The Exit Is That Way

"That would have been a very dramatic exit, if only her room was down that hall."

— Dr. Frasier Crane, Frasier

Alice and Bob have an argument, usually with Alice questioning Bob's planning or general capability.

Either way, Bob acts indignant and shocked, insists he knows exactly what he's doing and storms off.

After a brief pause, Alice politely points out that Bob is going the wrong way. Bob makes an embarrassed excuse and sheepishly wanders out in the right direction.

Common variations include Alice not saying anything, but seeing Bob go one way, then hurriedly switching to the opposite direction, or Bob entering a closet (bonus points if Bob stays in there a while out of embarrassment).

Similar scenes can be used to show that a character is particularly flustered or worried, or that a character is an infiltrator that doesn't know his way around. As a variant, Bob may have just expressed sudden resolve and set off to do some dramatic, plot-important event, but his conviction turns into comic effect by his mistake in direction.

See also Your Other Left, House Amnesia, Door Focus, Crossing the Burnt Bridge. Often used as a tool of providing a Failed Attempt at Drama. For a wider version of going the wrong way, see No Sense of Direction.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Neon Genesis Evangelion: The pilots break into their HQ using air vents. Asuka pompously begins leading off, before Rei points out she's going the wrong way.
• Ranma ½:
  • A variation is used in the final arc: upon hearing about the bird people coming after Plum, Ryōga detects that two of them are in the room and makes a show of hurling his bamboo parasol in the direction of their hiding space... only to realize that, true to form, he threw it in the exact opposite direction.
  • A second variation comes from the anime adaptation of the Breaking Point storyline. After turning down Cologne's initial offer to train him, Ryoga takes his leave. The next scene shows him wandering into the living room and sheepishly asking them to tell him the way out... again. The subbed version has Shampoo claim that this is the tenth time Ryōga has had to ask. And he still gets it wrong — he follows Shampoo's directions and ends up at the toilet. Ryōga has No Sense of Direction.
• Spriggan. Inverted in the "First Mission" one shot when the door Yu accidentally walks through is in fact the exit...which is embarrassing because he did an Enter Stage Window and the men standing guard outside the door didn't know he was in there.
• Variant in Transformers: Robots in Disguise: Team Bullet Train arrives in search of the Predacons, and Midnight Express starts carefully picking his way among the civilians — but then Railspike points out that they're in the opposite direction.

Comedy

• Kevin Hart discusses this in his special Seriously Funny. He talks about when he gets in a fight with his wife and storms out the house, only to run back in to get his keys and wallet. Or even worse, pack his son's baby bag so he can go with him.

Comic Strips

• Calvin and Hobbes: Calvin announces his secession from the family and heads outside to strike out for the Yukon. His mother calls after him... but only to sardonically inform him, "You're heading southeast. North is that way."
• Garfield:
  • Jon opens a door.
    Jon: Boy, it's dark outside!
    Garfield: That's the closet.
  • Jon is excited about the new year and tries to get out of his house, only to mistakenly open the closet door.
    Garfield: New year, new start, new world, same Jon.

Fan Works

• Inverted in The Bridge when Xenilla enters a pregnant Princess Cadance's bedroom to give her a wellness check and breakfast through her closet. He'd built a portal door with Sunburst and Key Ring that links any two doors together in a close proximity, so Cadance is very confused upon his entry and exit via her and Shining's wardrobe closet.
• Inverted in Born Of The Same Impulse, where Tony visits Stephen and wears out his welcome after making one too many insensitive remarks. Stephen sends out his guest by saying, "You know where the door is." In response, Tony deliberately goes towards the opposite direction of the exit, and begins packing Stephen's stuffs to bring him out of the house.
• In Kitten Ears and Lion Hugs Harry, annoyed at Cedric's stalking attempt, storms off to the owlery.
  Cedric: Wrong way, Harry.
• Progress: When Luna offers to show the Cutie Mark Crusaders the simulation room where they train astronauts, the fillies are so excited that they rush straight through the nearest door... which turns out to be the janitor's closet.

