Author's Saving Throw: Difference between revisions

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If the screwup stays prominently in the fandom's memory, it adds to that character's [[Dork Age]]. Contrast with [[Rescued From the Scrappy Heap]], where an originally loathed character or idea is made serviceable.

If an Author's Saving Throw attempts to fix an episode-specific problem (typically within that episode) and fails, then it becomes a [[Voodoo Shark]]. Generally, the best tool for making such a save is to provide for the possibility of a [[Schrodinger's Gun]]. Often, clumsier tools such as the [[Cosmic Retcon]] or the regular [[Retcon]] are used instead.

If an '''Author's Saving Throw''' attempts to fix an episode-specific problem (typically within that episode) and fails, then it becomes a [[Voodoo Shark]]. Generally, the best tool for making such a save is to provide for the possibility of a [[Schrodinger's Gun]]. Often, clumsier tools such as the [[Cosmic Retcon]] or the regular [[Retcon]] are used instead.

Compare [[Canon Discontinuity]], which just flat out ignores something instead of trying to [[Retcon]] or otherwise explain it.

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* The [[Marvel Universe]] had the potential for saving throws with the revelation that Skrulls have been secretly replacing people, as discovered by the New Avengers. This is even lampshaded when the characters, upon discovering this, discuss how this could provide an explanation of everything from [[Iron Man]]'s sudden turn into a jerk, to why loner [[X-Men (Comic Book)|Wolverine]] is on so many teams, and even why [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Peter Parker]] would publicly reveal his identity. Iron Man himself (once he finds out) engages in it, wondering if it means [[Captain America (comics)]] (Steve Rogers) really isn't dead, and that Jean Grey didn't get a bridge dropped on her. But ultimately, the Skrull situation didn't touch any of those alleged problems, leaving them all as they were. Especially the big one: [[Iron Man]]'s [[Face Heel Turn]] during [[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]. ''Totally'' not a Skrull, and Tony Stark must now deal with what he's done. The biggest change to come out of it is that Mockingbird is back, the one who got [[Stuffed Into the Fridge]] having been a Skrull.

* The [[Spider-Man]] villain the Hobgoblin was created by writer Roger Stern as a replacement for the Green Goblin, complete with a mysterious true identity. The character was initially a success due to good writing, but then Stern departed from the title. At once, the Hobgoblin joined up in a gang war and the mystery surrounding his identity got out of hand. Finally, it was decided that Ned Leeds was the Hobgoblin... which was revealed after Leeds had already DIED (and at the hands of common snipers too, even though the Hobgoblin was supposed to have super-strength!) The [[Smug Snake]] Jason Philip Macendale took over the role of Hobgoblin and became such a poor villain that Roger Stern finally returned to write the three-part ''Hobgoblin Lives!'' miniseries that killed off Macendale, explained how Leeds was NOT the original Hobgoblin in a way that actually made sense, tied up all loose ends left by the mystery, and revealed the true Hobgoblin to be Roderick Kingsley, as Stern had always intended. This ended up ''backfiring'', as Roderick Kingsley having been portrayed as a nondescript wimp in his civilian ID before, who had really made little impact on readers, while Ned Leeds at least had been someone fairly close to Peter Parker (as the husband of his first girlfriend, Betty Brant). To make matters worse, soon afterwards the Hobgoblin got his ass handed to him in a fight against the recently returned Norman Osborn. Since it was clearly felt that with the original Green Goblin now back in action his knock-off the Hobgoblin was now redundant, Roderick Kingsley was permanently [[Put on a Bus|sent off to a Carribean island]], which in effect turned ''Hobgoblin Lives!'' into nothing more than an officially sanctioned [[Fix Fic]]. {{spoiler|Roderick Kingsley was eventually brought back many years later in the post-OMD continuity, and serves as a major villain even without his Hobgoblin identity.}}

