Questions tagged [plot-device]
An element introduced into a story, film, play etc. to advance the plot.
138
questions
17
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How many times has Dumbledore outright lied to Harry (or anyone)?
As we are on the subject of lies in Harry Potter,
We know that Albus and Aberforth grew up with lies and deceit, and Albus was a natural. In the last book Aberforth also asks Harry whether ...
- 23.4k
0
votes
3
answers
613
views
What happened to Jay Garrick?
In S02E16 of 'The Flash' it is revealed that...
At first I thought that perhaps Zoom had...
However, in S02E18 we see a flashback in which we see Hunter Zolomon's father wearing,
This begs the ...
- 2,999
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
In the movie Twelve Monkeys (1995), why couldn't James Cole change the past and still be the one who "gave the idea" of the disease to the antagonist?
While I was watching, the James Cole repeatedly says that he couldn't change the past "because he didn't" (so because it was determined or something like that). And yet, when he is in the past, he ...
- 77
2
votes
0
answers
324
views
Why did Phantom 2040 always say "Aim, Lock, Fire!"
This guy...
...would always say "Aim, Lock, Fire!" whenever he fired his gun thing. Why did he do that?
- 10.9k
12
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What was the point of the unique ammunition used by the PMC in the desert?
At the beginning of 'Batman v Superman', a firefight breaks out, and a private military contractor employs unique ammunition to kill several people. The ammunition becomes a significant plot point ...
- 5,098
6
votes
3
answers
6k
views
In "The Lake House," how did the book get under the floorboards?
In the film The Lake House, at what point and how did Alex get access to Kate's apartment on Racine in order to put Persuasion, the book she lost at the train station, under the floorboards of her ...
- 4,740
44
votes
5
answers
7k
views
What was the point (out of universe) of house-elves?
When I first read about house-elves in The Chamber of Secrets, I thought they were introduced as a very clear ethical artifact to teach children reading the story about slavery and forced work. The ...
- 14.5k
8
votes
0
answers
169
views
What is the backstory regarding the suit of armor at the top of the Munster's staircase?
Was a backstory ever revealed in any of the TV series or movies regarding who the suit of armor at the head of the stairs under which Spot lives belonged to? If so, what is the backstory?
I ask ...
- 63.6k
9
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why did R2-D2 only have part of the map?
At the end of The Force Awakens, it is shown that R2-D2 only has part of the galaxy map to the Jedi temple where Luke is hiding, and there is a very clean section missing as if it has been ...
- 1,657
8
votes
2
answers
423
views
Did the Transporter room have to be part of the trip, or could it beam items from pt A to pt B w/out beaming the targets aboard during the trip?
We've seen the Transporter beam things to sites without transporter equipment, and we've seen Transporter's retrieve things from sites without Transporter equipment.
Say Scotty wanted to beam ...
- 63.6k
43
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Is it important for the plot that Leia is Luke's sister?
As everybody knows, Luke and Leia are Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader's children. The fact that Luke is his son is important plotwise:
Being Anakin's son, the Force is strong in Luke, making him a ...
- 8,944
5
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why did the Americans just lock away the Ark and never study it?
At the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark it is shown that the Ark is in a big army warehouse among thousands of similar looking crates, and it is hinted that this means it will never be opened ever again ...
- 23.4k
11
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why did they have to take the Ark to the mountain in the island to open it?
In Raiders of the lost Ark Belloq and the German army take the Ark on top of a mountain in an island to perform a ritual to open the Ark and look inside
I must have missed something in the movie ...
- 23.4k
6
votes
0
answers
447
views
First science-fiction/fantasy story that converts its exposition to a fictional language?
I'm pretty certain that there are works of fiction purely in a fictional language. For instance I'd be surprised if some uber-geek hasn't written some fan fiction entirely in Klingon. I also know ...
- 1,883
6
votes
1
answer
329
views
Short story on a blog which makes fun of plot armour
I once read a short SF/F story on the blog of a Stack Exchange member, which I'd like to find again. (If you are the person with that blog, please do answer this question!)
