History Main / AmbiguousSituation

* While nothing is confirmed, it's implied that the Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaVsGiganRex'' is actually an older version of Godzilla Jr. from the Heisei series. The short opens with Junior's lullaby from ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', the film is bookended with shots recreating Godzilla Jr.'s resurrection at the end of ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', the opening features narration from Megumi Odaka (who played Miki Saegusa, a major character in the Heisei films[[note]]though like with Godzilla being Junior, it's unclear the narrator's actually supposed to ''be'' Miki[[/note]]), said narration states it's been around a quarter of a century since Godzilla was last seen[[note]]''Godzilla Vs. Destoryoah'' was released in 1995 and took place in [[NextSundayAD '96]], while ''Gigan Rex'' was released in 2022[[/note]], Godzilla uses the Nuclear Pulse (an ability that saw frequent use in the Heisei series), and [[spoiler:he even enters a white-colored and non-fatal (for him) SuperMode similar to the Heisei Godzilla's "Burning" mode that killed that Godzilla.]]

* CartoonCreature: A non-human species that doesn’t seem to be any real-world creature and the said species doesn’t have a name and/or isn’t specified.

* AmbiguousEnding

* AmbiguouslyBi
* AmbiguouslyChristian
* AmbiguouslyEvil
* AmbiguouslyJewish
* AmbiguouslyGay

* ImpliedLoveInterest

* RiddleForTheAges

* SchrodingersButterfly
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness

* While nothing is confirmed, it's implied that the Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaVsGiganRex'' is actually an older version of Godzilla Jr. from the Heisei series. The short opens with Junior's lullaby from ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', the film is bookended with shots recreating Godzilla Jr.'s resurrection at the end of ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', the opening features narration from Megumi Odaka (who played Miki Saegusa, a major character in the Heisei films[[note]]though like with Godzilla being Junior, it's unclear the narrator's actually supposed to ''be'' Miki[[/note]]), said narration states it's been around a quarter of a century since Godzilla was last seen[[note]]''Godzilla Vs. Destoryoah'' was released in 1995 and took place in [[NextSundayAD '96]], while ''Gigan Rex'' was released in 2022[[/note]], Godzilla uses the Nuclear Pulse (an ability that saw frequent use in the Heisei series), and [[spoiler:he even enters a white-colored and non-fatal (for him) SuperMode similar to the Heisei Godzilla's "Burning" mode that killed that Godzilla.]]

* AmbiguouslyRelated: Certain characters look alike and tend to appear together, but it isn't clear if they're family or not.

* While nothing is confirmed, it's implied that the Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaVsGiganRex'' is actually an older version of Godzilla Jr. from the Heisei series. The short opens with Junior's lullaby from ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', the film is bookended with shots recreating Godzilla Jr.'s resurrection at the end of ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', the opening features narration from Megumi Odaka (who played Miki Saegusa, a major character in the Heisei films[[note]]though like with Godzilla being Junior, it's unclear the narrator's actually supposed to ''be'' Miki[[/note]]), said narration states it's been around a quarter of a century since Godzilla was last seen[[note]]''Godzilla Vs. Destoryoah'' was released in 1995 and took place in [[NextSundayAD '96]], while ''Gigan Rex'' was released in 2022[[[/note]], Godzilla uses the Nuclear Pulse (an ability that saw frequent use in the Heisei series), and [[spoiler:he even enters a white-colored and non-fatal (for him) SuperMode similar to the Heisei Godzilla's "Burning" mode that killed that Godzilla.]]

* ''Film/TheBatman2022'': The possibility that Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder was a hit and not just a chance encounter with a mugger comes up, withboth Salvatore Maroni and Carmine Falcone being presented as suspects with motivation. But neither are confirmed to have been involved and as Alfred notes, it could still have just been a random mugger who panicked. And as it's now been twenty years, the true culprit will probably never be found.