Films — Animation

• In Bolt, Rhino sets off after Bolt with a long monologue beginning with "If Bolt's taught me anything, it's that you never abandon a friend in a time of need!", but he sets off in the wrong direction.
• A Bug's Life:
  • Manny the mantis magician walks offscreen and causes a loud crash in an attempt to get to the circus tent. His wife Gypsy, used to this, doesn't even look up as she corrects him.
    Gypsy: The stage is the other way, dear.
    Manny: Yes, of course!
  • Happens to Atta as a sign that she's beginning to fall for Flik.
    Atta: I've got to go... uh.. check on the bird. (walks off)
    Atta: (reappearing) Bird's.. um.. that way...
    Flik: (seeing all the other insects looking at him with "isn't that sweet" expressions) What?
• Variation in Ego Trip: Dexter uses a time machine to go into the future, only to discover that his house is very different in the future, and runs into random rooms trying to find the front door. Unable to find it and frustrated, he uses a secret escape hatch underneath a lamp, which apparently was never changed.
• In Disney's Hercules, Hades frees the Titans with mighty fanfare as they all march forth to destroy Zeus. Hades interrupts their cries of "Destroy Zeus!" with the comment, "Uh, guys? Olympus would be that way.", pointing a thumb in the opposite direction to where they're going.

Films — Live-Action

• In the film Adam's Rib, two characters conclude an argument by going to adjoining apartments and slamming the doors shut...then sheepishly crossing the hall, as each has accidentally gone to the other's apartment.
• In The American President, President Shepherd (Michael Douglas) and lobbyist Sidney Wade (Annette Benning) get into a heated discussion in the Oval Office. She starts to storm out and the President stops her, telling her that that door goes into his private study, and then points out the proper exit.
• Happens to Sam and his military escort at the start of Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe as they get turned around on the way to Sam's court martial.
• In Mel Brooks' Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Dracula hypnotizes Mina from outside her bedroom window and instructs her to leave her room. She dreamily flows to a door, opens it, steps through, and closes it behind her.
  Dracula: Mina... you are in the closet.
• In the Extended Edition of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf tells Frodo to lead the Fellowship out of Rivendell. When he gets to the gate, Frodo whispers to Gandalf: "Mordor, Gandalf - is it left or right?" Gandalf, of course, gives him the right answer: left...
• Eskimo Day: Malcolm walks off in the wrong direction, just after an awkward conversation in which he has asked for directions.
• During the second of the Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hugh Grant's character is in a hotel room when the bride and groom enter, intent on consummating right there and then. Charles edges his way towards a door and slips through. Later we cut back, just as the bride and groom are in the middle of yet more noisy sex, and the door creaks open. Charles is sitting on a sink in a hidden en-suite, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Eventually, he gives up, steps boldly out of the cupboard, flourishes a pencil, exclaims "Found it!" and leaves by the real door.
• In the Israeli independent movie Hamossad Hasagur, Michal, who always wanted to be a kindergartner, is told by Rami to go take care of the career soldiers' children. She walks in the direction of his hand movement, but then comes back only to tell him that it's the other way around.
• In The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy 2005, Zaphod has just set their course for the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, only to have Marvin point out that the restaurant is at the other end of the universe.
  • This could be a more extreme example. In every adaptation where the restaurant is actually shown, it's at the temporal end of the universe.
• In the film It's a Wonderful Life, a drunken Uncle Billy walks home, needing George to point him in the right direction.
• The Ben Affleck film Man About Town features this as a Running Gag with a boardrooms door being right next to an identical door to a closet. Afleck at one point dramatically storms out of the boardroom, slams the door behind him and then reappears a second later to shout about the bad layout of the room.
• In Pacific Rim, Mako tries to evade questions from Raleigh by turning around and heading for her room. After some fiddling around with the key at the door Raleigh notes that it was his room she tried to unlock.
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Done by the title character when, after Eddie refuses to help him, he walks out in a huff... or tries to, anyway. Eddie helpfully shouts "That's the closet!"
• In The World's Greatest Athlete (1973), a bumbling coach gives the football team a pep talk in the locker room. When he tells the team to go out there and win, they all race out the door with renewed determination. A few seconds later, the team comes back in through the door, soaking wet. The door they went through led to the showers, not the field!
• In The Medallion Watson, infuriated at the prospect that Li may be replacing him, storms out of the room. There is a pause, before an exasperated Hammerstock-Smythe informs him that he is in the filing cabinet.
• In a Deleted Scene from the film adaptation of the Discworld short story "Troll Bridge", the commanders of two armies, who were both trying to give a Rousing Speech before the battle, and then started squabbling over which of them should go first, suddenly realise the battle has started without them. They run back to the armies, then stop, realise they got turned around during the argument, and head back to the right armies.

