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Hindsight Cleanup

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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.

    Common NOT in Hindsight examples 
  • 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

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#7101: Dec 13th 2023 at 4:54:30 AM

[up] By "murder hornet epidemic", the troper was referring to an invasive hornet species that was overhunting honeybee populations in the US, right? If so, that example can absolutely be cut. How anyone would associate that to wasps being possessed and trying to kill children is beyond me. Not sure about the other examples, though.

Edit: The MLP one might be misuse, it looks more like an example of Recycled Script.

Edited by TantaMonty on Dec 13th 2023 at 4:57:49 AM

Khoshekh6 Since: May, 2022
#7102: Dec 13th 2023 at 6:02:13 AM

The monty python thing seems fine, I don't see how it's negative

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#7103: Dec 14th 2023 at 9:02:23 PM

Sort of checking an example here pre-emptively to see if it's actor mortality or if it's close cut enough to count. My friend pointed out that the second Futurama movie, the last scene of Brittany Murphy's character has her staying in what is analogous to Heaven. The Harsher part is that this was her last new voiceover role before she died (hence why the character never reappears), but it's not her last role period. Is the imagery still sadder in light of her death?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#7104: Dec 15th 2023 at 5:00:20 AM

Bringing up examples from Contagion (2011). They could be pandemic/COVID shoehorns.

  • Harsher in Hindsight:
    • The scene where one of the leading doctors fighting against the MEV virus is infected and dies from it is a bit more disconcerting after the leading doctor fighting against the Ebola virus in West Africa was infected and died from it in July of 2014. This was also the case with the Chinese researcher who initially sounded the alarm over COVID-19.
    • The world's attempts to fight the virus are sabotaged by people spreading misinformation or not believing they're sick, much like what happened in the 2014 Ebola epidemic, to the point where people were accusing the doctors of spreading the disease and were even attacking clinics.
      • Also people advocating for phony cures, what's eerie is the hoax cure is Forsythia which is named after a flowering plant, and at one point during the COVID-19 pandemic there was an attempt to push Oleander (a notoriously toxic flower) as a potential treatment but it didn't catch on as much as Ivermectin or Hydroxychloroquine.
    • Ditto for the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, which was on a much larger scale and was one of the reasons why this movie got a resurgence of popularity. In both the film and reality, doctors have died on the job while the internet has been used to spread misinformation about the virus, including a much-publicized bunk cure, causing protests against lockdowns and quarantines. In fact, British health secretary Matt Hancock stated that the film influenced the UK's much-lauded vaccination program, largely by showing how things can go wrong on that front. In addition, the final scene showing how Beth contracted the MEV-1 virus in the first place was glossed over for the most part by viewers, until COVID-19 struck.
    • The CBS report titled Could "Contagion" virus happen in real life?. Come 2020, we got our answer.

STARCRUSHER99 The Moron from one of my unhealthy obsessions (Captain) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Moron
#7105: Dec 15th 2023 at 8:46:42 AM

I think the examples could use rewriting but I think they're all valid at their core. Unlike a lot of COVID shoehorns, Contagion was referenced a lot by huge scientific and media organizations throughout the entire quarantine because of how eerie the movie is in hindsight and the lessons that we could learn from it.

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7106: Dec 15th 2023 at 3:23:51 PM

This Harsher in Hindsight example was recently added on YMMV.Crush Crush about, you guessed it, Yandere Simulator.

  • Harsher in Hindsight: When YandereDev faced controversy, the inclusion of Ayano in this game became a problem. She eventually was replaced by an original character, with elements of Monika, at the same time as multiple developers were removing Yandere Simulator content.

I haven't played the game and mostly sworn off from it since the late 2010s, but I certainly don't recall a moment from the game were Ayano makes a reference to the sexualization of minors her home game was notorious for. If anything, the hindsight being the inclusion of a character made by a controversial developer is more of a case of "character created by a person who becomes controversial later". Besides, YanDev was already controversial before the grooming allegations took place, so the inclusion being problematic now feels better suited for a trope like Distanced from Current Events than Harsher in Hindsight.

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
HashiriyaR32 Since: Jan, 2001
#7107: Dec 15th 2023 at 3:34:28 PM

[up]I think shunting it over to Distanced From Current Events will work nicely.

