u/UnifiedForce

Dispatch

• Villain Shroud has been given two items in his hands, but he can’t tell which is which. One will make him super powerful. The other will make him super sick. The heroes are right in front of him. One of his henchmen suggests that they take both items home so they can test which is which in safety on their own time. Shroud tells him to shut up.

Warhammer 40K: The Siege of Terra

• The Traitors are preparing to assault Terra, the most heavily fortified planet in the entire galaxy. Doing so will take a nearly year-long bloody, grueling siege against mile high walls, a continent-covering shield, billions of soldiers + war machines, 3 superhuman Primarchs and the demigod Emperor himself. Perturabo wants to just blow up the sun with their fleet so Terra is destroyed with it. Horus refuses and says Terra and the Emperor need to be conquered so his rule can be seen as legitimate.

Ed Edd n Eddy

• The gang wants to watch a monster movie marathon but they kicked out of Ed’s house by Sarah. They keep trying to either sneak back to Ed’s TV or into other people’s homes. Double D suggests they could just go to either his or Eddy’s house. Eddy responds, “What, and ruin the plot?”

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

*Austin and Vanessa are lowered into the unnecessarily slow-moving dipping mechanism as the door closes*

Scott Evil: “Aren't you going to watch them? They'll get away!”

Dr Evil: “No no no, we'll leave them alone and not actually witness them dying, and we'll just assume it all went to plan, what?”

Scott Evil: “I have a gun. In my room. Give me five seconds, I'll come back down here. Boom! I’ll blow their brains out.”

Dr Evil: “Scott...you just...don’t get it, do ya? You don’t.”

They'd still be caught off guard, but we see at least a few of them retaining their firearms and actually shoot at the Doe to apparently no effect. Not a firearm expert so I have no idea what rifles they're depicted having or if those were enough to seriously harm/kill a rex.

Roland would still not have his elephant hunting rifle ammo (or whatever it was) since Nick stole it.

For a what-if scenario 2, you can also imagine Roland wouldn't have access to the tranquilizers either.

For All Mankind

Ed never learns his wife Karen cheated on him with the much younger Danny.

She does reveal to Ed at the end of season 2 the fact that she cheated, which Ed reacts to with much anger and distress, but not specifically who it was she did it with. One can only imagine how much more upset Ed would have been if he found out it was Danny, who was the childhood best friend of Ed and Karen’s deceased biological son, a boy they knew since he was a baby of Ed’s best friend, and who Ed saw himself as a father figure for. Both Karen and Danny take the secret of the affair to their graves.

Star Wars

Grievous never learns it was Dooku and Sidious who planted the bomb that nearly killed him and forced his transformation into a cyborg. Or that during the surgery some of his memories and emotional capacity for hatred were altered on Dooku’s orders. He spends the rest of his life as a willing servant and enforcer for their schemes, holding them in high respect and never realizing that to them he was just a temporary tool.

Malazan: Book of the Fallen

Tavore never realizes she killed her sister Felsin. Felsin dies thinking her sister never loved her, when Tavore very much did.

Tavore is a top imperial enforcer, and when the Empress starts purging the nobility, Tavore is able to save her noble younger sister’s life by having her serve as a mining slave in a foreign land instead of being killed. Her intention was to rescue her sister from the mines when it was safe. Since this plan wasn’t communicated to Felsin however, and she undergoes numerous hardships including selling her body for food and becoming addicted to drugs to cope, she is filled with rage and heartbreak due to believing that her sister sold her out.

Felsin becomes involved in a nation-wide rebellion against the Malazan Empire, rising as its figurehead and empowered by the spirit of an innately vengeful goddess who artificially enhances Felsin’s desire for revenge against her sister. Tavore and an imperial army under her command are sent to crush the rebellion, and she also goes to hopefully find Felsin. Their respective armies meet and Felsin is dressed head to toe in armor, preventing Tavore from recognizing her. In a short duel, Tavore fatally stabs Felsin with her sword, never knowing it was her sister. Felsin’s dying thoughts are her asking Tavore why she seemingly abandoned her, and why her older sister didn’t love her when Felsin did love Tavore.

Much later in the series, the normally emotionally stoic Tavore breaks down sobbing to her other sibling, crying how she lost Felsin and never found out what happened to her.

Death Note

Light’s dad Soichiro never learns his son is the mass-murderer Kira.

Because of the investigation group’s suspicions on Light’s activities, Soichiro is however confronted with the possibility of the truth, causing him a lot of internal anguish. When he’s granted the power of the Shinigami Eyes, Soichiro on his deathbed can see that Light’s lifespan is still visible, seemingly confirming that Light is not Kira since an active Death Note user would have their lifespan obscured. Unbeknownst to Soichiro, Light had at that time merely temporarily given up ownership of the Death Note as part of a complicated scheme, so Soichiro dies in peace believing his son to be innocent.

