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
- Hilarious in Hindsight: Krieg's Death by Adaptation is even more pathetic for his Live-Action counterpart considering that in the manga, Krieg and several members of his crew were among the many cameos seen during Vegapunk's announcement. In the New World, no less.
I don't see how it's hilarious. A chacter who didn't die in the manga makes a cameo later... and?
To Mariofan99's suggested addition
: I think that Chugga’s shoe fetish can be mentioned in that entry and also how it snowballed into other issues. The roleplay was a tangential allegation that sprang up from Lady Emily’s allegation, and has barely any connection to the rant from his Pokemon video outside of that.
Edited by CanuckMcDuck1 on Sep 6th 2024 at 2:34:35 AM
Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.I was reading the YMMV page of Fallout New Vegas, and I feel this entry (in short, it claims "Caesar's Legion in FONV reminds me a terrorist organization called ISIS.") is too wordy and filled with then-recent information. While I agree this example is valid, I think we definitely need to cut a lot of words to make it less Wall of Text, and the last paragraph can be cut entirely.
- There's a marauding army who've taken over significant chunks of a war-torn desert inhabited by feuding tribes in hopes of building a theocratic totalitarian state, claiming to bring order and stability in a region that had little of either. They follow a regressionist ideology that seeks to recreate a society based on an idealized past and seek to exterminate any group or demographics that do not follow it. Their highly educated leader carries a title that's been officially abolished, but still holds significant strength in the minds of his followers. They employ crucifixion and other terror tactics to instill fear and obedience in their territories and deter opposition, and their society is very much a No Woman's Land. They've reinstated slavery (especially sex slavery) and genocided groups that oppose their violent assimilation. They're currently (as of September 2014) fighting a stalemated battle for a dam and are marching towards the regional capital. And last of all, this faction mints coins of gold and silver and use them as their official currency. And it's not Caesar's Legion.
By December 2016, however, they've been successfully pushed back from the dam by the combined air and ground assault of several different factions cooperating together, and by the end of 2017 their main bases of operations have been eliminated, leaving them in disarray. Eureka!
- There's a marauding army who've taken over significant chunks of a war-torn desert inhabited by feuding tribes in hopes of building a theocratic totalitarian state, claiming to bring order and stability in a region that had little of either. They follow a regressionist ideology that seeks to recreate a society based on an idealized past and seek to exterminate any group or demographics that do not follow it. Their highly educated leader carries a title that's been officially abolished, but still holds significant strength in the minds of his followers. They employ crucifixion and other terror tactics to instill fear and obedience in their territories and deter opposition, and their society is very much a No Woman's Land. They've reinstated slavery (especially sex slavery) and genocided groups that oppose their violent assimilation. They're currently (as of September 2014) fighting a stalemated battle for a dam and are marching towards the regional capital. And last of all, this faction mints coins of gold and silver and use them as their official currency. And it's not Caesar's Legion.
Edited by namsan on Sep 8th 2024 at 2:41:52 AM
I found this Harsher in Hindsight entry on YMMV.Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Wolf Jackson died because he did his own stunts and some of the prop ordnance turned out to be real. At the time the movie was being filmed, Alec Baldwin, who played Adam Maitland in the first film, was being tried for involuntary manslaughter after accidentally killing a woman when it turned out that the gun he was handling on a set contained live ammunition (the charges were eventually dismissed with prejudice).
This stuff with Baldwin happened before the film and as such how is it Hindsight. I don't really see how this fits the trope. Am I wrong?
Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup threadAs for the Chugga and Ant Dude entry? Or the current existing examples?
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15816392660A25032600&page=310#comment-7731
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I say it's too vague to be Hindsight. Sadly, regressive extremist organisations hearkening back to some patriarchal "good old days" aren't rare in either reality or fiction (the masculism, reactionary ethos, and worship of strength are basically the core tenets of fascism, which is of course the primary inspiration for Caesar's Legion; remember, Mussolini was obsessed with restoring the Roman Empire).
Edited by DoktorvonEurotrash on Sep 9th 2024 at 4:11:53 AM
I think the shoe rant can be re-added with less decisive wording since the roleplay accusation was called into question, but the fact he was accused of soliciting Emily for unwanted fetishistic convo was the start of the snowball effect and he's definitely somewhat associated with it now, so I think it counts.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.This was just added to Coming 2 America:
- Harsher in Hindsight: It's hard to watch King Joffe Jaffar's funeral, with him abruptly declaring his death, when James Earl Jones himself passed away in 2024.
Edited by fragglelover on Sep 9th 2024 at 5:18:26 AM
Already have the YMMV page for both the original and the remake, as well as the Mufasa prequel coming out, on the watchlist
(Also went ahead and put the YMMV page for Round Springfield, which has Mufasa, Darth Vader, and James Earl Jones, appear in a cloud along with the dies in that episode Bleeding Gums Murphy, on my watchlist as well.)
