To-do list:
- Examples of It Was His Sled must fit the following criteria; leave examples that fit them and remove ones that don't (namespaces that have been cleaned can be listed on Sandbox.They Were His Wicks):
- Examples of Plot Twists and Twist Endings must type up more than just the spoiler in question (e.g., Everyone/the community knows this because...).
- Examples are only allowed 5 years after release or after the spoiler becomes a Late-Arrival Spoiler if it becomes one; whichever is sooner.
Original post:
It Was His Sled, according to the laconic description and backed up by the item's page, is supposed to be "The Twist Ending of a famous work becomes widely known to the public." However, it is frequently used to describe any sort of twist, reveal, or general secret or spoiler that happens within the story. This wick check backs up how frequent this misuse is. Also, there are numerous examples that spoiler tag the example, which makes it debatable if they're examples. I separated those as well, however, if they are misused in another way as well, they are prioritized in other folders first. open/close all folders
Correct Usage (12/50)
- YMMV.A Christmas Carol: It's supposed to be a twist that the vision by the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come takes place after Scrooge's death, but thanks to how ubiquitous the tale is, virtually nobody is surprised to learn this. Even if one hears the story completely fresh, it's not hard to figure it out ahead of time since all the other visions took place in Scrooge's life, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is described in terms meant to invoke the image of the Grim Reaper. Naturally, several adaptations make it blatant to the audience that the dead man in the future sequence is Scrooge, with only Scrooge himself failing to realize it (or trying to deny it) until they come to his grave.
- YMMV.Beauty And The Beast: The fact that the Beast is really an enchanted Prince is a surprise at the end of the original story. Almost every adaptation tells the audience right at the start, though it's usually still a surprise for Beauty/Belle.
- YMMV.Degrassi The Next Generation: Almost everyone knows at this point that Jimmy gets shot and JT dies.
- YMMV.Eminem:
- Everyone knows the the twist from Stan.
- And by now, the reveal of whose perspective "Bad Guy" is from has shown up in every review of The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
- YMMV.Earth Bound 1994: Owing primarily to Memetic Mutation among other factors, Giygas's appearance and the inability to grasp the true form thereof — something hardly even hinted at until one actually reaches the final battle — are probably far more well-known than any other aspect of the game aside from Ness.
- YMMV.Dumbo: Dumbo can fly. It's not revealed until late in the film, but the covers feature him flying front and centre.
- YMMV.Charlottes Web: Even if you haven't read the book, you already know that Charlotte dies near the end.
- YMMV.Charlie And The Chocolate Factory: Between all the adaptations and parodies, The Reveal that the Golden Ticket contest is a way for Mr. Wonka to find an heir has become this; some adaptations (most obviously the 2005 film) pull Not His Sled twists to compensate.
- YMMV.Casey At The Bat: Even people who have never read the poem know that "there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out." Since the poem is more than a century old and one of the most popular baseball stories of all time, the ending where Casey blows it has become more well-known than anything else about it.
- YMMV.Carrie 1976: Even beyond the prom scene, the film's final Jump Scare is so famous that it's now impossible to be caught off guard by it.
- YMMV.Avengers Infinity War: Thanos wins, the heroes lose horribly, and Thanos succeeds in wiping out half of all life on the universe. In other words, a similar event to the original comic book storyline.
- YMMV.Dr Strangelove: The whole film is about everyone trying to prevent the US bombers from successfully dropping a bomb and triggering the doomsday machine. Major Kong riding the falling bomb is one of the most iconic scenes in cinema.
Incorrect - Not a Twist Ending (12/50)
- YMMV.Bridge To Terabithia: Leslie dies. Spoilered because it's not as well known as, say Darth Vader being Luke's father, but since it is one of the most discussed things about the story, it's hard to avoid hearing about it whenever the book or movie is brought up. Is the final event of the book before the third act starts.
- YMMV.Animal Crossing: Labelle being the third long-lost Able Sister, and her real name being Label, has become common knowledge nowdays. The games that came after City Folk don't bother hiding this either. More of an in-game reveal, especially for a game lacking a real linear plot.
- YMMV.Annie Hall: The film's most famous gags are so well-known and often cited (like Marshall Mc Luhan's cameo), they're usually spoiled for first-time viewers. Doesn't even refer to reveals for the most part.
- YMMV.Brave: Merida unwillingly turns her mother into a bear. What was meant to be a twist, as it was kept a secret in the trailers, is now probably the one thing that anyone talks about when they mention this movie. Happens in the middle of the movie.
