"They Were Dead The Whole Time!" And 19 Other Overdone "Twists" People Are Tired Of Seeing In Movies And TV

"[I'm sick of] what I call the 'When Harry Met Sally... Syndrome,' which is where a man and woman are friends but inevitably fall in love, and you can spot it a mile away."

When you're watching a movie or TV show, there's nothing more annoying than an "unexpected" plot twist that you've already seen done a million other times.

Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community which worn-out, overused plot twists they're sick and tired of seeing.

Here are 20 of their top answers:

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

1. "Characters coming back from the dead. Whether it's magic or the multiverse or they were faking it to begin with, I'm so over it."

Marvel Studios / Via Disney+

"It lowers the stakes and makes any danger seem completely inconsequential. It also makes characters who don't get resurrected seem like a plot hole when death is a minor problem for the main characters."

—centitype366

"I completely agree! It makes every death cheaper because they could just come back. It has become so common that it's surprising if a character who died under suspicious circumstances doesn't come back from the dead."

—ultimatefangirl12

"Like, in the MCU, for example, Gamora from the past/an alternate timeline can come back to our universe's present, but doesn't that mean that you can technically bring back Iron Man and Black Widow also?"

—starlight49

2. "The miscommunication trope is my automatic nope. JUST TALK LIKE ADULTS, YOU DWEEBS."

—taylora4e62a0521

"Yes!!! I think 95% of all conflict in movies could be resolved by just talking it over. A lot of conflicts are just miscommunications that, in the real world, you'd get coffee with the other person and say, 'Hey, what did you mean when you said that?'

Then it would be a scene with the person going, 'Ohhhh... I'm so sorry, I took it a completely different way.'

But then, 95% of movies wouldn't happen, so I get the miscommunication trope. But it does bother me quite a bit."

—flyerboy6

3. "The enemies-to-lovers plot twist. It's cringey, especially when they do it with teenagers."

Hulu

"It's just, like, do you want me to go befriend my enemy and then make out with them? Is that what you want?"

—moon08

"Two people who are polar opposites start off hating each other, but then they suddenly fall in love with each other. This one is used a lot in the Hallmark Christmas movies, where the thing that bonds them will be something about Christmas."

—robert_dunder

4. "The moment in movies or shows when characters lean in for their first kiss, and they get interrupted and jump apart. Every. Damn. Time."

—s463b03bd4

5. "What I call the 'When Harry Met Sally... Syndrome,' which is where a man and woman are friends but inevitably fall in love, and you can spot it a mile away."

—arflurer87

Columbia Pictures / Via youtube.com

6. "So-and-so has been dead for the entire show."

—ladedah

7. "When the seemingly kind and unassuming best friend or supporter of the protagonist turns out to be the main villain."

HBO Max

"Examples include Angela Moss from Mr. Robot, Cassie Howard from Euphoria, Yuri from Girl from Nowhere, Jill Roberts and Richie Kirsch from Scream, and most recently, On Ha Joon from Taxi Driver."

—tanyam44ab2253d

8. "In cop/detective shows, the killer is never the first person arrested."

"The same thing always happens: The killer is one of the first people interviewed but seems completely innocent. Then a 'likely' suspect is identified, located, and arrested, only to produce an ironclad alibi. Then, the detectives either find new evidence or notice a tiny detail they had missed in the crime scene photos. They realize they've already talked to the killer, and now, they have to hurry and arrest them before they can flee the country and escape. And 99 times out of 100, they catch the killer without a minute to spare."

—bookworm33

9. "Making a main character's current partner a dick to excuse the main couple's cheating."

—daenakz

10. "I'm a big murder mystery fan, and recently, those shows cannot STOP using the 'but they weren't actually dead when you found them!' twist. They keep having the victim pretending to be dead or knocked out when the body was found, only for them to be murdered just after. Looking at you, Death in Paradise."

BBC One / Via youtube.com

"You can spot it from a mile away these days. CUT. IT. OUT."

—CallMeCrazy

11. "The long-lost family member no one ever mentioned who just randomly knows everything about the family, yet somehow, no one knew about them."

—n46fe61b6c

12. "When a character is like, 'Please just let me explain!' instead of just SAYING the explanation. Then, everything goes to hell because they were...too polite, I guess?"

—cheesemonster

13. "Disney's twist villains. I hate it, and it's not even really a twist anymore because it's used ALL THE TIME!"

Disney / Via Disney+

"Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Incredibles 2, Moana, Zootopia, Coco, Big Hero 6, Toy Story 3...I'm sick of it!"

—monikap6

14. "The killer has been the person helping the detectives all along."

—gattagatta

15. "Forgetting cellphones exist. In a lot of movies, lots of problems could be solved by cellphones, but they are never used."

—flyerboy6

16. "I'm a strong hater of the surprise/accidental pregnancy trope."

CBS / Via HBO Max

"I always get pissed when the main character suddenly throws up two mornings in a row because I know it's all over from there."

—foragoodtimenotalongtime

17. "On Star Trek, every admiral is secretly a villain. It's so common it’s referred to as a 'Badmiral' when it happens."

—buzzcat99

18. "The female therapist/doctor can't help but fall in love with the bad boy and helps him escape."

—kylas408c8f2bd

Kids WB' / Via youtube.com

19. "They're leaving town, but I just realized I've loved them ALL ALONG?!?!"

"This one needs to go. It's predictable from the very first edgy, angsty line. They're friends first, there's a fight somewhere in the middle, and then there's a magical moment of clarity at the end. 

And of course, they're always about to leave the whole damn country when the person who's in love feels like confessing. It's tired. 

For once, I'd LOVE to see the person who they are in love with tell them, 'Screw off! You're too late, and I'm living my best life in New Zealand now, bitch! BYE!"

—morgan_le_slay

"Exactly! Leonard from The Big Bang Theory summed it up perfectly when he said, 'The Jennifer Aniston movie where she's searching for love, only to realize that it was right there all along!'"

—crafty_gm

20. And finally: "The 'it was just a dream' á la Bobby Ewing in Dallas, or the tweaking it to 'it was a vision' like in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2."

—vasato

Summit Entertainment / Via youtube.com

Did we miss any annoying plot twists you're tired of seeing again and again? Share your answers in the comments!

Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.