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{{trope}}
{{quote|''When there is a plan, [[A Simple Plan|things cannot go according to it]]. If they do, the plan becomes a [[Spoiler]].''
|''[[How Not to Write A Novel]]''}}
''When the characters come up with a plan to save the day, its chances of success are inversely proportional to how much the audience knows about it beforehand.''
As corollaries, you can ensure [[A Simple Plan]]'s success by making it an [[Unspoken Plan]], and guarantee failure by telling the audience the details of the [[Zany Scheme]]. Expect to hear the phrase "I've got a plan" spoken by one of the characters with no further explanation [["I Know What We Can Do!" Cut|before the cut]] to the next scene. Explaining the plan after it's been carried out is optional.
Admittedly, the reason for revealing only failed plans to the audience is obvious. Where's the drama in something going wrong if no one knows what was ''supposed'' to happen? Conversely, where's the drama in seeing exactly what you were just told would happen?
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Another possibility is that the plan includes a deception, and your allies aren't in on it so that [[Enforced Method Acting|their reactions to the apparent situation will be convincing]].
This trope still applies if we get to see an [[
This often crops up interestingly in [[Tabletop RPG
See also [[Obstacle Exposition]], [[Gambit Roulette]], [["I Know What We Can Do!" Cut]], [[Despite the Plan]].▼
▲See also [[Obstacle Exposition]], [[Gambit Roulette]], [[I Know What We Can Do Cut]], [[Despite the Plan]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
* In ''[[My Hero Academia]]'', Deku explained his plan to his friends on how to rescue a classmate. While we hear him explain the plan, we also see it in action at the same time. In effect, from the audience's perspective, Deku is narrating what is going on. There is a hiccup that threatened to derail the end of his plan and that doesn't get narrated by him since that wasn't part of his plan. Here is the scene: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH0XHC2Ddmw].
* This is how ''[[
▲== [[Anime]] ==
▲* This is how ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jojo's Bizarre Adventure]]'' operates. Heroes come across a bad guy with some crazy, never-before-seen power. The heroes look like they're in a tight spot. Some craziness happens which leaves the villain either dead or begging for mercy. Hero explains their brilliant plan at the end of the chapter arc. And it's all glorious.
* ''[[Lupin III]]'' regularly makes use of this trope. No matter how clever the bad guys are, Lupin always one-ups them at the last minute with a new gadget or a brilliant ruse - the audience knows he always has something up his sleeve, but we're almost never told ''what''.
** This is sort of subverted at the beginning of the TV Special ''Seven Days Rhapsody''. The special starts with, as with every special, a successful heist (this time, taking the money off the hands of some rich men during a horse race), but it turns out to be a flashforward as part of Lupin explaining the plan to Jigen one week before the heist will take place. {{spoiler|At the end of the special, Lupin eventually gets to the tracks, but the horse race was cancelled due to weather conditions.}}
* Episode 18 of ''[[The Wallflower]]'' has one of these plans as to how the tenants are going to save Sunako from a mob.
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]!'' not only does this straight, but makes it extremely obvious where many duels go where the face down cards of hero and villain alike often go unknown until they are used much like a spectator would see. Almost every time this trope is employed the flow is broken where the character would not only completely explain his plan in a drawn out monologue, but often visualize what ''could'' have happened. This even occasionally goes for ''face-up'' cards, when their abilities go unmentioned until the point where they become relevant, even though in the real card game it's important to know all the abilities of your opponent's cards.
* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'': Every episode up till the 8th features unspoken (or even [[Indy Ploy|unplanned]]) plans, and then they spend half an episode preparing for a well-described plan. Tropers, now is the time to get nervous. The plan actually does work, but {{spoiler|Kamina dies executing it}}.
* Averted in ''[[
* Used in varying degrees throughout ''[[Code Geass]]'', most notably with the Zero Requiem. Although Lelouch and {{spoiler|Suzaku}} refer to it in nearly every scene from R2 22 onwards, its true nature isn't revealed -or even hinted at- until the climax of the final episode, as it's being executed. Naturally, it works perfectly.
* Referenced in the ''[[
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' pulls this off perfectly, during the festival arc. Chao's plan to reveal magic to the world is not explained until after Negi and company {{spoiler|are forced a week into the future, where it has already succeeded. Upon learning HOW the plan goes, they proceed to go back in time using cassiopiea. This plan almost fails because it is explained, mostly, before hand, however several parts of the plan are left vague until the end... all of which succeed perfectly. Upon returning to the 3rd day of the festival, Negi and Company attempt to avert the plan. They technically FAIL, which is either a subversion because they knew the plan, or upholding the trope because it wasn't Chao who explained it to them, but Negi defeats Chao in combat, so she changes her wish.}} I would just like to ask why nobody brought that up before now.
** In Chapters 240-248, this trope is [[Zig
** Played straight in the [[Exaggerated Trope|most over the top way possible]] later on. There's an entire ''chapter'' dedicated to explaining exactly how the plan is supposed to proceed, complete with [[Exposition Diagram|diagrams]] explaining every little detail. The following chapter sees the entire plan totally ruined by a series of [[Wham! Episode|Wham Episodes]]. Good thing that most of the exposition was still relevant anyway.
** Also played straight in that Negi has a plan to {{spoiler|save the Magical World from its seemingly inevitable destruction}} which he has apparently explained to ''no one'', even the people he should be convincing he can do it.
