A
twist ending or
surprise ending is an unexpected conclusion or
climaxThe climax or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension or drama or when the action starts in which the solution is given.
to a work of
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
, and which often contains
ironyIrony is a situation, literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity, discordance or unintended connection that goes beyond the most evident meaning....
or causes the
audienceAn audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
to reevaluate the narrative or characters. A twist ending is the conclusive form of
plot twistA plot twist is a change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
s. The classic television series
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
was legendary for using twist endings, so much so, that they have become a trademark of the series itself.
Literary devices
AnagnorisisAnagnorisis is a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery. Anagnorisis originally meant recognition in its Greek context, not only of a person but also of what that person stood for...
, or
discovery, is the protagonist's sudden recognition of their own or another character's true identity or nature. Through this technique, previously unforeseen character information is revealed. A notable example of anagnorisis occurs in
Oedipus Rex:
OedipusOedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
kills his father and marries his mother in ignorance, learning the truth only toward the climax of the play. The earliest use of this device as a twist ending in a
murder mysteryCrime fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
was in "The Three Apples", a medieval
Arabian Nights tale, where the protagonist
Ja'far ibn YahyaJa'far bin Yahya Barmaki was the son of a Persian Vizier of the Arab Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, from whom he inherited that position. He was a member of the influential Barmakids family...
by chance discovers a key item towards the end of the story that reveals the culprit behind the murder to be his own slave all along. Another film to use this technique is the 2001 film
The Others, in which a mother is convinced that her house is being haunted. At the end of the film, she learns that, in fact, she and her children are the ghosts. The movie
Fight ClubFight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. The book follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. The insomnia is aggravated by frequent business travel and an apparent boredom with his comfortable lifestyle...
is also an example of Anagnorisis where the antagonist is discovered to be an alter ego or split persona of the protagonist.
FlashbackA flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened prior to the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
, or
analepsis, is a sudden, vivid reversion to a past event. It is used to surprise the reader with previously unknown information that provides the answer to a mystery, places a character in a different light, or reveals the reason for a previously inexplicable action. The acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock film
MarnieMarnie is a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. The original film score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.-Plot:...
employed this type of twist ending.
An
unreliable narratorIn fiction an unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility has been seriously compromised...
twists the ending by revealing, almost always at the end of the narrative, that the narrator has manipulated or fabricated the preceding story, thus forcing the reader to question their prior assumptions about the text. This motif is often used within noir fiction and
filmsFilm noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, notably in the film
The Usual SuspectsThe Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. The film tells the story of Roger "Verbal" Kint , a small-time con man who is the subject of a police interrogation. He tells his interrogator, U.S...
. An unreliable narrator motif was employed by Agatha Christie in
The Murder of Roger AckroydThe Murder of Roger Ackroyd is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons in June 1926 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company on the 19th of the same month. It features Hercule Poirot as the lead detective...
, a novel that generated much controversy due to critics' contention that it was unfair to trick the reader in such a manipulative manner .
PeripeteiaPeripeteia is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point. The term is primarily used with reference to works of literature. The English form of peripeteia is peripety. Peripety is a sudden reversal dependent on intellect and logic...
is a sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortune, whether for good or ill, that emerges naturally from the character's circumstances. Unlike the
deus ex machina device, peripeteia must be logical within the frame of the story. An example of a reversal for ill would be
AgamemnonIn Greek mythology, Agamemnon / is the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope; the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytemnestra; different mythological versions make him the king either of Mycenae or of Argos...
's sudden murder at the hands of his wife
ClytemnestraClytemnestra is the traditional, but mistaken, English form for what is properly "Clytaemestra". "Her name in Greek is Klutaiméstra . . . the form with μν first appeared in the middle Byzantine period . . . and is due to a false etymological connection with μναoμαι 'woo, court'. Aeschylus . ....
in
AeschylusAeschylus was an ancient Greek playwright. He is often recognized as the father of tragedy, and is the earliest of the three Greek tragedians whose plays survive, the others being Sophocles and Euripides...
'
The OresteiaThe Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. When originally performed it was accompanied by Proteus, a satyr play that would have been performed following the trilogy; it has not survived...
or the inescapable situation Kate Hudson's character finds herself in at the end of "
The Skeleton KeyThe Skeleton Key is a 2005 horror-suspense film starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joy Bryant. The film focuses on a young hospice nurse who acquires a job at a spooky New Orleans plantation home, and becomes entangled in a mystery involving the house, its former...
