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Guilt by Coincidence
- 142 statements
- 26 feature instances
- 25 referencing feature instances
| Guilt by Coincidence | type |
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| Guilt by Coincidence | label |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | page |
GuiltByCoincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | comment |
A highly publicized crime has just been committed, with the criminals bearing distinguishing marks that make them easy for the general public to recognize if they see them out on the street. Unfortunately, those distinguishing marks are also generic enough for anyone who has similar features to be mistaken for the criminal. Usually, when this happens, the person(s) who mistook the innocent person for the perp will overreact, and either call the cops and/or go after the suspect themselves. Or, in a similar vein, the mistaken-for-perp performs an action that, to a police officer or passers-by, seem suspicious and paramount to guilt in the crime, even though in reality the action was meant to be innocuous or even helpful to the situation. Either way, Hilarity Ensues... unless played straight, in which the victim of the mistaken identity is either beaten to death by a vengeful mob or wrongly imprisoned. A more general superset of Mistaken for Murderer. The trope name comes from the old saying "Guilt by association", which itself invokes the real-life charge of accessory to the crime, but is separate from Guilt by Association Gag in that someone is punished along with a group despite not actually having anything to do with the crime and is generally a comedy trope. Examples |
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| Guilt by Coincidence | fetched |
2023-06-24T08:43:01Z | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | parsed |
2023-06-24T08:43:01Z | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | processingComment |
Dropped link to GunmanWithThreeNames: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | processingComment |
Dropped link to MiscarriageOfJustice: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | processingComment |
Dropped link to SilentFilms: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | processingComment |
Dropped link to TheSpecials: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | processingUnknown |
SilentFilms | |
| Guilt by Coincidence | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_12300cc3 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_12300cc3 | comment |
Watchmen: Nite Owl is a Legacy Character. The original Nite Owl went public and wrote a book after his retirement from being a superhero. The current Nite Owl, whose identity is never publicly known, helps break Rorschach out of prison during a prison riot. A street gang wants to get revenge on him for that and they assume that the publicly-known Nite Owl is the one who did it, so they break into his house and kill him. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_12300cc3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_12300cc3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Watchmen (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_12300cc3 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_13660e57 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_13660e57 | comment |
In the Sten series, there was operation Nightfog, a purge of military personnel who'd been conspiring to bring down the Council which usurped The Empire: | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_13660e57 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_13660e57 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Sten | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_13660e57 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_261c8d3f | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_261c8d3f | comment |
In The Simpsons episode "The Great Money Caper", Homer and Bart's attempt at Con Artistry ends up with them losing the family car to a fake cop. To explain their loss to Marge and Lisa, they make up a description of a fake thief. Groundskeeper Willie happens to match their description, and is fast-tracked to a guilty verdict. It turns out this is all an elaborate prank, done for unexplained reasons, though Willie wasn't in on it. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_261c8d3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_261c8d3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Simpsons | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_261c8d3f | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_3ab29433 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_3ab29433 | comment |
In M, the scare over the child killer is so great that one completely innocent man gets attacked by an angry mob just for speaking to a child. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_3ab29433 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_3ab29433 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| M | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_3ab29433 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_48d44b5a | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_48d44b5a | comment |
In the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, April and the turtles once got chased by the police because April's van coincidentally was the same make, model, and color as a van used by a group of bank robbers earlier that day. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_48d44b5a | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_48d44b5a | featureConfidence |
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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_48d44b5a | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_4e3daed | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_4e3daed | comment |
In Master of the Flying Guillotine, the eponymous villain goes on a vendetta after a one-armed boxer killed his disciples, murdering every one-armed man he stumbles across. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_4e3daed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_4e3daed | featureConfidence |
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| Master of the Flying Guillotine | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_4e3daed | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_64791462 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_64791462 | comment |
Tyrion's brother Jaime is guilty of a lot of things, but he's also undeservedly blamed or hated for a lot that he had no part in (The Red Wedding), or was in reality his most heroic act (killing King Aerys), mostly due to very unfortunate coincidences. Even in A Feast for Crows, where he has turned a new leaf and become one of the most honest characters in the story, these will never let him go. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_64791462 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_64791462 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Feast for Crows | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_64791462 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_72262aee | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_72262aee | comment |