* Generally played mostly straight in ''[[Kaiji]]'', where we usually only find out the least important half of the plan in advance, such as when {{spoiler|we see Kaiji use balance theory to win a game with scissors but don't know that he expects the opponent to discover balance theory and thus walk into a second trap, or when we see him deliberately mark the cards against Tonegawa but don't know that he wants Tonegawa to realize it's a trap. Played ''painfully'' straight in the final game; Kaiji explains his grand scheme to overthrow the chairman in meticulous detail four episodes before the end of the series. No prizes for guessing that it blows up in his face.}}
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* Chapter 41 of ''[[Pluto]]'' has Professor Roosevelt about to go into his plan on a surefire way to kill Gesicht, but the chapter ends before he can do so. {{spoiler|The plan works and Gesicht dies.}}
* Played straight in both variations in ''[[One Piece]]''. During the civil war of Arabasta, Zoro comes up with a plan to tell each other apart, just in case the one guy that can copy people's bodies tries to interfere. They all wrap bandages around their left arm. When the time comes, the body-copier also has the bandages on his left arm. The kicker? Beneath the bandages was an X on their arms, which we were not told.
* ''[[Saki (
* ''[[Spice and Wolf]]'' ("Wolf and the Biggest Secret Scheme") features a plan by Horo to repay Lawrence's debt, and cuts away just before she explains it.
* Inverted and then played straight in ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]'', with Yuu's plan on how to defeat team Xros Heart. It's only over the course of the battle that we learn the plan was to counter the tried and true strategy of Taiki leading the front line, Nene providing reinforcements, and Kiriha striking out on his own to flank the enemy. A pity Kiriha had his own unspoken and unmentioned plan consisting of {{spoiler|swapping their digimon}}, completely outmaneuvering him and shooting for the [[Instant Win Condition|ultimate goal]] of defeating the opposing general.
* Subverted in ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', where Kotetsu's awesome, unspoken plan to {{spoiler|[[Clear My Name|Clear his name]] and get his fellow heroes to remember him}} turns out to be not very awesome at all. Conversely, the plan that ''does'' work is the one he explains onscreen to Barnaby, {{spoiler|just with one critical detail left out to fool Barnaby's telepathic opponent: that sonic grenade Kotetsu gave him was actually a ''flash'' grenade}}.
* ''[[
* Zigzagged in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', where Aeolia Schernberg's unspoken [[Xanatos Gambit]] doesn't necessarily succeed or fail, just that it's hijacked and changed halfway through by the [[Big Bad]]. Even after the plan is put back on track by the heroes and eventually does succeed, the details of what the original plan was supposed to be are never revealed.
* Although this is usually in full effect with [[The Smart Guy|Kurama's]] plans from ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', one notable subversion has him attempt a suicide plan to defeat his opponent, which he completely thinks to himself. {{spoiler|It goes completely according to plan, except for Kurama dying}}.
* Used in episode 5 of ''[[Sword Oratoria]]'' to turn the tide during the first battle with the season's recurring antagonist. The entire description provided is, "Remember that combo we used in the past? We're using it!" It works.
== Ballads ==
* ''[[
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Subversion: In ''''[[
* Odds are you'll find out [[Batman]] had X gadget after he's used it. Not before.
* In the Marvel ''Fear Itself'' crossover, we have yet to be told what Loki's plan for defeating the Serpent is (outside of the fact that he seems to be ''the only person'' with a plan at all and that it's a brains-over-brawn plan). Since we have no clue, it is therefore likely to succeed, according to this trope. And the fact that Loki is a reincarnated [[Magnificent Bastard]].
** Likewise, Odin's "wipe out earth to stop it" plan is not going to happen now that they've mentioned it (and because it would end the comic).
** [[Iron Man]] also has some sort of a plan here, and was last seen going to explain it to Odin in an effort to get him to not destroy Earth. we have yet{{when}} to see the outcome of that, but there ''is'' supposedly a plan there.
== [[Fan Fiction]] ==▼
* In ''[[Curious George Goes to Paris (Fanfic)|Curious George Goes to Paris]]'', The Man in the Yellow Hat discusses a plan to save the British soldiers with Corporal McFluffin, which the reader never hears about. The plan goes well until Nazi tanks show up.▼
* In ''[[Fallout Equestria (Fanfic)|Fallout Equestria]]'', the plan for defeating the Goddess. Notable in that this trope applies in-story as well; after coming up with the plan, Littlepip tells each member of the party their part in the plan and ONLY their part, and then has her own memories removed. The reason is that the Goddess is telepathic, and Littlepip herself will be facing the Goddess directly. Letting your opponent read your mind and figure out your plan would kind of put a damper on it.▼
▲* In ''[[
▲* In ''[[
* Actively averted with the caper to tap into the Army base satellite dish in the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' pseudo-crossover ''[[Xendra]]''. We get all the planning and debugging of the plan, the practice of the physical aspects, and then its execution -- and nothing goes wrong.
== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', V had an {{spoiler|[[Bulletproof Vest|iron vest]] underneath his clothing near the end, although he was fatally wounded.}}
* ''[[
** ''[[
* Averted in the ''[[Seven Samurai]]''. The heroes' plans are constantly detailed, and never totally fail.
* The diner scene in ''[[
** The implication, at least in the book, is that the Bad Guys were ready for the original plan, and he was lucky he didn't come out of the bathroom firing.
** A more orthodox case of the unspoken plan is Michael's scheme for {{spoiler|wiping out all of the Corleone Family's enemies at the end of the movie. He never spoke of it and actually continually gave away details of planning to do the exact opposite to cover himself. Needless to say, the plan works perfectly.}}
* A classic plan that's destined for disaster occurs, complete with visualization in ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]''. If the heroes could really "wait for all this to blow over," it wouldn't be much of a horror movie...
* The Joker's train of [[Gambit Roulette]] in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' succeed so well precisely because the only time he reveals a hint of what he's about to do is when he's either completely lying through his teeth, lying about the bit that's going to make you walk right into it, or telling you the bit that's going to make you walk right into it. 99% of the time Batman, the police, and the audience have ''no freaking clue'' what to expect next.