It was basically a big ...
- 135k
13
votes
2
answers
695
views
What is the significance of Chewie's white patch?
In the novel Crystal Star by Vonda McIntyre, Leia and Chewbacca stumble upon a fleet of Imperial slave ships. At that moment, the following exchange occurs:
Chewbacca touched the thick chestnut fur ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
1
answer
445
views
Why don't C3PO and R2D2 have each other's designs?
If R2's job is repairing and C3PO is mainly for translating, why does R2 have the more circular body with wheels which is probably more inefficient for grabbing tools and repairing? Wouldn't it be ...
- 23.4k
8
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What happened after Alderaan blew up in A New Hope?
In A New Hope, Princess Leia sends R2-D2 and C3PO to Obi-Wan who is supposed to take R2 to Alderaan where Leia's father is supposed to decode the Death Star blueprints out of R2's memory.
Then ...
- 23.4k
4
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why was Quaid so sure about starting the reactor (Total Recall)?
In Total Recall, Quaid, after meeting Kuato, seems to be certain that starting the reactor was a good idea
This idea seems to have been given to him by Kuato (his final words were to start the ...
- 23.4k
13
votes
3
answers
5k
views
About the subliminal message in Serenity
I have a question about that. In "Serenity", River Tam is shown a subliminal message in an advertisement, a code that was floating around for weeks.
Now, here's my question, broken into short ones. ...
- 10.3k
12
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What caused the execution by dementor at the end of Goblet of Fire?
Although the dementor's kiss is a major turning point at the end of the fourth book, which serves as a premise for Fudge's attitude in the 5th book, the execution itself seems somewhat unnatural and ...
- 23.4k
15
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Why does Skynet take prisoners?
In the Terminator franchise, extermination camps are often mentioned. But from a machine-logic POV, wouldn't it make more sense to just kill all humans on sight, period? Or herd them into small areas ...
- 28.2k
10
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Why is Caleb trapped at the end of the movie?
When Caleb first enters Nathan's facility/home, he learns that in the event of a power failure all the doors will lock.
So
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Were the Mark VII Vipers ever retro-fitted and used?
In the reimagined Battlestar Galactica pilot, a major plot point was that the Cylons now had the ability to hack or disrupt networked computer systems, thus forcing the Colonial Fleet to rely on older,...
- 63.5k
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
Predestination (movie) - predestination or bootstrap paradox? [duplicate]
In the movie Predestination:
Is Jane's birth because of a predestination paradox or bootstrap paradox?
which one is it?
- 1,207
3
votes
0
answers
260
views
Why didn't Voldemort make harder-to-find or indestructible horcruxes? [duplicate]
In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort splits up his soul into 7 pieces and puts the "pieces" in objects that he hides, called horcruxes, so that one would have to "kill" all 7 horcruxes in order to ...
- 31
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
In the TV series Gotham, do Cat's goggles do anything?
In the TV series Gotham, other than giving her a vaguely cat-like silhouette do the green-tinted goggles that Cat wears serve any purpose? I've been binge-watching the series (I'm up to episode 9) and ...
- 28.2k
2
votes
2
answers
4k
views
When exactly was the Sword of Gryffindor imbued with basilisk venom?
It is assumed that the Sword absorbed basilisk venom when Harry killed the basilisk using the sword in the Chamber of Secrets, but is there any proof that this was the point when the sword got imbued ...
- 23.4k
3
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How does Shrek's rescue party reach him so fast at the end of Shrek 2?
In the beginning of Shrek 2 it is shown that it takes a long time to reach Far Far Away from Shrek's swamp. Although not explicitly mentioned, from the visuals it seems obvious that the distance is ...
- 23.4k
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What are the Animus death scenes, in-universe?
I'm a big fan of abstract storytelling, so I've always enjoyed the Animus death animations in the Assassin's Creed series, where a major assassination target has a few moments to sum up their life and ...
- 38.6k