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
PlasmaPower
Since: Jan, 2015
#77: Mar 21st 2020 at 4:26:34 PM
The second bulletin point is a general example in my opinion. I’d cut it. Third one is too.
Edited by PlasmaPower on Mar 21st 2020 at 8:30:15 AM
Thomas fans needed! Come join me in the the show's cleanup thread!
fragglelover
Since: Jun, 2012
#78: Mar 22nd 2020 at 12:01:37 PM
Found this on Tangled:
- "Funny Aneurysm" Moment: A film about someone who's been shut inside a single dwelling, unable to leave or interact with others, and desperately concocting games and hobbies to keep from going stir-crazy, is set in a kingdom which happens to be called ... Corona. Oops.]]
PrincessPandaTrope
#BoomSilverTheVampire4Lyfe
from Up and Down and All Around
Since: Jan, 2017
Relationship Status: In love with love
#BoomSilverTheVampire4Lyfe
#79: Mar 22nd 2020 at 12:15:48 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
kill it with fire, being locked up in a kingdom whose name literally means "crown" has nothing to do with quarantine
Edited by PrincessPandaTrope on Mar 22nd 2020 at 2:19:40 PM
Content Warning: My posts may involve my actions dealing with R-rated or Not Safe for Work content. Same for my edit history.
fragglelover
Since: Jun, 2012
#80: Mar 22nd 2020 at 12:21:08 PM
Removed it, as well as a similar entry under Hilarious in Hindsight.
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#81: Mar 22nd 2020 at 12:21:50 PM
TBF, of all the Corona-related Hindsight examples, that's the best one by far.
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Dghcrh
You can't escape this monster
from Small country that looks like a fish
Since: Dec, 2016
Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
You can't escape this monster
#82: Mar 22nd 2020 at 2:12:10 PM
I think it may fall better under Harsher in Hindsight. Being locked in a tower is not funny.
I'm mainly a fan of underrated media.
Tomodachi
Now a lurker. See you at the forums.
Since: Aug, 2012
Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Now a lurker. See you at the forums.
#83: Mar 22nd 2020 at 2:21:45 PM
I wrote this entry years ago, and someone added another to Doña Barbara:
- Harsher in Hindsight:
- In many parts of the book, Santos Luzardo thought of selling Altamira and leaving the country due to the bad situation of the flatlands not giving him a profit, and the justice system is corrupted due to Doña Barbara's influence. As of 2017, many companies that helped move the Venezuelan economy decided to leave the country due to the land not giving enough of a profit, and the harsh relationship with the government only made this worse. In fact, much of the population is leaving the country due to the terrible national crisis in what is know as the Bolivarian Diaspora. It's hard to read the book and not to feel related to Luzardo's own problems.
- The 2008 television adaptation had a Distant Finale, said to happen "ten years later", that shows Doña Barbara dying. The finale aired on May 2009; Doña Barbara's actress in said version, Edith González, actually did pass away ten years later in June 2019 of ovarian cancer. Even more, in said finale Doña Barbara is shown growing into old age, complete with long, gray hair to signal it; not only did González die at the relatively young age of 54, but due to the nature of her illness, she spent the last years of her life with drastically short hair.
- Heartwarming in Hindsight: In the last episode of the 2008 TV version, Doña Barbara's right-hand man Melquiades tells her in a vision, "Only us ordinary beings die, those of us who are flesh and blood. But you can not die, because legends like you stay in the hearts and souls of people forever." This phrase and its aesop about how the end of the physical existence of someone does not truly mean that they've been lost forever led to it being used in eulogies for Doña Barbara's actress in said version, Edith González, after she died on June 2019 of ovarian cancer.
Edited by Tomodachi on Mar 22nd 2020 at 2:25:04 AM
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.
fragglelover
Since: Jun, 2012
#84: Mar 22nd 2020 at 4:37:37 PM
Found this on The Electric Company (1971) under "Funny Aneurysm" Moment:
- J. Arthur Crank refers to Spider-Man as a "funny book" a number of times in the show, evidently unaware how more mature the comic would become as time progressed.
Sorry if this does qualify...
