Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / ExpositionCut

Go To

1%%Image chosen via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions106
2%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
3%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
4
5[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/expo.png]]]]
6
7A well written story tries to avoid [[ShowDontTell just dumping]] all the relevant information on the audience's lap. Whether it be TheHero piecing together the villain's plot, each episode revealing a little more about TheVerse in which the work's set or the cast and their backstories being introduced one at a time. Some information is best just leaked rather than poured.
8
9After a while, however, new characters might be introduced; maybe the cast need to welcome the SixthRanger, or explain themselves to a ReasonableAuthorityFigure or reporter. That's where this trope comes in handy; rather than just repeating everything that's been said to the audience the characters begin explaining and then the action cuts to when they've just finished. StockPhrases that indicate that this trope's about to appear include;
10* "Well, it's a long story..."
11* "I'll explain on the way." - Particularly just after TheCavalry pick someone up.
12* "You won't believe what I've been through." - Often used at the end of a story (this might lead to a variation where the episode ends rather than cutting to a new scene).
13* "Well, there you have it..." - Used after the cut.
14* "And that's the whole story." - Another phrase used after the cut.
15
16When the new scene begins, the characters listening to the explanation will usually repeat a few of the details, just to make it clear what's been explained to them (or possibly indicate that a few crucial details have been distorted).
17
18Occasionally this trope will be used to keep the audience in the dark for an UnspokenPlanGuarantee or TheUnreveal rather than to avoid wasting time repeating what they already know. It may be needed for a work to successfully make use of ShowDontTell. Compare AnswerCut, for when the cut jumps ''to'' the explanation rather than past it. Contrast AsYouKnow, when information the audience ''doesn't'' know is relayed to characters who should know it and ViewersAreGoldfish.
19----
20!!Examples;
21
22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Anime]]
25* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
26** Upon first arriving on Namek, Goku finds Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta beaten to a pulp. Krillin tries to explain what happened since they got there and instead, Goku places his hand on Krillin's head and reads his mind.
27%%** Earlier, this is how Krillin explains to Chi-Chi that Goku died and Gohan was kidnapped by Piccolo.
28[[/folder]]
29
30[[folder:Fan Fic]]
31* In ''Fanfic/TheLegendOfTotalDramaIsland'', TheStoryteller regularly skips over repetitive content with the line, "But nothing would be gained by repeating it here."[[note]]Taken from the Mardrus & Mathers translation of ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights''[[/note]].
32* In "Fanfic/JontronGoesToEquestria", when Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity rush up to Fluttershy, she asks what is the matter. Before anyone can respond however, Pinkie jumps up and yells "Exposition Cut!!" followed by Rainbow Dash coughing up a hyper link to this very TV Tropes page before cutting away, and comes back to the story with "I now completely understand the situation and am one-hundred percent behind you, Twilight, and don't need any further convincing. Thank you for providing such an in-depth and detailed explanation."
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Films -- Animated ]]
36* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'' has a variant where one of the movie's songs plays over top of most of Kenai's story of what happened to Koda's mother. Not only does the audience already know, showing Kenai explained it exactly might have robbed some of the emotional impact.
37* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''; Slim says that Flik can explain on the way. It then cuts to Flik finishing his explaination to...Tuck and Roll, who don't speak a word of English. This pretty much keeps [[MagnificentSeven the plot]] on track.
38%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheManCalledFlintstone'': This occurs when Fred tells Barney the truth about their "vacation" being a front for Fred's spy mission.
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
42* ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'': When the hero is brought up to speed, we do not hear the exposition since the audience is already aware of it.
43%%* The Creator/JimmyStewart version of ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch'' plays with this. We see Stewart's character going through the theater talking to people, but don't hear what he says. Since we know what happened, it works just fine. (IRL, Hitchcock got rid of the dialogue because the audience wouldn't hear the orchestra's music.)
44* Early in the Swedish comedy ''Film/{{SOS|1988}}'', the protagonists [[ItMakesSenseInContext get stuck at sea on a barge loaded with trash]]. A friend of theirs spots them from her boat and asks what happened; we hear the start of their explanation ("It's completely absurd, actually...") before the movie [[FadeToBlack fades to black]] with the text "17 minutes later", and then back to the end of the conversation.
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Literature]]
48* The novel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_(novel) Buddy]] (about a boy from a poor family who was named after Music/BuddyHolly) has the protagonist give a first person version; it talks briefly about how he lets his friend explain everything and is too tired to correct the mistakes in it.