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Don't forget Star Wars!
From The Chalkeaters. My comments in bold.
- Harsher in Hindsight: "Breathtaking" is perhaps hit with this the hardest out of all the songs in The Chalkeaters' discography:
- For starters, while Keanu Reeves' reputation on the internet remains relatively intact, the same can't be said for the game he promotes and stars in (which also led to the "You're breathtaking" meme in the first place), Cyberpunk 2077. The game launched with tons of graphics and gameplay issues, that many commenters on the "Breathtaking" song have pointed out the irony in its opening line, "A head on the screen seemed desperately keen, on selling me graphics instead of a game." This seems legit?
- One scene shows the CEO of Blizzard, after having his heart changed by flying puppies shooting Care Bear Stares, holding up a sign that says "Free Hong Kong", referencing the Blitzchung controversy
. In reality, not only did Blizzard never revoke the punishment towards Blitzchung (although they did reduce it), but in 2021 it's revealed that the issues at Activision-Blizzard turn out to be far more numerous and worse
. Activision-Blizzard's other scandals were nothing to do with Hong Kong, meaning that the only relevant part of the entry is "Blizzard never revoked the punishment towards Blitzchung", which... did anyone really believe they would? The entire joke of the scene is that it's an unrealistic utopian vision.
- Hilarious in Hindsight: One scene in "It Just Works" has Todd Howard shouting at the audience to buy more copies of the port overdosed, constantly re-released game Skyrim. Come 2021 and two things happened: Bethesda released yet another version of Skyrim (a 10th anniversary upgrade), and Microsoft acquired Bethesda, which led to jokes about Microsoft buying Skyrim by proxy. First part is "Bethesda kept doing what they do a lot," and the Microsoft bit doesn't feel particularly connected to the joke.
Edited by DoktorvonEurotrash on Sep 12th 2024 at 12:53:05 PM
And not long after I removed the first one, this shows up on Coming 2 America:
Harsher in Hindsight: King Jaffe dying of old age is a million times sadder to watch following the real-life death of his beloved actor, James Earl Jones, only three years after the film’s release. Ironically, this film was his final live-action appearance.
It wouldn't qualify as an edit war if I remove this one as well, would it?
The fact he dies in his final film role at least gives it a weak connection?
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.On Quinton Reviews:
- All the time he talked about the allegations against Schneider would also become this, after he would admit at the end of his The Baffling Lore of Nicktoons Unite video that he's planning on giving up the long video format due to excessive hate being sent against him, with some of it including false accusations of him of being a predator.
I don't think it's a strong enough accusation since Quinton, as far as we know, isn't actually a predator, and these false accusations seem to be from a minority that just throws around the accusation because they don't like a grown man reviewing kids' content. I don't think talking about abuse allegations alone and then stopping his format because he doesn't want to face hate is enough of a connection.
Maybe if the entry focused on the fact his Schneider video also had him specifically call out conspiracies and rumors as he relied exclusively on allegations against Schneider published in official sources, there could be a stronger case?
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15816392660A25032600&page=309#comment-7716
When you say General Chugga drama do you mean we should remove any entry bringing up these year’s controversy, or just my example was too disconnected? For context here are the other entries bringing up the scandal
——-
- All of Chugga’s playful teasing and collaborations with Masae Anela take on a sadder light when Masae revealed on Twitter in January 2024 that the two haven’t been friends for several years
, thanks in large part from how uncomfortable Emile made her. Masae goes on to state she had cut all contact with Emile before the Splatoon 2 LP and the video she guest starred in was uploaded without her consent. Although, Emile did go on to say that it was done under the impression that they were still friends and were just taking a break from each other.
Furthermore, he revealed (and Masae later confirmed) that they had been dating for 10 years and even got engaged before breaking up in 2021. Due to this revelation, some of this playful teasing may circle back to being cute and Heartwarming in Hindsight for some viewers.
- In the last episode of Pikmin 3's Misson Mode, Chugga notes that he had to indefinitely shelf the multiplayer videos for Sonic Colors because every guest he had planned (with the exception Proton Jon, who had recorded his video shortly after the single player campaign was completed), ended up either retiring, getting caught up in a scandal, or vanishing from the internet completely. In 2024, Chugga would be forced to take a 6-month hiatus from YouTube after finding himself embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal.
——Also this entry got removed, but I feel it should be readded and reworded as while the whole thing did end up being overblown, it was kicked off by Lady Emile exposing Chugga’s foot/shoe fetish, which snowballed into the other allegations: