History Main / MindScrewdriver

** There is an ''Evangelion'' video game that was [[{{NoExportForYou}} only released in Japan]] that contains unlockable [[AllThereInTheManual notes about the backstory of the anime]]. They explain things like where Adam and Lilith came from ([[spoiler:they were being created by SufficientlyAdvancedAliens to seed planets with life, and were never intended to end up on the same planet]]), what the Angels were trying to accomplish ([[spoiler:by reaching Adam, they would've started their own version of the Third Impact, which would've wiped out all Lilith-based life and replaced them with Angels]]), why Shinji and Asuka returned together ([[spoiler:Shinji essentially could not conceive the idea of living in a world with no Asuka, and she needed him as much as he needed her]]), and why Shinji tried to choke her ([[spoiler:he was so distraught after Instrumentality that he could not be sure that she was real, so he tried to force a reaction out of her]]).

*** The mysterious Russo-American coalition that the {{Bigger Bad}}s seek to disrupt. [[spoiler: It's the result of a war between Russia and the US that Jacket fought in, which degenerated into grueling island warfare until San Francisco was nuked by Russia, forcing America to accept a cease-fire in a dark mirror to the ending of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.]]

* The GrandFinale of ''Series/AshesToAshes'' impressively managed to be one of these for not just ''Ashes'' but its parent series ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}''.

** The sequel, ''VisualNove/VirtuesLastReward'', clears up [[spoiler:the stinger of the first game, explaining that the Alice seen at the side of the road (who everyone assumed was the All-Ice Egyptian priestess come back to life) was actually an undercover agent with a childhood and history and parents from the current time period.]]

** Speaking of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', the game was going to contain a Mind Screwdriver of its own in the form of Psycho Mantis' mask as an unlockable. It was going to let you hear the thoughts of other characters during cutscenes/codec calls, and those thoughts were supposedly going to give you a major clue to what was really going on in the game's plot. But alas, [[ExecutiveMeddling the game was rushed for the holidays]], so it didn't get implemented.

* The introduction of the 1980s comic book sequel to ''Series/ThePrisoner'' rationalized away the strange last episode. [[spoiler:They fed Number 6 [[MushroomSamba LSD]], which also makes it an HappyEndingOverride]].

* One of the biggest, EpilepticTrees spawning questions in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' was the question of the games' timeline--how did they all fit into each other? Which games preceded others, and which were immediate sequels? Fans spent ''decades'' trying to figure it all out, until, in the New Tens, Nintendo published ''Hyrule Historia,'' a book all about the games and their universe. This book revealed a key piece of information--canonically, the games follow a set path until ''VideoGames/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime.'' At the end of that game, the timeline splits into ''three'' distinct paths: the "Adult" Timeline, wherein Link defeats Ganondorf as an adult and returns to the past (which leads to the events of ''Wind Waker'' and its direct sequels); the "Child" Timeline, which has Link tell Zelda about Ganondorf's plots before he can even enact them (which created the events of ''Majora's Mask'' and ''Twilight Princess''); and, most depressing of all, the "Fallen" Timeline, where Link ''dies'' fighting Ganondorf and forces the Sages to bind the wizard at full power (which corrupts the Sacred Realm and produces the world of ''A Link to the Past'' and even the ''original'' Zelda). ''Hyrule Historia'' is [[WordOfGod officially canon]], and while websites (including this one!) have spread the information beyond it, the book remains the Screwdriver that solves the puzzle that plagued players for so long.

->'''HAL:''' I'm evil. ''[kills astronauts]''
->'''Dave Bowman:''' I must shut you down now, HAL.
->'''HAL:''' Daisy, Daisy...
->'''Dave Bowman:''' Now I must finish this mission alone.
->''[STRANGE THINGS happen, and they MAKE SENSE]''
->'''Reader:''' Wow. I understand the movie now.
-->-- '''[[http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/b/clarke.2001.shtml RinkWorks condensation]]''' of the novel version of ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''.

*** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is also a Mind Screwdriver, filling most of the holes left by its predecessors... of course, only to set up plot elements that evolve into an even ''bigger'' MindScrew in the ''next'' entry of the series, ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance''.

* The story that PeterGabriel wrote for the liner notes of the Music/{{Genesis}} ConceptAlbum ''Music/TheLambLiesDownOnBroadway''. Though it actually doesn't explain things very much. For that, see [[http://www.bloovis.com/music/lamb.html this site]]. And prepare to walk away ''still'' [[GainaxEnding not sure]]...

* ''The End of Evangelion'' was ''supposed'' to clear up the lingering questions left behind by the [[GainaxEnding notorious series ending]]. However the movie managed to clarify some things about the plot while still leaving massive questions unanswered, introducing whole new ones, and being a complete and unmitigated MindScrew in and of itself.