** Ironically, the only plan that can arguably be ''called'' a [[Xanatos Gambit]] (the two boats with bombs) is also the only one to fail.
* In ''[[The Sting]]'' we are led to believe that the spoken plan is doomed to fail because we are not told that {{spoiler|the man we think is an FBI agent is actually part of the scam.}} By the same token, we are not told two other important things: {{spoiler|Salino's first name is "Loretta", and Gondorff hired a bodyguard for Hooker.}}
* Averted in ''[[A Few Good Men]]'', where the night before Jessup is put on the stand the lawyers have an onscreen meeting about their plan to make him confess, and the next day it's executed perfectly. Roger Ebert cited this as a flaw in the film, saying it's no fun if nothing goes wrong after you've already heard what's going to happen.
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* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in ''[[Push]]'' the [[Psychic Powers|Watchers]] can only predict your future by decisions, i.e., they can only know what you're going to do next if you make a decision to do something and they can see how that interacts with other people's decisions. So to get the better of the bad guys the hero {{spoiler|writes letters to each of his team with what to do next, which they open at specific times. He also writes one to himself before having his memory erased}}.
* ''[[Race to Witch Mountain]]'' Jack Bruno relays his plan to Sarah via telepathy, so that the government agents won't know how they plan to get away.
* Carefully laid out plans are made for the overthrowing of Emperor Commodus in ''[[Gladiator (
* ''[[The Matrix Reloaded]]'' spends good five minutes describing the plan and showing it being executed in the intercuts. As soon as all details are established, things get wrong.
* ''[[Valkyrie (
* In ''[[Inglourious Basterds]]'' Shoshanna's plan to burn down her theater while it was full of Nazis goes off perfectly, but she doesn't live to see it. However, it's hinted that she wasn't planning to survive the fire anyway.
** ''Basterds'' has a number of plans that don't go according to plan as a result of being discussed.
* Pulled at the end of ''[[Two Fast Two Furious]]''. All we know about the plan Brian and Roman are hatching is that 1)they need two more cars, 2)said cars need to be outfitted with something made from nitrous tanks, and 3)they need a nearby warehouse. When the plan is pulled off, everything works perfectly. However, [[Big Bad|Carter Verone]] has an [[Unspoken Plan]] of his own that also works.
* The new ''[[Sherlock Holmes (
** It works in the film because the enjoyment comes not from wondering if the plan is going to work, but being able to enjoy the beatdown in slow motion with snarky detailing of the moves and then see it in all its lightning fast brutal glory.
** Played straight in the sequel, where both of his major fights go awry seconds after they start {{spoiler|(especially the one with Moriarty where they both predict Holmes' defeat).}}
* In ''[[Daybreakers]]'', when Edward and Audrey are captured, {{spoiler|cured Edward is pushing Bromley to feed on him}} because {{spoiler|Frankie was cured after biting cured Elvis}}. We aren't told this until quite a bit after the scene.
* Used in ''[[All the
* Played both ways in ''[[Boondock Saints]]'' 2; In an early scene, the brothers discuss their plan for assaulting some gangsters, complete with voice-over cinematics. In the next scene, the police mention that "whatever happened, it was a botched plan", with voice-over cinematics showing exactly how it was botched. Much later in the movie, they are about to discuss the plan when the camera focus leaves the group; Cut to the police discussing the precision and deftness with which the attack was carried out, as a voice-over to them succeeding.
** This happens in the first ''[[Boondock Saints]]'' film as well; several times we see the brothers about to embark on some plan or other, then the movie cuts to the scene of the crime and we learn how it was done as Agent Smecker narrates how it must have happened. Usually, he gets it right.
* ''[[Monty Python and
* ''[[The Producers]]'' follows this trope when Bialystock tells Bloom all about his plan, moments after Bloom tells him "[[Springtime for Hitler|Under certain circumstances, you could make more money with a flop than with a hit...]]"
{{quote|
** Unfortunately, their play somehow [[Springtime for Hitler|becomes a hit]], and Step Five never happens. {{spoiler|For Max Bialystock, at least.}}
* All over the place in the ''[[Mission: Impossible (
** In the first movie, the first plan is played straight (detailed/fails), the second is averted (detailed/succeeds).
** Played with in the second movie, as the detailed break-in would have succeeded {{spoiler|had Ethan not let the [[Big Bad]] get the [[MacGuffin]] to save his [[Love Interest]].}}
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* Played straight in ''[[A Bridge Too Far]]''. Immediately after the outline of Operation Market Garden is given to the Allied generals, the first sign that it will fail is given when the Germans send an SS Panzer Corps to one of the target cities to refit by sheer coincidence.
* Averted awesomely in ''[[True Lies]]'' when Harry Tasker, handcuffed and stoned in truth serum, explains to his captors in great detail exactly how he is going to kill every one of them and escape. They laugh it off until he reveals that he has already escaped the handcuffs. He does exactly as he said, but it's way better to see it than to hear it.
* Nodded to in ''[[Watchmen (film)|Watchmen]]''. The quasi-villainous antagonist tells the heroes about his morally questionable plan to unite the world by faking an attack by a superhuman force. When the heroes state their determination to stop him, he pauses as if puzzled and says, "Why would I be telling you this if I hadn't already done it?" He had already set events irreversibly in motion.
* In ''[[The
== [[Literature]] ==
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* Happens in every damn book in [[Jim Butcher]]'s ''[[The Dresden Files]]''.
** Happens five times in every book in Jim Butcher's ''[[Codex Alera]]'' series. Most of the time it's due to scene cuts or chapter breaks, but there's at least one instance where it happens in-universe as well. Faced with an enemy with some degree of mind-reading powers, Tavi uses a fiendishly complex series of nested written orders, including multiple orders for each contingency imaginable. If people don't know the plan they're following, the mind-reader can't find it out.