HighCrate
Since: Mar, 2015
chasemaddigan
I'm Sad Frogerson.
Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#86: Mar 22nd 2020 at 5:05:51 PM
Not to mention inaccurate. By the time they started those sketches, Marvel had already released The Night Gwen Stacy Died, not to mention previous issues that have dealt with murder, drug abuse, and other adult issues.
Cut.
maxwellsilver
Since: Sep, 2011
#87: Mar 24th 2020 at 3:47:28 AM
From Batman (1989)
- Harsher in Hindsight:
- Batman's entire origin story becomes significantly harsher after the events of the Aurora theater shooting. It's even worse in this adaptation because of the fact that The Joker was responsible for creating Batman in the Burton/Schmaucher film continuity, since the madman who shot up the Aurora theater based his actions on The Joker.
- Batman saying that his animal motif are "great survivors". Yeah, about that...
The second is clear misuse, but I'm not sure about the first. Is the scene close enough to the later event to count, or is just misuse?
HighCrate
Since: Mar, 2015
#88: Mar 24th 2020 at 6:19:33 AM
Lincoln got shot in a theater. That doesn't make every theater shooting in fiction that came after "hilarious in foresight."
fragglelover
Since: Jun, 2012
#89: Mar 24th 2020 at 9:11:03 AM
Found this on Kingdom Hearts
- Harsher in Hindsight: The series premise of worlds representing different franchises getting consumed by an evil force becomes this in a meta-sense after Disney went on a spree in the late 2000's and 2010's of acquiring numerous franchises and movie studios, and, in the eyes of many fans, ruining them. In a sense, Disney became the Darkness that devours worlds.
Sorry if it seems like I'm looking for stuff to bring here...
sgamer82
Since: Jan, 2001
#90: Mar 24th 2020 at 9:12:13 AM
Even if you are that is the point of this thread, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.
Brainulator9
Short-Term Projects herald
from US
Since: Aug, 2018
Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
Short-Term Projects herald
#91: Mar 24th 2020 at 12:10:31 PM
I removed the Kingdom Hearts example as it was complaining.
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PrincessPandaTrope
#BoomSilverTheVampire4Lyfe
from Up and Down and All Around
Since: Jan, 2017
Relationship Status: In love with love
#BoomSilverTheVampire4Lyfe
#92: Mar 24th 2020 at 3:33:59 PM
There was a Harsher in Hindsight example on YMMV.Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Games about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics being postponed. I removed it because there wasn't any "harshness" to begin with, but some fans, including me, may find such thing to be noteworthy. Is there anyway to implement this correctly?
Content Warning: My posts may involve my actions dealing with R-rated or Not Safe for Work content. Same for my edit history.
sgamer82
Since: Jan, 2001
#93: Mar 24th 2020 at 3:41:12 PM
I don't think so. unless the game at some point features characters going through events even when sick, played for laughs or drama.
Without something like that it's no different than the "a celebrity's death makes all their past works sad" misuse this thread exists to clean up after.
Edited by sgamer82 on Mar 24th 2020 at 4:44:20 AM
chasemaddigan
I'm Sad Frogerson.
Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#94: Mar 24th 2020 at 4:00:47 PM
Since I know it's going to be brought up a lot, I think examples that involve the 2020 Tokyo Olympics going unimpeded probably fit under Dewey Defeats Truman than the hindsight tropes.
Musician/Composer
#95: Mar 24th 2020 at 4:01:18 PM
I think the YMMV.Star Wars entries (and its associated films) may need to be looked at for potential misuse. I'm grouping them into folders for now so they might be easier to look over.
Here's some examples from YMMV.A New Hope:
Harsher in Hindsight
- Harsher in Hindsight:
- The last shot of the movie. Seeing the entire cast smiling and standing together triumphantly is a lot more gut-wrenching to watch, especially knowing what happens to them later on in The Force Awakens.
- This moment:
Aunt Beru: He's just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him.
Uncle Owen: That's what I'm afraid of. - Not only did Luke's father become Darth Vader, but we later see in Attack of the Clones that, the same day Owen met Anakin, Anakin killed a whole tribe of Tusken Raiders out of anger. Evidently he's afraid Luke will do something like that.