* Hal Jordan, the [[Green Lantern]], went [[Ax Crazy]] after the [[Doomed Hometown|destruction of his city]] becoming the villain Parallax. Some fans were not happy, seeing it as a [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|Bridge Drop]] in favor of the [[Younger and Hipper]] Kyle Rayner, although others thought it was a logical and fitting end to Hal Jordan's story. [[Geoff Johns]] eventually [[~~Retcon|retconned~~]] this into Parallax being an ancient alien fear monster who was responsible for the Lanterns' weakness to yellow and who slowly pulled Hal over to [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]. Many of the named characters Hal had killed were brought back to life, as well. This produced highly mixed reactions from fans, considering that many had warmed up to Kyle in the interim, and plenty had liked the "Emerald Twilight" story, and thought it made perfect sense given Hal's character. The subject remains something of a [[Base Breaker]] among [[Green Lantern]] fans.

* Hal Jordan, the [[Green Lantern]], went [[Ax Crazy]] after the [[Doomed Hometown|destruction of his city]] becoming the villain Parallax. Some fans were not happy, seeing it as a [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|Bridge Drop]] in favor of the [[Younger and Hipper]] Kyle Rayner, although others thought it was a logical and fitting end to Hal Jordan's story. [[Geoff Johns]] eventually [[retcon]]ned this into Parallax being an ancient alien fear monster who was responsible for the Lanterns' weakness to yellow and who slowly pulled Hal over to [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]. Many of the named characters Hal had killed were brought back to life, as well. This produced highly mixed reactions from fans, considering that many had warmed up to Kyle in the interim, and plenty had liked the "Emerald Twilight" story, and thought it made perfect sense given Hal's character. The subject remains something of a [[Base Breaker]] among [[Green Lantern]] fans.

** Johns continued to [[Arc Welding|arc weld]] Parallax with other existing Green Lantern concepts and expand on them to much critical and fan acclaim, arguably being an Authors Saving Throw for the Parallax retcon. It helped that while Hal was now the new "star" Lantern, Kyle was also written with respect and given a prominent place in the franchise instead of getting a reciprocal Bridge Drop. It doesn't hurt that both ''Green Lantern: Rebirth'' and ''[[Sinestro Corps War]]'', the storylines providing the Saving Throws, are both awesome and made of win.

* During [[The Clone Saga]] in ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'', it was stated that new character Ben Reilly was the original Spider-Man and the character that had been in comics for the past 20 years was the clone, which wasn't even the original intention of the hook. This didn't sit well with fans and was taken out again; a hook had been added by the writer in case they needed to. The whole thing was really kind of a mess.

* The [[Executive Meddling|editorially influenced]] attempt in the ''[[Batman]]'' comics to recreate Batgirl III/Cassandra Cain as Robin's erudite [[Dark Action Girl]] nemesis (explained by her returning to her supposed Assassin roots) provoked rather justifiable complaints that the writer and editor involved [[Did Not Do the Research|hadn't bothered to read Batgirl's solo title]]. A few months later, we found out that Deathstroke [[Brainwashed and Crazy|was feeding her mind-control drugs, really]]. Never mind that Cassandra's entire origin involves her complete and utter ''hatred'' of killing, even more so than Batman! Oh, and the who mind-control drug thing doesn't really work when in a Batgirl/The Ghost crossover she was able to overcome the effects of a deadly poison ''[[Badass|by herself]]''. Yeah, no antidote or anything. Still, it was better than being stuck with the villainness that's Cassandra [[In Name Only]].

** DC then gave the writer of the screw-up a new Batgirl miniseries to allow him to explain all the events that led into her [[Face Heel Turn]], thus tearing open a wound that was already considered closed (even if ''badly'' closed). General fan consensus was that he only succeeded in messing up the character even further. Even more confusing, parallel to this she also showed up in Batman and the Outsiders, coming out at the same time as the miniseries but taking place after showing her back to her normal awesome self. She then went into Comic Book Limbo for several years, and only recently starting appearing again in ''Batman Inc.''. They were probably trying to make Batgirl into the new Jason Todd...the only problem with this is that people actually ''like'' Cassandra Cain.