* [[Older Than Print]]: Many of the plans and stratagems in Luo Guanzhong's ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]''.
* Played with in ''[[Dune]]''. [[Big Bad|Baron Vladimir Harkonnen]] reveals all the details of his plan to the reader to annihilate the Atreides and their forces, and it goes only partially as planned: {{spoiler|Duke Leto is captured and his army destroyed, but Leto's woman and heir escape due to a co-conspirator [[Redemption Equals Death|defecting]]. Later, Paul's plan for revenge is outlined in the middle of the book and goes exactly as planned at the end.}}
** The sequels contain the two of the greatest examples anywhere: Paul and Leto II use their prescience to plan out millennia, without revealing the plan to anyone.
** {{spoiler|Outright subverted in ''Dune Messiah''. The Tleilaxu, Qizarate, Fremen naysayers, Bene Gesserit, and Spacing Guild hatch (a) plan(s) to remove the Atreides from power that seems to revolve around a clone of dead Atreides retainer Duncan Idaho. It turns out that the plan was much [[Gambit Roulette|more complicated]] and the clone only played a minor role, but for all the plotting it only ends up making Paul blind and by the end of the book all the conspirators are dead save for a [[High Heel Face Turn]]. What's strange is that even after the plan fails it still remains largely unspoken, especially strange since each group of the conspiracy had different agendas, meaning that each group, save for the Tleilaxu who put it in motion, was an [[Unwitting Pawn]].}}
** {{spoiler|Played straight in ''Children of Dune'', as the book covers in excruciating detail the plans of everyone conspiring against the children, but Leto II's plan remains a secret until the very end and completely trumps everyone else's.}}
* In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[
* In James White's early ''[[Sector General]]'' novels, Dr. Conway did this frequently at the end of a story, when he'd finally correctly diagnosed what was wrong with his latest patient-from-an-unknown species. Somewhat [[Justified Trope]] in that the situation was by its nature [[No Time to Explain|time-critical]] by that point.
** ''Hospital Station'', "The Trouble with Emily": In this case, Dr. Conway figures out what Dr. Arratepec is trying to achieve with the titular character but will not reveal the information to the Chief Psychologist (and thus to the reader). [[Justified Trope]] in that he does not reveal his deduction to the rest of his colleagues because he may have reached his conclusion on the basis of privileged information, since the [[Psychic Powers|telepathic]] Arratepec had touched his mind. He also does not reveal his conclusions to Arratepec, whose people have been keeping quiet about the purpose of the Emily experiment for fear of public ridicule if it doesn't work out.
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* Edge of Victory: Conquest adverts this as Anikin's unspoken plan to escape Yavin 4 with Master Ikirt( size of a small dog) in his X-wing fails when other jedi appretinces stay behind to rescue him.
* Both played straight and brutally averted in ''[[The Salvation War]]''. The battle plans of both the human armies and the forces of Hell are laid out in exquisite detail. The deciding factor, in this case, is who applies the most [[More Dakka|dakka]]- and Hell doesn't have guns.
* In [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Lucky Starr
* [[Sherlock Holmes]] regularly arranged sting operations to catch culprits red-handed, without letting Watson or the police in on what he was up to. Lampshaded by Holmes himself in ''The Valley Of Fear'', where he admits that it's mostly his own taste for drama that makes him keep his associates in the dark about such plans.
* Double-subverted in ''[[The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo]]''. Lisbeth comes up with a plan to get revenge on her abusive guardian, which we don't get to hear about. When she arrives, the narration informs us that, "The plan began to go wrong almost immediately." However, it turns out later that {{spoiler|if anything, the plan worked ''better'' in the long term than expected; she wanted blackmail material, and she sure as hell got it.}}
* In ''[[Daemon|Freedom]]'', we don't get to learn what instructions Loki/Gragg gave Oberstleutenant Boerner in order to {{spoiler|save him after the Major mutilates him}} or {{spoiler|catch the Major using his biometrics}}, but both work out. Similarly, how the Major {{spoiler|gets into the darknet to hijack Pete's quest thread}} never gets revealed and succeeds. In contrast, the other villains go into some detail about their plans, which get foiled.
* ''[[
* The ''[[Left Behind]]'' series subverts this, demonstrating aptly that [[Tropes Are Not Bad]]: The authors, who believe their Biblical [[Prophecies Are Always Right]] in the real world, wrote a novel where the characters have access to these prophecies. Since the series is a massive [[Author Tract]], those prophecies then all come true without a single [[Prophecy Twist]], making the story far more boring than a story of [[The End of the World
** In a later book, the [[Anti Christ]] tries to be [[Genre Savvy]] by taking those Bible prophecies and using
* Frequent in the ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[Vampire High]]''. Cody and Justin talk in extensive detail about their plan to find jendi students who can survive in water to save the [[It Makes Sense in Context|save the water polo team]], and the entire thing works perfectly. Played straight in the sequel, when Cody and Turk plan out the opening night of the gadji/jendi art museum and, after things start to go well, {{spoiler|someone sets the building's basement on fire.}}
* This seems to be how plans in ''[[
* [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Every episode of ''[[Mission: Impossible (TV series)||Mission Impossible]]'' employs this. But in an unusual way: They show the ''last'' part of the team's discussion of the plan, so we know what equipment they're going to use, but we don't know what the equipment is ''for'' until we see it in action.
** Even so, ''every'' one of the IMF's plans requires [[Indy Ploy|some quick improvisation]] halfway through the episode, due to some unexpected factor.
