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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46438
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

There have been a lot of good answers so far. I think a few areas have been missed. So, on top of the other answers, I would add:

As Social Commentary:

Since tropes represent, in a small way, our expectations, subverting a trope can be used to put social norms in stark relief. The Star Trek episode "Let this be your Last Battlefield," featured the struggle between the only two surviving members of an entire planet engulfed in war. The reason for the conflict, when it is revealed, served to put the racial struggles of 1960's USA in a very different frame.

If this context, the dynamics of the societal property need to be preserved when the trope is subverted. Like an abusive-parent trope could be subverted to reflect abuse by excessive permissiveness rather than cruelty. But, if that was a synecdoche for a socialist government -- promising everything to everybody -- it would be challenging to make work. But, the original trope makes a good synecdoche for a totalitarian government.

As Misdirection:

If a story can seemingly rely on a trope, without clearly declaring it, then the sudden subversion can permit the story to unfold in new directions. This requires that the text of the story implies conformance with the trope, so the reader adopts it as part of their internal model of the world. Then, when it is important, the real mechanics can be revealed and the reader sees how their assumptions led to their own surprise. The 6th Sense is an example of this type of subversion of a trope.

But, if the story contains details that are dependent on the original trope, then the contract with the reader is broken and the work can feel badly done.

Original score: 4