Line #47 Main/PlotDrivingSecret


1	This is when the entire {{Plot}} of a work depends on someone being left out of the loop. It may be that the person or group keeping the secret is holding the IdiotBall, or is ProperlyParanoid, or maybe they simply CannotSpitItOut. Whatever the reason, they have kept a key player from knowing something crucial, and it is that lack of knowledge that enables the plot to happen. Otherwise, they could simply JustEatGilligan.
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3	May result in PoorCommunicationKills.
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5	Compare IdiotPlot, MistakenForIndex and JustEatGilligan. Also compare DrivingQuestion.
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7	If an InternalReveal exposes the secret, expect it to be a GameChanger, or even to mean that NothingIsTheSameAnymore. If it's the audience who is the one left out of the loop, then that's a TomatoSurprise.
8
9	See also:
10	* TheCon -- "Wait, you're ''not'' a [[FourOneNineScam Nigerian prince]] who needs help hiding his fortune?"
11	* BruceWayneHeldHostage -- "You mean our hostage is actually TheHero we took hostages to lure in?"
12	* LockedOutOfTheLoop -- "You ''all'' knew this?" "Yes, but there's a reason we didn't tell you."
13	* LovesMyAlterEgo -- "You mean the guy I love and the guy with an unrequited crush on me are the same man?"
14	* {{Masquerade}} -- "Dude, they're really vampires?"
15	----
16	!!Examples
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
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20	[[folder:Fan Works]]
21	* The plot in ''Fanfic/{{Nosflutteratu}}'' kicks off when Twilight learns what everypony else in Ponyville already knows-that Fluttershy is a vampire.
22	[[/folder]]
23
24	[[folder:Film]]
25	* In ''Film/TheWayWayBack'', a lot of things would've been easier if Duncan had just told his mom he'd gotten a job. But then the plot would've had to be quite different...
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Literature]]
29	* A minor plot point in ''Literature/AkataWitch'' was that Sunny was the only one in the group whose parents weren't magical and didn't know that she was taking lessons to improve her magic.
30	* In the ''Literature/{{Fearless}}'' books, the plot was frequently driven by the fact that [[TheHero Gaia]] was either keeping a secret from someone or having one kept from her.
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
34	* ''Series/{{Forever\|2014}}'': Why can't Henry die? Who is the mysterious caller? What happened to Abigail? Who were Abe's birth parents? (Only about half are resolved by the last episode.)
35	* Subverted in ''Series/TheGoodPlace''. Each season involves a character hiding something from their superiors (such as Eleanor being sent to The Good Place by mistake, or Michael secretly betraying Shawn), only to have that secret unexpectedly revealed as a MidSeasonTwist that ends one arc and creates another.
36	* In ''Series/Lucifer2016'', the {{Deuteragonist}} Chloe always disregards Lucifer's CassandraTruth that he's ''the'' [[{{Satan}} Lucifer Morningstar]], first among angels, Prince of {{Hell}}, and not just a [[BunnyEarsLawyer quirky, delusional]] nightclub owner. [[spoiler:She realizes the truth in the Season 3 finale.]]
37	* In ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'', "A"'s identity is the main mystery of the entire show.
38	* ''Series/TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack'' would likely have been a much different show if Alex had told her parents about the accident.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Video Games]]
42	* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'':
43	** Olberic's path centers around finding Erhardt and discovering why he betrayed them.
44	** Cyrus' path centers around solving the mystery of the ancient tome missing from the academy's archives.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
48	* Two different ones in ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'':
49	** [[spoiler:How the protagonist got the money to start his diner.]]
50	** Eventually, the sexual nature of the protagonist's relationship with Amanda.
51	* Two in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'':
52	** [[spoiler:Not only did the protagonist and Tamara cause the avalanche on Barbarossa, but they were forewarned that their actions could cause it.]]
53	** [[spoiler:Also, Dr. Mosely’s identity as the enigmatic scientist Zeta, and by extension, the sex experiment on the protagonist’s summer school class. Lampshaded with the stipulation that the protagonist not know that he is meant to sleep with all the girls in his class save Johanna.]]
54	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / PlotDrivingSecret