Literature

• Discworld:
  • Inverted in The Last Continent, when Rincewind is told he's needed for a dangerous quest, and immediately starts running like hell. The quest-issuing creature follows; when Rincewind shouts that he's not going to stop for anything, he's told he's already running in the right direction.
  • Played with in Jingo, when two rival fishermen grab their sons and rush for the beaches, frantic to sail back to their home cities and lay claim to a newly-discovered island. Each man reaches the shore, realizes they grabbed the wrong boy, then rushes back to exchange sons while accusing the other of kidnapping.
• Redwall:
  • In The Taggerung, Gruven, attempting to lead the hunting party, has just been told that the Taggerung is probably headed north. Much to their amusement, he tells them to break camp and starts marching south.

Live-Action TV

• In The Addams Family, a poor mook trying to warn his superiors about the Addams (due to a series of misunderstandings, he thinks they attempted to kill him) storms off after not being believed, slams the door behind him, and after a few seconds sheepishly steps out of the closet and uses the other door, leading to one of his bosses saying, "I never knew he drank."
• Variant on American Idol: "Other door" practically became a catchphrase in the seventh season. The audition rooms were always double-doored, but only one of these doors ever opened, and, having entered through one of those doors, auditioners would inevitably try to leave through the other one. Which did not open. This also happened to Simon once. And one contestant somehow managed to burst through the locked door, to the judges' amazement. (This seemed to be a problem at every location they visited, making you wonder if they weren't setting the doors up like that on purpose to further embarrass the contestants.)
• Angel
  • In "Ground State", Angel, Gunn, and Fred are breaking into an auction house. Fred has just explained the plan in detail. The men boldly head off, one to the left and one to the right... at which point Fred shouts "Guys!" Embarrassed, they switch directions.
  • In the episode where Angel first meets Fred, he has to leave her cave hideout so he can sally forth for Storming the Castle. Fred looks depressed until Angel returns and sheepishly admits he has no idea where the castle is, so could she guide him there?
• In Series 10 of The Apprentice (UK), Solomon was so shaken by his interview with Claude Littner that he almost walked out of the window rather than the door.
• Once on Australias Got Talent, in real life, on national television: after a successful audition, Nobel Lakaev skipped off in the wrong direction before he figured out that off-stage was over there and skipped right back across the stage, pointing sheepishly.
• In the Being Human episode "Puppy Love", Emrys, believing that he has completed his unfinished business, tries to cross over and walks into a cupboard.
• In Boy Meets World, Cory saved face after walking into a closet by saying "And I'm taking back my sweater!" and storming out with it.
• A two-in-one example from Castle; Castle is dating a Hollywood actress. Beckett is pretending not to be bugged by this. They have an argument about her intentions, which ends with Castle turning around to get a cup of coffee from the squad room and Beckett turning to go to the murder board. Unfortunately, both are pulling an Exit Is That Way, meaning they must turn around and walk sheepishly past each other to get to where they actually want to go.
• In the second series of Derry Girls, Erin attempts to leave the mall after fighting with Clare but turns down the wrong hallway. Because the correct exit is in the opposite direction, she has to awkwardly pass by the group in order to actually leave.
• Happens to a sleep-deprived Jesse in Diagnosis: Murder in "Misdiagnosis Murder". When Amanda tells him to go home and get some sleep, he angrily says he will and turns and strides dramatically through a door. Which turns out to be the broom closet.
• Doctor Who:
  • "School Reunion": Mickey assures Rose that he knows what he's doing and saunters off. He returns sheepishly a moment later to ask her for directions.
  • "Army of Ghosts": The Doctor strides out of a Torchwood lab and heads left. Yvonne Hartman immediately says "No, Doctor" and he heads right.
  • "The Shakespeare Code": The Doctor and Martha run down a street, with Martha protesting that they're going the wrong way, and the Doctor assuring her that they're not. Two seconds later, they're running in the opposite direction, and the Doctor admits that they were going the wrong way.
• A particularly unusual (and funny) example occurs in Father Ted; the shot is composed so the viewer can only see the open door, and when Father Dougal walks behind it, apparently to leave the room, he sheepishly re-emerges a few seconds later, having walked the wrong side of the open door, missing the exit entirely.
• Frasier:
  • In an episode, Daphne has an argument with Frasier about her whereabouts before storming off to her room. Alas, she goes the wrong way, leading to the quote at the top of the page.
  • There's another episode where this trope is used in spirit; Frasier and Diane have a long heart-to-heart and they come to terms with their history together, and Frasier says his heartfelt goodbyes and turns to leave in this perfect moment... only to accidentally walk out the stage door, which has been designed to look like the Cheers bar, and have to sheepishly turn back and find the right door.
    Frasier: Force of habit.
    Diane: I've been doing it all week.
• The Golden Girls: Dorothy tries to walk out on a boyfriend who just revealed to her that he's married. Semi-justified since they're in a hotel room.

