Questions tagged [plot-device]
An element introduced into a story, film, play etc. to advance the plot.
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Does the character of Jar Jar Binks serve an actual purpose in Star Wars?
I'm not asking about just an in-universe explanation. I'm talking about it from the point of view of a writer or of someone analyzing a film or written story.
I recently re-watched all six Star Wars ...
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What kind of beings are shown by the Marauder's Map?
The map definitely shows people (humans) inside the castle, but I remember reading about Harry watching Peeves bouncing around in the trophy room and Peeves is not human. I don't remember if I had ...
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Why did Dumbledore tell everyone that Voldemort had killed Cedric Diggory?
At the end of the Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore tells the school that it was Voldemort who killed Cedric Diggory. However, it was actually Wormtail (Pettigrew) who killed Diggory. So ...
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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 ...
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Wouldn't Aunt Petunia know that Harry couldn't use magic outside school?
The answers to this question got me thinking. Aunt Petunia probably spent her childhood with Lily and though she was bitter, was probably in close contact with her at least until she finished Hogwarts....
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How does removing a memory work in Harry Potter?
There seem to be two ways of taking memory out of the mind in Harry Potter
One is what Prof. Slughorn did, that is, give Harry a copy of his real memory of telling Tom Riddle about Horcruxes. It is ...
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Why were wayfinder directions written on a dagger?
In The Rise of Skywalker, the heroes find the location of a Sith wayfinder by reading a runic inscription on Ochi's dagger.
What purpose does it serve to inscribe a random artifact's location on an ...
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How many people knew the Chamber of Secrets existed?
And of course I am asking about the time before the events of Book 2. Although we don't see Hermione quoting anything directly about the chamber from "Hogwarts: A History", from Prof. Binn's class we ...
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What is the status of the Infinity Stones post Avengers: Endgame?
In Avengers: Endgame, the heroes travel back in time to "borrow" the Infinity Stones from the past to use them in the future.
I get that. At the end of the movie,
But because the movie has ...
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Why doesn't Princess Leia go straight to Yavin IV?
At the beginning of A New Hope, Princess Leia has just received the stolen plans for the Death Star. Yet rather than take these plans directly to the Rebel base on Yavin IV, she first stops off to ...
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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?
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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 ...
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How does the magic in "Liar Liar" work?
In Liar Liar, Jim Carrey gains the superpower of not being able to lie for 24 hours. Wikipedia defines lying as
... a statement used intentionally for the purpose of deception.
The practice of ...
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Why doesn't Neo take a more advanced gun with him when going to save Morpheus?
While going back into the Matrix to save Morpheus, Neo and Trinity are sent to a huge room with lots and lots of guns, but in terms of technological level, they are all the same types of guns that ...
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How did Data not know what Aldebaran Whiskey was?
In the TNG episode "Relics" where Scotty returns, Data serves Scotty a glass of a green liquid which he cannot identify. The drink is later identified by Picard as Aldebaran Whiskey, which seems to be ...
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