- YMMV.Doki Doki Literature Club: If you never played this game, but later familiarized it's actually a psychological horror game, you probably will know about those scenes of the game, in most cases due to memes: Sayori commits suicide. Yuri is a Yandere with knives. Monika is the villain and literally deletes her rivals. Natsuki snaps her neck. Most of these occur earlier in the story.
- YMMV.Captain America The Winter Soldier: Thanks to the meme in which people caption images of a person whispering into another person's ear with "Hail HYDRA", even people who haven't seen the movie know that HYDRA is the bad guys, and that's actually the biggest reveal in the entire movie, if not the entire franchise. Happens in the middle of the movie.
- YMMV.Big Hero 6: Tadashi dies. This is pretty much promoted in the movie's marketing. Is the inciting incident for the film. Also can be an example of Trailers Always Spoil.
- YMMV.Bambi: Bambi's mother dies. What's weird is that the infamous death scene is the only scene anyone seems to remember. Also, it seems that nobody is aware that Bambi ever grows older. Disney isn't particularly helping, however, as there is almost no merchandise portraying Bambi as an adult, and Bambi II is actually a midquel and not a sequel as already mentioned. Which is ironic, given that the original advertisements for the film in 1942
did the exact opposite, showing only the third act and playing up the romance between Bambi and Faline as well as the final confrontation with the hunters. In this case, it is the child Bambi that is not even mentioned. Is the middle point of the story.
- YMMV.Atlas Shrugged: Most people nowadays are aware of the strike and Galt's Gulch when they start reading the novel. Ironically, Rand originally planned to name the book "The Strike", but scrapped it when she thought it would give away too much of the plot. More of a story-long mystery than a single ending reveal.
- YMMV.Final Fantasy VII:
- Aerith dies. It used to be an emotional and unexpected plot twist: now everyone knows exactly when and how it happens. Happens in the middle of the story.
- Cloud was never really in SOLDIER, he just thinks his was due to Fake Memories. Talking about his backstory without bringing this up is very difficult. This reveal occurs before the real climax of the game.
- Duck Amuck:
- The very premise of the short is perhaps one of the biggest things one can spoil about it; its initial setup is meant to deceive the viewer into thinking that it's a typical "Daffy Duck in medieval times" short, with the reveal of the unfinished background art throwing off one's expectations and setting the stage for the unfolding chaos. However, the short's true premise is very well known even among those who haven't seen the short, likely because it would be difficult to discuss anything about it without giving away the surprise. A reveal shown at the beginning.
- Most people who watched this know the short's other big spoiler, that the animator turns out to be Bugs. However, audiences in 1953 probably knew it was Bugs right from the start, as the lobby card (cartoon shorts' equivalent to movie posters) flat out gives away the ending. Bizarre unsure example, as one could argue that its initial status of Trailers Always Spoil doomed it from the start.
- YMMV.Captain Underpants: Thanks to the internet, there's no hiding the fact that Harold is gay in the 12th book. More of a mid-book happenstance than anything.
Incorrect - Uses Spoiler Tag (7/50)
- YMMV.Bioshock 1: The phrase "Would you kindly" is actually becoming highly associated with BioShock series, and the twist about the traitorous Atlas is becoming a common knowledge, as well as the twist about being mind-controlled by this trigger phrase all along. Also, "A man chooses, a slave obeys".
- YMMV.Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice: Unless you know next to nothing about Doomsday or expected Zack Snyder to throw a curveball, Superman and Doomsday killing each other will not be a shocker.
- YMMV.Chinatown: It's such a famous film that the Wham Line "She's my sister and my daughter!" has lost its power as The Reveal to many.
- YMMV.Catfish: Megan is a fictitious person made up by Angela. This reveal was spoiled when news outlets started following the story of American football player Manti Te'o's girlfriend.
- YMMV.Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them: Johnny Depp's cameo appearance as Grindelwald, which was intended to be a major surprise (albeit one that was hinted at), was spoiled by many outlets a few weeks ahead of the movie's release. Given that his character's presence generated a lot of interest from the fanbase ahead of the movie's release date, and that it directly preceded an increase in opening weekend projections, this might not have been a bad thing. It's actually a downplayed example from the standpoint of the cast and crew, who were afraid that the aforementioned spoiler was going to leak much earlier than it did.
- YMMV.Fire Emblem Awakening: Due to the game having such a long time between the releases in each region, many of the games' main twists had been spoiled ahead of time. Part of the reason they were so quick to propagate them was out of doubt that they would be released outside of Japan considering what happened to Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem. Even worse, some English trailers close to release (and even some reviews post-release) went the Trailers Always Spoil route.
