History Main / TheUnTwist

This technique is played with occasionally. In one fairly famous mystery book, the obvious person is guilty--but the obvious ''evidence'' and ''way he committed the crime'' is false: it was all part of an EvilPlan based around "double jeopardy" laws which prevent people from being tried for the same crime twice. Basically, he planned to trick the police into using the false evidence at trial, which he would then easily dismiss.

A SisterTrope to CaptainObviousReveal, where the twist is also completely obvious to the audience, but the creator seems to think it won't be (since they don't bother with [[RedHerring misdirections]]). May overlap with ObviousJudas, where the most ObviouslyEvil character turns out to be the villain.

SisterTrope to CaptainObviousReveal, where the twist is also completely obvious to the audience but the creator seems to think it won't be (since they don't bother with [[RedHerring misdirections]]). May overlap with ObviousJudas, where the most ObviouslyEvil character turns out to be the villain.

-->-- '''Literature/LordPeterWimsey''', ''The Five Red Herrings''

Contrast AssPull, which pulls a twist out of nowher. Compare MetaTwist, where an author who relied on a specific twist surprises the audience by [[AvertedTrope averting]] it. Not to be confused with TheUnreveal, unless you expected The Unreveal to be subverted. TruthInTelevision: in RealLife most homicide victims are killed by someone they knew, and, following OccamsRazor, the most obvious suspect is usually the culprit. Compare HiddenInPlainSight.

Contrast the ShockingSwerve, which pulls a twist out of ''[[AssPull nowhere]]'' and contradicts prior facts. Compare MetaTwist, where an author who relied on a specific twist surprises the audience by [[AvertedTrope averting]] it. Not to be confused with TheUnreveal, unless you expected The Unreveal to be subverted. TruthInTelevision: in RealLife most homicide victims are killed by someone they knew, and, following OccamsRazor, the most obvious suspect is usually the culprit. Compare HiddenInPlainSight.

A GenreSavvy viewer might quickly conclude that the nice housemate is the murderer and the surly one is innocent. Why? Because the evidence against Mr. Surly is ''[[NeverTheObviousSuspect too obvious]]'', and the reader suspects a RedHerring. Often, the conclusion is made with evidence that the viewers have but the characters do not, or otherwise guessing based on the genre, medium or previous entries in the series, which explains why these twists are more surprising to the characters than the viewers.

A GenreSavvy viewer might quickly conclude that the nice housemate is the murderer and the surly one is innocent. Why? Because the evidence against Mr. Surly is ''[[NeverTheObviousSuspect too obvious]]'', and the reader suspects a RedHerring.

[[AC:[[Administrivia/ExampleSectionectomy No examples, please.]] Any plot development can become The Untwist to a sufficiently paranoid reader.]]

[[AC:[[Administrivia/NoExamplesPlease No examples, please.]] Any plot development can become The Untwist to a sufficiently paranoid reader.]]

[[AC:[[Administrivia/NoExamplesPlease No examples, please.]] Any plot development can become The Untwist to a sufficiently paranoid reader.]]

----

Thus is illustrated the essence of The Un-Twist. The author drops a large number of hints at the start of the story which a reader assumes to be obvious {{red herring}}s, and thus is surprised when, later on, it turns out that [[OccamsRazor the simplest, most obvious explanation was the correct one.]] Somehow, the author has managed to subvert the reader's expectations by not subverting their expectations.

Suppose there has been a murder. There are only two other people in the house at the time. One acts mean and surly to the detective, doesn't treat the other house dweller well, doesn’t seem too concerned about the death, and reveals he had both a motive and opportunity to kill the victim. The other housemate, by contrast, is very polite and helpful to both the detective and her roommate, is visibly upset by the death, and seems to have a rock-solid alibi and no real motive.

A GenreSavvy viewer might quickly conclude that the nice housemate is the murderer and the surly one is innocent. Why? Because the evidence against Mr. Surly is ''[[NeverTheObviousSuspect too obvious]]'', and the reader suspects a RedHerring. If it turned out that it really ''was'' Mr Surly, then that's an example of The Un-twist.

In many cases, the above description is exactly how it happens (see [[StrictlyFormula most episodes]] of ''Series/{{CSI}}''). However, sometimes the author pulls a fast one--it turns out [[DevilInPlainSight Mr. Surly is guilty after all]]! All that evidence against him, which the reader dismissed on the grounds of being too obvious, is actually correct and valid.

A GenreSavvy viewer might quickly conclude that the nice housemate is the murderer and the surly one is innocent. Why? Because the evidence against Mr. Surly is ''[[NeverTheObviousSuspect too obvious]]'', and the reader suspects a RedHerring.

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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/Borderlands1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drned.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:I knew dude made zombies, but... come on...]]

An outcome or answer to a mystery considered to be too obvious turns out to be what happened, even though most of the audience was expecting a less obvious one. Suppose there has been a murder. There are only two other people in the house at the time. One acts mean and surly to the detective, doesn't treat the other house dweller well, doesn’t seem too concerned about the death, and reveals he had both a motive and opportunity to kill the victim. The other housemate, by contrast, is very polite and helpful to both the detective and her roommate, is visibly upset by the death, and seems to have a rock-solid alibi and no real motive.

An outcome or answer to a mystery considered to be too obvious turns out to be what happened, even though most of the audience was expecting a less obvious outcome. Suppose there has been a murder. There are only two other people in the house at the time. One acts mean and surly to the detective, doesn't treat the other house dweller well, doesn’t seem too concerned about the death, and reveals he had both a motive and opportunity to kill the victim. The other housemate, by contrast, is very polite and helpful to both the detective and her roommate, is visibly upset by the death, and seems to have a rock-solid alibi and no real motive.

An outcome considered to be too obvious turns out to be what happened, even though most of the audience was expecting a less obvious outcome. Suppose there has been a murder. There are only two other people in the house at the time. One acts mean and surly to the detective, doesn't treat the other house dweller well, doesn’t seem too concerned about the death, and reveals he had both a motive and opportunity to kill the victim. The other housemate, by contrast, is very polite and helpful to both the detective and her roommate, is visibly upset by the death, and seems to have a rock-solid alibi and no real motive.

[[caption-width-right:350:Dude made {{zombie|Apocalypse}}s, ok?]]

An outcome considered to be too obvious turns out to be what happened. Suppose there has been a murder. There are only two other people in the house at the time. One acts mean and surly to the detective, doesn't treat the other house dweller well, doesn’t seem too concerned about the death, and reveals he had both a motive and opportunity to kill the victim. The other housemate, by contrast, is very polite and helpful to both the detective and her roommate, is visibly upset by the death, and seems to have a rock-solid alibi and no real motive.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drned.png]]]]

SisterTrope to CaptainObviousReveal, where the twist is also completely obvious to the audience but the creator seems to think it won't be. May overlap with ObviousJudas, where the most ObviouslyEvil character turns out to be the villain.

[[quoteright:250:[[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BiggerDrNed_4811.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Dude made {{zombie|Apocalypse}}s, ok?]]

[[AC:[[Administrivia/NoExamplesPlease No examples, please]]. Any plot development can become The Untwist to a sufficiently paranoid reader.]]

[[AC:No examples, please. Any plot development can become The Untwist to a [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife sufficiently paranoid reader]].]]

Thus is illustrated the essence of The Untwist. The author drops a large number of hints at the start of the story which a reader assumes to be obvious {{red herring}}s, and thus is surprised when, later on, it turns out that [[OccamsRazor the simplest, most obvious explanation was the correct one.]] Somehow, the author has managed to subvert the reader's expectations by not subverting their expectations.