Found the Killer, Lost the Murderer: Difference between revisions

A subtrope of [[Yank the DogsDog's Chain]], as it allows them to tease the audience with resolution ("This week, we find the identity of Leonard's father's murderer!") while at the same time preserving the tension of the unresolved mystery ("...but not why!").

* This happens ''three times'' in ''[[Castle]]''. The first time, Castle and Beckett find the man who murdered Beckett's mother and find that he's a hired killer, but Beckett has to shoot him in order to get Castle out of a hostage situation. The second time, Beckett manages to capture another hired killer, a sniper, who was hired by the same person(s) who ordered her mother's murder. This sniper is still alive by the end of the episode, but indicates with a stone-faced glare that he'll never inform on his clients. The third time involves a key person involved(really, really complicated) with her mother's murder- {{spoiler|'''''Police Captain Montgomery!'''''}} She gets to talk to him uninterrupted, and he knows who the mastermind behind the conspiracy is, but refuses to say the name anyway, saying that [[Do We Have This One?|the mastermind is so rich and powerful]] that giving her his name would get her killed as certainly as if he'd shot her himself. He dies minutes later. {{spoiler|And Beckett is shot during his funeral, making it a [[Senseless Sacrifice]].}}

* The Hydra assassin in ''[[Captain America: theThe First Avenger (Film)|Captain America the First Avenger]]'' does this as well after his submarine getaway doesn't exactly turn out as planned.