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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/26151
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I don't see any analytical literature about the usefulness of red herrings as a TV trope. What are some reasons to use them? I'm assuming there's more to it than just bored writers trying to amuse themselves to the detriment of the reader.

The one I can think of is - generally you build anticipation in a plot by making the viewer/reader subconsciously establish a pattern through repeated exposure to consistent cause and effect. Then to evoke a dramatic / emotional shock you mislead them by giving a cause that fails to provide the anticipated effect. Moreover, you leave the viewer anxious about the climax by sewing a seed of doubt that the effect is not a foregone conclusion.

Is this the basic intention? Or are their others?

Example: I create a highlights video of soccer matches where my favorite team keeps starting a match badly conceding goals, but always makes a comeback and wins each game. Then just as it's getting predictable, you throw a red herring in by showing highlights of a match where they fail to make a comeback and the viewer is jarred with disappointment. Subsequent match highlights will then keep the viewer on edge by not knowing which way the next one will go.

Original score: 2