- After watching the prequels, seeing Vader so callously shoot R2 with a TIE Fighter blast makes him seem all the more cruel. He might not have known it was R2 or even been aiming for him but it still jerks a tear.
- Also, Darth Vader, later revealed to be the father of Luke Skywalker, had Luke's Uncle and Aunt murdered by stormtroopers, meaning he had his stepbrother killed. Several years later, with The Lion King, Simba's father ends up killed by his uncle. The connection between the two? Both Vader and Mufasa (Simba's father) were portrayed by James Earl Jones.
- Garven Dreis, aka Red Leader, was shot down by Darth Vader in the last moments of the film. A New Hope also proved to be the last acting role that Drew Henley, the actor who played Dreis, would partake in, retiring shortly thereafter due to being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Also, Dreis being shot down by Darth Vader is even more harsh after the revelation that he and Vader (then known as Anakin Skywalker) were originally comrades.
- Try watching Obi-Wan in the original trilogy knowing how Alec Guinness felt about his work on Star Wars.
- Leia's Cold-Blooded Torture at the hands of Vader is disturbing enough, then comes the revelation that he was (unknowingly) doing it to his own daughter.
- In this film, Obi-Wan tells Luke that Darth Vader "betrayed and murdered [his] father", before it's explained in Return of the Jedi that "What [he] said was true, from a certain point of view." In The Force Awakens, we see Kylo Ren literally betray and murder his own father, Han Solo.
- Obi-Wan's whole backstory hurts more than ever since the same things happen to Luke by the time of The Force Awakens.
- The confrontation between Vader and Obi-Wan becomes a lot more heartbreaking after watching the prequels and The Clone Wars, where we see how much they went through together, to the paint where their friendship bordered on brotherhood.
- It's a bit painful to see that one tossed-off line in the opening crawl about the Death Star plans being stolen by a group of rebels, after Rogue One revealed just how much pain and effort went into that mission, and how high the cost was, including the deaths of the entire team.
- Han's snark about not being sure if he likes Leia or wants to shoot her rides the lines of this, Hilarious in Hindsight, Heartwarming in Hindsight, and "Funny Aneurysm" Moment. Yes, Han, you decide you like her. Enough to marry her in two different timelines. Just don't ask about your sons in either timeline. Legends leans more to Heartwarming in Hindsight (even though Anakin dies, and Jacen turns out...badly, they're still Happily Married, raising their granddaughter, and Jaina turns out fine), but Disney canon turns out more Harsher in Hindsight (due to "Kylo Ren" turning out more or less like a worse version of Jacen and the implication they divorced).
- Remember the infamous edit where the scene where Han shot first is changed to Greedo shooting first before Han attacking in self-defense? Well, in The Last Jedi it turns out that the reason for Kylo Ren's betrayal of the Jedi order is because Luke attacked him first with Ren himself retaliating in self-defense. So in other words, Kylo Ren betrayed Luke because the latter betrayed him first.
- Lucas decided to change the "Han shot first" scene because he didn't want Han to come off as cold-blooded killer. Come Rogue One, the immediate prequel to A New Hope, how does the movie show that the rebels are squeaky clean good guys? By having the rebel spy Cassian Andor shot a handicapped informant who couldn't escape from pursuing stormtroopers.
- Darth Vader states that destroying a planet is nothing compared to the powers of the Force. In Revenge of the Sith Palpatine tells Anakin that the Force could potentially create life and cheat death, which Anakin wished to use to protect his wife from dying. Vader is still holding out hope.
- Fox infamously signed the merchandising and sequel rights to the film away to Lucas under the belief it would flop. Billions of dollars worth of Star Wars merchandise and a sale to Lucasfilm owner Disney later, Fox will always be clouded by that mistake.
Heartwarming in Hindsight
- Heartwarming in Hindsight:
- Luke and C-3PO's bond throughout this film and the OT becomes more heartwarming once it was revealed in The Phantom Menace that Threepio was originally built by Anakin, making Luke and Threepio, in a sense, brothers.
