History Main / LetsSplitUpGang

It's commonly seen as a {{Horror Trope|s}}, and a sign of severe GenreBlindness at that. It's named after Fred's catchphrase from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', which shows about how seriously works tend to take this trope. The obvious problem is that if everyone is out there alone (whether they want to be [[FineYouCanJustWaitHereAlone or not]]), they don't have anyone to help out when the scary creature eventually gets them -- which tended to happen all the time to Scooby Doo. In a straighter horror story, this allows the party to [[DwindlingParty get picked off one by one]]. In fact, this trope tends to be [[DeadUnicornTrope defied quite a bit more often than played straight]], leading to its {{opposite|Tropes}}, NeverSplitTheParty. GenreSavvy characters will generally split up into groups of at least two.

It's commonly seen as a {{Horror Trope|s}}, and a sign of severe GenreBlindness at that. It's named after Fred's catchphrase from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', which shows about how seriously works tend to take this trope. The obvious problem is that if everyone is out there alone (whether they want to be [[FineYouCanJustWaitHereAlone or not]]), they don't have anyone to help out when the scary creature eventually gets them -- which tended to happen all the time to Scooby Doo. In a straighter horror story, this allows the party to [[DwindlingParty get picked off one by one]]. In fact, this trope tends to be [[DeadUnicornTrope defied quite a bit more often than played straight]], leading to its {{opposite|Tropes}}, NeverSplitTheParty.

* In ''Film/TheThing1982'' and its [[Film/TheThing2011 prequel]], this is even more of a bad idea than usual, given that [[TheAssimilator the alien can take over and copy humans]]. In the original book they make a point of not splitting into groups less than three and are able to stop the alien that way, but here they constantly wander off in pairs or by themselves. And when one person reappears, so do the old suspicions.

* In the ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}''' "Staurnz Barz" video, Russell suggests splitting up to look around the HauntedHouse, which they do.

* Early on in ''VideoGame/{{Insanity}}'', the group splits up to explore the Murai mansion; it's justified here because as far they know, the house is abandoned and they're not in danger. Later, when they get locked in and [[spoiler:Ryouji]] is attacked, [[spoiler:Keisuke]] and [[spoiler:Kenta]] set out in their own to find an exit while leaving [[spoiler:Yuuki and the girls]] to look after [[spoiler:Ryouji]].

* In ''Film/TheThing1982'' and its [[Film/TheThing2011 prequel]], this is even more of a bad idea than usual, given that [[TheAssimilator the alien can take over and copy humans]]. Even when the protagonists have finally worked out who's an alien and who isn't, events serve to split them up again, so when that person reappears, so do the old suspicions.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'', [[TropeNamer obviously]]. It's Fred Jones's catchphrase. Fred says it in every episode when they end up splitting up. Which almost always ends in Daphne getting kidnapped, Velma losing her glasses, and Shaggy and Scooby getting chased by the monster (usually [[ScoobyDoobyDoors through a hallway with lots of doors]]). And yet... [[StatusQuoIsGod they never learn]]. Considering they always end up finding the guilty party (and never get hurt), they may figure splitting the party works for them.
** And of course every Scooby-Doo imitator does the same: ''WesternAnimation/JosieAndThePussycats, WesternAnimation/JabberJaw, WesternAnimation/SpeedBuggy'', etc.
** ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' liked to parody this by having Fred suggest it even when it made absolutely no sense. For example:
--->'''Fred:''' ...We'll be safer if we stick together, right?\\
'''Everyone:''' Right!\\
'''Fred:''' ...So let's split up, gang!\\
'''Everyone:''' HUH???
** There is an episode of ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'' where Shaggy once says it. Fred looks stunned, saying [[HeyThatsMyLine "He said the thing I always say"]]. And another episode has Fred deciding to "mix things up"; he goes with Shaggy and Scooby goes with the girls. One desultory conversation and several awkward silences later, Fred and Shaggy agree that from now on, they'll stick to the regular version. And then there's the episode where [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Fred decides everyone should stay together]], [[spoiler:though it turns out to just be a simulation]].
** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheCyberChase'' parodied this, with Shaggy and Scooby walking off as soon as Fred suggests splitting up; when he says he didn't say who'd go with who, Shaggy counters with "Like, do we ever do it any other way?"
** In the series finale of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', [[spoiler:the Scooby Gang prepares to open a final gate and confront the evil entity that has corrupted their predecessors, taken the lives of their friends and turned Crystal Cove into a place of horror for centuries. They're not certain who among them should unlock the door, as even that act involves serious risk, but in the end they decide that they'll do it as a group.]]
--->''No, we all go together.\\
No splitting up... never again.''
** Shaggy complains about this in ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooProject''.
--->''"Let's split up!" Like they're always saying that! Well I, for one, have just about had it with splitting up! And I always get paired up with Velma! Why are Fred and Daphne always heading off together, anyway?''
** ''WesternAnimation/StraightOuttaNowhereScoobyDooMeetsCourageTheCowardlyDog'': At the mayor's mansion, Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Muriel explore the museum wing to learn about the history of Nowhere, while Shaggy, Scooby, Courage and Eustace stay behind to raid the kitchen.
* The cartoon ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' did a ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' parody, which plays on the old joke that Freddy always said "Let's split up!" just so he and Daphne could make out while Scooby, Shaggy and Velma get chased by the monster-of-the-day. Even ''Johnny'' of all people points out how stupid this is:
-->'''Johnny:''' There's a monster out there and you want us to ''split up?''\\
'''Freddy:''' Well... yeah.