** Similarly, the Ansem Reports in the ''KingdomHearts'' game, by the same people.
*** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is also a Mind Screwdriver, filling most of the holes left by its predecessors... of course, only to set up plot elements that evolve into an even ''bigger'' MindScrew in the ''next'' entry of the series, ''KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance''.

* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5389450/3/The_Finale_of_the_Ultimate_Meta_Mega_Crossover The Finale of the Ultimate Meta Mega Crossover]]'' by EliezerYudkowsky manages to answer the philosophical questions posed by the ending of ''Literature/PermutationCity'' by Creator/GregEgan better than [[http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/PERMUTATION/FAQ/FAQ.html the author himself could]].

** The Special Edition versions of the games (especially 6 Days) provide a few other Screwdrivers as well, most notably [[spoiler:why Chzo was interested in the FailureIsTheOnlyOption {{plan}} at all.]] The commentary and extended ending of 6 Days also explicitly explain [[the Tall Man's behavior in Trilby's Notes and 6 Days.]]

* Avengers: Children's Crusade is this to Avengers Disassembled and House of M, with the plot hole filled, continuity ignoring because fuck you, I'm BrianMichaelBendis mind-screws of those two stories being explained away with the reveal that Doctor Doom was behind all of the deaths and reality manipulations, having kidnapped Scarlet Witch and forced her to become host to a Cosmic Horror Doom wanted to marry, in exchange for Doom bringing her children back to life as Speed and Wiccan.

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''[='s=] three {{Recap Episode}}s (and similarly, the two ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' recaps) are an invaluable aid to those who find themselves lost in the KudzuPlot. AndrewHussie's Formspring and the MSPA forums are also pretty handy references for clearing up ambiguous plot points.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' had a season one episode, "Tree Trunks", where the titular elephant bit into the crystal apple she was looking for so she could bake an apple pie out of it. She exploded, and then was seen giggling and laughing through the apple. [[GainaxEnding End Episode.]] Season two had a followup, "Crystals Have Power", where it was revealed that she'd been transported to the crystal dimension, where she went insane and became queen. She tried to turn Finn into her Crystal King, but Jake [[BeatTheCurseOutOfHim punched the crystal chunk out of her]] and she returned home to bake them another apple pie.
** Another season one episode, "Evicted", ended with a GainaxEnding where Finn and Jake arrive to find their house is worm infested. A giant worm then hypnotizes them. The fourth season episode "King Worm" is about Finn trying to escape a dream that the same giant worm has trapped him in. The episode's ending then subverts this trope because it [[MindScrew hints that everything between "Evicted" and "King Worm" was]] AllJustADream ([[{{Jossed}} although this turns out not to be the case]]).
** The GainaxEnding of the season 4 finale "The Lich" is explained by the season 5 premiere "Finn the Human"[=/=]"Jake the Dog"
** In the season three episode "The Creeps", Finn encounters a monstrous ghost woman in a haunted castle. At the end of the episode it was revealed that everything that happened was orchestrated by Jake... ''except'' for the ghost woman, which Jake thinks Finn must have imagined. The season five episode "The Vault" reveals [[spoiler: Jake was almost right. Finn was having [[PastLifeMemories a distorted vision of his past life self, who had a connection to the castle.]]]]

* The final ending of ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', Ending 20 of Afterbirth+, has [[spoiler:Isaac in his toy chest, his life flashing before him. You hear his mom and dad arguing, and see a shot of Isaac watching his mother cry in front of her TV. As Isaac begins to turn blue from lack of oxygen, we see Isaac holding a family photo with his dad's face burned away, and (perhaps most heart-wrenching of all) a series of Isaac's drawings, showing his descent into self-loathing and suicidal insanity (BAD BAD BAD I'M THE DEVIL). Finally, we see a shot of Isaac's skeleton within the chest as his mother opens it, and the missing poster from Ending 15 flies away, symbolizing Isaac's demise. The final shot of the ending is Isaac walking through the afterlife from Ending 17, while a somber remix of the title theme plays]]. To clarify the entire thing, [[spoiler:the entire game has been Isaac's DyingDream as he suffocated to death in the toy chest that he locked himself into]]. [[DownerEnding It's a depressing note to end things on]], but given the nature of the game in general, it's all too appropriate.