- By the same token, Luke's loyalty to R2-D2, saying that he's not willing to trade him in for a new droid because of how much they've been through together. R2-D2 saved Luke's mother when she wasn't much younger than he was during this movie.
- In regards to Rogue One, none of the members that stole the plans of the Death Star manages to survive the events of the movie, but with Luke managing to destroy the Death Star, it's heartwarming to know that Jyn and her crew's deaths were not in vain.
- Peter Cushing enjoyed his role as Grand Moff Tarkin so much he regretted the fact that Tarkin dies, because it meant that he couldn't come back in another Star Wars film. In Rogue One, Tarkin returned as a major figure, with Cushing recreated via digital technology, so he did come back after all.
- For nearly two decades, the identity and past of Luke's mother was a complete unknown. The prequel trilogy answered that question, but Revenge of the Sith in particular showed in deleted scenes that Padme was one of the founders of the rebellion. While A New Hope focuses on Luke taking his first steps in following in his father's footsteps, it also marks the start of his journey to finish what his mother began. Leia did the same before the movie even started.
Hilarious in Hindsight
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Obi Wan's line that the blaster marks are too precise for Sand People and must be from Stormtroopers gets funnier as the series goes on. We see (Justified and not) stormtroopers miss nearly everything they shoot for, while the Tuskens are able to hit pod racers moving at hundreds of MPH in The Phantom Menace. If you think about it, it's more just showing that Obi Wan's been in hiding for so long. The last time he was hanging around with troopers they were kicking ass, and then killing Jedi. There's also the fact that that Sandcrawler is huge and slow. Even a Stormtrooper could probably hit that just fine.
- Given what we later discover about Vader's policy on employee mistakes in the next movie, Admiral Motti comes off as exceptionally stupid for picking a fight with Vader, especially by mocking the religion the Emperor holds to. This is even lampshaded by Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star Technical Manual, where he expressed that if Motti didn't keep his opinions to himself regarding the Force, he won't last long under Palpatine's Empire.
- Just going by the films, Palpatine may not have ever let on to anyone but his apprentices that he was a Sith Lord.
- According to the novelization, Obi-Wan was uncomfortable about Luke's questions about his father, but unlike Owen, Obi-Wan *didn't like lying* so he told the truth From a Certain Point of View: Darth Vader killed Luke's father.
- Those who got to watch this first before they encountered the reveal that Luke and Leia are twin brother and sister may call the latter as a cop-out from the romantic triangle issue, but it does add some flavor to the films. With that knowledge, Han and Chewie have become two unfortunate guys getting caught in the middle of a big family mess, acting as some kind of baby sitters as the two siblings start putting things together. And it does add some more humor at how the two separately snark at his ship when each sees it for the first time.
Luke: What a piece of junk!
Leia: You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought. - "I'm never coming back to this planet again."
- C-3PO exclaiming "Thank the maker!" is amusing, when you know who built him. "Thank Darth Vader!"
- This◊ is the Death Star, as it debuted in 1977. This◊ is Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, discovered 3 years later.
- Han's line "Where did you dig up that old fossil?" has gotten funnier on two counts: first, Harrison Ford went on to play Adventure Archaeologist Indiana Jones, and second, in the sequel trilogy, Ford will be older than Alec Guinness was during the making of the OT.
- Han's general attitude towards Obi-Wan is this, as in The Force Awakens, he finds himself in basically the same role, guiding the younger protagonists through their adventure. Also becomes Harsher in Hindsight, considering both Obi-Wan and Han meet a similar end.
- In Mos Eisley Cantina, Cornelius Evazan brags to Luke that he has the death sentence in twelve systems. In Revenge of the Sith, it was revealed that Obi-Wan Kenobi also has the death sentence across the Empire thanks to Order 66.
- Garrick Hagon plays Luke's friend Biggs. Years later, he would provide the voice for a character turning into a clone of Mark Hamill's other famous role.
- In 2016 Carrie Fisher revealed that she and Harrison Ford were sleeping together during filming, unknown to everyone else. Yeah, even before Lucas decided Leia should end up with Han, the actors were heading there.