* While nothing is confirmed, it's implied that the Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaVsGiganRex'' is actually an older version of Godzilla Jr. from the Heisei series. The short opens with Junior's lullaby from ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', the film is bookended with shots recreating Godzilla Jr.'s resurrection at the end of ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', the opening features narration from Megumi Odaka (who played Miki Saegusa, a major character in the Heisei films[[note]]though like with Godzilla being Junior, it's unclear the narrator's actually supposed to ''be'' Miki[[/note]], said narration states it's been around a quarter of a century since Godzilla was last seen[[note]]''Godzilla Vs. Destoryoah'' was released in 1995 and took place in [[NextSundayAD '96]], while ''Gigan Rex'' was released in 2022[[[/note]], Godzilla uses the Nuclear Pulse (an ability that saw frequent use in the Heisei series), and [[spoiler:he even enters a white-colored and non-fatal (for him) SuperMode similar to the Heisei Godzilla's "Burning" mode that killed that Godzilla.]]

* While nothing is confirmed, it's implied that the Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaVsGiganRex'' is actually an older version of Godzilla Jr. from the Heisei series. The short opens with Junior's lullaby from ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', the film is bookended with shots recreating Godzilla Jr.'s resurrection at the end of ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', the opening features narration from Megumi Odaka (who played Miki Saegusa, a major character in the Heisei films, though like with Godzilla being Junior, it's unclear the narrator's actually supposed to ''be'' Miki), said narration states it's been around a quarter of a century since Godzilla was last seen[[note]]''Godzilla Vs. Destoryoah'' was released in 1995 and took place in [[NextSundayAD '96]], while ''Gigan Rex'' was released in 2022[[[/note]], Godzilla uses the Nuclear Pulse (an ability that saw frequent use in the Heisei series), and [[spoiler:he even enters a white-colored and non-fatal (for him) SuperMode similar to the Heisei Godzilla's "Burning" mode that killed that Godzilla.]]

* While nothing is confirmed, it's implied that the Godzilla in ''Film/GodzillaVsGiganRex'' is actually an older version of Godzilla Jr. from the Heisei series. The short opens with Junior's lullaby from ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII'', the film is bookended with shots recreation Godzilla Jr.'s resurrection at the end of ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', the opening features narration from Megumi Odaka (who played Miki Saegusa, a major character in the Heisei films, though like with Godzilla being Junior, it's unclear the narrator's actually supposed to ''be'' Miki), said narration states it's been around a quarter of a century since Godzilla was last seen, Godzilla uses the Nuclear Pulse (an ability that saw frequent use in the Heisei series), and [[spoiler:he even enters a white-colored and non-fatal (for him) SuperMode similar to the Heisei Godzilla's "Burning" mode that killed that Godzilla.]]

* AmbiguousGender
* AmbiguousGenderIdentity

* AmbiguouslyHuman
* AmbiguouslyRelated
* DidTheyOrDidntThey

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane
* OrWasItADream

* SantaAmbiguity

* UncertainDoom
* UnreliableNarrator
* VagueAge

[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1652880890013964700 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.]]]]]]

Supertrope to AmbiguousEnding, AmbiguouslyGay (and its SisterTrope AmbiguouslyBi), AmbiguouslyEvil, AmbiguouslyHuman, AmbiguouslyRelated, and AmbiguouslyJewish. May be a RiddleForTheAges involving ShrugOfGod. {{Superdickery}} involves ambiguity on whether a good character has committed evil actions when context is omitted. If the ambiguity concerns whether a character lived or died, you're probably looking at UncertainDoom or one of its subtropes. Compare MaybeMagicMaybeMundane, AlternateCharacterInterpretation, and SchrodingersButterfly for other kinds of uncertainty. Contrast EpilepticTrees, which are conclusions that viewers draw when they don't limit themselves to information objectively present within the work. Also see CrypticConversation, ImpliedTrope, SantaAmbiguity, ThroughTheEyesOfMadness. If romance or sex is involved, that's ImpliedLoveInterest or DidTheyOrDidntThey. If the ambiguity is whether or not something was a dream, then the trope is OrWasItADream, and if it's to do with how old a character is, it's VagueAge. If it has to do with gender, that's AmbiguousGender or AmbiguousGenderIdentity. See also WhatHappenedToTheMouse and GainaxEnding.

