Author's Saving Throw: Difference between revisions

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.

 

 

This is a subtrope of [[Pandering to the Base]].

** Even though it seemed pretty dickish of the characters to ''immediately'' stop giving a damn about the one who'd turned into a Kymellian when it was revealed that he was a clone who was made to ''think'' he was the real Alex - he wasn't a bad guy, and had worked alongside them since before the first time Alex's human hair had started falling out.

* A curious example of an Author's Saving Throw that was held in reserve but ''wasn't'' used: Marv Wolfman, writer of ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', wrote in the intro to a collected edition that he left an "out" for bringing Barry Allen back from the dead if the fans objected too strenuously to his being replaced. He eventually revealed that the out was {{spoiler|for someone to pull Barry through one of the "time windows" he was experiencing as he ran to his death}}.

* In ''[[The Sandman]]'' by [[Neil Gaiman]], something called the "soft places" were introduced where time itself grew thin. Gaiman put that in there as an "escape hatch" in case something happened to his characters that he couldn't fix any other way. It was never used for that purpose, however.

* The Toyman, A B-list ''[[Superman]]'' villain, was traditionally just a funny man in a striped suit who built dangerous giant toys to rob banks and give the Man of Steel a hard time, but in the [[Dark Age]] he was re-imagined as a bald child murderer in a black cloak. This didn't go over too well. Fast-forward to 2008, when it's revealed that the bald Toyman was a defective robot decoy created by the ''real'' Toyman, who is now once again a funny man in a striped suit, albeit a dangerously insane one, who will do anything (up to and including murder) to ''protect'' children.

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

*** Doyle claimed that he refused to do that a few times, but publishers persisted and just increased the offers. At last, fed up, he told them he would do it for a price he regarded as utterly ludicrous, figuring that would shut them up. Much to his surprise, [[Springtime for Hitler|the offer was accepted]], whereupon he felt he had to hold up his end of the deal.

* The ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' novel ''Scourge'' had the [[Big Bad]], Karona, gather five powerful beings representing the colors of magic, namely Multani, Teferi, Fiers, Llowalyn, and Yawgmoth, "[[Retcon|revealing]]" that Yawgmoth (the [[Big Bad]] of the Weatherlight Saga), who was dramatically killed, [[Back From the Dead|was hanging on in some form]]. A few years later, the ''Time Spiral'' novel had Teferi deny his meeting with Karona in ''Scourge'' and suggest that it was a dream of hers. The next book, ''Planar Chaos'', had several characters state that they'd personally confirmed that Yawgmoth was dead.

** This is actually a double saving throw, it is implied that Karona might have brought them from different timelines (as in, Yawmoth from when he was still alive and Teferi sometime after denying meeting Karona), the fans can go by whichever theory they like the most.

 

* [[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.}}

* 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 Days Over 2|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.

* ''[[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.

** Also, there's one involving the storyline. See, most fans were unhappy (euphemism) about [[Creator's Pet|Ash Crimson]] taking the role of protagonist previously covered by Kyo and K', just as much as they were unhappy about him {{spoiler|[[Brought Down to Normal|stealing]] both Chizuru and Iori's Sacred Treasures powers}}. Come ''XIII'', Ash {{spoiler|enacts a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to stop the [[Big Bad]] of that [[Story Arc]]}}. Mind you, he doesn't {{spoiler|die... [[Ret-Gone|he is erased from existence.]] [[Cosmic Retcon|Retroactively!]] So he never really existed in the first place!}}