* Seen in ''[[
* Used a lot in ''[[
* The Season Three finale of ''[[
** This one is particularly noteworthy, since the planning processes are ''superimposed'' over one another. Buffy will be just about to go into the details of her plan, and it then switches to Wilkins giving instructions to his vampires, then back to Buffy making vague allusions, and so on.
** And in Season 5, where they talked in vague terms about what they might have in the way of weapons, but never go into detail about all the parts of their plan. Meanwhile, the [[Big Bad]] has been getting pretty specific. And so...
** And again in Season 7. You always know what the [[Big Bad]] is going to try to do, but it's not until almost the very end, when the action is well under way, that you find out Buffy is having Willow use the {{spoiler|scythe to activate all the potential Slayers}} into full ones.
*** In Season 7 we also have a literal unspoken plan, made via telepathy.
* In the ''[[
* Almost every episode of ''[[Hustle]]'' features a moment when it looks like the plan has failed, but it turns out that either the ''real'' plan was something else all along, or there was some brilliant improvisation that we weren't shown at the time.
** The best one is where Danny and Mickey go head-to-head to see whose methods work better. While Danny works a series of [[Short Con
** A notable subversion happens in "Picasso Finger Painting," when the team goes to steal a painting and they begin describing their plan in what looks like a straight set-up of this trope. The plan does end up needing to be aborted, as expected; the subversion happens when later in the episode they end up {{spoiler|in the exact same situation, with the exact same mark}} and use the exact same plan with great success.
* Used in the seventh-season ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "Badda-bing Badda-bang", in which the plan is detailed to the audience throughout the fourth act, not only with explanations but being ''acted out on-screen''; of course, this is only so that the audience knows what's ''supposed'' to be going on in the ''fifth'' act, when everything goes wrong.
** Similarly, the ''[[Voyager]]'' episode "Dark Frontier" involves a raid on a Borg cube, which we see the characters rehearse on the holodeck first. They actually fail, but not by much, and something very different goes wrong when they try it for real.
** On the other hand, the second-season ''[[Voyager]]'' episode "Resolutions" averts this trope. Tuvok goes into painstaking, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|on-screen]] detail about his plan to beat the Vidiians and get the medicine ''Voyager'' needs. It then goes off without the slightest hitch.
*** Not quite. The Vidiians do try to double cross them, and they require the covert assistance of a friendly Vidiian for the plan to succeed, plus a means of eliminating pursuit that wasn't mentioned beforehand.
* An example of the telepathic enemy example can be found in the original ''[[Star Trek]]'' episode "Return to Tomorrow". A good alien makes Kirk think that Spock's mind has been destroyed and McCoy think that a hypo contains a deadly poison so a telepathic [[Big Bad]] will read their minds and be tricked into leaving Spock's body when in reality
* ''[[
* Spoofed in the ''[[
* Both ends are in play in the ''[[Greek]]'' episode "The Great Cappie". The [[A Simple Plan|Simple Plan]], detailing a secret Prohibition drinking party under a rule-following ''[[The Great Gatsby|Great Gatsby]]'' theme party, is described in great detail...and is derailed when the dean shows up as an unexpected guest. Said party is saved by Plan B, which isn't known to the audience until it's put into motion.
* Averted somewhat in ''[[
{{quote|
'''Jayne''': Yeah, well, what you plan and what takes place ain't ever exactly been similar. }}
** The aversion in "Ariel" is very much the exception that proves the rule. The plan was described in minute detail and worked (almost) exactly as planned, with all possible external threats perfectly anticipated. The suspense came from ''internal'' threats (like {{spoiler|Jayne betraying the Tams}}), and suspense aside, it was funny or at least fun to see how the ragtag crew of
*** And it's worth noting that it was [[The Smart Guy|Simon]] who planned the heist in "Ariel", rather than Mal, who is usually the one making the plans.
** "Trash" [[Double Subversion|double-subverts]] the trope: the detailed plan for {{spoiler|removal of the Laser}} goes off almost without a hitch (and is ultimately successful) and the {{spoiler|unspoken backup plan in case of treachery is pulled off successfully.}}
** In "The Message", the regular crew have an unspoken plan to {{spoiler|pretend to surrender and spring an ambush}} which would have worked flawlessly, except they didn't tell the guest star who {{spoiler|thought they really were going to give him up to the cops and takes a hostage. It doesn't end well for him.}} The [[Fridge Logic]] gets pointed out by the cast in the DVD commentary (i.e. "Why didn't we just tell him the plan?")
*** The cast carries this same [[Idiot Ball]] briefly in "Bushwhacked
* In the episode entitled "Norman" of the vampire detective series ''[[Blood Ties]]'', the heroes Vicki and Henry are forced to give a magic dagger to the demonic villain Norman when he kidnaps Vicki's secretary and holds her hostage. Norman needed the dagger to complete a spell to release the uber
* In ''[[Prison Break]]'' Season One Michael's first attempt (mid season) at the breakout fails. Everything goes as planned until it turns out a corroded pipe has been replaced making it impossible for them to break it and escape.
* The Ori actually pull one of these on the good guys in the episode "Beachhead" of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''. Because the Ori Prior refuses to tell them the plan, they end up playing right into the Ori's hands.
* "The Return" in ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[Torchwood
* Nearly every episode of ''[[Leverage]]'' involves this trope. Almost always their stated "Plan A" fails or was a deliberate bluff. When everything works out, a flashback shows the intermediate scenes that were not previously revealed to the audience.
* In the first episode of Season 2 of ''[[Babylon
** Sheridan does it again later on, when he orders his staff to do several strange things, such as sending a White Star to destroy some completely normal asteroids, and asking Ivanova to report on the news that that absolutely nothing happened in a specific area of space. In fact, his plan absolutely hinges on him not telling anyone what it is!
