The most popular books, TV shows and movies all involve some sort of trope. But how many of them have been re-used, reduced and recycled, to the point where by just reading the description you can already guess exactly what will happen. What happened to the excitement, the thrill, and tearjerkers? Let's unpack what still works and what needs to be retired.
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Secret Relationships
Sneaking around, secret glances and the thrill of not getting caught. This trope can be a hit or a miss, as sometimes the story can get a little “toxic”. It gets toxic when the relationship is secret because one or both characters are ashamed of it, cheating on someone else, or they’re ashamed of the person they’re in a relationship with.
Stories with this toxic romance vibe can also be compelling, they give a realistic view on how messy real-life relationships can be. However, these don't do well with netizens as many feel it's too annoying.
Netizens prefer when the relationship is secret because the characters aren't ready to be public or those romances where the relationship is secret because of who they are in the social hierarchy. What's Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018), Falling into Your Smile (2021), The Half of it (2020), Pretty Little Liars (2010) are popular with netizen (though some had mixed reactions). While plot lines similar to Nevertheless (2021), My ID is Gangnam Beauty (2018), and Gossip Girl (2007) had mixed reactions from netizens.
Betrayal
The award for best plot twist would have to go to betrayal. Something about spending the whole show or movie loving a character just to find out they were the villain the entire time. Trust broken, character distraught because of someone they trusted. This trope requires the element of surprise to leave the audience, and the characters stunned.
Betrayal can dramatically flip the entire plot or be the starting/ending point of it. This trope is very diverse as there are many ways to betray someone, whether it be romantic, allegiance, or hidden identity etc. Adolescence (2025), Vincenzo (2021), You (2018), Mr. Sunshine (2018), and Gone Girl (2014) are great examples of why betrayal is a trope that deserves to stay.
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Opposites Attract
A classic that is a classic for a reason, characters clash, complement then grow with each other. Two characters with different personalities, values or lifestyles are brought together by chance. They clash at first but soon learn to love each other's quirks.
The contrast creates drama, banter, and often a more enduring connection. This trope makes for fun friendships, where they balance each other out, banter about random things and grow.
When put with romance this trope has great tension and chemistry. The characters fill a gap in each others lives that neither realized they were missing. No one really understands why they're together, but they do. Crash Landing on You (2019), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Gilmore Girls (2007), and The Big Bang Theory (2007) are great examples of unlikely duos that work.
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Romantic Confessions
Every romance trope has a confession, the ‘I think I like you’ speech. When I say romantic confessions, I'm talking about the ones where the characters yearn for each other like oxygen. Throughout the plot the characters portray an intense longing for each other.
The way they look at each other with sincere love until one character finds the courage to confess. These confessions usually take a while but are worth the wait.
Whether explosive or agonizing, confessions are in must have in romance. What makes this trope powerful is the way it captures love in its rawest, purest form. When I fly Towards you (2023), Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017), 20th Century girl (2022), Just for Meeting you (2023), and Semantic Error (2022) are some of the many shows and movies with amazing confessions.
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The "Leave Them"
These tropes are not bad, just overused. When a trope is used for so long in diverse plots it often becomes predictable or annoying. Some tropes on this list have not been overused-they're just a bit unnecessary, often leaving viewers confused or hesitant to continue watching.
Some feel it's cliché and predictable but opinions may differ. The worst feeling when watching something is being able to know exactly what will happen next. With that being said lets look at some tropes that should be left behind.
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Redemption Love
Many romance dramas tend to make the redemption love trope the main plot of the story. It usually goes the same way; the characters meet when they’re younger and fall in love. After a little while a conflict occurs, either it’s simple and leads to a mutual breakup or it’s a messy break up with miscommunication or some sort of betrayal.
Years later, the characters meet again and hate each other for a bit then rekindle their romance. As sweet as this trope can be, not every relationship is worth saving. The idea of never being able to move on from your first love after years is unrealistic (as romantic as it can sound).
This trope often gives the idea that everything can be forgiven with an apology or an explanation, disregarding the emotion turmoil the character was put through. Rather than learning from it and growing the characters act like nothing happened in the first place. This is strictly about the relationships that already bloomed once, not the ‘almost’ or the unspoken crushes. Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023), The Interest of Love (2022) and Eat Run Love (2025) are some examples of relationships that would have been best to leave behind.
Misunderstandings/Miscommunication
A recurring theme in plots is conflict caused by misunderstandings. These misunderstandings cause the characters to act irrationally or impulsively usually leading to an even bigger conflict. This conflict starts to stray away from the main plot, leaving viewers confused on where the plot is headed.
These conflicts are usually easily avoidable but somehow every character loses the ability to communicate. This has viewers questioning the strength of the characters relationship.
"Break-up to Make-up"
These are the sudden break-ups in the middle of the plot, just for them to get back together. The break-up is caused by a misunderstanding, lack of communication, or of course the “I'm not good enough for you” speech. Random break-ups are (from my research) one of the main causes of netizens (a user of the internet) losing interest or lowering their overall score towards a plot.
Everything is going well until one character, or both, feel as if they are not good enough or ready for a relationship. Of course, this includes the parental disapproval factor, where suddenly parent's opinion matters more than the reality of the situation.
Some tropes are exactly why we fall in love with certain shows or movies. Whether they make us cringe, giggle, cry, or roll our eyes so far back we scratch our brains. Every trope has the potential to leave a permanent impression on us, good or bad.
Even when they feel stuck on repeat when done right or from new perspectives there is no doubt that every trope has potential. Comment any tropes you love or wish to see less of.