* The final ending of ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', Ending 20 of Afterbirth+, has [[Isaac in his toy chest, his life flashing before him. You hear his mom and dad arguing, and see a shot of Isaac watching his mother cry in front of her TV. As Isaac begins to turn blue from lack of oxygen, we see Isaac holding a family photo with his dad's face burned away, and (perhaps most heart-wrenching) a series of Isaac's drawings, showing his descent into self-loathing and suicidal insanity (BAD BAD BAD I'M THE DEVIL). Finally, we see a shot of Isaac's skeleton within the chest as his mother opens it, and the missing poster from Ending 15 flies away, symbolizing Isaac's demise. The final shot of the ending is Isaac walking through the afterlife from Ending 17, while a somber remix of the title theme plays]]. To clarify the entire thing, [[spoiler:the entire game has been Isaac's DyingDream as he suffocated to death in the toy chest he locked himself into]]. [[DownerEnding It's a depressing note to end things on]], but given the nature of the game in general, it's all too appropriate.

* The final season of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' was supposed to be this. It both succeeded and/or failed spectacularly. Fans were divided. It didn't help that some subplots from the previous season had been cut, taking away the chance for the past events to be as fleshed out as they were originally intended. The season six DVD's contain an epilogue which explains a whole lot of the remaining mysteries.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Recreation'' and ''Revelation'' serve to explain a large amount of the more wacky elements of previous seasons, most noticeably the "time travel" incident in Season 3 and any point in the series where a character died and got back up again.

* The MindScrew ending of the 2001 remake of ''[[Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001 Planet of the Apes]]'' only makes sense if you visit the ([[LostForever now inactive]]) website for the movie and learn that [[spoiler: Thade learns how to use human technology while trapped in the Oberon, and when he eventually escapes he fishes Leo's original pod out of the swamp, restores it to working order and flies into the electromagnetic storm after him, arriving earlier than he did and inciting a second ape rebellion.]]

* ''Hand in VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'' was ''supposed'' to be this, but because it was made before the game was finished, some of the material in it wasn't used in the game. So, while reading Hand in Killer7 makes sense of some of the plot, it makes the rest of it [[MindScrew even more mind screwy]].

* Trilby's Notes, of the VideoGame/ChzoMythos, ended with the title character being saved by an unknown man in red. The identity of this man was not revealed until the ending of the next game, and it was a mind screw. It also explains how the man was able to revive Trilby.
** The Special Edition versions of the games (especially 6 Days) provide a few other Screwdrivers as well, most notably [[spoiler:why Chzo was interested in the FailureIsTheOnlyOption {{plan}} at all.]]

* The final season of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' was supposed to be this. It both succeeded and/or failed spectacularly. Fans were divided. The season six DVD's contain an epilogue which explains a whole lot of the remaining mysteries.

* Chapter 24 of ''Webcomic/{{Namesake}}'' finally explains what's going on and why. Chapter 20's [[http://namesakecomic.com/comic/namesake-relationship-chart relationship chart]] is also quite handy.

** There is an ''Evangelion'' video game that was [[{{NoExportForYou}} only released in Japan]] that contains unlockable [[{{AllThereInTheManual}} notes about the backstory of the anime]]. They explain things like where Adam and Lilith came from ([[spoiler:they were being created by SufficientlyAdvancedAliens to seed planets with life, and were never intended to end up on the same planet]]), what the Angels were trying to accomplish ([[spoiler:by reaching Adam, they would've started their own version of the Third Impact, which would've wiped out all Lilith-based life and replaced them with Angels]]), why Shinji and Asuka returned together ([[spoiler:Shinji essentially could not conceive the idea of living in a world with no Asuka, and she needed him as much as he needed her]]), and why Shinji tried to choke her ([[spoiler:he was so distraught after Instrumentality that he could not be sure that she was real, so he tried to force a reaction out of her]]).

* ''FanFic/ThousandShinji'' delivers a LampshadeHanging[=/=]TakeThat to the MindScrew of the original ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': "For those of you prepared to rant at me, there is one more chapter to this story, so unlike Gainax, you will actually get an explaination (sic) as part of the denouement." It then proceeds to do just that, having [[spoiler:the canon!40k gods]] explain what looked like a GainaxEnding.

* ''Film/DonnieDarko'' has the eponymous character who receives a book on time travel from his science teacher, time travelling also being the central plot driving device of the movie. A director's cut released a few years after the original DVD release briefly cuts to pages from said book, where the mechanics of time travel in this movie are explained - which is vital to figuring out what the hell is going on. The book was later actually published and released. It explains most of the background and events present in the movie. Yet while it explains some of the time travel mechanics, the closest thing we have to an explanation of where Frank came from or who is manipulating Donnie is a couple lines [[WordOfGod in the commentary]] saying that [[ShrugOfGod maybe]] it's [[AWizardDidIt God.]] Or [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens aliens]]. [[ShrugOfGod Whatever]].