On the other side of this, the cliche of “Simple misunderstanding we could have resolved if one party hadn’t said “I don’t NEED to hear your explanation!” before storming off” can fuck right off and die.
All scripts of Shakespeare’s comedy category that I’ve read are idiot plots. The characters constantly explain to the audience, but never to each other. It enables all the hijinks to unfold. So, it’s been around at least that long.
For example, twins separated at birth. If the twins in the Comedy of Errors explained who they were, or if the cast once questioned either of them on their strangeness, everything could be clarified.
It extends to outside comedies, even the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet could have been avoided if Romeo had confirmed Juliet and Friar’s plan, or had checked to see if she was still alive before offing himself.
There’s a psych-thriller on Netflix called Bloodlines which I thought made a point of not using this trope. There’s a character who for half a season listens to everyone, does what they tell them to, tries to make things work in a dysfunctional environment, and falls back into old habits because no one trusts him when anything goes wrong. Its a show filled with very human interactions, almost like the writers asked “what would actual people do” in every scenario, but also push the plot along.
On the other side of this, the cliche of “Simple misunderstanding we could have resolved if one party hadn’t said “I don’t NEED to hear your explanation!” before storming off” can fuck right off and die.
Gotta love the “this season wouldn’t have even happened if everyone had been upfront and honest with each other.”
Ahhh yes, the old idiot plot. Where would we even be as a culture without it
All scripts of Shakespeare’s comedy category that I’ve read are idiot plots. The characters constantly explain to the audience, but never to each other. It enables all the hijinks to unfold. So, it’s been around at least that long.
For example, twins separated at birth. If the twins in the Comedy of Errors explained who they were, or if the cast once questioned either of them on their strangeness, everything could be clarified.
It extends to outside comedies, even the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet could have been avoided if Romeo had confirmed Juliet and Friar’s plan, or had checked to see if she was still alive before offing himself.
There’s a psych-thriller on Netflix called Bloodlines which I thought made a point of not using this trope. There’s a character who for half a season listens to everyone, does what they tell them to, tries to make things work in a dysfunctional environment, and falls back into old habits because no one trusts him when anything goes wrong. Its a show filled with very human interactions, almost like the writers asked “what would actual people do” in every scenario, but also push the plot along.
Highly recommend it because this shit annoys me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiot_plot