* An issue of ''Robin'' managed ''three'' author's saving throws in one fell swoop: [[Women in Refrigerators|Stephanie Brown]] never died, Leslie Thompkins only faked her death to keep Black Mask away from her. [[Batman]] suspected ~~this--though~~ he wasn't ~~certain--and~~ to give Stephanie Brown privacy never told Robin. This is why he never added Stephanie's Robin suit to the memorial (an [[Author's Saving Throw]] for using her absence from that memorial to justify the claim that she was never an official Robin) - along with Jason Todd, who was ''already [[Back From the Dead]] at the time''.

* An issue of ''Robin'' managed ''three'' author's saving throws in one fell swoop: [[Women in Refrigerators|Stephanie Brown]] never died, Leslie Thompkins only faked her death to keep Black Mask away from her. [[Batman]] suspected this—though he wasn't certain—and to give Stephanie Brown privacy never told Robin. This is why he never added Stephanie's Robin suit to the memorial (an Author's Saving Throw for using her absence from that memorial to justify the claim that she was never an official Robin) - along with Jason Todd, who was ''already [[Back From the Dead]] at the time''.

* Making Stephanie Brown the new Batgirl could be an added Saving Throw for both the above Cassandra/Stephanie issues. Fan reaction has been divided, especially among the Cassandra fans.

** This itself resulted in yet ANOTHER saving throw, with it being retconned that Cassandra willingly gave the title to Stephanie as part of a plan that had her [[Commuting on a Bus]] to ''[[Grant Morrisons Batman|Batman Inc.]]'' and taking on the new identity of Blackbat... and it's now moot since Stephanie has been demoted to Spoiler again, and it's uncertain just how much of her history is intact. [[Continuity Snarl|Oh, comics]].

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* [[The Punisher]] began life as a ''[[Spider-Man]]'' villain whose idea of "justice" was "anyone committing any crime eats lead" and went around killing people over things that [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?|were not heinous]]. The character as we know him today is actually a [[Retool]] made once [[Darker and Edgier]] came into vogue and it was decided he worked as a dark hero. So what do we do about his early appearances, which have things like him ''shooting a couple for littering, and a driver for running a stop sign when he was fleeing from the shots?'' In the first ''Punisher'' miniseries, it was explained away as Jigsaw arranging for him to be exposed to mind-altering drugs in prison.

* The ''Titans: Villains For Hire'' one-shot managed to spark racial controversy after the series ended with Ryan Choi, the second [[The Atom|Atom]] being killed and a new Atom series starring Ray Palmer (Choi's white predecessor) being launched during the [[Brightest Day|same flipping event]]. The 2011 DC relaunch completely retconned the events of the story, with Ryan Choi once again retaking the Atom identity in the new ''Justice League'' series and Ray being demoted to a supporting character in another, far more obscure title.

* The entire idea behind the one-shot ''Faces of Evil: Prometheus''. The author didn't like the fact that the title character, created by [[Grant Morrison]] to be a [[Badass Normal]] so [[Badass]] that he could take on the whole [[JLA]] and only be defeated by cheating, had undergone [[Villain Decay]] to the point where he'd become little more than [[Elite Mook~~|Elite Mooks~~]] for [[Batman]] villains. So the whole plot of the story is given over to explaining that the Prometheus who'd been appearing for the past nine years wasn't the real Prometheus, but rather a [[Costume Copycat]], and showing us the real deal's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to get him back.

* The entire idea behind the one-shot ''Faces of Evil: Prometheus''. The author didn't like the fact that the title character, created by [[Grant Morrison]] to be a [[Badass Normal]] so [[Badass]] that he could take on the whole [[JLA]] and only be defeated by cheating, had undergone [[Villain Decay]] to the point where he'd become little more than [[Elite Mook]]s for [[Batman]] villains. So the whole plot of the story is given over to explaining that the Prometheus who'd been appearing for the past nine years wasn't the real Prometheus, but rather a [[Costume Copycat]], and showing us the real deal's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to get him back.

* ''[[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck]]'' has one for the richest duck in the universe, describing the incident where he chased a bunch of African villagers out of their homes as [[My Greatest Failure|the biggest regret of his life]] that made his sisters sever all ties with him until years later.