  Dorothy: Oh god, I'm storming out to the closet!

• Horrible Histories: After being fired as a geography teacher in a "Historical Educating' sketch, Christopher Columbus storms out of the head teacher's office into a cupboard. However, he refuses to admit this because his calculations clearly show that this is the exit.
• The IT Crowd: In "Moss and the German", Douglas arranges a man-date with Roy, says his PA will call him with the details, and then walks into Jen's office. He comes out a moment later saying "That's not my office".
• A more dramatic version is seen on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent when the victim's mother asked the detectives for directions to the elevator in the court house. They gave her the directions and they talked for a little bit. The woman left and then Detective Logan said, "The elevators are this way." The woman nodded politely and walked away.
• Leverage, "The Three Days of the Hunter Job", when Sophie takes a turn planning a con. She finishes telling the team all about the mark, but her closing line falls flat. Nate tells her she should turn and leave the room at that point to make it more dramatic. She does, and Nate quietly remarks, "She's walking into the closet."
• Lost Love in Times: Yuan Ling says he's going to take part in designing the hospital. He walks away, only for Yuan Che to tell him he's going in the wrong direction.
• On an episode of The Mighty Boosh, Howard has a flashback of when the soul of jazz tricks him into signing away Howard's soul to him. After the evil jazz soul gets mad at Howard for not telling him his hat is on fire (and "ruining his exit") he stomps off to the right of the screen. Seconds later, he comes back, saying "There isn't an exit there, it's a damn toilet." and walks off to the left of the screen.
• Only Fools and Horses: Rodney and Del have a blazing row (again) and Rodney storms out of the living room, heading for the pub. A moment later he returns, having realised he's still in his pyjamas.
• Our Miss Brooks: In "The Wrong Mrs. Boynton", Miss Brooks accidentally offers to masquerade as Mr. Boynton's mother in front of Dean Faraday of State University. Playing the "wrong" Mrs. Boynton requires her to go to Mr. Boynton's apartment and entertain the dean. Unfortunately, Mr. Boynton's apartment features mainly wildlife specimens ... and doors. Miss Brooks, at various times, mistakenly goes into the bathroom, closet, kitchen, bedroom, and once even locks herself outside the backdoor and has to be let in the front by the dean.
• Psych: In one episode, Gus tries to leave the morgue because he's necrophobic. The door he rushes through is not the exit, but the room where bodies are stored.
• Red Dwarf:
  • Rimmer does this before taking his exams, insisting that everything is under control.
  • Done again by Rimmer when Applied Phlebotinum creates a Tyrannosaurus rex.
    Lister: What do we do now?
    Rimmer: Follow the Rimmer-shaped blur!
    [Rimmer exits, stage left]
    [everyone else exits, stage right]
    [Beat]
    [Rimmer runs back on screen, then exits right]
• Scrubs uses this a lot.
  J.D.: Now let's see how you like it when I walk away from you.
  [exits right]
  [walks back on screen]
  J.D.: Actually, I need to go this way.
  [exits left]
  [walks back on screen]
  J.D.: Right the first time.
  [exits right]
• In the Top Gear (UK) Botswana special, James May manages to set off in the wrong direction - towards Zimbabwe. (At a time when The BBC were banned from Zimbabwe.) Fortunately he quickly realises his error.
• There is an instance involving Ainsley Hayes, Jed Bartlet, Leo McGarry, and a closet which is not a bathroom on The West Wing.
  • In the episode "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part II", C.J., after falling into her pool, says she's going into her house to change and then she'll discuss the job Toby's offered her. Because she's not wearing her glasses or contacts, Toby has to point out she's walking in the wrong direction.
  • Played for Drama in "Ellie"; after Ellie gets chewed out by Bartlet in the Oval Office, she starts to leave, only to indicate she has no idea where the exit is because there's multiple doors and she rarely visits. Bartlet has to point her to the correct door.
• You're Skitting Me: After having been humiliated for being afraid of spiders, Ultra Boy attempts to leave with dignity by yelling "Ultra Boy, away!" and striding into the corridor. A few seconds later, he walks past the door again, noting sheepishly that the exit is this way.