* Used in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Music/{{Korn}}'s [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery]]":
-->'''Jonathan:''' All right, gang, we have to split up and look for clues.\\
'''Stan:''' How should we split up?\\
'''Jonathan:''' I know! Let's have everyone who enjoys having obstacles in their life which they can overcome go this way, and everyone whose insecurities sabotage their potential to overcome those obstacles go that way.
** Made hilarious by the fact that everyone neatly separates into two groups without hesitation, and someone remarks "Well, that was easy!"
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingChanAndTheChanClan'', every episode. Usually the same teams but every now and then they mix it up.

* Defied in the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' episode "Perplexahedron" by Kevin.
-->'''Ben:''' Maybe we should split up, cover more ground.\\
'''Kevin:''' [[SarcasmMode Great idea.]] That way, Aggregor can pick us off one at a time.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' episode "Him Diddle Riddle", one of Him's riddles requires the girls to head for Chinatown and answer a ringing pay phone in a three-minute timeframe without flying. Blossom has the three split up and take the most convenient route to the phone with the first there to answer it. Blossom hitches a ride with an 18-wheeler, Bubbles takes a bus then a pony, and Buttercup takes the subway.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceStars'' episode "The Shadow People", ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' and friends team up with the superheroine Elektra. While exploring a seemingly abandoned city, Space Ghost suggests they split up to cover more ground. Jace immediately asks to go with Elektra, but Space Ghost says Elektra is powerful enough to go on her own, much to Jace's disappointment.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGalaxyTrio'' episode "Invasion of the Sporoids". The title heroes arrive at a planet where an outpost has just been destroyed and an observer almost killed by a gigantic monster. Gravity Girl suggests that they spread out and search the area. As a result the monster ambushes her and traps her inside a transparent membrane.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' episode "The Sandman". A number of people (including two French Foreign Legion members) have mysteriously disappeared in the same area. When Space Ghost, Jan, Jace and Blip arrive, Space Ghost tells the others to "spread out". This leads to all three of them being captured by the enemy.
* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' does this on occasion, sometimes without actually saying "Let's split up". Episodes include ''Sonic and Sally'', where Sonic, Sally and Bunnie go in different directions to detonate a robot factory, and later on when Rotor and Bunnie take care of said factory while Sonic rescues Sally. In ''Ultra Sonic'', where Sonic and Sally go one way to look for parts for a new project, and Rotor, Bunnie and Antoine go another, and later on when Rotor, Antoine and Sally go one way to get to a set of controls, while Sonic, Uncle Chuck and Bunnie go another way get to a different set.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
** "T: The Terrestrial" and "Murder on the Planet Express" establish the Planet Express buddy system in such instances as follows: [[HeterosexualLifePartners Fry with Bender]], [[TwoGirlsToATeam Leela with Amy]], and [[SitcomArchNemesis Hermes with Zoidberg]] (while Farnsworth remains at base). In the latter—in which a trust-building seminar in space is interrupted by a carnivorous alien shapeshifter—these happen to be the pairs who are experiencing the most trust issues between them. [[spoiler:[[{{Invoked}} Which, naturally, is all]] [[TrustBuildingBlunder part of the plan]].]]
** And of course, it's {{Parodied}} in the ''Scooby-Doo'' spoof where the "split" consists of eight people sitting near a monster trap while Fry and Bender (the [[WholePlotReference analogues for Shaggy and Scooby]]) [[TheBait go off to look for the monster]].
--->'''Fry:''' [[FridgeHorror Like, you guys are terrible friends for always sending us to our deaths!]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In Ba Sing Se, the Gaang receives letters that were confiscated from the Dai Li agents. Aang receives a letter from a Guru telling him he can train him to master the Avatar State, Sokka, and Katara get a letter from the warriors of the Southern Water tribe with a note that their father is still alive, and Toph gets a letter from her parents apologizing and asking to come home. The group temporarily splits and reunites under certain circumstances.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** In the second season finale, Aang had gone off to learn from a guru, Sokka went to meet the Water Tribe warriors, Toph went to meet her mother [[spoiler:and gets captured by the bounty hunters her parents sent to bring her home]] and Katara stays in Ba Sing Se to help plan and organize the invasion of the Fire Nation. Meaning none of them are around to realize that [[spoiler:Azula, Mai and Ty Lee]] have infiltrated the city, until Katara discovered it too late.
** In the series finale, [[spoiler:Zuko and Katara]] head off to confront Azula, Aang goes to confront [[spoiler:Firelord Ozai]], and Sokka, Toph and Suki go to stop [[spoiler:the Fire Nation airship fleet]].