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7108: Dec 15th 2023 at 3:38:12 PM

[up] Okay. Moving it to Trivia.Crush Crush.

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
BocchiTheRock Since: Feb, 2023
#7109: Dec 16th 2023 at 11:57:54 PM

Some more entries I wanted to raise:

Are You Afraid Of The Dark Season 7 The Tale Of The Last Dance:

  • Hilarious in Hindsight: According to Michael, he doesn't see much future for playing classical music beyond busking in the streets. Yeah, tell that to the many YouTubers who became famous for their classical music versions of different songs. In short, it's surreal to hear anyone complain about how classic music will never make it big.

    I'm not sure if this is really an example, there were acclaimed and successful classical musicians around that time, like Yo Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax, and Bobby Mc Ferrin. Also most of the Youtubers who play classical music aren't really "big" when compared to mainstream artists.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark Season 5 The Tale Of Prisoners Past

Are You Afraid Of The Dark Season 4 The Tale Of The Fire Ghost

Bluey The Show

Dragnet 1967 S 1 E 03 The Kidnapping

  • Harsher in Hindsight: When Friday is talking about how most people work to earn a living, one shot is of Ed White's spacewalk. The day after the episode aired, White and his two crewmates, Virgil Grissom and Roger Chaffee, died in the Apollo 1 Fire.
    Does this count as actor mortality?

SharkToast Since: Mar, 2013
#7110: Dec 17th 2023 at 6:13:39 PM

The Banana Splits Movie:

  • Harsher in Hindsight: Andy deciding to cancel the Banana Splits show for no good reason outside of "they're old and lame" feels eerily prescient of how Warner Bros. — the Splits' current owner — would end up canceling and removing a number of shows from HBO Max (many of them children's shows) for flimsy reasons after merging with Discovery in August 2022.

The connection seems flimsy (that Warner Bros. owns the Banana Splits) and it looks like an excuse to complain about these shows being cancelled. Was the Banana Splits among the shows that got cancelled/removed?

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7111: Dec 17th 2023 at 8:58:40 PM

[up] No, it was. I say snip the example.

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
Ian07 Since: Jul, 2022
#7112: Dec 20th 2023 at 2:25:10 PM

On YMMV.Lemon Demon:

Tropeslashing is, of course, not allowed, though I'm not sure which one is a better fit. I would say Harsher personally, but I might be biased. Also missing some context about the actual song.

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#7113: Dec 20th 2023 at 4:23:50 PM

[up] I don't know either. The least I could do is either comment it out or straight-up extract it.

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
Amonimus the "Retromancer" from <<|Wiki Talk|>> (Sergeant) Relationship Status: In another castle
the "Retromancer"
#7114: Dec 20th 2023 at 10:24:04 PM

[up][up] Harsher, doesn't sound hilarious to me. It's also lacking context what the song is about.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
RainbowPumpqueen R A T (she/her) from Kalos Since: Apr, 2021 Relationship Status: Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!
R A T (she/her)
#7115: Dec 28th 2023 at 7:13:34 PM

Found this on Alpharad Deluxe. This connection feels kind of flimsy. Not quite drama importation but it definitely feels like a shoehorned connection.

  • Harsher in Hindsight: In "We Challenged a Vtuber to Mario Party", Jacob and Jo play Mario Party 4 with (at the time) one of Jacob's friends, Yakirisu. Being the guest, the two give her the floor to tell the audience who she is and what she does, to which Yaki just says "oh you know who I am", before actually introducing herself. When it was revealed late in May 2023 that she was abusive to Jacob's friends, including one of his editors, unfortunately, people then knew who she was, just for all the wrong reasons.

What do you think?

Feel free to help with the sandbox or edit my troper wall
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#7116: Dec 28th 2023 at 7:29:16 PM

[up]Yeah that feels like a stretch to me too, so I feel it should be cut. (For the record, I don't feel it's drama importation either.)

DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#7117: Dec 29th 2023 at 11:49:24 AM

[up][up]That's barely even a thread of a connection.

