Yo-Yo Plot Point: Difference between revisions
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Which could actually have worked, had the writer left it there. It might be a bit of a downer, thwarting the audience's expectations and putting a melancholy slant on things: having the characters enter into a love affair, only to have they realize that [[Better as Friends|while they're great friends, they don't work as lovers]], or having the earnest Ronin realize that he just isn't clever enough to keep pace with university work. However, it'd be an entirely valid plot development and would still contribute to the character's "[[Character Development|evolution]]."
So it's a pity that few writers opt to do that. Instead, they devolve their characters back into the way they were before the plot point was resolved. It's not quite a [[Reset Button]]
What's worse, however, is that they will repeat this process over and over again. Periodically. To the point that the fans don't even care any more, and would happily consent to having the participants executed just for a change of pace and so that they don't have to watch this train wreck of a plot any more.
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'''Important: This trope is NOT about plot points that get dragged out long past when they should have been resolved. This is about plot points that ARE resolved, and then un-resolved, repeatedly.'''
The [[Post Script Season]] is a close relative of this trope, but in those circumstances the dilemma faced by the writers is at least understandable... and it only really "breaks the plot" once rather than repeatedly. This trope is often the reason a [[Last-Minute Hookup]] will be employed. The writers know damn well that they don't really want to write an established romantic relationship, and so they end the story on a romantic high without having to deal with the practicalities of the situation. The [[Expansion Pack Past]] can become a
See also: [[Status Quo Is God]], [[Failure Is the Only Option]], [[Sequel Reset]], [[Heel Face Revolving Door]], [[Aesop Amnesia]], [[Once an Episode]].
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== Anime and Manga ==
* [[Naruto]]: Who the hell is {{spoiler|Tobi}} anyway?
* Ken Akamatsu, writer of ''[[Love Hina]]'' should really have known when to cut a long story short. Most readers figured out pretty quickly just who Keitaro's "promise girl" was, and the plot itself answered the question in the 10th of 14 volumes. So throwing in umpteen further "complications" to spin out the romantic tension ("Is she really the Promise Girl?!!") for its 14-volume run wasn't really effective, especially since he and Naru outright admit that they no longer care if she really is the girl in volume 12 and finally kiss. The same thing happened with Keitaro's [[Tokyo
▲* Ken Akamatsu, writer of ''[[Love Hina]]'' should really have known when to cut a long story short. Most readers figured out pretty quickly just who Keitaro's "promise girl" was, and the plot itself answered the question in the 10th of 14 volumes. So throwing in umpteen further "complications" to spin out the romantic tension ("Is she really the Promise Girl?!!") for its 14-volume run wasn't really effective, especially since he and Naru outright admit that they no longer care if she really is the girl in volume 12 and finally kiss. The same thing happened with Keitaro's [[Tokyo U]] career: he was accepted after the second year of the story, but in order to keep the protagonist's educational prospects as a source of tension, Akamatsu had a large bell fall on top of him, preventing him from taking up his place there, though it did result in him [[Took a Level In Badass|taking a level in badass]] in the meantime. Considering that Akamatsu is obviously a [[Rumiko Takahashi]] fan, we should be thankful that he ended the manga after 14 volumes instead of 45.
* Kira and Rei of ''[[Mars (manga)|Mars]]'' are supposed to be "rescued" by each other's love. However, pairing them up early in the story just won't provide the Wangst-fuel for fifteen volumes, so the comfort and stability (and [[Character Development]]) they create for each other is constantly tested via [[Expansion Pack Past]]. The result is that they seesaw between "well-adjusted individuals" and "pair of head cases" as each trauma comes to light, with the unaffected partner having to rescue the victim all over again. With Kira in particular, the pattern started veering away from tragic and towards ridiculous, and issue upon issue was heaped on her. By the end of the story, there doesn't seem to have been a torment that she hasn't suffered
* Poor Sora of ''[[Kaleido Star]]'' is a living yoyo: no matter how hard she works, no matter how spectacular a performance she turns in, at the end of each Kaleido Stage production she falls back to the bottom of the pecking order and has to work her way up all over again. It's only at the end of Season One that she's acknowledged as the true prima donna of the stage...whereupon the show got a sequel, and a [[Post Script Season]] saw her "star" status usurped yet again.
