The Hindsight tropes, Hilarious in Hindsight, Harsher in Hindsight, and Heartwarming in Hindsight, are among the most misused Audience Reaction tropes on this site. Many people don't understand that the tropes require more than just "This happened, so that happened", and end up adding examples which either lack connection or the substance that makes them funny/serious/not-so-funny/heartwarming. Some of them may be suited better for other tropes (ex: Life Imitates Art), while some may not belong on TV Tropes at all (such as ones involving politicians, due to Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment).
Please report any Hindsight example that you feel are questionable, and we'll analyze them to see if they are actually examples or not.
Remember that the Hindsight tropes are Audience Reactions. That means if an example under review discusses significant fan response pointing out the hindsight, the example can't be cut solely for being too tenuous for this thread.
- Creator's character/portrayal dies in work and then creator dies in real life, unless their fictional death is closely similar to their real one (such as Billy Bob Joe portraying a character who dies from pancreatic cancer, then Billy Bob dies from pancreatic cancer himself)
- Mundane word related to something terrible (such as "corona" or "Epstein") unless there's more to the connection (such as someone named "Corona" having the flu)
- Creator appears in work then becomes more controversial later on.
- A common event (such as a typical natural disaster) happens in work, then happens in real life (unless they are closely similar, such as the event happening to the same area in both reality and fiction around the same time) For once, not everything related to disease has to do with COVID-19, not everything related to racism and Police Brutality has to do with George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, and not everything related to sexual abuse has to do with #MeToo.
- A common/generic concept was used in this work and then later reused in that work (too loose for a connection, unless the concept is so unique it's identified with the work)
- Two actors appear together then do so in another work
- Hindsight examples involving recent events, due to them often being shoehorns. Specifically:
- COVID-19 examples, before 75% of the population has returned to normal
- George Floyd/2020 Black Lives Matter examples, before protests have declined
- Examples which fall guilty of Older Than They Think, such as "Make X Great Again" slogans. Aside from violating the ROCEJ, this slogan has been in use since the 1940s.
- Characters using slurs which are treated as annoying at worst in the work, but is now harsher due to how severe the slur is made now. Discrimination has always existed with that slur. (May qualify for Values Dissonance if work is at least 20 years old.)
Note: As of January 2022, "Funny Aneurysm" Moment is no longer separate from Harsher in Hindsight.
- The former redirects to the latter and all wicks to the former (with the exception of ones on archive pages and the YMMV Redirects index) must either be moved to the latter (if they're valid) or removed (if they're invalid).
- The subpages for the former are still accessible from this page
. After a subpage for "Funny Aneurysm" Moment has been completely cleaned up, turn it into a redirect to the Harsher in Hindsight subpage for the same medium to preserve inbounds.
Edited by Tabs on Jun 21st 2023 at 11:51:25 AM
Uzume's back baby!
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Yes. Also this one from YMMV.Sponge Bob Edited:
- Harsher in Hindsight: A handful of sounds sourced from now-disgraced creators have become this.
I haven't actually any of the videos, but this example strikes me because, other than being a general example and a ZCE, this falls into the "anytime a disgraced artist is mentioned even if it has no parallels to the work the appear in (or sourced in in this case)" category I really, really hate. May I request a cut?
"The name's Uzume Tennouboshi! Yeah, it's pretty badass, I know." - Uzume, Megadimension Neptunia VII
Can shapeshift (probably)
Can shapeshift (probably)
Looks like a clear-case cut to me.
Edited by Coachpill on Dec 8th 2023 at 8:50:22 AM
Silver and gold, silver and gold
Rookie Trope Repairer
I initially posted this query on Is This an Example? before being directed here. On that thread, I was asking if this prospective example qualified as Hilarious in Hindsight or Harsher in Hindsight:
- In the first episode of the 2017 series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Declan Donnelly joked that his co-host was "the gorgeous Holly Willoughby" before sharing a sweet moment with his longtime hosting partner Anthony McPartlin — rumours had circulated that McPartlin wouldn't be able to host that series because of his admittance to rehab earlier in the year. By the time of the 2018 series, McPartlin was unable to join Donnelly due to taking a year-long hiatus from TV presenting after a drink driving arrest, so he had to be replaced... by Holly Willoughby.
I'm aware that the post as is requires a bit of cleanup, specifically for consistent terminology - I use both "host" and "presenter" when I should choose one over the other. Rest assured, though, that I will not add the example if it's deemed a hindsight shoehorn and I will take on board any advice.
"As long as I have my comrades with me, I can do anything!" (She/Her) (Current Focus: Cleaning Hell Is That Noise misuse)
This was just added to Elf.
- Harsher in Hindsight: When Buddy hears Jovie singing in the shower, he goes in to listen and sing along with her. The song being sung? "Baby It's Cold Outside". At the time, the scene was meant to highlight Buddy's naivete, but became cringe-worthy in light of the controversy surrounding the song in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
I feel like if it mentioned the song's controversy combined with Buddy being an Accidental Pervert in that scene, it COULD be an example, but just the song itself being HIH makes this feels like a bit of a stretch.