Enderal: Forgotten Stories

Jespar never discovers his ex-lover who he left for dead was still alive.

In this game, Jespar is a recurring temporary companion character who, in talks with him, reveals to the player that in his life as a mercenary he traveled for years with another mercenary named Lysia. On one night, bandits ambush their camp. Seeing Lysia on the ground unconscious and him outnumbered by the bandits, Jespar fled in fear and abandoned her, an act which he deeply regrets years later to the player.

In a separate sidequest, the player takes part in an expedition with a female mercenary named Zar’Ah, who reveals that is not her original name. Over time she discloses further information (she once had a close traveling companion, she experienced a traumatic event that broke her trust in people, she still has complicated feelings for that companion) that very strongly implies that Zar’Ah and Jespar’s lost lover Lysia are the same person. Unfortunately, Zar’Ah is murdered by someone in the sidequest as part of a ritual sacrifice, and so neither she nor Jespar learn the other was still alive or have any opportunity to reconcile.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – Will and his dad

Will’s father Lou left his mother when he was five-years old and went no-contact. Many years later when Will has grown into an adult, Lou returns out of the blue, promising he’s ready for real this time to be a part of his son’s life again. At first Will’s ecstatic to get to know the father he barely knew, and they bond in a few days over banter, hang outs and even plan to make a cross-country trip together. Soon enough though Lou starts backing out of their plans, getting ready to leave but still making false promises to see his son again ‘eventually’. Will slowly realizes what’s going on, and when they say goodbye for the last time, he goes from calling him ‘dad’ to simply ‘Lou.’ Enraged and in tears, Will hugs his actual father figure, Uncle Phil, crying “How come he don’t want me, man?”

Warhammer 40K: Night Lords Trilogy – Talos and his mom

In the Warhammer universe a Space Marine is created from child recruits taken from multiple worlds (often by force). The process enhances their physiology to the point their appearance becomes almost unrecognizable from their past self, their lifespan is extended by potentially many hundreds of years, and they undergo indoctrination to suppress emotions and sentimental ties outside of loyalty to their Legion. In the vast majority of cases a Space Marine never sees their family again and will long out-live them.

Talos, a veteran Marine of the Night Lords Legion, is assigned to a victory parade taking place on his homeworld, and so returns there for the first time in decades. As he and his comrades are marching across a public thoroughfare, one elderly civilian woman shouts out his name and tries to reach him through the monitoring security enforcers. Talos realizes the old woman is his mom, but pretends not to hear or notice her out of shame, since she is a reminder of his former mortal frailty and also his lost childhood idealism. His mom, still recognizing her son despite the many years and his physical transformation, persists in trying to make contact, disturbing the parade. Even as the security enforcers take his mother and shoot her dead, Talos, although ashamed of himself, doesn’t look back.

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Valkorion and his dad

Thousands of years before he became infamous as the Sith Emperor Vitiate, or Valkorion the Immortal Emperor of Zaakul, he was born a normal child named Tenebrae as a result of an affair between a non-Force sensitive woman and a minor Sith lord named Dramath. Dramath wanted his bastard son killed, but the boy grew up in secret and eventually gained power enough to kill his father, imprisoning his spirit in a holocron.

Much later the game's hero player character, to help destroy Valkorion's immortal soul for good, can find Dramath's spirit still imprisoned. Dramath is happy for the opportunity for revenge, and so even if your player character is a Jedi he works alongside you as a Sith. Valkorion, a millenia old immortal being, ruler of galactic empires, and one of the most powerful characters to ever exist in the Star Wars universe, is visibly surprised and flinches at the sight of his father, before his dad tells him he should have been drowned as a baby.

Oldboy (2003)

A father is arrested on false charges and imprisoned away from his young daughter for more than a decade. He eventually reunites with her as a grown adult and they become very close despite him not recognizing her at first. And at the end of the movie they embrace each other with smiles on their faces. A truly heartwarming film to watch on Father's Day : )

IT: Welcome to Derry

> General Shaw wants to use Pennywise, a millennia old cosmic horror that feeds on people and their fear, for suppressing USA political dissent

> Pennywise has no reason to follow politics and thinks the General’s fear is just as delicious

> General Shaw: :O

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

> The Skesis discover that forcefully siphoning Gelfling life force can extend their own lifespans

> Gelfling royal guards realize this is bad and try to plan a coup against their Skesis leaders

> One loyalist Gelfling guard rats out his fellows to the Skesis

> Skesis reward him for his loyalty putting him in the same life siphoning device as the others

> Gelfling Guard: :O

Aliens

>Burke wants to use Xenomorphs as a corporate bioweapon that indiscriminately kills people for profit

>Xenomorph indiscriminately kills Burke

>Burke: :O

Warhammer 40k - Chaos supporters in general

> Chaos worshipers serve the Chaos gods of scheming, blood, disease and (censored)

> Chaos gods betray, take blood from, inflict sickness on, and (censored) their own supporters

> Chaos worshipers: :O

Special shout out to this excerpt from the POV of a Word Bearers Space Marine who was a true believer:

>‘Maim.’ The World Eater’s gaze was bare of comprehension.