Avatar: The Last Airbender: In "The Boiling Rock, Part 2", the prisoner Chit Sang is recaptured after a failed attempt to use an insulated cell as a boat to escape from the titular prison. When the warden demands he identify his co-conspirator, he instead blames a guard who had bullied him before. The warden believes him, because the guard had earlier punished him for a trumped-up offense by throwing him in the same cell he used to escape. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_72262aee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_72262aee | featureConfidence |
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| Avatar: The Last Airbender | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_72262aee | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_76c01b30 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_76c01b30 | comment |
V for Vendetta had V send copies of his mask to virtually the entire population of London. State Sec overreacted when children started wearing them, resulting in even more of a backlash from the people against the government. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_76c01b30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_76c01b30 | featureConfidence |
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| V for Vendetta (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_76c01b30 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7884ec15 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7884ec15 | comment |
Seinfeld: At the start of season 4 Kramer is in LA trying to "make it big in Hollywood" and handing out copies of his screenplay to just about everyone. When a copy is found on the person of the "Smog Strangler's" latest victim take a guess who the police jump on. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7884ec15 | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7884ec15 | featureConfidence |
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| Seinfeld | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_7884ec15 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7dbde88b | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7dbde88b | comment |
Justified in an episode of Drake & Josh — Josh not only resembles the Theater Thug, he was hired to play the criminal on America's Most Wanted. Is it any wonder people kept trying to get him arrested? | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7dbde88b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_7dbde88b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Drake & Josh | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_7dbde88b | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8dd0bbcc | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8dd0bbcc | comment |
In A Series of Unfortunate Events, Jacques Snicket is jailed for having the same tattoo on his ankle that Olaf has, and just as the Boudelaires cannot convince most people that Olaf in disguise is, in fact, Olaf, they also cannot convince anyone that Jacques is, in fact, not Olaf. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8dd0bbcc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8dd0bbcc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Series of Unfortunate Events | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_8dd0bbcc | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8fa663d0 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8fa663d0 | comment |
A 1940 The Batman serial really goes over the top with this. The masked villain gets a distinctive cut on the back on his hand while getting away...and suddenly three major characters are sporting them, and the mystery of who he is is kept alive a bit longer. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8fa663d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_8fa663d0 | featureConfidence |
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| The Batman (Serial) | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_8fa663d0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_90f42a9b | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_90f42a9b | comment |
The Wheel of Time: After Rand announces himself as the Dragon Reborn, it's mentioned that anyone in the area who is remotely similar to his description (young, male, red hair, tall) is at risk of being attacked. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_90f42a9b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_90f42a9b | featureConfidence |
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| The Wheel of Time | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_90f42a9b | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_99c003af | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_99c003af | comment |
In an episode of The Boondocks, Tom, a criminal prosecutor, is arrested for supposedly resembling the X-Box Killer. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_99c003af | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_99c003af | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Boondocks | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_99c003af | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_9d47a2a2 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_9d47a2a2 | comment |
In A Song of Ice and Fire, after Tyrion is framed for poisoning Joffrey, Cersei offers a huge reward to anyone who brings her the head of her dwarf brother Tyrion, which leads to a steady stream of people bringing her the heads of innocent dwarves and the occasional child. The murders go unpunished because Cersei doesn't want anyone to hesitate if they actually do find Tyrion and aren't entirely certain of his identity. Tyrion's brother Jaime is guilty of a lot of things, but he's also undeservedly blamed or hated for a lot that he had no part in (The Red Wedding), or was in reality his most heroic act (killing King Aerys), mostly due to very unfortunate coincidences. Even in A Feast for Crows, where he has turned a new leaf and become one of the most honest characters in the story, these will never let him go. |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_9d47a2a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_9d47a2a2 | featureConfidence |
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| A Song of Ice and Fire | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_9d47a2a2 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_a9d9e7f8 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_a9d9e7f8 | comment |
Inverted in Out of Time. An older white woman who was a witness to a crime describes a black man to a sketch artist and then points out the chief of police (and, coincidentally, the man she saw at the crime scene) as being the culprit. After a tense pause, she starts pointing out every black man in the station which discredits her testimony, and marks one of many close calls for the protagonist while he tries to slow down the investigation that is leading straight to him. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_a9d9e7f8 | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_a9d9e7f8 | featureConfidence |