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E20Elegy Elegy]]". After the three astronauts land on the unexplored asteroid and find the eerie area to be filled with deserted buildings and mannequins, they decide to split up and search the place, which is a really bad idea that trained astronauts should never have even considered.

* ''Fanfic/MegamiNoHanabira'': The girls split up in groups of two to help the Flock clear out a demon nest. It's Justified in that a demon nest contains tons of haywire cell phones that spit out demons at regular intervals: the primary concern is finding them and thinning their numbers before the demons overrun them. Not to mention that even after splitting up, each floor has a group of four or five Tamers and/or Flock members working it.

* ''Film/StarshipTroopers'': Rico gets a feeling that Carmen is down a separate tunnel than the one his platoon has been ordered to explore. Knowing the severe penalties for disobeying orders during a battle (what he's doing could be considered desertion, not to mention abandoning his command), he places the platoon under a subordinate's command, takes a small handful of volunteers (coincidentally the entire surviving main cast) and goes off on his rescue mission after Carmen.

* In ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith]]'', Yoda and Obi-Wan split up in order to kill the two evil Sith Lords. Ultimately, [[spoiler:neither is successful, but come within a hair's breadth of being so]].
** The novelization expands on this. Yoda points out that since Darth Sidious earlier killed 4 of the best Jedi the order has, even the two of them together won't be enough to beat him. But if they target each Sith separately, Sidious will be aware that his apprentice is in danger and that ''might'' distract him enough to allow them to beat him. They aren't teaming up against Anakin because he isn't enough of a threat.

* The mid-nineties Creator/LucasArts adventure game ''VideoGame/TheDig'' uses this trope, after Maggie decides to split up from Brink and explore Cocytus [[spoiler:after Brink's death]], rationalizing that staying together would mean certain death to them as well, and Cocytus is just as alien to both of them. It works out at the start, after Maggie manages to discover an alien library (through an accident that might have gotten Brink killed had he followed along)[[spoiler:, but the splitup backfires when Maggie gets abducted by a giant spider.]]

** 1st Edition module I10 ''Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill''. While the {{PC}}s are at the Weathermay estate, the {{NPC}}s there will offer to help them. If any of the {{NPC}}s have been transposessed by an undead, they will suggest splitting up the {{PC}} party and {{NPC}}s to search the grounds more quickly. If the {{PC}}s are foolish enough to agree they can expect to be subject of a TotalPartyKill at the hands of the numerous undead and other monsters swarming around.

* In the board game ''TabletopGame/BetrayalAtHouseOnTheHill'', even though you're all investigating a HauntedHouse, the only way to actually get anything done for the first half of the game is by splitting up. For the second half of the game... most of the time you want to get back together as quickly as possible.
* The tabletop RPG ''TabletopGame/DragonStrike'' comes with a video demonstrating a game. One player asks if she can split off from the party, and the dungeon master says "Of course! At your own risk." Later, everyone does end up splitting up. The MSTing of the video at ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'' comments "I told you not to split the party! This always happens!" Another player gets the idea as well. But by the time he says it, everyone has split off.

** Shaggy complains about this in ''WesternAnimation/TheScoobyDooProject''

** "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlanteersS1E3BeastOfTheTemple Beast of the Temple]]" has the team looking for a firebreathing monster. Of course they split up. It takes Wheeler and Linka all of ten seconds to get distracted from the mission and move in for a kiss... [[MomentKiller which is when the monster shows up]].

** In ''VideoGame/{{Summoner 2}}'', there are a couple of plotlines which require you to split up the party. You need to split up into pairs to activate switches at one point, and in the final dungeon the party splits up into pre-ordained groups to follow different enemies.

It's commonly seen as a {{Horror Trope|s}}, and a sign of severe GenreBlindness at that. It's named after Fred's CatchPhrase from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', which shows about how seriously works tend to take this trope. The obvious problem is that if everyone is out there alone (whether they want to be [[FineYouCanJustWaitHereAlone or not]]), they don't have anyone to help out when the scary creature eventually gets them -- which tended to happen all the time to Scooby Doo. In a straighter horror story, this allows the party to [[DwindlingParty get picked off one by one]]. In fact, this trope tends to be [[DeadUnicornTrope defied quite a bit more often than played straight]], leading to its {{opposite|Tropes}}, NeverSplitTheParty.