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!!Examples:

* ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'': In "Tintin in Tibet", Captain Haddock stammers while denying his fear of the yeti. It's unknown if he's stammering because he is indeed scared and is lying about it, or if he's just cold.

* In ''Film/ETTheExtraterrestrial'', ET becomes very sickly towards the end and perks up right before returning home. Elliott, who was psychically linked to ET, speculates that ET is dying and would die if he didn't return home and that, because of the link, he is also dying, but it's never revealed if his hypothesis is correct. Also, it's unknown if the symptoms are because the air is bad for ET's species, he's getting the wrong food, he's not getting ''enough'' food, he has an actual disease, or if his species needs to be physically near each other to survive.

* In ''Film/MaryPoppins'', while there was definitely ''some'' trickery involved during the scene with the bank, exactly ''how much'' trickery is a little up in the air. She definitely tricked Mr. Banks into taking the kids to the bank, but did she also deliberately induce the run by making the kids want to feed the birds, [[BatmanGambit knowing Mr. Banks's bosses would take Michael's money, the run would happen, and they'd fire Mr. Banks]] and he'd learn the value of family? Or was she just hoping that he'd learn the value of family by taking the kids on an excursion, and taught the kids about feeding the birds to teach them empathy, and then one thing led to another?

* ''Film/SinginInTheRain'': Both Don and Cosmo have claimed things about their backstories that are unclear as to their truth. Don says that his parents told him to live by the phrase "Dignity-- always dignity", but he has told a few lies about his past to make him seem more dignified, so that could have just been another lie. And Cosmo says that his father told him to be a comical actor, while his grandfather told him to tell hokey jokes, but that was simply part of a song, so he may have just made those up.

* In the ''WebAnimation/PlanetDolan'' video parodying "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", Dolan falls asleep in his rowboat and gets lost at sea. He wakes up to find a tiger in the boat and the two have surreal adventures together before "rowing to the stars". Some people think Dolan died of dehydration after hallucinating the tiger, some think he was hallucinating but is still alive, while others believe it really happened. Of course, if Dolan ''did'' die, he [[DeathIsCheap didn't stay dead]].

* In ''Webcomic/PebbleAndWren'', one strip involves Pebble comparing Wren's doughnuts to puffs from a gross creature called a "roxell". It's never revealed if roxells do exist (which wouldn't be out of place, considering monsters exist) or if Pebble was just trying to [[PutOffTheirFood put Wren off her food]] so he could steal the doughnuts, because he does steal them.

** At the end of the episode "The Chips Are Down", D.W. and Binky make friends and Binky admits to his friends that he likes ballet (which he'd been keeping a secret). Buster, who's a bit of a CloudCuckooLander and likes sci-fi, suggests that aliens brought them together, and at the end, aliens can be seen, saying, "Don't blame us; we just like ballet." Do they mean, "Yes, we brought them together, but don't blame us, we just did it because we like ballet", or are they saying, "Just because we like ballet doesn't mean we're responsible"?

** In "Prove It", D.W. wants to go to a science museum and tells other children false facts (like the "H" in "H[[subscript:2]]O" standing for "hose") and eventually gets taken to the museum to inform her. At the end, she says she planned it all along and was deliberately lying to the kids so they'd take her to the museum, but we don't know if that's true or not.

** In "Arthur's New Puppy", it's unclear whether Perky's grumpiness is because she's pregnant or not. On the one hand, she seems friendlier in a later episode and is said to be unusually grumpy, but on the other hand, [[MailmanVsDog the mailman had nicknamed her "Jaws"]]. Perhaps she's always grumpy but her pregnancy made her even worse.
** In "Vomitrocious", did Francine throw up because [[SickEpisode she had a bug]] or because [[StressVomit she felt guilty for teasing George]]?