*
** And then, of course, {{spoiler|Cain and Adama both decide to call off each other's assassinations at the last moment, with both of them realizing exactly what almost happened. And then she gets killed by a third party.}}.
* ''[[The Rockford Files]]'': This trope is used every time
* Parodied on ''[[The Young Ones]]'', when Mike proclaims he has a plan, gets into a tight huddle with the other lads, and the ''psssh psssh psssh'' sound of muffled conversation is heard. When the huddle breaks up and he asks if they all know what to do, Neil replies: "Yeah, we all go 'psssh psssh psssh'."
* Averted in the Live Action version of ''[[
* The ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''
* Often employed by Sam and Dean on ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]''. Pretty much any hunt that is explained beyond what has to be done to kill the [[Monster of the Week]] is going to go awry. Perhaps best exemplified by the episode "Mommy Dearest", where the heroes are shown discussing both a Plan A and a Plan B. Both are easily foiled by the episode's villain. Dean then kills her with a previously unmentioned but obviously thought out beforehand Plan C.
* Invoked and lampshaded, [[Deconstructor Fleet|naturally]], on ''[[Community]]''. [[Meta Guy|Abed]] announces he has a plan, calls a huddle, and then stands there moving his lips soundlessly. After a [[Beat]], Jeff points out that in the real world, you have to actually ''tell'' people the plan. Abed reluctantly agrees... [[Double Subversion|and there's a cut away before we hear him describe it]].
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', when the guys plan to neutralize a 15-year-old prodigy by getting him to a party with a bunch of teenage girls. Once the party starts, they spend several minutes coming to the realization that the whole thing actually has no chance of working, and are totally flummoxed when they realize it worked ''exactly'' as planned.
▲== [[Theater]] ==
▲* [[Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] examples:
** In ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', Friar Lawrence's plan involving the {{spoiler|faked death of Juliet}} is described to the audience. So naturally, it ends horribly.
** One of the main differences between Shakespeare's tragedies and his comedies is that the tragedies are more likely to play this trope straight, whereas the comedies are more likely to avert it. For example, the second half of ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' centers on {{spoiler|another false death gambit, also hatched and explained in detail by a friar, but in this case the gambit actually succeeds}}.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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** There is a straight example of this trope, though, in ''Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves''. In the final mission against Pirate Captain LaFwee, Bentley's plan appears to fail due to LaFwee's counter-planning, but it turns out to be much more elaborate than the plan described to the player.
** Honestly, this trope just doesn't happen very often in computer games. How would the player carry out an elaborate mission that they hadn't been informed of?
*** However, it shows up in ''[[
* This does, however, happen ''all the freakin' time'' in the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' games. Often his assistant or even Phoenix himself will mention that they've finally figured out the case, give some vague clue as to what conclusion they've reached, yet it's still up to the player to figure it out. Largely justified, since combining evidence to solve cases is basically the entirety of the gameplay, so having the whole thing spelled out for you at the last minute would kind of defeat the purpose of the whole thing.
* Played straight in ''[[
* Tohsaka refuses to elaborate on her plan to defeat Caster in [[Fate/stay
* Used [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|superbly]] by Eggman in ''[[Sonic Adventure Series|Sonic Adventure 2]]''. Eggman hints that he has some sort of plan made, and proceeds to go through his last level. When he arrives he almost killing Sonic, exposing the Fake Chaos Emerald and obtaining the real one. On Sonic's side of things, he states his [[Evil Plan]] out loud, where it proceeds to blow up in his face spectacularly. This scene is practically scrapped in [[Sonic X]].
** Averted earlier in the game. About midway through the dark story, Eggman explains to Shadow and Rouge his plan to steal the Chaos Emeralds from the military and destroy their command base at Prison Islans. The plan hits a few snags due to Rouge slipping up and the arrival of Sonic and Tails, but ultimately succeeds, gets the villains three more chaos emeralds, and effectively cripples GUN's ability to interfere with them further.
* Subverted in the ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' franchise, the main characters often undergo a series of investigations including [[Exact Eavesdropping|eavesdropping]], pick pocketing important items, and [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|interrogating people]] close to the target. Then they announce a plan they've used those details to come up with in broad strokes, allowing the player to determine the actual plan of attack. Although some targets spring surprises that simply can't be avoided and force the character into an [[Indy Ploy]].
* Subverted in ''[[Call of Duty
{{quote|
** {{spoiler|This turns out to be [[Double Subverted]] when Reznov and Mason break into a garage and reveal the ''eighth'' step of their plan: Freedom.}}
** Mostly played straight in ''[[Modern Warfare]] 2'' - Soap never goes into detail what his "Plan B" is in the mission "Cliffhanger", and as such it works as intended. Of course, the player probably realized what exactly it entailed by virtue of [[Stuff Blowing Up|placing C4 onto something very flammable as part of the set-up for it.]]
* In the ''[[Sword of the Stars]]'' novelization, the Tarka commander uses an unspoken plan to win against a race of telepaths: She gives her Human and Hiver allies a straight-forward
* Mostly averted in ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona 5]]'' when Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, and Joker decide to open a door in Madarame's museum by opening a door in the real world, making sure that Madarame takes notice so that it will open in the other world as well. It works well, but they also end up providing evidence that Madarame is corrupt to his student Yusuke, who had previously refused to believe that Madarame wasn't a corrupt artist.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' features a long and involved plan to capture Deling. One part of the plan goes ''better than expected'' (the heat sensors the guards were supposed to use didn't work)... and the plan still fails because {{spoiler|Deling was swapped with a body double ahead of time.}} Then came the planned assassination of Edea, explained once again in great detail, which (despite almost failing for umpteen other reasons) almost makes it through, only to fail at the last minute because {{spoiler|Edea blocks the bullet Irvine fires, and in the direct attack, she defeats Squall.}} But then, later in the game, a much more convoluted plan averts the trope ({{spoiler|Odine's plan to have Ellone trick Ultimecia into a partial time compression actually works and helps the heroes reach and defeat Ultimecia.}})
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[Terror Island]]'' subverts this trope with the first time {{spoiler|Demon-Jame possesses Jame}}. First Folio describes the plan clearly to Stephen and Sid, and the plan goes off without a hitch.