- The main plot device that is commonly known is the identity of "Marth" and, on a related note, the children mechanic. Lucina's presence in the fourth Super Smash Bros. and constant Wolverine Publicity in spin-off titles isn't helping matters.
- The Avatar is actually Validar's offspring and serves as the unwitting vessel for Grima. This one is also not helped by spin-offs, as two Grima-Robin variants, male and female, were added into Heroes.
- YMMV.Grand Theft Auto San Andreas: It's pretty much impossible these days to have even some vague knowledge of the game without knowing that Big Smoke and Ryder are traitors, though it was initially a big plot twist.
Incorrect - Absurdly Recent (less than two years) (2/50)
- YMMV.Deltarune Chapter 2 A Cybers World: The SnowGrave route of Chapter 2 exploded on the internet as soon as it was verified as real, for the fact that Toby Fox seemed to have doubled back on his decision to make the game lacking in karmic choices. Also, the disturbing context of said route is arguably even darker and more cruel than Undertale's Genocide run, due to how realistically it portrays psychological abuse, emotional manipulation, and even gaslighting as Kris (or rather, you, the player) convinces Noelle to become a stone-cold killer and their personal puppet. Game came out last August.
- YMMV.Godzilla Vs Kong: MechaGodzilla turns out to be the true enemy and that Godzilla and Kong eventually team up to fight it. Came out less than a year ago. Also could be more of a case of Fan Myopia or I Knew It!. Also not a ending twist.
Incorrect: Actually a Late Arrival Spoiler (1/50)
- YMMV.Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command: If you saw the show before watching the movie, you would know that Warp Darkmatter didn't actually die, and that he isn't really the hero he pretends to be.
ZCEs (12/50)
- YMMV.Drawn To Life: Outside of its core demographic, The Next Chapter is most known for its dark ending. Extremely vague as well.
- YMMV.A Few Good Men: Colonel Jessup ordered the hazing that led to Santiago's death.
- YMMV.A Close Shave: Preston is a robot.
- YMMV.Ace Ventura: Spoilered for consistency on this Wiki, but: Finkle is Einhorn. There is no consistency policy on this wiki. A lot of times spoilers are a case by case basis.
- YMMV.Dinosaurs: Everyone died. The end.
- YMMV.Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2
- No Russian, oh No Russian. Also, both nukes.
- In MW2, the reveal that General Shepherd is not to be trusted. Also doubles as a Late-Arrival Spoiler, as anyone who starts with the third game (which gives the twist away in the opening cutscene) and works their way back will not be surprised in the least. First bullet point is blatant example of this.
- YMMV.A New Hope:
- Luke's father was a Jedi knight like Obi-Wan Also Mid-story reveal
- Darth Vader "killed" Luke's father. Also Mid-story reveal
- Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan Kenobi. Also Twist that is debatable if it's part of the ending.
- YMMV.A Clash Of Kings: Winterfell was sacked. Also takes place in the middle of the book.
- YMMV.Gone With The Wind: The book was written in 1936. The movie came out in 1939. You should know how this story ends just by Pop-Cultural Osmosis. Not to mention Rhett's famous "Frankly, my dear" line to Scarlett at the end.
- YMMV.Final Destination: Everyone dies in the end.
- YMMV.Ed Edd N Eddys Big Picture Show: Eddy's brother isn't the godly hero he makes him out to be, but a borderline abusive bully who's turned his brother into a fearful follower.
- YMMV.A Walk To Remember: Jamie dies.
Miscellaneous/Unsure (4/50)
- YMMV.A Beautiful Mind: Aside from the Trope Namer, this may be the most spoiled movie ever made. The fact Nash was a paranoid schizophrenic was part of the trailers, but the surprise is discovering certain characters to be imaginary. Haven't seen this movie, but the former is revealed fairly early on in the movie, right? And the second part doesn't qualify if it describes it as a surprise.
- YMMV.Amnesia The Dark Descent: The game was designed to keep the monsters out of sight so their appearance would be a mystery to players. But the monster designs have become so well-known that the Grunt-type enemy is practically a mascot for the game! I feel like this is a different audience reaction but I'm not sure which one.
- YMMV.Diddy Kong Racing: There is a fifth world, Future Fun Land. You get there by having 1st place trophies in the four worlds and colliding with the signpost placard that displays them. Not really sure if the status of different worlds existing follows as some sort of spoiler, because this would make sense for something like New Super Mario Bros. for the secret worlds, but I'm not sure.
- YMMV.Atypical: Due to the show's controversial nature, many of the supposed twists are very well-known, even to people who have never watched it.