* Possible example from the [[Executive Meddling|ever]]-[[Armed with Canon|editorially]]-[[Alliteration|entroubled]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comics; after a [[Time Skip]], [[Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys|Antoine]] broke up with Bunnie, got an eye patch out of nowhere, and [[You Have Waited Long Enough|tried to force Sally into an]] [[Arranged Marriage]]. It turns out it was his [[Evil Twin]] from the [[Mirror Universe]] (previously established, mind) and the real Antoine came back and [[They Do|married Bunnie]].

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* Another [[Older Than Feudalism]] example is the opening of ''[[The Aeneid]]''. [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Vergil]] was in the difficult position of turning the losers of [[The Trojan War]], the ones who fell for the [[Trojan Horse]], into the heroes of his story. His solution was to add a Greek playing a sacrificial victim. This Greek actor was just too deceptive for the kindhearted, trusting, and heroic Trojans to disbelieve when he told them a story that made bringing the horse inside seem like a great idea.

* Ian Malcolm didn't survive the novel ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', but he lived through the movie. When it was decided that he would be the star of the next book/movie, Michael Crichton took advantage of the fact that his death took place offstage and said he was ''reported'' dead, but had in fact just barely survived his severe injuries.

* A well-known example can be found in [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories. In ''The Adventure of the Final Problem'' Doyle had both Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty apparently die in a waterfall; after public outrage he [[~~Retcon|retconned~~]] the event, allowing the detective to defeat the [[Big Bad]] and survive.

* A well-known example can be found in [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories. In ''The Adventure of the Final Problem'' Doyle had both Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty apparently die in a waterfall; after public outrage he [[retcon]]ned the event, allowing the detective to defeat the [[Big Bad]] and survive.

** Well, public outrage and [[Money, Dear Boy|big sacks of cash]].

*** [[Momma's Boy|His mama]] telling Doyle to revive Holmes doesn't hurt, either.

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*** In ''[[Great Expectations]]'', he wrote a new [[Earn Your Happy Ending]] ending for when the original [[Bittersweet Ending]] wasn't well received by fans.

* One happens in the ''[[Anita Blake]]'' series, as Richard's rather... erratic behavior is finally explained as ANITA'S fault... he was possessed by her anger. When the possession is cured, he reverts to a more stable psyche.

* The ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'' has been up to its elbows in these recently. First the controversial ''[[New Jedi Order]]'' books introduced [[Trickster Mentor|Vergere]], and her philosophy that the Force was too complex to be summed up as simple light vs. dark. This ticked off a lot of fans, so the writers did the ''[[Dark Nest Trilogy]]'' and ''[[Legacy of the Force]]'' in response, which had Jacen Solo (Vergere's main pupil) become a [[Knight Templar]] and fall to [[The Dark Side]] as a result of her teachings. Problem was, many fans felt bothered with Jacen's fall, so the current ''[[Fate of the Jedi]]'' series is [[~~Retcon|retconning~~]] it to have been not because of Vergere's teachings, but because he encountered something during a journey through the galaxy that made him go crazy. The jury is still out as to whether ''[[Fate of the Jedi]]'' will need an Author's Saving Throw too.

* The ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'' has been up to its elbows in these recently. First the controversial ''[[New Jedi Order]]'' books introduced [[Trickster Mentor|Vergere]], and her philosophy that the Force was too complex to be summed up as simple light vs. dark. This ticked off a lot of fans, so the writers did the ''[[Dark Nest Trilogy]]'' and ''[[Legacy of the Force]]'' in response, which had Jacen Solo (Vergere's main pupil) become a [[Knight Templar]] and fall to [[The Dark Side]] as a result of her teachings. Problem was, many fans felt bothered with Jacen's fall, so the current ''[[Fate of the Jedi]]'' series is [[retcon]]ning it to have been not because of Vergere's teachings, but because he encountered something during a journey through the galaxy that made him go crazy. The jury is still out as to whether ''[[Fate of the Jedi]]'' will need an Author's Saving Throw too.