* Averted in ''[[The Wotch]]'': They [http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2008-04-25 had an Unspoken Plan], but [http://www.thewotch.com/?epDate=2008-04-29 Miranda had to] [[Tempting Fate|Tempt Fate]]...
* Parodied in [https://web.archive.org/web/20071112173613/http://www.dragon-tails.com/comics/archive.php?date=030706 this strip] of ''Dragon Tails''.
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in ''[[Order of the Stick]]'':
{{quote|
'''Elan:''' Why didn't you tell me about it, though?
'''Lien:''' Because we wanted it to work! Seriously, how many times do I have to go over the, [[Good Is Not Dumb|"Good, not dumb," thing?]] }}
** [[Genre Savvy]] Elan believes in this as a [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0836.html force of nature]:
{{quote|
'''Roy''': What? That's not true at all!
'''Elan''': Sure it is! If you talk about them and then they happen exactly that way, there's no tension! }}
* Lampshaded in [http://get-medieval.livejournal.com/297093.html this] strip of ''[[Get Medieval]]''.
* ''[[8-
{{quote|
* Lampshaded and subverted in strip #915 of ''[[
* Used in ''[[
* Played straight and played with in ''[[Antihero for Hire]]''. He tells Wrench he has a plan, almost explains it to the enemy, [[Genre Savvy|but stops when he realizes the folly of doing so]], then actually does explain it after implementing it.
{{quote|
* Inverted in ''[[Penny and Aggie]]'' with Aggie's big plan to take down Karen. She doesn't tell the plan in panel (and in fact the last panel before the scene cut is a frazzled friend insisting she "[[Lampshade Hanging|tell us already!]]") {{spoiler|Then it turns out that the real reason the author was hiding the plan was because the audience would say "that'll never work!" Which it doesn't. The plan after they regroup is much better.}}
** Later played straight when Sara teams up with Rich (and blackmails Martin) to take charge of the "drama" on her reality show, rather than becoming its victim.
* Prominent in ''[[Bob and George]]'', and referenced in [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/011024c this strip's commentary].
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20161220035027/http://twoevilscientists.smackjeeves.com/comics/379445/double-trouble-pt-39/ this strip] of ''[[Two Evil Scientists]]'', after the titular scientists propose an [[Enemy Mine]]:
{{quote|
'''Wily:''' Get us out of here and we'll let you know.
'''Mega Man:''' Why, you don't want to tell us now because [[Lampshade Hanging|if you say it on panel, it won't work as planned?]]
'''Robotnik:''' No, because if we tell you now, {{spoiler|Doppleganger}} will overhear it and won't ''let'' it go as planned. }}
** Also note [https://web.archive.org/web/20170601085246/http://twoevilscientists.smackjeeves.com/comics/60329/more-than-just-a-crush-pt-1/ these] [https://web.archive.org/web/20170601085251/http://twoevilscientists.smackjeeves.com/comics/60330/more-than-just-a-crush-pt-2/ two] strips and the commentary on the latter.
* Played straight and inverted in at the end of Act 5 of ''[[
** Rose's plan was {{spoiler|to fly Derse's moon and the Tumor to the Green Sun using her dreamself, using the Tumor to destroy it. Instead, both she and Dave died and transferred to their
** Jade's plan was {{spoiler|to escape through the fourth wall at the last moment, to ensure that the Scratch goes off without a hitch. Not only does this succeed, but she ascends to God Tier due to an unforeseen attack and manages to take their planets through the Fourth Wall too.}}
** WQ's plan was {{spoiler|to use the transportalizer in WV's station to escape to the troll's session, then blow up the stations once they arrived so that nobody could follow their trail. It would have worked, if only Jack hadn't been hiding in the frog temple the entire time, and was released a mere ten seconds after the White King arrived...}}
* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' had ... well, [http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/010629 see for yourself]. Yup. We didn't even ''see'' how the plan failed.
* In ''[[Impure Blood]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20130609075128/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter001/ib003.html Caspian is reviewing the plan, but we only see a few details before Elnor shuts him down because she knows already.]
* Lampshaded and spoofed in ''[[Real Life Comics]]'':
{{quote|
'''Tony:''' Hmmm... That's actually a very good point...
''[An irrelevant amount of time later...]''
'''Greg:''' Holy crap... Can you believe how crazy things got back there?
'''Tony:''' That was truly a series of events I will never forget. Just... '''Wow.''' }}
== [[Web Original]] ==
* Played with by way of [[No Fourth Wall]] in ''[[
** Also subverted with his revenge plan - we are told nothing, save that it will be both vicious and final. {{spoiler|It... almost works.}}
* ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' example: In ''Looking at a Thing in a Bag'', we don't hear [[The Unintelligible|The Cheat's]] plan to get some drinks, and it goes perfectly. [[Mind Screw|It still doesn't make any sense at all though.]]
* In ''[[Unforgotten Realms]]'' Schmoopy at one point refuses to tell his allies his plan for this very reason.
* Subverted once more in ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'': All Caboose says during the team huddle with Sarge is "whisperwhisperwhisper". He just wanted to be the guy with the plan for once.