* ''WesternAnimation/LittlePrincess'':
** In "I Want to Be a Pirate", the Princess plays pranks on the adults while pretending to be a pirate, annoying them. She then gets put off being a pirate when the Maid has her "swab the deck" (clean the hallway), the Chef serves her cold fish stew, and the Gardener has her dig for "treasure" that is actually potatoes. They may have been deliberately putting her off being a pirate, but on the other hand, why would the Gardener be doing that, since he wasn't pranked? It's possible that her being put off being a pirate was just a side effect of their [[IncrediblyLameFun nontraditional ideas of fun]].
** In "I Want a Surprise", it's a bit unclear whether the Princess pretended to be asleep after waking up in the night and then sneaked out when everyone had gone to bed, or if sneaking out was her plan all along and she didn't fall asleep until afterwards.
** In "I Don't Want to Kiss Great-Aunty", the Princess [[PlayingSick pretends to be sick]] by [[PolkaDotDisease painting spots on her face]], so that Great-Aunty won't come over. The King and Queen call the doctor, who uncovers the ruse, but it's unclear if the King and Queen were ever fooled or just called the doctor to humour the Princess.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'':
** In "Future Tense", the Loud parents make their kids do extra activities to be "well-rounded" like the neighbours. However, when they allow them to take a break and do their usual, the kids say no and claim they're no longer interested. But were they really no longer interested, or [[CopycatMockery were they mocking the neighbours by mimicking them]]? After all, they instantly go back to normal once they no longer have to do the extra activities, and they were behaving ''very'' similarly to the neighbours (Lori, for instance, claimed that ice cream would make her sluggish, which is what Jancey Yates said).
** In "Out of the Picture", Liam claims that there was a boy named Marty Malach who wasn't in the yearbook, so he's now forgotten and lives behind his barn. It's unclear if this is true, or if it's just a sort of GhostStory.
** In "The Green House", Lincoln makes his sisters do more environmentally-friendly things, which starts out well but then escalates into making them wear potato sacks and not use electricity. Then, when Lincoln is powering the house by riding an exercise bike, the sisters go back to their usual habits. Are they spiting Lincoln, or is it just force of habit?
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyGymPartnersAMonkey'', Adam is home from school and at first he seems sick, but then he instantly perks up, so maybe he was faking. Then again, at the end, he meets up with Jake, who is absent the next day, so maybe Adam really was sick and Jake caught it, or maybe Jake is also faking or got sick a different way or was even absent for a different reason.

** In "Dragonshy", Angel Bunny is eating a carrot, then Fluttershy tells him not to eat it too fast or he'll get a tummy ache. He then stops eating it altogether, then seconds later he starts trying to alert her to some smoke. Did he stop eating because he's grumpy about Fluttershy telling him what to do (which would be in-character since he's quite defiant and grumpy), or was he nervous about getting a tummy ache, or was the refusal to keep eating part of his trying to alert her to the smoke?
** In "Bridle Gossip", Zecora the zebra is pawing the ground. It may have been a nervous tic, but she was most likely searching for something. However, is it water (which is what real-life zebras are searching for when they do that) or is it potion ingredients (which would be in-character for Zecora to search for)?
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Numberjacks}}'': In "Into the Teens", the Numbertaker causes trouble for some people, who then lie down. It's unclear if they're [[ChewingTheScenery being dramatic]] or if the Numbertaker is forcing them to lie down.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'':
** In "Slumber Party", we never find out if Tommy is hallucinating or dreaming.
** In one episode, "Angelica's Worst Nightmare", Charlotte believes she's pregnant at the start only to end the episode by stating she isn't. It's never clarified what occurred. Did she jump to conclusions, get a false reading, miscarry, have an abortion, or what?