Professional Wrestling

• Lex Luger ended up doing this (and by all accounts, in a genuine accident) during this infamous 2004 promo for CyberSpace Wrestling Federation. On top of screaming to the point of mangling up his words and struggling to rip off a t-shirt, Lex stormed off-camera, only for a very audible clanging sound and the shout of "AND THE DOOR'S LOCKED TOO!" to reverberate through the hallway.

Theatre

• Used in the production of Hamlet in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Hamlet declares, "The time is out of joint—O cursed spite, that ever I was born to exit RIGHT!" He then starts to exit, only to realize that he is exiting stage left and quickly reverse direction.
• Subverted in Legally Blonde The Musical, with Elle making a dramatic exit with the parting line, "I'm never wearing that [a navy blue suit] again." When one of the other characters points out that she's in the supply closet, she replies, "I know! I said I'm never wearing that again...I'm wearing THIS!" and emerges in a hot pink suit.
• Play On, which is about a community theatre production, has a moment when one of the actors accidentally exits through the door to the servant's quarters instead of the door to the stairs. One of the other actors calls after him to tell him he's going the wrong way, and he turns around...only to go all the way past the windows instead. The other actors try to cover for him, saying, "He must be using the outside staircase."
• A variation of this is done in Wicked. After helping Elphaba rescue a lion cub and an awkward romantic moment, Fiyero takes the cub and runs off stage to take it to safety. Then, Fiyero runs back across stage pointing in the other direction and miming 'that way'.

Video Games

• Done during the intro of Conker's Bad Fur Day where the title character ends up getting so drunk that he has trouble finding the exit. His first attempt has him going to the toilets.
• Done towards the end of The Secret of Monkey Island when Guybrush is heading for the church to rescue Elaine, but only if the player directs him to walk the wrong way.

Web Animation

• Red vs. Blue: Happens twice with Donut in the first season. The first time, he is asked to go to the "store" and instead heads for the back wall of the Red Base, before being pointed in the direction of the open field. The second time, Donut is told by Grif to take the Blue flag back to base. Donut runs off, before Grif clarifies to bring the flag to RED base. Both times, Donut gives the same reply:
  Donut: I knew that! I just... got turned around, is all.

Webcomics

• Claire from Bite Me!:
  Claire: This is a matter of life and death! RESCUE HO!
  SLAM!
  Luther: I believe she just strode into a closet.
  Lucien: Yes, but it's very big, so it'll take her a while.
• Kyran from Emergency Exit:
  Delaine: Door's that way.
  Kyran: BAH! I don't need doors!
  [...]
  Kyran: OK, yes I do. But gosh dorn it, I'm going to use it dramatically!
• Loserz:
  • Not about the exit, but definitely the wrong way in this strip.
    "Uh, guys? Jodie would be that-a-way."
  • A sleep-drunk Eric walks into the closet instead of leaving the house for school one morning.
    Eric: Who left all these coats out here?
  • When Eric and Alice meet up as dates at the Spring Dance, Ben attempts to smoothly make his exit to give them some alone-time, only to walk face-first right into a wall.
    Ben: [face bruised] There's a wall there.
    Eric: Thanks for the heads up.
• The Class Menagerie: In the "Pre-Occupied'' arc, Lisa interviews for a summer job as the Returns clerk for a large chain store. The manager points out that her job will mostly revolve around dealing with irrational, distraught customers, and asks if she can handle that. The reader has already been shown Lisa handling her lunatic dorm mates at their worst, most notably Jerk Jock Biff, drunk off his ass after a frat party, trying to unlock the door to his room and failing miserably. And for good reason.
  Lisa: Biff, sweetie, that's the elevator.

