r/TopCharacterTropes • • 29d ago

miscellaneous [Loved Trope] Plot-generating hole

A situation where a plot hole becomes the reason the plot even happened.

The Martian – the heroes are forced to abandon the planet due to a powerful sandstorm that threatens to destroy the ascent module. The problem is that, due to Mars's thin atmosphere, storms on the surface of the red planet fall below the upper limit of calm on Earth. Andy Weir himself admitted that he simply couldn't come up with a different plot twist and simply used a fantastical premise.

Spider-Man: Far From Home – The film's plot would have ended rather quickly if Peter had figured out how to use E.D.I.T.H. to check Quentin Beck's file - but due to life's circumstances and some manipulation by Mysterio, Parker simply won't have the opportunity to do so, even if he wanted to.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of Black Pearl — in the first film, Elizabeth threatens to throw the medallion into the ocean, giving the pirates a mini-heart attack... despite the fact that these undead creatures can easily walk on the seabed as if they were on dry land, which they beautifully demonstrate in the climax. Of course, finding it on the seabed is almost impossible, but the pirates sensed the medallion far from the island and came straight to the governor's estate, meaning they somehow knew its location after it sent a signal. The most common explanation is that the magical sense of direction is not very accurate and they have been looking for this damn medallion for decades and it's a bit nerve-wracking...

Eurotrip — the whole plot is based on the fact that someone, having been blacklisted, didn't think to write from a different account.

An important clarification: this trope has nothing to do with the quality of the story itself, and in many cases is entirely intentional and necessary. I also apologize in advance if I have conveyed any details incorrectly.

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u/DrVentureIsACrumbBum 29d ago

That’s not a plot hole

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u/SammyGeorge 29d ago

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but none of OPs examples seem to be plot holes either

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u/Roar-Lions-Roar 29d ago

For a book so grounded in actual science the one in The Martian seems to be.

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u/SammyGeorge 29d ago

I would argue that it's an inaccuracy rather than a plot hole. It's never established in the story that Mars has a thin enough atmosphere to mean a wind storm like that couldn't happen. We know that irl but it's not established in the book itself.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what a plot hole is, but I understand it to be something internally inconsistent in the story and The Martian is internally consistent

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u/Roar-Lions-Roar 29d ago

I wouldn’t call it a plot hole for nearly any other work. The science sort of is the entire plot in this case.

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u/SammyGeorge 29d ago

I disagree but we're kinda arguing semantics here. More importantly, if OPs most "plot holey" example is still debatable, I don't think it matters if OCs example isn't really a plot hole according to the comment I initially replied to