* In the ''[[Potter Puppet Pals]]'' episode "Trouble at Hogwarts", Voldemort is invading the school but Dumbledore, Harry, and Hermione are all stumped on how to respond. It's Ron who runs in and says "I have a plan!" and then the scene transitions. Turns out the solution is to [[Just Shoot Him]]
* "Ayla and the Networks" of the ''[[Whateley Universe]]''. The Masterminds lay out a careful, detailed plan, which only ''appears'' to work perfectly {{spoiler|while leading them right into the jaws of a trap.}} The Spy Kidz lay out a detailed plan to catch the Masterminds, and it goes humiliatingly wrong. The Lit Chicks lay out a plan to catch She-Beast in the middle of ''her'' nefarious plan, and it goes seriously wrong. The Three Little Witches lay out as much of a plan as they're
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Any episode of ''[[Scooby
** Subverted in [[The Movie]], along with most other ''[[Scooby
*** Similarly, in ''[[Scooby
* In "Brain Drain" on ''[[Legion of Super
* Subverted in an episode of ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'', where part two of the plan turns out to be...
{{quote|
* Used straight in ''[[Jem]]'''s first episode, "The Beginning". After summarizing the gifts from her late father, Jerrica states, "I know how to stop Eric Raymond." We don't get the
* One of several reasons {{spoiler|the invasion plan}} in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' was doomed from the start. The heroes spend almost a {{spoiler|whole season talking}} over it, culminating in an ''on-screen'' briefing. Unfortunately, the bad guys {{spoiler|knew about the invasion and had several ''off-screen'' meetings, preparing a trap for the protagonists.}}
* Playfully averted in the second season of the animated series ''[[
* Pay close attention whenever ''[[
** Sounds like the [[Law of Conservation of Detail]] - if Ben mentions which alien he ''intends'' to become, rather than just letting us see which one he becomes, it must be because his intention is relevant - which means that his intention and what actually happened are different.
* [[Double Subverted]] in the ''Fairly Odd Baby'' [[Made for TV Movie]] of ''[[The Fairly
* [[Double Subverted]] in a grand fashion in an episode of ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]''. We're given a step-by-step breakdown of the team's plan for infiltrating an assembly of villains complete with accompanying imagined footage of them enacting the plan. Numbah 4 expresses his doubts about the plan... [[Gilligan Cut|and then says how it worked perfectly.]] The double subversion comes when Numbah 1, who was missing during the plan, was actually captured by said assembly, forcing the team to rush in to save him.
* [[Harmless Villain|Drakken]], Duff Killigan and Monkey Fist were elaborating plans to defeat ''[[Kim Possible]]'' using the Time Monkey Idol during "[[The Movie|
** And Drakken's [[
**Electronique’s plan (corrupt the Go Team and make them turn evil) works well, but she ends up turning Shego into a hero again by accident. She did not know that Shego had decided to turn to the dark side…which in a way meant they were on the same side now.
* Subverted in ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' where Mojo Jojo whispers a plan to defeat an alien invader. Although it initially works, its eventually failure leads to him having a break down that fuels an unstoppable beatdown of rage against the enemy
* Danny announces such a plan in a ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' episode. Though Danny didn't suspect [[The Jailer|Walker]] to use the Fenton Thermos against him, he didn't suspect Danny's plan, so it all works out in the end.
* Subverted in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' the first time the Autobots fought Starscream: After a short [[The Power of Friendship]] speech, Sari quips in by saying "Okay, here's my plan...". Cue the next scene, where Sari is running after the Autobots, asking them to hear her plan.
* Played with in the ''[[South Park]]'' episode "The Succubus". Kenny tells the other boys his plan to get rid of the succubus in detail on screen, but it's [[The Unintelligible|Kenny]], so the audience doesn't understand a word he says.
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* Averted in ''[[The Land Before Time]]'', where Little Foot explains in detail how they're going to kill Sharptooth and things work out more or less as advertised.
* Parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "The Joy of Sect":
{{quote|
[Burns laughs, and the screen fades to black. After a few seconds, it fades back in the same room]
'''Smithers:''' Uh... Sir? You have to tell me what your plan is or... or nothing will happen. }}
* In ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]] 3'', there's the entire plan Woody makes to have the toys escape from Sunnyside. The only detail we get to hear is that they will [[Air Vent Passageway|use the garbage chutes to escape]], and of course, everything works perfectly up until that stage of the escape.
** Woody's rescue of Buzz Lightyear (and cause Sid to become scared of his toys) in the first ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' wasn't elaborated upon until the plan was executed. It went off without a hitch.
* Subverted in ''[[
{{quote|
(''Finn slides up the ice wall and the beast shatters smashing down the door'')
'''NEPTR''': That was a great plan.
'''Finn''': Nah, that wasn't my plan. We got lucky. }}
* Subverted in ''[[Chaotic]]''. Kaor's plan to steal Maxxor's new battle gear is one of the first things the audience learns. It goes off without a hitch.
* Subverted in ''[[Futurama]]''.
{{quote|
'''Professor Farnsworth''': '''What?'''
'''Leela''': *rolls eye* I ''said'', *says actual plan out loud*
'''Professor Farnsworth''': *[[Beat]]* '''What?''' }}
* Played with in ''[[Storm Hawks]]''. One episode has a character narrate a plan beforehand over what looks to be an [[Imagine Spot]] of the plan actually playing out. The narration continues even when everything starts going wrong, and the spot is shown to really be a flash-forward.
* Every contraption Klunk devises on ''[[Dastardly and Muttley
* Averted in ''[[The Owl House]]'' episode "Eda's Requium". Eda goes over a plan with fellow insurgents. After she is done going over the plan, what is shown is the insurgents talking about how tired (or not tired) they are and very moderately celebrating their success (very modest as in 'woo hoo we did it' instead of a party).
{{reflist}}
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