". A positive reversal of fortune would be Nicholas Van Orton's (Michael Douglas) suicide attempt after mistakenly believing himself to have accidentally killed his brother, only to land safely in the midst of his own birthday party, in the film
The GameThe Game is a 1997 Neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Douglas, featuring Sean Penn, and produced by Polygram. It tells the story of an investment banker who is given a mysterious gift: participation in a game that integrates in strange ways with his life...
.
Deus ex machinaA deus ex machina is a plot device in which a person or thing appears "out of the blue" to help a character to overcome a seemingly insolvable difficulty...
is a Latin term meaning "god out of a machine." It refers to an unexpected, artificial or improbable character, device or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction to resolve a situation or untangle a plot. In
Ancient Greek theaterThe theatre of ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
, the "deus ex machina" ('ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός') was the character of a Greek god literally brought onto the stage via a crane (μηχανῆς—
mechanes), after which a seemingly insoluble problem is brought to a satisfactory resolution by the god's will. In its modern, figurative sense, the "deus ex machina" brings about an ending to a narrative through unexpected (generally happy) resolution to what appears to be a problem that cannot be overcome (see
The PrestigeThe Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 World Fantasy Award-winning novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the beginning of the 20th...
). This device is often used to end a bleak story on a more positive note.
Poetic justicePoetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.- Origin of the term :...
is a literary device in which
virtueVirtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a character trait or quality valued as being good.Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting individual and collective well-being, and thus good by definition. The opposite of virtue is vice.-Virtues and values:Virtues can be placed into a...
is ultimately rewarded or
viceVice is a practice or a habit considered immoral, depraved, and/or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness and corruption...
punished in such a way that the reward or punishment has a logical connection to the deed. In modern literature, this device is often used to create an
ironicIrony is a situation, literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity, discordance or unintended connection that goes beyond the most evident meaning....
twist of fate in which the villain gets caught up in his/her own trap. For example, in
C. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as Jack, was an Irish-born British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist...
'
The Horse and His BoyThe Horse and His Boy is a novel by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1954, making it the fifth of seven books published in Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia. The books in this series are sometimes ordered chronologically in relation to the events in the books as opposed to the dates of their...
, Prince Rabadash climbs upon a mounting block during the battle in Archenland. Upon jumping down while shouting "The bolt of
TashTash is a fictional character found in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. He is an antagonist in the novels The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle....
falls from above," his hauberk catches on a hook and leaves him hanging there, humiliated and trapped.
Chekhov's gunChekhov's gun is the literary technique whereby an element is introduced early in the story, but its significance does not become clear until later on...
refers to a situation in which a character or plot element is introduced early in the narrative, then not referenced again until much later. Often the usefulness of the item is not immediately apparent until it suddenly attains pivotal significance. A similar mechanism is the "plant," a preparatory device that repeats throughout the story. During the resolution, the true significance of the plant is revealed. An example of this would be the
geologist's hammerA geologist's hammer is a hammer used for geological purposes. In field geology, they are used to obtain a fresh surface of a rock in order to determine its composition, nature, mineralogy and history...
in
The Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank Redemption is a American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, loosely based on the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption...
, which the character Andy Dufresne acquires early on in the movie. At the end, it is revealed that Dufresne has for the progression of the entire film, spanning over 19 years, secretly been using the hammer to tunnel an escape route out of the prison. Another example is seen in
M. Night ShyamalanManoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan , known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is a two-time Academy Award-nominated Indian-American filmmaker and screenwriter who resides and works primarily in the United States, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that usually climax with a...
's
The Sixth SenseThe Sixth Sense is a psychological thriller film, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
, where the significance of an early scene becomes apparent at the end, necessitating a different interpretation of all that has happened in between; in this case, it is not a physical device but an action which is pivotal to the outcome. Both Chekhov’s gun and plants are used as elements of
foreshadowingForeshadowing is a literary technique used by many different authors to provide clues for the reader to be able to predict what might occur later on in the story...
. Villains in
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! is the first incarnation of the long-running Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. It premiered on September 13, 1969 at 10:30 a.m. EST and ran for two seasons on CBS as a half-hour long show...
were often Chekhov's guns—they would be introduced early on as "innocuous secondary characters", then ignored until they turned out to be the one in the scary costume driving people away to get at a hidden fortune.
