Basic Trope: A character returns after being Put on a Bus.
- Straight: Alice and Bob had a friend named Charlie, but in the season 1 finale he moved away. By the season 2 finale, he returns and moves back to town.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice and Bob made several friends that also moved out of town, but eventually returned.
- Not only did Charlie return, but became a main character.
- The most obscure, one-note characters suddenly return.
- Downplayed: Charlie stopped appearing for an episode or two, but later returned.
- Justified: Charlie had a reason to move back to town, such as getting a job there again, or simply because he missed living there.
- Inverted: Charlie was never written out, but there's an episode celebrating his return anyways.
- Subverted: The finale episode opens with a scene of Charlie messaging Alice and Bob and telling him that he'll be traveling soon. It turns out he's not actually going back to town, but instead flying to visit his relatives.
- Double Subverted: But after he visits his relatives, he moves back to Alice and Bob's town.
- Parodied: Charlie literally arrives to town on a bus labeled "Characters Who Were Written Out".
- Zig-Zagged:
- Several of Alice and Bob's friends were Put on a Bus. A few returned, a few never came back with any explanation, and a few died offscreen.
- Commuting on a Bus.
- Averted: Nobody ever gets Put on a Bus or comes back from it.
- Enforced:
- Charlie's original actor died, was fired, or otherwise was unavailable, so they had to come up with a reason to shelve him until a replacement actor was found (or in the case of Charlie's actor simply being unavailable, waiting until he could come back).
- Charlie became an Ensemble Dark Horse, and many fans wanted him to return, so the creators of the series decided to fulfill the request.
- At the time Charlie had been Put on a Bus he didn't fit well with the overall story, but the series itself ended up evolving in such a way that the character now became a better fit, and the writers felt like now was the time to reintroduce him.
- Lampshaded: "I sure did miss Charlie."
- Invoked: Charlie enjoyed his time away, but he misses Alice and Bob and decides to move back.
- Exploited: Charlie was removed from the show in order to cause a reaction that would expose more people to the show. Then the type 2 enforcement happens.
- Defied: Charlie stays in his new town and doesn't come back.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "Hey, they're bringing back Charlie! He last appeared in that episode last season, right?"
Back to The Bus Came Back