- Sam locking his then-girlfriend into his closet because he didn't like how she touched all his things. Then he breaks up with her in front of her entire family and right before prom, no less. Generally a Never Live It Down moment for him.
- Sam breaking into his therapist's home, because he believes she's in love with him. This one is seen as the pinnacle of a What An Idiot moment.
- Elsa beginning an affair with a bartender because she needs a break from Doug since Sam is hard to take care of. This one is brought up frequently for viewers who demonize her, it doesn't help that the show doesn't side with her either.
- On a more positive note, Casey being bi and starting a relationship with Izzie is generally seen as a step in the right direction for the series. The only one that potentially qualifies is the third one, and the rest seem more like disguised complaining than anything else.
Edited by GastonRabbit on May 17th 2022 at 8:03:56 AM
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#27: Jan 6th 2022 at 11:38:04 AM
Or we just merge with All There Is To Know About The Crying Game. Preferably under this title, but eh, I'm spitballing.
Edited by WarJay77 on Jan 6th 2022 at 2:38:24 PM
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Synchronicity
(4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#28: Jan 6th 2022 at 11:39:29 AM
...We already did that, though? ![[lol]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lol2v12_4863.png "[lol]"){kind=small}
Edited by Synchronicity on Jan 6th 2022 at 1:39:56 PM
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#29: Jan 6th 2022 at 11:42:27 AM
...Yes. We did. I was part of that thread. Derp.
I misread your post I guess, got on a mental tangent, and forgot what the hell we actually did before this point.
Least I know it's a good idea?
prettycoolguy
Since: Nov, 2010
#30: Jan 7th 2022 at 8:34:55 AM
Is a crowner necessary to confirm on expanding the definition, or is there enough consensus from this discussion to allow it now?
Synchronicity
(4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#31: Jan 7th 2022 at 9:02:59 AM
I think it would be best to have one crowner for everything, because stuff like minimum time requirements and other limitations will still affect the new description (ie. it won’t matter if we decide to expand now if we’re still waiting on other potential modifications). So we ought to think up what else we want to change.
Edited by Synchronicity on Jan 7th 2022 at 11:03:40 AM
prettycoolguy
Since: Nov, 2010
#32: Jan 7th 2022 at 9:32:30 AM
Sounds good. Here's the list of potential stuff now based on every comment that has been made on this thread. Feel free to suggest from here:
- Expand the definition to include any sort of Plot Twist or reveal, not just the Twist Ending.
- Examples on YMMV items are required to be Spoilers Off. (I came up with this one and I'm no longer a big fan of it, but this is just a comprehensive list of stuff on here just for posterity.)
- Require examples to type up more than just the spoiler in question (i.e. Everyone/the community knows this because...).
- Make it No Recent Examples, Please! (Either 1, 2 or 5 years, though leaning towards 2)
- Require that the twist completely overshadows the work (i.e. similar to what All There Is To Know About The Crying Game used to be)
- Require evidence that there exists parodies, homages, or online references and discussions in general to the twist that makes it likely one has come across the twist before the work.
PhantomDusclops92
Wick checker for hire
from Italy
(4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Relationship Status: Plastic Love
Wick checker for hire
#33: Jan 7th 2022 at 9:40:49 AM
I'm fine with what's been said now. I admit that I've been guilty of misusing a lot this trope since I was there, as I often interpreted it as "Reveals and twists that were a big spoiler when they first came out, but nowadays it's impossible to talk about the source material without mentioning it" (usually when removing spoiler tags on any mention of Twilight Sparkle becoming an alicorn princess at the end of Season 3)
The best character is always the one-shot disguise.
prettycoolguy
Since: Nov, 2010
#34: Jan 7th 2022 at 9:45:43 AM
I think there's a little overlap with that idea and Walking Spoiler, but sometimes those kinds of examples can qualify. I mean, the reveal of Fiona's true identity in Shrek is integral to the rest of the series, and by that nature alone, that twist has become It Was His Sled.
GastonRabbit
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#35: Jan 7th 2022 at 12:00:46 PM
It's too soon to make a crowner. Per the Three-Day Rule, we have to wait until at least tomorrow.
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
"Cool. Coolcoolcool."
#36: Jan 7th 2022 at 1:00:42 PM
I agree with expanding it to include any twist and putting it on No Recent Examples, Please!.
Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread
GastonRabbit
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#37: Jan 7th 2022 at 1:38:22 PM
Adding a time limit does sound like a good idea.
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
Confounded by avatar changes
#38: Jan 7th 2022 at 2:34:32 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
How would Late-Arrival Spoiler fit into that definition, though?