Web Original

• Legendary Frog's parody Flash animation of The Lord of the Rings has Frodo eagerly tell Sam after destroying the One Ring, "Let's go home!", and walks off. A moment later, he walks back the other way and says, still as cheerful and eager as he was before, "The Shire is this way."

Western Animation

• Seen in one episode of American Dad!.
  Francine: Stan, honey, that's a closet.
  Stan: I'M LOOKING FOR PEACHES!
• Spud of American Dragon: Jake Long has done this, in the episode "Professor Rotwood's Thesis". Having determined that the priceless antique belonging to Trixie's mom that the Power Trio just broke is actually one of a hundred copies, Spud dramatically declares that they just need is to find one and hurries off. Into the closet.
  Spud: Um, I'm lost.
• BoJack Horseman: In Season 6, Diane is at the train station to leave Chicago and her boyfriend Guy says he won't beg her to stay. When Diane gets onboard, Guy seems ready to go back on his word, but is really trying to warn her she's going the wrong way to the airport.
  Guy: That train's going to Cottage Grove - you're gonna get screwed! [the train doors close and trap Diane inside]
• On a very special episode of Clone High, Abe Lincoln, while talking to Joan of Arc on a dock, attempts to dramatically stride back to shore. "Goodbye, Joan." He walks the wrong way, and falls into the water. "Goodbye, Joan."
• In The Critic episode "Lady Hawke", Alice storms off Jay's set in a jealous huff and says she wants to leave with her dignity... only for the door she just walked through slam shut and reveal that its the Men's Bathroom.
  Alice: Jay... is there a little man on the outside of this door?
  Jay: Yes.
  Alice: Oh poo!
• In a Terrible Thunder Lizards segment of the Eek! The Cat cartoon Mr. T.Rex lead the Thunder Lizards away from the command center... into a bathroom.
• The Fairly OddParents!: Mr. Turner is so upset over how unhelpful he is with Timmy's homework, he decides to leave Timmy's room. He first enters the closet, then the bathroom, and then he finally leaves Timmy's bedroom... through the window.
• Family Guy:
  • In "If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'", Peter and Chris's favorite show Gumbel And Gumbel is cancelled, leading Peter to storm to the networks headquarters and demand it be brought back.
    Secretary: Sir, you can't go in there.
    Peter: Oh yeah? Just watch me! [Peter attempts to burst through the door only to smack into a brick wall, as it turns out the door is just a scenery prop]
    Secretary: No, I mean you can't go in there because that door leads nowhere. It's the one next to it.
  • In "Brian Wallows and Peter Swallows", Brian gets fed up with caring for elderly shut-in Pearl and tries to storm out of her house after an argument, only to be frustrated by her locked front door. Pearl coaches him on how to open it, after which he politely reminds her to "drop dead" and leaves.
• Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids: In "The Stranger", Fat Albert and the gang are backing away from Donald's cousin Betty but back themselves into the janitor's closet instead of their classroom: not even noticing till they shut the door and all of the brooms and mops fall on them.
• In the 1977 Christmas Special A Flintstones Christmas, Mr. Slate asks Fred to perform as Santa at a charity event their wives are hosting. Fred, relieved due to thinking Slate was firing him, takes the costume and leaves through the nearest door, not looking to see which one.
  Mr. Slate: Flintstone, will you get out of my closet?!
• Simultaneously lampshaded and averted in the Gravity Falls episode "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel":
  [Grunkle Stan exits, slamming door behind him]
  Soos: Dude, wouldn't it be funny if that was a closet, and he had to come back out again and walk out the real door? [opens door and looks out] Nope, real door.
• The Hercules: The Animated Series episode "Hercules and the Twilight of the Gods" has a Call-Forward to the example from the film: All the baddies of the Norse pantheon march off in much the same way, with cries of "Ragnarok!", and a prominent sign indicates that they are, indeed, heading to Mount Olympus. Loki interrupts to let them know that, since they're Norse monsters, they should be heading to Valhalla instead.