>‘I am Inzar of the Seventeenth Legion. Hear me and heed me. Rise, and we can end this. We are so close…’

>The World Eater seemed to understand. He reached out a hand, as if to make an oath. Inzar took it.

>‘Burn.’

>The World Eater pulled on the preacher’s hand as he brought the axe up, chain teeth revving. There was no resistance, the chainaxe went through the joint like it went through bone, and it went through bone like water.

>Inzar staggered back, his arm amputated at the elbow, and crashed into another warrior behind him. He had a fraction of a second to see the Death Guard he’d backed into, going down beneath the hacking axe of another World Eater. It was a scene repeated in woeful plenitude wherever Inzar turned. The World Eaters were falling upon their own allies, howling, cutting, killing.

>Blood for the Blood God. Kill. Maim. Burn. Skulls for the Skull Throne.

>...

>He heard the gods laughing as he died, and for the first time, there was no comfort in the sound. They were laughing at him.

>They’d always been laughing at him.

Scenario 1: Solo children as teens from the New Jedi Order book series era vs Arcann, Thexan and Vaylin.

Scenario 2: No Anakin. Jaina and Jacen at their peak (ie Jaina as Sword of the Jedi and Jacen as Darth Caedus).

Note that this trope isn't just "the ending/story was bad," but specific events or scenes that were hyped up as one thing but arguably did not land the execution.

The Boys - Homelander unleashed (not really)

For 5 seasons the show’s primary threat is of Homelander's danger to civilization and that he could go on a public worldwide rampage at any moment. We get a fake-out of him lasering a crowd of hundreds of people. He explicitly threatens that if he’s given nothing left to lose, he’ll take out Earth’s communication and government centers before demolishing entire cities. The advertising for the final season, including the poster pictured here, promised global destruction, massacres on a scale unprecedented, “scorched Earth” in their very own words. But for all of that teasing none of it actually happened, and Homelander is ultimately defeated within the confines of a single room and with relatively limited deaths/collateral damage.

Godzilla (2014) - Godzilla's first fight

It’s the first time Godzilla has been on the big screen in a decade and the unveiling of his brand new American design. Up to this point we’ve only seen the MUTO’s destruction and just fleeting glimpses of Big G himself. But oh, watch out! He’s coming! He’s making his way to the MUTO! THERE HE IS. SEE HIM STOMP. HEAR HIM ROAR. THIS FIGHT’S GOING TO BEEEEEE-a cutaway of Godzilla and the MUTO grappling for 5 seconds on a small television screen news report before the MUTO just flies away.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - Final battle

The middle third of the movie has the main cast running around uniting the pirates of the world against the East India Trading Company. There’s prolonged scenes spent rallying everyone to work together and deciding on who deserves to be the their leading Pirate Lord. The pirates and the EITC each gather a fleet of dozens of ships in a standoff that could have lead to the largest on-screen naval battle in cinematic history. Huge boats broadsiding each other with cannons, crashing into each other, characters hopping from ship to ship across the battleground. Instead the contest is entirely decided between just the Black Pearl and the Dutchman, and Elizabeth’s position as Pirate Lord meant little since she doesn’t command any other ships to assist. The other pirates even all cheer at the end even though all they did was sit on their asses! The fight between the Pearl and Dutchman is an admittedly cool and climatic sequence in and of itself, but having all of the available ships participate would’ve better communicated the stakes and scale.

Real Life - Dashcon 2014

In 2014 a convention was announced for fandoms on Tumblr. It hyped itself up as “the largest gathering of Tumblr users to date,” with promises of celebrity guests, panels, gaming rooms, live performances, etc. Expected guest attendance was supposed to be approximately 3000 people. Presale tickets and a last minute crowdfunding campaign of $17,000 were ostensibly going towards funding the event. Come the day of the convention, the expected 3000 attendees was closer to 350, many VIPs had canceled due to organizer mismanagement, and promised amenities included a single game console (meant to somehow be shared between hundreds of people) and a ball pit the size of a kiddie pool. As complaints started to mount and attendees asked for refunds for panels that had been canceled, the organizers did not do so, but instead offered things such as raffle tickets and an “extra hour in the ball bit.”