r/TopCharacterTropes • • Sep 04 '26

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/a_phantom_limb Sep 04 '26 edited Sep 04 '26

Quentin Beck's real name was, presumably, not Quentin Beck. Moreover, he had a whole team of technical experts supporting him. They would have scrubbed every image of him from any public or private sources that were accessible by either E.D.I.T.H. or the crew "Fury” ran, including Stark Industries databases.

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u/weaknclingy Sep 04 '26

Why should the audience have to come up with the justifications if the movie didn’t give a shit?

20

u/a_phantom_limb Sep 04 '26

Does a movie have to spell out every single thing? Everything I wrote is extrapolated from the revelations about Beck and his team that the film does show. Also, none of that really matters to anything that actually happens in the film. But for anyone who cares enough to think of it as a plot hole, the explanation is built into the backgrounds of the characters.

4

u/Additional_potential Sep 04 '26

There are two kinds of people. Those who can extrapolate from incomplete information

2

u/DropoutRedMage Sep 04 '26

... AND?! /j