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "Hurricane Neddy", Ned Flanders yells at a bunch of citizens, then calls Homer the worst human he's met but not yelling. Homer claims he "got off pretty easily". Either Homer [[ComicallyMissingThePoint doesn't realise that Ned was being so rude because he's stupid]] or he did realise but was just glad he wasn't yelled at.
** Another thing about Ned Flanders is why he talks the way he does (saying nonsense words like "diddly" and "okely-dokely"). In "Hurricane Neddy", his therapist, Dr. Foster, thinks it was because of him suppressing his anger towards his parents because both the suppression and the nonsense talk started around the same time. Then again, he still talks that way after getting treatment for the suppression, he's been heard talking that way when he clearly isn't angry (in fact, [[VerbalTicked sometimes not talking that way is a sign he's angry]]), and perhaps most perplexing of all, some of his relatives, even those in other countries, [[SharedFamilyQuirks also talk that way]].
** In the "Skinner and the Superintendent" segment from "22 Short Films About Springfield", [[FawltyTowersPlot Skinner burns his roast, claims the smoke is steam from the "steamed clams", then buys some hamburgers and pretends he cooked them]], covering his tracks by claiming that in Albany, they call hamburgers "steamed ''hams''". Later, when the still burning roast consumes his kitchen in flames, he claims that it's [[BlatantLies actually the Aurora Borealis]], but Superintendent Chalmers isn't allowed to see it. At the end of the skit, Chalmers tells Skinner that he is "an odd fellow", but admittedly "steam[s] a good ham". It is unclear whether this is a sign he actually believes the lie, he is simply humouring Skinner, or he is subtly mocking Skinner. [[https://youtu.be/hUczj9ntz1I The original draft for the segment]] does have a slightly different ending exchange suggesting Chalmers knew Skinner was lying.
** In "Bart Sells His Soul", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Bart sells his soul to Milhouse]] in an attempt to prove that souls don't actually exist. Afterwards, things start becoming a bit odd for soulless Bart, such as not laughing at "Itchy & Scratchy" cartoons, not being able to open automatic doors, his pets hissing wildly at him, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and not being able to breathe on glass]]. But it's never firmly established if he really did lose his soul.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'':
** In "Have You Seen This Snail?", Gary runs away and is found by an old Granny fish who raises him as her own, and showers him with a large amount of food. Then Gary opens a closet which spills out empty snail shells, giving him TheReveal he's being overfed until he fattens up and dies; it's not made clear whether Granny is a murderous assasin who fattens up her snails with food until they die, or she simply overfeeds them without warning.
** In the episode "Toy Store of Doom", Spongebob and Patrick act scared of a shadow. It turns out to be of a little toy robot, but they still act scared of the robot. The episode never makes it clear whether they are playing pretend or [[IdiotBall actually think it's dangerous]].
** In "Squidward in Clarinetland", Squidward goes through a very surreal area made of clarinets, then appears in his locker. Did it really happen? Was he hallucinating? Or did he just fall asleep in his locker and dream the whole thing?
** In "Idiot Box", [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick play pretend in a box but Squidward hears noises related to their games. The neighbours deny making noises and say that it's all in their heads, and when Squidward joins in, he doesn't hear any noises. He then thinks he does, but [[BaitAndSwitch it's only the garbage truck]]. So, there are three possibilities-- one is that the box has some strange power, two is that [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick really were using a tape recorder but lied about it, and three is that Squidward was hallucinating for some inexplicable reason.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has several of these.

* In the WesternAnimation/SouthPark episode “Towlie” near the end Kenny dies when he slips out of Kyle’s hand and falls into a vat of molten lava, it’s not made entirely clear if Kyle lost his grip or intentionally let go of him, seeing as he was far more concerned about the Gamesphere getting broken, completely ignored his death, and was often depicted as a mean, selfish jerk in the earlier seasons, it wouldn’t have been entirely out of character for him to do that.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': At the end, did Elinor transform back to a human because the sunlight had to shine on the tapestry before it'd work ("mend the bond" literally), or did she transform because Merida finally acknowledged that she was the cause of her mother's predicament and tearfully told her she loved her ("mend the bond" metaphorically?) Or were both needed?

** ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'': Bill Foster and Hank Pym give conflicting accounts of what Elihas Starr did that got Hank to expel him from S.H.I.E.L.D., with the former saying Pym got him fired ''and'' had his reputation destroyed, simply out of wounded pride and the latter claiming Starr was a traitor. It's ultimately never made clear what he did or how justified Hank's response was.