A
red herringA red herring is an idiom referring to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item of significance. For example, in mystery fiction, an innocent party may be purposefully cast as highly suspect through emphasis or descriptive techniques; attention is drawn away from the...
is a false clue intended to lead investigators toward an incorrect solution. This device usually appears in
detective novelsDetective fiction is a branch of crime fiction in which a detective , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder...
and
mystery fictionMystery fiction is a loosely-defined term that is often used as a synonym for detective fiction — in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime...
. The red herring is a type of
misdirectionMisdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another.-Misdirection in magic:...
, a device intended to distract the
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
, and by extension the reader, away from the correct answer or from the site of pertinent clues or action. An example would be the way such information is used in the film
SawSaw is a 2004 horror film, the first installment of the Saw film series. Directed by James Wan and written by Wan and Leigh Whannell, Saw was filmed during only eighteen days of production. It was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in early 2004 and saw international release later that year...
(2004). The Indian murder mystery film
Gupt: The Hidden TruthGupt: The Hidden Truth is a Bollywood suspense thriller movie released in 1997, directed by Rajiv Rai. The film starred Bobby Deol, Manisha Koirala, Kajol, Paresh Rawal, Om Puri and Raj Babbar. It was one of the biggest successes of 1997....
cast many veteran actors who had usually played villainous roles in previous Indian films as red herrings in this film to deceive the audience into suspecting them. A red herring can also be used as a form of false
foreshadowingForeshadowing is a literary technique used by many different authors to provide clues for the reader to be able to predict what might occur later on in the story...
.
A
cliffhangerA cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation...
is an abrupt ending that leaves the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation, creating a strong feeling of suspense that provokes the reader to ask, "What will happen next?" Cliffhangers often frustrate the reader, since they offer no resolution at all; however, the device does have the advantage of creating the Zeigarnik effect (unfinished or interrupted tasks are better remembered) . A cliffhanger is often employed at the end of an installment of serialized
novelsThe term "serial" refers to the intrinsic property of a series – namely, its order. In literature, the term is used as a noun to refer to a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication.More generally, "serial" is applied...
,
movies|}Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials or Film serials, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film that were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
, or in most cases, TV series. A literal cliffhanger can be seen at the end of
The Italian JobThe Italian Job is a British caper film, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, produced by Michael Deeley and directed by Peter Collinson. It was released in 1969 and was popular in Britain; subsequent television showings and releases on video have established it as something of a national institution...
.
In medias resIn medias res, also medias in res , refers to a literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning...
(
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
, "into the middle of things") is a literary technique in which narrative proceeds from the middle of the story rather than its beginning. Information such as characterization, setting, and motive is revealed through a series of flashbacks. This technique creates a twist when the cause for the inciting incident is not revealed until the climax. This technique is used within the film
The PrestigeThe Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 World Fantasy Award-winning novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the beginning of the 20th...
in which the opening scenes show one of the main characters drowning and the other being imprisoned. Subsequent scenes reveal the events leading up to these situations through a series of flashbacks.
In medias res is often used to provide a
narrative hookA narrative hook is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that he or she will keep on reading...
.
NonlinearNonlinear narrative or disrupted narrative is a narrative technique, sometimes used in literature, film and other narratives, wherein events are portrayed out of chronological order. It is often used to mimic the structure and recall of human memory but has been applied for other reasons as well...
narration works by revealing plot and character in non-chronological order. This technique requires the reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to fully understand the story. A twist ending can occur as the result of information which is held until the climax and which places characters or events in a different perspective. Some of the earliest known uses of non-linear story telling occur in
The Odyssey, a work that is largely told in flashback via the narrator Odysseus. The nonlinear approach has been used in works such as the films
Mulholland DriveMulholland Drive is a 2001 neo-noir psychological thriller written and directed by David Lynch, and starring Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring and Justin Theroux. The surrealist film was highly acclaimed by many critics and earned Lynch the Prix de la mise en scène at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival...
and
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction is a 1994 crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, the television show
LostLost may refer to:In real life*Losing the way, a hazard of outdoor activitiesIn cinema or television:* Lost , an ABC drama television series which follows the lives of plane crash survivors who land on a mysterious island...
(especially in many episodes in the later seasons), and the book
Catch-22Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943 onwards, is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...
.