49* In the Mardrus & Mathers translation of ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights'', [[TheStoryteller Shahrazad]] commonly skips over repetitive content by saying, "but nothing would be gained by repeating it here."[[note]]In some other translations, as well as the original, Shahrazad instead repeats in full all the repetitive content because she does, in fact have something to gain--she's trying to fill time so her husband won't execute her.[[/note]]
50* Rick Riordan's novels have repeatedly used this trope. A character will have a vision that will show them something far away. After the character wakes up, they tell their friends on what they learned. But true to this trope, the story will skip over the rehash. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Riordan outdid himself during ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' series, where even the critics notice his overuse in the 1st book (The Lost Hero).
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
54* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'': In a lot of episodes, Earl explaining his {{List|OfTransgressions}} and [[TheAtoner wanting to right his past wrongs]] is skipped over via Earl's narration, as an abridged version is already given through the show's ExpositoryThemeTune.
55* On an episode of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Dr. Bashir is trapped in a JourneyToTheCentreOfTheMind for a while. When he wakes up he tells the rest of the cast "You won't believe where I've been." And the episode cuts to various characters speaking to him about his dream.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder:Theatre]]
59* In ''Theatre/TheGrandDuke'', when Randolph and Ludwig announce their intention to have a Statutory Duel, the Notary says "[[GratuitousLatin verbum sat]]"[[labelnote:meaning]]short form for a Latin phrase translating to "A word to the wise is sufficient" and meaning "wise men don't require lengthy explanations"[[/labelnote]] to skip over repetitive explanation, because the audience has already had the concept of a Statutory Duel explained to them.
60[[/folder]]
61
62%%[[folder:Video Games]]
63%%* It's pretty much constant in the first parts of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV''. Nina explains the situation established in the opening cutscene to Ryu when they seek shelter in a cave for the night using this trope, then they explain things in the same way to Cray when they return to the crash site, then they explain things to the Woren elders when [[spoiler:Cray is arrested]].
64%%* Happens periodically in ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}''. Then again, "There are really two different worlds, persons X, Y and Z, are from that world 1, person A is from world 2, BigBad is from world 1, etc." would be quite a mouthful to read every time the players chat up an NPC.
65%%[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Webcomics]]
68%%* Late in the "Sister" storyline of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-11-14 the author lampshades their use of this.]]
69* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' when the protagonists [[https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=782 take Parley and Smith into their confidence]] regarding the mysteries they've been investigating for much of the comic's lifespan:
70--> '''Narrator:''' 30 chapters worth of exposition later...
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Western Animation]]
74* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': "Send in the Clones" has everyone asking Jimmy why they are all victims of something. Jimmy starts with "ICanExplain". however, the audience has already seen everything, so we get a brief clip of "4 hours later" and cut back to Jimmy wrapping up the story with "...and that's how it all happened".
75** In another episode, Sheen asks Jimmy why they don't need helmets to breathe in space. Jimmy says "That's a good question, Sheen", but as he begins to explain his words are drowned out to the audience by Carl's impromptu singing.
76* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Spoofed in an episode where Peter comes up with a plan to stop students from using drugs at the Quahog high school. Peter is seen in the principal's office saying, "... and that's the plan." The principal points out that Peter never actually gave a plan but rather walked into his office and said this line.
77* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
78** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyAndFriendsE53TheQuestOfThePrincessPonies3 The Quest Of The Princess Ponies, Part 3]]", Megan launches into a lengthy explanation of the episode's events up to that point to get the Moochick caught up. The episode then cuts to following the other group of heroes shortly after she starts, and comes back to her thread of the story when she's just finished expositing.
79** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon Mare in the Moon]]", Spike sets into a long introduction of himself that starts with "Well, it all started when I was a cute little purple and green egg..." and cuts to several hours later, at sundown, with "and that's the story of my entire life!"
80* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
81** "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E22WhenItRains When it Rains]]" ends with Peridot about to explain the details of [[spoiler:The Cluster]] to the rest of the Crystal Gems, having already decided to trust Steven enough to tell him.
82** In "Made of Honor", Steven decides [[spoiler:to free Bismuth. When she reforms]], she is horrified to learn about all the former Crystal Gem who have become Corrupted after she frees one of the bubbled ones. Assuming that this was the work of Pink Diamond, she demands to know why Rose didn't stop her-- to which Steven replies [[spoiler:that it was because Pink and Rose were the same person]]. Cut to one explanation later, where Steven has told her everything she missed out on.
83[[/folder]]

Top