side effect (for good or ill) of making audiences become GenreSavvy and ''expect'' there to be a TwistEnding at the end. At its worst, the audience decides [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy they shouldn't bother even caring or watching.]] This trope isn't [[TropesAreNotBad a negative one though]], authors can make this an element of their style. It's ''overuse'' or ''misuse'' that causes problems, as the page quote shows. Clever authors can use the existence of this expectation to use a MetaTwist, the ''[[AvertedTrope absence]]'' of the expected twist.

In works where this is exceedingly common, you can at best get an "TheEndOrIsIt" ending that, while not altogether happy, is ambiguous enough that the viewer can delude himself into thinking so (and write copious FanFiction about it). May happen after the SnicketWarningLabel. Contrast WhamEpisode.

* The second season of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' made twist endings and cliffhangers mandatory every episode.

* The season finale of ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' had an absolutely merciless one of these, which might be Gainax parodying itself. People expect [[{{gainax ending}} their endings to be completely out of left field]] so they took those expectations and went UpToEleven. At the end, [[spoiler: the BigBad is defeated, all is well, the crew returns home, and then suddenly out of nowhere Stocking kills Panty, chops her corpse into 666 pieces, and announces she was a demon all along, even though this makes no sense. Garterbelt then explodes for no reason. The villain then comes back to life (also for no reason) and announces that the surviving characters will now have to gather all 666 pieces of Panty to bring her back. Then Garterbelt un-explodes (again for no reason) and announces that this will be the premise of season two. Also, season two may not actually exist.]] Well played, Gainax.

* Creator/ECComics did this all the time, even in stories that didn't start by promising a "shocking final twist" or similar. The most contrived might be "Sugar 'n Spice 'n..." (''Shock [=SuspenStories=]'' #6), whose ending reveals not only that the nasty old woman is really a witch, but [[spoiler:Margie and Johnny are really just English names for Hansel and Gretel. One might recall that the witch in the original story came to an unfortunate end, but you can forget that part]] because "this is an E.C. magazine!" EC influenced horror comics so much that authors routinely did a double-twist since everybody was expecting a twist anyway.