How did a character suddenly acquire a needed skill? By an unrelated previous life experience he never knew would prove so useful, sometimes a Retcon. In other words, the character always had the skill, but You Didn't Ask. A character who is an actor is a sharpshooter because he had to learn it for a role. A writer is an expert on medieval history because she had to research it for a book. Common with older, gray-haired characters. You never think that your mother or grandmother could've had a life before you were born. Examples of Suddenly Always Knew That include:
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| - How did a character suddenly acquire a needed skill? By an unrelated previous life experience he never knew would prove so useful, sometimes a Retcon. In other words, the character always had the skill, but You Didn't Ask. A character who is an actor is a sharpshooter because he had to learn it for a role. A writer is an expert on medieval history because she had to research it for a book. Common with older, gray-haired characters. You never think that your mother or grandmother could've had a life before you were born. Examples of Suddenly Always Knew That include:
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| - How did a character suddenly acquire a needed skill? By an unrelated previous life experience he never knew would prove so useful, sometimes a Retcon. In other words, the character always had the skill, but You Didn't Ask. A character who is an actor is a sharpshooter because he had to learn it for a role. A writer is an expert on medieval history because she had to research it for a book. Common with older, gray-haired characters. You never think that your mother or grandmother could've had a life before you were born. Combine this with Character Development to get Taught By Experience and Took a Level In Badass. See also I Know Mortal Kombat, Taught by Television and Instant Expert. Compare New Powers as the Plot Demands, where not even the character knew that he had the new skill all along. See also Deus Ex Machina, a similar and often related concept. The polar opposite of this trope is Informed Ability. I Minored in Tropology is a Sub-Trope. This trope used to be called "I Know Kung Fu" (a reference to a scene from The Matrix which actually exemplifies Instant Expert); that name now redirects to I Know Karate. Examples of Suddenly Always Knew That include:
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