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* The [[Martian Manhunter]] is ridiculously [[Superpower Lottery|powerful]], his only vulnerability is fire, and unlike most superheroes with weaknesses, his origin doesn't contain a particularly good reason ''why'' he's vulnerable to fire. Those facts combine to ensure that every time a new writer get a hold of him, they come up with the "real" reason he's vulnerable to fire and (since they usually decide it was all in his head the whole time) usually have him overcome it for good. Again. Until next time.
* Professor X of ''[[X-Men]]'' fame has an autistic son - David Haller, a.k.a Legion - with tons of superpowers and multiple personalities, some of which are evil. He's too unstable to be a superhero, so when he turns up it's almost always in the position of "villain-who's-really-a-victim." But he's basically a good kid, so every time he goes berserk he has to have a mental breakdown first. And since he's a sympathetic character, his stories have to end with him "finally getting the help he needs." In other words, virtually every David Haller story is: Legion has a relapse/Legion goes on a rampage/Legion is subdued/Legion is cured. Wash, rinse, repeat.
* The [[Scarlet Witch]] has had a mental breakdown, wreaked havoc with her ill-defined, nigh-omnipotent powers, and then returned to her senses at least three times.
== Literature ==
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** The show seems to be averting it with House himself. Surprising many fans, after his stint in a psychiatric hospital House managed to go {{spoiler|the entirety of Season 6 without going back to Vicodin, even right up to the last moment of the season finale when he chooses Cuddy over pills}}. This comes after repeated failures in this area over the course of the series, and his repeated [[Off the Wagon]] moments are actually [[Reality Is Unrealistic|a pretty realistic depiction]] of drug addiction and relapse.
* ''[[Queer as Folk]]'': Brian and Justin's relationship is a bit like this, as they break up and get together again about once a season. Of course, being Brian and Justin, it's never quite resolved even when they ''are'' together.
* ''[[Star Trek]]'': Thanks to multiple writers and a poorly fleshed-out character background, [[The Spock|Spock's]] [[Can Not Tell a Lie|ability to lie]] and lack of emotions tended to bounce around from episode to episode, with some of them determing that his emotions were always on the verge of constantly boiling over and others treating him as an automaton with a physical inability to tell a fib. The writers attempted to resolve this long-running subplot in [[The Movie|the Motion Picture]] and its sequel, where it is fully established that Spock has embraced his human side just in time to make a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] at the end of the movie, cleaning wrapping up his [[Character Arc]]... And then they [[Back From the Dead|brought him back]] in the next film and it turns out [[Reset Button|he has forgotten]]
* Averted in ''[[Frasier]]'': after seven years of [[Will They or Won't They?]], Niles and Daphne finally got together in the season 7 finale. However, in the beginning of season 8 it looked like the writers were gonna use various plot elements (mainly Niles' ex-wife Maris) to stop them from actually being together. Thankfully, though, these issues were resolved in a handful of episodes, and the writers managed to integrate Niles' and Daphne's relationship into the series for its final four seasons.
* On ''[[Boy Meets World]]'', Cory and Topanga have ''three'' major breakup arcs after they first officially get together at the start of season three, and two of those arcs happen ''after'' their relationship was [[
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* Many video games fall into this trap, as sequels use the [[Capcom Sequel Stagnation|same characters and same plot]] [[Mission Pack Sequel|but with new maps.]] Most are protected by the [[Rule of Fun]] (see ''[[Super Mario Brothers]]''.) But when they aren't good enough the repetitive plot sticks out like a sore thumb.
* The ''[[Warcraft]]'' series (and especially ''[[World of Warcraft]]'') is slowly starting to suffer from a case of this when it comes to the relations of the Alliance and the Horde. They're at war? Not anymore. Oh wait, now they're fighting again... And here comes the next excuse for them to ally with each other!
** Another possibility is the Orcs' placement on the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: Ever since they pulled a huge [[Heel Face Turn]] in ''Warcraft III'', they've kind of fluctuated between being brutal barbarians fighting for a good cause and a race of [[Noble Savage
** The Forsaken are also playing hopscotch at the line between [[Tragic Monster
== Western Animation ==
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