Edited by DoktorvonEurotrash on Dec 29th 2023 at 11:49:42 AM

Riolugirl Just "Rio" is fine! from Planet Sparkles (spaaaarklleeees...) (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: It's a god-awful small affair
Just "Rio" is fine!
#7118: Dec 30th 2023 at 6:08:32 AM

On Heartwarming in Hindsight:



Actor garb unless we have any indication that the name was chosen with the character in mind. I highly doubt it, but still.

"Hark! For your greatest fears manifest in yours truly!" (She/Her) (Current focus: Image Pickin')
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#7120: Dec 30th 2023 at 10:45:00 AM

[up][up]That entry also comes off as a reach in my opinion.

JankyKong He's finally back to kick some... wait from a Secret Base on the Moon Since: May, 2021 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
He's finally back to kick some... wait
#7121: Dec 31st 2023 at 8:19:27 PM

YMMV.Action 52 has the following, which seems like a pretty big stretch.

  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
    • The Big Guy of the Cheetahmen trio, Hercules, has a glitch that enables him to jump indefinitely. 25 years later, Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Knuckles - who has been redesigned to be given The Big Guy treatment - also has a now-memetic glitch that enables him to jump indefinitely!
    • The game Streamerz seems to provide an Accidental Aesop on livestreaming culture decades later - that to get to the top streamers have to act like clowns, and increased financial gain can actually bring them unhappiness in life.

Your melody still remains in this room and it rings
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#7122: Dec 31st 2023 at 10:31:23 PM

[up]The second one is a stretch and the first is just Fan Myopia, so I feel they both can be cut.

mightymewtron Word Up from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Word Up
#7123: Dec 31st 2023 at 11:09:56 PM

I actually think the Olive the Other Reindeer one is more valid because we don't know if she named the daughter after Olive. Hindsight examples aren't meant to be for deliberate connections, more interesting connections, and the name Olive is distinct enough that it does fit the "does this retroactively make you think of the trivia when you watch the show now?" criteria I use for hindsight, because one could mistakenly assume (not knowing the source material) it was a shout out to her daughter.

The Yaki example sounds like something that could be valid if the Alpharad fandom does make that connection when rewatching her appearances.

Edited by mightymewtron on Dec 31st 2023 at 2:10:41 PM

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
BocchiTheRock Since: Feb, 2023
#7124: Jan 1st 2024 at 2:38:13 AM

I wanted to look at the Hilarious in Hindsight/Zoids page:

  • In-universe example: In one instance Fiona is caught by one of Rosso and Viola's henchmen, who comments that she's cute and will be a "real knocker in few years." Come the timeskip in Guardian Force, we see he was right on the money.
    ignoring the creepiness of this scene, I think this may have been intentional?
  • Season 2 villain Hiltz is very much similar to fellow Akatsuki member Sasori, an Evil Redhead who have a scorpion-like machine (or doll in Sasori's case) as a weapon. They even share the same japanese voice actor!
    actor trivia/fan myopia
  • Speaking of Takahiro Sakurai, he ends up voicing the blond and spiky haired character Bit Cloud. The show aired on 2001. Fast forward to 2002, after the release of Kingdom Hearts I, Sakurai is now the official voice of Cloud Strife, another blond and spiky haired character.
    actor trivia
  • Also, Liger Zero's major attack is Strike Laser Claw, an attack with claws. Bit's English voice actor will eventually voice a certain half-demon who fights and attacks with his claws.
    actor trivia
  • My name is Harry Champ, I'm a man destined to be king! Now replace "king" with "god of new world"...
    fan myopia

WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (8,356/50,000)
#7125: Jan 3rd 2024 at 9:16:51 AM

Just added to YMMV.The Screwtape Letters:

Not only does this feel really general, the way it's worded also makes me concerned. Maybe it's because I myself am an atheist, but I don't like the insinuation that "secularization" (something that was supposed to have been protected in the constitution for instance) being put on the same level as religious-banning dictatorships. And what even is the "New Atheism" movement?

Edit: Wait, the plot thickens. The very OG version of this was added by Skid Troper, who was later kicked out for, well... having a religious agenda. Then it got edited and altered over the years until it was just deleted, and now it was added back by Ozwald Edswald

Edited by WarJay77 on Jan 3rd 2024 at 12:20:29 PM

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