* Also from the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]: Karen Traviss's novels have been very [[Love It or Hate It|polarizing]], due to her single minded approach to storytelling. After four novels of vicious anti Jedi sentiment at the hands of the Mandalorian characters, she included two scenes in her last novel to try and fix things up. First, she made [[Only Sane Man|Maze]] call out Skirata for being an asshole, and the renegade clones a bunch of brainwashed slaves, effectively comparing Skirata to the Jedi he was trying to save his troops from. Then, she revealed Djinn Altis' rogue Jedi convent, giving a fresh perspective that was separate from both the Republic Jedi and the Mandalorians, putting a [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshade]] on the whole series focus.

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* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s sixth season, magic was portrayed as akin to a drug, which was highly dangerous and addictive, and could even lead to users becoming "junkies" willing to do anything for a "fix," as happened to Willow slowly over the course of the season. [[Joss Whedon]] himself didn't like this development, and the fans agreed; season seven's first episode featured a scene where Giles explicitly states that magic is not addictive, and it's explained that Willow's actions were actually due to her ''not'' using magic. This, of course, made hash of most of the storyline of season six.

** It does qualify as an author's saving throw, or at least close, but it's not a retcon. Giles' line is "This isn't a hobby or an addiction. It's inside you now," implying that this is a change for Willow due to her actions at the end of the last season. Willow got addicted to magic because she has an addictive personality, as much to power as to magic. What with Tara expressing her concern in Season 5, this was already on its way to becoming Willow's character arc, and 'Tabula Rasa' is very much in tune with her behavior in the rest of the series. Unfortunately, 'Smashed' and 'Wrecked', which bring her addiction to its climax, are about the most [[Anvilicious]] episodes in the whole series. In the latter, she realizes she has a problem because she hurt Dawn with magic. Or rather, wrecked the ''car'' she and Dawn were in because she was high on magic. [[Captain Obvious|Just like addicts in real life!]]

* The writers of the Disney Adventure ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' comic conveniently [[~~Retcon|retconned~~]] the reasons behind A-Squad's defection, turning it into [[Mind Control]] instead of a voluntary [[Face Heel Turn]]. Apparently, they don't like the idea of [[Not Brainwashed]] Rangers (up until then, most evil Rangers were either created that way as monsters, or were [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] if they were to join the team). As well, the turn itself was considered fairly random, and the [[Big Bad]] had already-established [[Mind Control]] powers.

* The writers of the Disney Adventure ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' comic conveniently [[retcon]]ned the reasons behind A-Squad's defection, turning it into [[Mind Control]] instead of a voluntary [[Face Heel Turn]]. Apparently, they don't like the idea of [[Not Brainwashed]] Rangers (up until then, most evil Rangers were either created that way as monsters, or were [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] if they were to join the team). As well, the turn itself was considered fairly random, and the [[Big Bad]] had already-established [[Mind Control]] powers.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'' throws a rather tricky one. {{spoiler|The very serious and nihilistic Doctor Shinigami suddenly appears in the first film, after being Natsumi's rather quirky grandfather for the whole season.}} Seriously, that doesn't make sense. So, in the second film, they make him that way again. But this time, they reveal that he's under the effect of a {{spoiler|"Doctor Shinigami" type Gaia Memory.}} Which is an obvious throw, as those are introduced in the ''next'', only-barely-related ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series, [[Kamen Rider Double|Double]].

** On the other hand, many, many other confusing problems with characterisation are simply ignored.

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* During Elisabeth Rohm's time on ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'', her character (Serena Southerlyn) was often used as a Liberal counterpoint to Arthur Branch's staunch Conservative. Problem was, when she wasn't basically arguing the defense's case for them, she came across as a [[Fox News Liberal]] so frequently whiny and petulant, it was a wonder how she kept her job. So when Rohm left the show, the writers used Serena's frequent petulance as the reason for her firing (She was acting more like a defense attorney than a prosecutor). But then they had to crap on things with those six infamous [[Suddenly Sexuality|last words]].

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Doctor Who/Recap/TVM the TV Movie|1996 TV movie]] included a scene in which the Doctor says that he is half-human; this was widely disliked and subject to [[Fanon Discontinuity]]. However, in the [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]] comic ''Doctor Who: The Forgotten'', the Doctor notes that he said that just to screw with his enemy's head.