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| Out of Time | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_a9d9e7f8 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_af0c407d | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_af0c407d | comment |
In The Millionaire, each episode features somebody anonymously receiving a check for one million dollars from an Eccentric Millionaire. One of the recipients, Philip Sargent, is subsequently suspected of being one of the culprits in a highly-publicized bank robbery after one of his luggage items is found to be full of cash. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_af0c407d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_af0c407d | featureConfidence |
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| The Millionaire | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_af0c407d | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_b8346c5b | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_b8346c5b | comment |
His first American film, Fury (1936) stars Spencer Tracy as an innocent man who's nearly killed by a lynch mob — but in what could be a case of He Who Fights Monsters, he attempts to frame the entire mob (or at least the 22 people shown in newsreel footage of the crime) for his murder. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_b8346c5b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_b8346c5b | featureConfidence |
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| Fury (1936) | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_b8346c5b | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c43df4d8 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c43df4d8 | comment |
In many Doctor Who stories, the Doctor arrives in an environment (e.g. research base, spaceship, space station) shortly after sinister events have begun occurring, usually including deaths. The person in charge (e.g. commander, director of research) assumes the Doctor and companion/s did it. (Admittedly, under the circumstances, that's often not so unreasonable.) Then the Doctor and companion/s are opposed by the people they're trying to help, as well as the actual villain/s. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c43df4d8 | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c43df4d8 | featureConfidence |
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| Doctor Who | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_c43df4d8 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c5d0768d | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c5d0768d | comment |
A lighthearted version features in Aunt Dimity Digs In: several people see two hooded figures in the vicinity of the vicarage the night an old pamphlet is stolen from the vicar's desk. Throw in fog, lights, and a Crop Circle, and Hilarity Ensues. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c5d0768d | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_c5d0768d | featureConfidence |
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| Aunt Dimity | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_c5d0768d | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_ca0edf8b | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_ca0edf8b | comment |
One episode of The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Shelby and friends were trying to figure out who stole jewelery from a safe and became very suspicious of a magician who they spotted trying to conceal a small box on the porch. Once confronted, he began looking very guilty and his wife started to cry. Turns out he was on a diet and was sneaking food behind her back. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_ca0edf8b | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_ca0edf8b | featureConfidence |
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| The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_ca0edf8b | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_cac1f772 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_cac1f772 | comment |
An episode of CSI involved the beating death of a taxi driver by an angry mob after he supposedly ran down a young kid. Not only was the kid already dead when the taxi rolled over him, but the driver — whom the mob assumed was getting back into the taxi to drive away — was actually reaching for his CB radio to call in the accident. Fortunately, the mob was prosecuted for it. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_cac1f772 | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_cac1f772 | featureConfidence |
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| CSI | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_cac1f772 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_da275e44 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_da275e44 | comment |
The 4400: This is played with in Season Two. In "Hidden", Roy Keith Marsden is arrested for the murder of Jordan Collier because he fits the NTAC profile, he resembles the artist's sketch of the culprit and he had previously threatened Collier's life. Several hours earlier, Tom had learned that Kyle had assassinated Collier while under the influence of the people from the future. In "Lockdown", the prosecution states that it is looking for the death penalty for Marsden. In "Mommy's Bosses", Marsden takes a plea bargain and agrees to serve a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 20 years. Dennis Ryland later tells Tom that Kyle had been under surveillance ever since being released from quarantine and that he had Marsden framed. Ryland did not do so out of the goodness of his heart but so that he would have something with which he could blackmail Tom. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_da275e44 | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_da275e44 | featureConfidence |
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| The 4400 | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_da275e44 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_f8a7362 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_f8a7362 | comment |
In the Midnight Caller two-parter "A Snitch in Time," a man who matches Jack's description commits a hit-and-run while driving a car that looks like Devon's. | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_f8a7362 | featureApplicability |
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| Guilt by Coincidence / int_f8a7362 | featureConfidence |
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| Midnight Caller | hasFeature |
Guilt by Coincidence / int_f8a7362 | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_f9f60778 | type |
Guilt by Coincidence | |
| Guilt by Coincidence / int_f9f60778 | comment |
In Moms' Night Out, Alysson reports the minivan as stolen after she missed the multiple messages that Sean leaves saying that he needs to borrow it and left the other car. This leads to a car chase and Sean, Marco, and Kevin being hauled off to jail for being suspected of stealing the van, abducting the kids, and killing "Mama" (actually a parakeet). | |
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