- In her message to Obi-Wan, Leia reminds him, "you served my father during the Clone Wars." She doesn't know the half of it!
- Leia had several different hairstyles considered before her distinctive "cinnamon bun" hairdo was chosen, one of which was long blonde hair. Then, Return of the Jedi revealed that Leia was twins with the blond Luke, which would've made that blonde hairdo appropriate.
- Luke's grumbling that if there's an exciting part of the galaxy, Tatooine is the furthest point from it becomes this when you realize what a large role it plays in the expanded universe.
- Though it was pretty amusingly droll to begin with, Obi-Wan's nonplussed reaction to the Millennium Falcon is a lot funnier when you know that it's now one of the most famous and iconic spaceships in the history of science-fiction. Today, his conversation with Han sounds almost like an irritated adult talking to a giddy young Star Wars fan.
Han: You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?
Obi-Wan: ...Should I have?- Palpatine dissolving Imperial Senate became more amusing after watching Revenge of the Sith where he infamously declared "I am the Senate." After dissolving Imperial Senate, Palpatine is, without any doubt, the only "Senate".
- After Rogue One's ending, Leia's "Diplomatic mission" excuse gets even funnier when you realise she's running it against a guy who literally just saw her ship escape from a massive space battle 5 minutes ago but can't actually call her on it because her explanation technically holds up.
- The Fight Scene Failure between Vader and Obi-Wan became more hilarious as in Revenge of the Sith they fought with all sort of flips over a fiery river of lava, collapsing buildings, swung on cables through the air and stuff. Looks like they don't age so well between the two films.note
- Obi-Wan's line "Only a master of evil, Darth" clearly treats "Darth" as Vader's first name, as at the time it was his real name and he had not been intended to be Anakin Skywalker yet. However, even after The Reveal, the line still works, as the prequels reveal that "Darth" is a Sith title and essentially means "Master of Evil".
- "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" After Princes Harry and William had to cancel their cameos as Stormtroopers in The Last Jedi for being too tall, you have to wonder just how short Luke is.note
- And again when Star Wars fans griped about Alden Ehrenreich being cast as young Han Solo in the Anthology film Solo, even though he's shorter than Harrison Ford.
- C-3PO and Han's discussion about droids and Wookiees as well as, to an extent, 3PO's badmouthing Chewbacca in The Empire Strikes Back become much more hilarious after the release of Revenge of the Sith where Jedi Master Ki Adi-Mundi asks this infamous question: "What about the droid attack on the Wookiees?"
- The very first line Ben Kenobi uttered would be "Hello There." Which soon became a meme thanks to the Prequels.
- The cover story given to Luke about his father by Uncle Owen was that Anakin was the "navigator on a Spice Freighter." Later works reveal that "Spice" is a street name for FantasticDrugs in the Star Wars universe.
- What's Obi-Wan's very first line of dialogue? "Hello there!"
Thoughts?
Edited by gjjones on Mar 24th 2020 at 7:06:27 AM
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.
fragglelover
Since: Jun, 2012
#96: Mar 24th 2020 at 5:07:31 PM
This was added to Tangled:
- "Funny Aneurysm" Moment: The name "Corona", simply meaning "crown" in Latin, was a completely innocent word in 2010. Come 2020 and the word is associated with the coronavirus pandemic.
#97: Mar 24th 2020 at 5:10:57 PM
Oh for god's sake. Cut, and IMO there should probably be a commented-out notice about not adding it or anything like it back.
Edited by nrjxll on Mar 24th 2020 at 7:14:38 AM
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#98: Mar 24th 2020 at 5:18:52 PM
I've added one.
fragglelover
Since: Jun, 2012
#99: Mar 24th 2020 at 5:21:29 PM
I was about to ask if we were going to need such a notice...
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#100: Mar 24th 2020 at 5:23:01 PM
I put it twice, once where the "Funny Aneurysm" Moment would be and once in between Harsher in Hindsight and Hilarious in Hindsight. Both times I included a link to this thread and asked people not to add the examples without stopping by for discussion.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Total posts: 7,427
Looking at that page, there's some bad examples.
I think it's safe to just nuke all these entries.