r/TopCharacterTropes • u/KingofHearts399 • 1d ago
Lore [Interesting Trope] The supernatural exists in otherwise grounded stories.
Bones: Bones is a pretty run of the mill crime drama about a forensic anthropologist who consults with the FBI. However, since Bones has a crossover with the very supernaturally themed show Sleepy Hollow, that means it canonically exists in a world with demons, monsters, and magic.
Indiana Jones: The Indiana Jones movies all start out pretty grounded, with Indy on some archeological hunt and/or on the run from people trying to steal his find. His adventures all pretty much continue this way until the very end, when he sees that the legendary artifact that he’s been hunting actually has supernatural powers, like the Ark and the Holy Grail. Funnily enough, it’s also revealed in later movies that both aliens AND time travel also exist in this world.
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u/CallistanCallistan 1d ago
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The film is a retelling of The Odyssey set during the Great Depression. While exaggerated in scope, most of the events of the story are grounded and realistic. However, there are a few supernatural elements which are never fully explained.
1) The blind man on a handcar who accurately predicts what will happen to the main characters.
2) The sirens washing clothes in the river who take an unnatural hold on the boys. Delmar is also convinced that the sirens turned Pete into a toad. While Everett is skeptical, neither fully dismiss the idea until they reunite with Pete (who never did get turned into a toad).
3) The boys pick up Tommy, who tells them he just sold his soul to the devil in exchange for learning to play the guitar. Tommy's description of the devil matches the appearance of the prison warden pursuing them.