** [[Steven Moffat]] has stated, when asked about the [[~~Canon|canonicity~~]] of this, that the Doctor did indeed utter those words, very carefully not specifying whether they were ''true''. After all "The Doctor lies".

** [[Steven Moffat]] has stated, when asked about the [[canon]]icity of this, that the Doctor did indeed utter those words, very carefully not specifying whether they were ''true''. After all "The Doctor lies".

*** He has gone further, arguing that "a television series which embraces both the ideas of parallel universes and the concept of changing time can't have a continuity error--it's impossible for ''Doctor Who'' to get it wrong, because we can just say 'he changed time--it's a time ripple from the Time War'."

** There was an earlier attempt at Saving Throwing the half-human line by some of the [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]] writers. Unfortunately other EDA writers ''liked'' the half-human idea, but had their own radical interpretations of it; there was an [[Armed with Canon]] war; and the whole question became a [[Continuity Snarl]].

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* On ''[[Smallville]]'', Season 3 ended with Chloe walking into her house, closing the door, and the house promptly exploding. Then, in the beginning of Season 4, we see a flashback of Lex and his guys getting Chloe and her family out before the explosion goes down. Never mind that it happened the second the door clicked shut. Or that, per the Season 3 finale, Lex was too busy being poisoned at the time to actually have been there. This troper, at least, doesn't really mind, however.

* In the seventh season finale of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' {{spoiler|the titular character drives his car through Cuddy's dining room window in revenge for breaking up with him and escaping to a tropical beach. This caused a full blown fan revolt with claims that House became no better than a psychotic murderous [[Domestic Abuser]] and that his stunt could have ended with the deaths of several people. The creators responded to this on Twitter claiming that House had made sure that everyone was gone by looking through the window which prompted the fans to point out that ''Cuddy's daughter'' was likely in the room and she wasn't tall enough to be seen. Come the season 8 premiere and we get a scene where House turns himself in to the authorities and explains that he had made sure that everyone in the room had left and that he knew that Cuddy's daughter was at a sleepover. YMMV if this makes things ''that'' much better, mind you.}}

* For the first three seasons of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' the show was criticised for wasting the potential of its prequel setting by neglecting the Romulans as recurring villains (rather than properly leading up to the known canonical Romulan War) and instead embarking on a long confused [[Myth Arc]] involving a "Temporal Cold War" which soon fell prey to [[The Chris Carter Effect]], as well as for depicting the Vulcans as a race of hypocritical [[Jerkass~~|Jerkasses~~]]. When Manny Coto took over as showrunner for the fourth season, multiple Saving Throws were given: the Temporal Cold War was resolved in the two-part premiere, a three-part story involved a major spiritual revolution in Vulcan society that brought them closer to the aliens we knew and loved, and a major story arc throughout the season involved a resurgence in Romulan aggression which also served to forge alliances between the future founding members of the Federation. The Enterprise relaunch books manage to take this even further by {{spoiler|retconning Trip's death into a faked death}}, as well as dealing with the Romulan War and founding of the Federation.

* For the first three seasons of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' the show was criticised for wasting the potential of its prequel setting by neglecting the Romulans as recurring villains (rather than properly leading up to the known canonical Romulan War) and instead embarking on a long confused [[Myth Arc]] involving a "Temporal Cold War" which soon fell prey to [[The Chris Carter Effect]], as well as for depicting the Vulcans as a race of hypocritical [[Jerkass]]es. When Manny Coto took over as showrunner for the fourth season, multiple Saving Throws were given: the Temporal Cold War was resolved in the two-part premiere, a three-part story involved a major spiritual revolution in Vulcan society that brought them closer to the aliens we knew and loved, and a major story arc throughout the season involved a resurgence in Romulan aggression which also served to forge alliances between the future founding members of the Federation. The Enterprise relaunch books manage to take this even further by {{spoiler|retconning Trip's death into a faked death}}, as well as dealing with the Romulan War and founding of the Federation.