Friends forevermore
This feels cutworthy.
Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk
Yeah, that's a cut, IMO.
She / Her
(x4) Harsher in Hindsight sounds like a better fit than Hilarious in Hindsight to me.
(x3) Besides being a stretch, I feel it might be ROCEJ-violating, so cut.
Rookie Trope Repairer
When it comes to crosswicking onto YMMV.Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, would it be acceptable to refer to McPartlin and Donnelly as Ant and Dec on that page, since it consistently refers to them as such?
Friends forevermore
Yes; they're commonly known as Ant and Dec, not by their full names.
I had a dog-themed avatar before it was cool.
She / Her
That seems right to me, per what was pointed out here.
Friends forevermore
Even their Creator/ page is at Ant and Dec.
I had a dog-themed avatar before it was cool.
Rookie Trope Repairer
Thanks for your input, everyone! I've got a busy morning ahead, but I'll add the cleaned-up example as soon as I have a moment.
"As long as I have my comrades with me, I can do anything!" (She/Her) (Current Focus: Cleaning Hell Is That Noise misuse)
Found this in a random Family Guy page:
- Hilarious in Hindsight: Osama Bin Laden saying "Still Alive" after popping out of the Tatooine desert wouldn't be true three weeks after the episode premiered.
This is just mortality misuse, isn't it?
Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk
I'm on the fence. In this case, if it's accurate that he was killed only three weeks after the episode aired, I think that makes it more significant than the usual mortality garbage.
According to wikipedia, bin Laden died on May 2nd, 2011, while the episode aired on May 22nd, 2011.
Also have to considered if the episode was made before or after.
Friends forevermore
Hindsight starts at release, so this is wrong-way hindsight in addition to the usual mortality problems.
I had a dog-themed avatar before it was cool.
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
and Family Guy's Production Lead Time is about one year, which means that the example may be valid.
Edited by Nen_desharu on Dec 11th 2023 at 9:24:04 AM
Kirby is awesome.
Found on Celestia's Rocket Adventures:
- Hilarious in Hindsight: When Celestia, Luna and Twilight were transformed into Pokémon, their identities as alicorns would translate as 'Fairy-type'. Four years after the story was first published, Pokémon Sword and Shield would give us Galarian Rapidash, which itself is Fairy-typed.
Is this an example of fan myopia?
Is this valid for Godzilla (1998)?
- Michael Lerner playing a parody of Roger Ebert given that Lerner died four days after the 10th year anniversary of Ebert's death.
Edited by randomtroper89 on Dec 12th 2023 at 1:17:18 PM
Seems like kinda a stretch since there's a four day difference
She / Her
(x3) I don't think so because the fanfiction is a Pokémon-related one and I'm leaning on saying the entry counts.
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
No problem.
Edited by RandomTroper123 on Dec 13th 2023 at 6:37:43 AM
Thanks for the clarification. I have several single page hindsight entries I have questions about:
Monty Pythons Flying Circus S 1 E 2:
- Hilarious in Hindsight: "The Mouse Problem" satirized then current attitudes of homosexuality by replacing homosexuals with men who dress up like mice; today, we now have fursuiters.
Is this ROCEJ violating, it kinda feels like this due to comparing LGBT people to furries negatively.
- Harsher in Hindsight: X.A.N.A.'s weaponizing wasps will seem even more horrifying upon the "murder hornet" epidemic that started to gain traction in the Summer of 2020.
This feels like a shoehorn as these hornets have not really been discussed since, but I'm not sure.
My Little Pony Tales S 1 E 4 And the Winner Is...
- Hilarious in Hindsight: An episode of a My Little Pony cartoon in which a character receives two tickets for an event and must choose which of her friends gets to go? This wouldn't be the last time. Extra points for both episodes having a Conforming OOC Moment in which the meek and kind member of the group chases down the ticket holder.
I'm pretty sure that this is a stock cartoon plot, I've seen several Non MLP shows that had a similar plot where they only had enough for 2 people and they had to choose who gets it.
Alfred J Kwak S 2 E 25 Het Regenwoud
- Harsher in Hindsight: Von Paljas claims that cars are a great source of pollution on the same caliber with factories, and that people could save the world by not driving or inventing a miracle fuel. However, the measures against the Coronavirus in the real world in 2020 led to an almost complete halt of all car traffic but the world pollution did not go down significantly, proving that factories are the sole culprit.
I feel like this is a shoehorn, cars still absolutely cause pollution.
Degrassi Junior High Season 1 Ep 05 The Great Race
- Harsher in Hindsight: Melanie endures harassment throughout the episode. In the The '90s, her actress was allegedly stalked.
Is this actor stuff? Not sure since she wasn't specifically stalked in the episode.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed has this entry:
This is just actor garbage isn't? There's too many contrivances to say that they have a similar connection especially since the former VA doesn't even appear in this game at all.