Tabs
Since: Jan, 2001
#39: Jan 7th 2022 at 2:53:13 PM
A Late-Arrival Spoiler is objective. It is not about an audience discussing a work.
Nen_desharu
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
from Greater Smash Bros. Universe or Toronto
Since: Aug, 2020
Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
#40: Jan 7th 2022 at 6:45:08 PM
There's a discussion in the Real Life cleanup thread in the Long Term Projects forum about removing all real-life examples from Late-Arrival Spoiler as real life has no spoilers (except from sports results).
GastonRabbit
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#41: Jan 9th 2022 at 3:14:14 PM
The minimum amount of time to make a crowner has passed, so I was wondering if we had any options other than what was posted in this post.
prettycoolguy
Since: Nov, 2010
#42: Jan 10th 2022 at 5:18:37 AM
The only thing I can think of is, in the parody/homage bulletpoint, to specifically mention memes as well. Works in recent times such as Avengers: Infinity War and especially Joker (2019) have succumbed to this effect on mostly the strength of memes alone. Otherwise, I think we're good to go minus any last-minute additions.
GastonRabbit
MOD
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#43: Jan 10th 2022 at 7:13:59 AM
Crowner hooked using the options from the post I previously linked to.
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
Blapper of Water
#44: Jan 10th 2022 at 8:32:40 AM
I was waiting for the crowner before saying anything since these are excellent suggestions that make sense for this issue, except for one which I must not have noticed before. Can we get clarification on "Examples on YMMV items are required to be Spoilers Off"? Because it comes across as something for all YMMV items rather than It Was His Sled, which would seem to be beyond the scope for this sort of thread (as opposed to, say, a wiki talk thread with a title about this issue).
I have tentatively given that option a down vote because it seems too broad and I don't see how it would fix any problem with this particular trope.
Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
Synchronicity
(4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#45: Jan 10th 2022 at 8:35:03 AM
Since the OP initially pointed out that examples were in spoiler tags, I took it to mean examples of It Was His Sled, so instead of:
- It Was His Sled: Everyone knows Darth Vader is revealed to be Luke's father.
You get:
- It Was His Sled: Everyone knows Darth Vader is revealed to be Luke's father.
WarJay77
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
(Troper Knight)
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#46: Jan 10th 2022 at 8:35:30 AM
I don't think it's actually meant to refer to all YMMV examples, but rather It Was His Sled examples on YMMV pages. I assume.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Blapper of Water
#47: Jan 10th 2022 at 8:42:02 AM
I mean, that does make sense, but I think if we are going to require more than simply the spoiler itself then that might take care of that problem on its own. So instead of:
- It Was His Sled: Everyone knows Darth Vader is revealed to be Luke's father.
- It Was His Sled: One of the most famous plot twists in modern cinematic history, in part due to Luke's reaction being parodied throughout the years. Darth Vader is revealed to be Luke's father.
So, same amount of spoiler markup but the extra context / evidence allows the entry to stand more on its own.
Edited by WaterBlap on Jan 10th 2022 at 10:42:25 AM
Look at all that shiny stuff ain't they pretty
GastonRabbit
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#48: Jan 10th 2022 at 8:43:13 AM
I meant to reword the Spoilers Off crowner option when making the crowner, since I wasn't fond of that wording either, but copied and pasted it verbatim without thinking. I reworded it to clarify the meaning. That crowner option is indeed only supposed to cover It Was His Sled.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Jan 10th 2022 at 10:45:07 AM
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
I am you
#49: Jan 17th 2022 at 10:18:46 AM
It Was His Sled in general imo a YMMV item worth keeping, but expanding it to an element of the medium that has been widely known and changing the name is what I would consider appropriate.
GastonRabbit
MOD
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
from Robinson, Illinois, USA
(General of TV Troops)
Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#50: Jan 17th 2022 at 12:12:27 PM
Calling in favor of the following:
- Expand the definition to include any sort of Plot Twist or reveal, not just the Twist Ending
- Require examples to type up more than just the spoiler in question (e.g., Everyone/the community knows this because...)
- Add a waiting period
We still need to decide what the waiting period is, so does anyone have any suggestions?
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
Trope Repair Shop:
It Was His Sled Late Arrival Spoiler
6th Apr '22 7:21:04 AM
Crown Description:
Consensus was to require five years after the work's release before deciding whether a twist is an example of It Was His Sled. Should there be an exception for twists that become Late Arrival Spoilers sooner than five years?
Total posts: 118
Maybe, since the reaction is rooted in Pop-Cultural Osmosis, the condition could be that it's gotten to the point that you're more likely to have initially experienced the twist via a parody, homage, or other such reference, rather than through the original work.