Foreshadowing/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Something offhandedly mentioned or seen early on is important later.

  • Straight: During his first interaction with Alice, Bob casually mentions his grandmother has cancer. Later on, Bob's grandmother dies, so he has to go to her funeral and can't help Alice.
  • Exaggerated: Everything Bob says in his first conversation with Alice adds up to a number of reasons for why he can't help.
  • Justified: Bob's a nice guy and would want to be at his grandmother's funeral. Wouldn't you?
  • Subverted: Bob says his grandmother has cancer, but this is never addressed again.
  • Double Subverted: ...until she dies near the end and he is unable to help Alice with an even more important task.
  • Inverted:
    • For whatever reason, Bob says his grandmother doesn't have cancer. Later on, he can't help Alice because his grandmother is okay.
    • Or Bob's grandmother has cancer and dies. Alice visits her funeral instead and can't help Bob.
    • Or Bob's grandmother has cancer, but it's Bob that dies instead.
  • Parodied: Bob specifically says he won't be able to help Alice in the future because his grandmother has cancer and will die. This comes true.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob's grandmother seems to make a recovery, but dies at the last second. Bob leaves Alice to go to the funeral, but bursts into the final battle at the last second anyway.
  • Invoked: ???
  • Enforced: Bob's actor quits before the final battle is filmed, so they take something he said before and use it as an explanation.
  • Lampshaded: "I knew this was gonna happen..."
  • Discussed: "Your grandmother has cancer?" "Yep." "Won't that hinder us in the future?" "...Nah."
  • Conversed: ???
  • Defied: Even though Bob's grandmother dies, he refuses to go to her funeral and helps Alice instead.

Back to Foreshadowing. Like Bob said, it would happen.