• As the cliffhanger to the Legion of Doom episode of Justice League, the heroes all dramatically walk away in different directions, indicating the end of the League. However, they are in an enclosed warehouse. Fridge Logic dictates that at least some of them had to turn around and find another exit. Although if they were proud enough, most of them could have just made one...
• Looney Tunes loves this trope. From "Fallin' Hare":
  Bugs Bunny: [struck on head] Which way did he go, George, which way did he go?
  The Gremlin: Hmm! That way! [points in two directions, eyes crossed]
  Bugs Bunny: Gee, thanks a lot, George! [knocked out]
• Mr. Magoo: In "Trouble Indemnity", Magoo tries to give pushy insurance salesman Mr. Tirefighter the boot and ends up shoving him into a hall closet.
• My Financial Career: The young man's rising panic and nervousness at the bank cause him to walk into the safe instead of out the door when leaving the bank manager's office.
• My Life as a Teenage Robot: In "Ear No Evil" where Jenny wants her own ears to fit in, despite her mom insisting that she built the ears into her since she's a robot. Jenny still doesn't take it well.
  Jenny: Fine, if you won't help me, I'll make my own ears!
  [storms out and slams door]
  Mrs. Wakeman: Uh...closet.
  Jenny: [stomps out of the closet and storms out the other door, slamming it multiple times]
• An unusual version is seen in the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "Boast Busters", after Twilight Sparkle and Spike have an argument that involves her creating a door in the middle of the room in front of him. In the end, he slams it on her again, but of course has to come away from behind it after that to actually leave.
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: In "The Wild Brood", Sheriff Stone attempts to leave Daphne's bedroom and instead walks into her closet. Where he gets lost.
• SheZow: In "S.I.C.K. Day", Mega Monkey sends the candidates to join S.I.C.K. (Fun with Acronyms Society of Incredible Callous Kriminals) off to capture She-Zow. They march out of the boardroom through a door only for Mega Monkey to announce "That's the bathroom". They turn around and leave via exit (Candy Rapper steals a towelon the way).
• The Simpsons:
  • In one episode, Bart breaks into a blind man's house to get his dog back. When the man comes downstairs, Bart attempts to flee.
    Blind Man: I may be blind, but you just ran into a closet!
  • In The Movie: Burns has sent the dogs. After a small bit of chasing, he reminds his "visitors" of where the exit is.
• In the Spongebob Squarepants episode, "Pickles", Spongebob starts struggling in making krabby patties, so Mr. Krabs tells him to go home and get some rest. Spongebob immediately has trouble finding the door out of the Krusty Krab... which was right next to him. He also has to ask which way his home is.
• In the VeggieTales episode "The Star of Christmas", Cavis (Bob), thinking that Millward (Larry) and Seymour (Pa Grape) are walking out on him when their musical isn't going as planned, "shows them the door" with an indignant face, and it turns out to be the closet. When he opens the right door, he checks quickly before making the face.
• An episode of The Weekenders involves Tish forcing the others to participate in a radio play. During rehearsal (in Tino's room) she becomes more and more demanding, until finally Carver has a prima-donna moment and declares, "I can't work under these conditions! I'm going to my trailer!" and walks into Tino's closet, slamming the door. When this is pointed out? "A real actor can make the audience believe a closet is a trailer."

Real Life

• According to Dick Nunis, who was the area manager for Adventureland at Disneyland at the time, he once got into an argument with Walt Disney about making changes to an area in the park to improve guest flow. Apparently, after Disney refused, Nunis called him an asshole and tried to dramatically leave the room... only to accidentally walk into the closet.
• In 2022, after a big win against the Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr excitedly embraced his teammate and longtime friend Davante Adams and began to make his way into the tunnel... only for Adams to inform him he was trying to enter the Broncos' tunnel.
  Adams: I did save Derek a little bit. He almost pulled us into the wrong tunnel. He was a little excited and I'm like, "Yeah, I'm excited, too, but we gotta go this way."

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