* At the end of Season 3 of [[The Mentalist]], Jane {{spoiler|kills Red John}} and sits peacefully waiting to be arrested. In the first episode of Season 4, it turns out that {{spoiler|that wasn't Red John}} and he's found not guilty in a spectacular example of [[Hollywood Law]], so the series can continue as before.

* In ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'''s fourth season, Sam was revealed to be in a sexual relationship with the demon Ruby. Even putting [[Shipping]] aside, the fanbase took a major issue with this -As Ruby was a demon with no corporeal body of her own, she had to [[Demonic Possession|possess]] another woman to use for her, uh, interactions with Sam. By having sex with her, Sam was either raping the host (who had not given consent) or engaging in necrophilia (if the host was a corpse). The writers "solved" this by revealing that Ruby's host was a comatose girl about to be taken off life support, whose body was still alive but spirit had moved on to the afterlife. Mileage varied as to whether or not this made the situation any less squicky.

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== Video Games ==

* [[Persona 2]] ''Eternal Punishment'' (English version) pretty much serves as a retroactive [[Author's Saving Throw]] for the badly translated first game by {{spoiler|compensating for the lousy translation of most of the names like how Takahisa Kandori became Guido Sardenia by breaking even and establishing his real name was Guido Kandori (since Guido is spoken in the first game cutscenes, this was unavoidable), and that his name in the first game was an alias. They also pretend Kei/Nate never had his last name changed from Nanjo to Trinity, among a few other changes to compensate for both continuity and to apparently apologize for doing such a miserable job.}}

* [[Persona 2]] ''Eternal Punishment'' (English version) pretty much serves as a retroactive Author's Saving Throw for the badly translated first game by {{spoiler|compensating for the lousy translation of most of the names like how Takahisa Kandori became Guido Sardenia by breaking even and establishing his real name was Guido Kandori (since Guido is spoken in the first game cutscenes, this was unavoidable), and that his name in the first game was an alias. They also pretend Kei/Nate never had his last name changed from Nanjo to Trinity, among a few other changes to compensate for both continuity and to apparently apologize for doing such a miserable job.}}

* ''[[Fallout 3]]'s'' ending caused some rather... negative reactions, in no small part thanks to its [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]. The DLC/Expansion pack ''Broken Steel'' changes the ending, allowing the game to remain playable after this. [[Word of God]] says the game's default endings (without the expansion) are [[Canon Discontinuity|non-canon]].

* After many players called out ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' for its extremely loose understanding of basic genetics (as relayed by the main antagonist, Liquid Snake), Hideo Kojima stepped up and established that Liquid himself has an extremely flimsy grasp on the subject and didn't actually know a word of what he was saying. It doesn't explain how a man with a supposed I.Q. of 180 and a fluency in seven languages could get such simple scientific facts wrong, or why Ocelot refers to Solid as the "inferior one".

** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'' introduced a Close-Quarters Combat (CQC) system that allows the player to subdue enemy soldiers using various martial art techniques. This combat system is explained in the game's plot as a fighting style that Naked Snake (the protagonist, who later becomes Big Boss) learned from his mentor The Boss. Solid Snake (the protagonist of the previous games and the cloned son of Big Boss) couldn't use this style in the previous ''MGS'' games, so when the CQC system was implemented in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'', they had to come up with a reason why Solid Snake never used it in previous games. {{spoiler|1=It turns out Solid Snake always knew CQC, but refused to use it because of his disdain for Big Boss, who taught him the style. After the events of Operation: Snake Eater were "declassified" (i.e. ''MGS3'' came out), many soldiers began developing their own variations of the CQC style, leaving Solid Snake with no choice but to use the skills he learned from Big Boss.}}

* ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Warrior Within'' was written [[Executive Meddling|with a mandate from marketing]] to turn the series away from the [[Arabian Nights]] feel and make it [[Darker and Edgier]], complete with emo [[Anti-Hero]] Prince and heavy metal music. The fans bashed the change mercilessly, and the writers answered rather innovatively by working the [[Dork Age]] into the plot of the third, making the ''Warrior Within'' Prince into a manifestation of the hero's irresponsibility and not the real thing. It also acknowledges the selfishness inherent in trying to fix the timeline in order to [[Set Right What Once Went Wrong]], and when the Dark Prince taunts him with this near the end, he finally realizes that he needs to stop trying to change the past and solve his problems in the present. This qualifies as some pretty damn good [[Character Development]], which is why it was so well received.

