Buffy the Vampire Slayer - TV Trope: Meaningful Echo
Meaningful Echo: It occurs when characters, in their usual way, say things to one another. Normally, these things aren’t all that notable or special—they’re part of normal dialogue. However, later on in the story, one of these “ordinary” lines is repeated. But unlike the original line, it isn’t in a normal, throwaway context. It’s at a moment of emotional height, when the viewer or reader is deep into the work, making a callback to an earlier scene. Suddenly, the line isn’t simple or meaningless anymore. It’s heartwarming, tear-jerking, or awesome. If it had meaning before—however minor—it’s now been expanded to a much greater context. It’s gone from being something ordinary to something extraordinary.