Reverse chronologyReverse chronology is a method of story-telling whereby the plot is revealed in reverse order.In a story employing this technique, the first scene shown is actually the conclusion to the plot...
works by revealing the plot in reverse order, i.e., from final event to initial event. Unlike traditional chronological storylines, which progress through causes before reaching a final effect, reverse chronological storylines reveal the final effect before tracing the causes leading up to it; therefore, the initial cause represents a "twist ending." Examples employing this technique include the films
IrréversibleIrréversible is a film written, directed, edited, and photographed by Gaspar Noé. It stars Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. Several reviewers declared it one of the most disturbing and controversial films of 2002. The film employs non-linear narrative...
and
Memento, the play
BetrayalBetrayal is a play written by 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter in 1978. Critically regarded as one of the English playwright's major dramatic works, it features his characteristically economical dialogue, characters' hidden emotions and veiled motivations, and their self-absorbed competitive...
by
Harold PinterHarold Pinter, CH, CBE , was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, political activist and poet. He was among the most influential British playwrights of modern times...
, and
Martin AmisMartin Louis Amis is an English novelist, literary critic, professor, and short story writer. He is the son of Sir Kingsley Amis. His works include such novels as Money , London Fields and The Information...
's
Time's ArrowTime's Arrow: or The Nature of the Offence is a novel by Martin Amis. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize .-Plot summary:The book recounts the life of a German Holocaust doctor in a disorienting reverse chronology...
.
Actions which are
out of characterOut of character is a phrase used in entertainment and role-playing to differentiate between a person playing a character and the character itself. When the person is being him-or-herself, he or she is said to be "out of character". The opposite, when the person is acting as the character, is "in...
, i.e., inconsistent with a character's previously established characterization, are usually seen as negative, possibly destructive to the narrative's credibility and foundation, and possibly indicative of the writer's lack of focus.
Plot holeA plot hole, or plothole, is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story's plot, or constitutes a blatant omission of relevant information regarding the plot...
s may emerge when a twist ending is utilized at the story's conclusion. Narratives may have a twist ending purely for
shock valueShock value is the potential of an image, text or other form of communication to provoke a reaction of disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotion.-Shock value as humor:...
and may, as a result, become inconsistent with events that occurred earlier in the story. This also causes disruptions in
continuityIn fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. It is of relevance to several media....
.
The reader may experience
confusionConFusion is an annual science fiction convention organized by the Stilyagi Air Corps and its parent organization, the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association. Commonly, it is held the third weekend of January. It is the oldest science fiction convention in Michigan, a regional, general SF con...
if the twist ending is unnecessarily complex, possibly providing too many twists or a twist that does not make sense within the context of the story. As a result, the reader will not understand what has occurred and will be left unsatisfied. Some authors may use confusion as a deliberate device, meaning that the reader (or viewer) can only fully understand the story by re-reading or re-watching. Examples include the works of
Gene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying a Catholic. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
, and the film
PrimerPrimer is a 2004 American hard science fiction film about the accidental discovery of time travel. The film was written, directed and produced by Shane Carruth, a former mathematician and engineer, and was completed on a budget of $7,000....
. This is sometimes the intention of
postmodernPostmodernism literally means 'after the modernist movement'. While "modern" itself refers to something "related to the present", the movement of modernism and the following reaction of postmodernism are defined by a set of perspectives...
stories, an example being
Hideo Kojimais a Japanese video game designer originally employed at Konami. Formerly the vice president of Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, he is currently the Executive Corporate OfficerDirector of Kojima Productions...
's video game
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Libertyis a stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001. It is the fourth Metal Gear game produced and directed by Kojima and the direct sequel to Metal Gear Solid...
, in which the protagonist, who has presented himself throughout the game as meek and passive, is revealed to be a former child soldier, known for his brutality.
See also
- Climax (narrative)
The climax or turning point of a narrative work is its point of highest tension or drama or when the action starts in which the solution is given.
- Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction in which a detective , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder...
- Literary technique
A literary technique or literary device is an identifiable rule of thumb, convention or structure that is employed in literature and storytelling....
- MacGuffin
A MacGuffin is "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction."Sometimes, the specific nature of the MacGuffin is not important to the plot such that anything that serves as a motivation serves its purpose...
- Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term that is often used as a synonym for detective fiction — in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime...
- Plot twist
A plot twist is a change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
- Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final pages of the...
- M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan , known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is a two-time Academy Award-nominated Indian-American filmmaker and screenwriter who resides and works primarily in the United States, known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that usually climax with a...