* [[Kingdom Hearts]] [[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days|358/2 Days]] pulls this to [[Retcon]] Axel and Roxas' previously ambiguous [[Ho Yay]] relationship into one of big brother/little ~~brother -- while~~ still leaving plenty of potential [[Ship Tease]] for those who choose to see it that way. Turns out that when Roxas was formed without memories, Axel basically took it upon himself to raise him.

* [[Kingdom Hearts]] [[Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days|358/2 Days]] pulls this to [[Retcon]] Axel and Roxas' previously ambiguous [[Ho Yay]] relationship into one of big brother/little brother—while still leaving plenty of potential [[Ship Tease]] for those who choose to see it that way. Turns out that when Roxas was formed without memories, Axel basically took it upon himself to raise him.

** Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts Re Coded]]'' both feature [[Bonus Boss|additional bosses]] that, gameplay-wise, turn out to be [[Expy|close enough]] to the ones previously exclusive to the ''Final Mix'' version of ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', and therefore [[No Export for You|confined to Japan]]. So, the "Unknown" [[It Was His Sled|(Xemnas)]] gets an expy through the ''new'' Unknown in ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'', thus covering KHIFM territory, while Terra's Lingering Will from KHIIFM+ gets his expy thanks to ''Vanitas''' Lingering Will, still in BBS. About Roxas, upgraded from a cutscene (KHII) to a full-fledged boss (KHIIFM+), the fact he was still a storyline boss instead of a bonus boss allowed him to be used as a [[Final Boss]] instead, in ''Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded''. You can basically see [[Tetsuya Nomura]] saying "sorry, western fans".

* ''[[The King of Fighters]]'' had this in the ''2002'' edition. After '''98'', the gameplay was changed as there would be four characters being selectable for the fight, with one (or more, in ''2001'') being a [[Assist Character|Striker]], a supportive character that would be called to perform a move in order to stop an opponent or open his guard for your attacks. This, of course, didn't work well, with several bugs and infinite combos as result. In ''2002'', the game went back to 3-on-3 fights with no strikers, like '''98'' and the titles before it.

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* In ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', Madison Conner's [[Face Heel Turn]] and subsequent [[Ax Crazy]] rampage was explained to have been because she suffers from bipolar disorder, which had been hinted at but never elaborated on. It didn't work too well.

* The creepypasta [[Happy Appy]], which was experiencing a massive drop in quality due to the [[Narm~~|Narminess~~]] of the later posts, decided to remove all posts that weren't by Dronian. It became better as a result.

* The creepypasta [[Happy Appy]], which was experiencing a massive drop in quality due to the [[Narm]]iness of the later posts, decided to remove all posts that weren't by Dronian. It became better as a result.

* The NChick team were getting a lot of flack over the "Nella abuse", which [[Fan Dumb]] took way too seriously and thought it was happening in real life. So Lindsay made a "Thanks For Your Feedback", detailing that [[The Nostalgia Chick]] had sinfully low self-esteem and was paying Nella to make her look better.

* ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'' during The Entity storyline has the writer Lewis Luvhuag acknowledged during the commentary of "Pokemon: The Electric Tale of Pickachu" {{spoiler|that he ended pulling one with why [[Glitch Character|Missingno]] was afraid of Lord Vyce, aware that with how he built it up as an unstoppable universe devouring Lovecraftian demon, used the plot that Vyce's attacks were able to hurt it, but, according to Missingno, at least, couldn't kill it, but if found getting rid off him to be enough of an inconvenience that it hid out in our dimension so Linkara would defeat Vyce. Note that even Lewis comments that Vyce not being able to kill it was it at least from Missingo's point of view, and [[A God I Am|Missingno is full of itself even for a god]].}}

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