I feel like every story has a plot hole.
Especially time travel stories, none of them ever has a consistant rule of time travel.
Clue (1985)
TBH, most fiction have 0 plot holes. Most people who use the term ‘plot hole’ in commentary on the internet are using it incorrectly. They tend to use it to mean “something happens which I personally dislike or don’t understand” rather than it’s real meaning, “something that directly contradicts previous plot points and leads to a logical inconsistency.” That is, it’s only a plot hole if it literally cannot happen because it would negate some other plot element.
A character making a decision that feels out of character isn’t a plot hole. Someone not choosing to use the sci-fi magic tech to solve a problem when it exists in-universe isn’t a plot hole. It might be bad writing. But it’s not a logical inconsistency.
A plot hole would be something like a plot point centering around a character’s illiteracy (in a manner where it’s clear they’re not faking) after a scene where the character is shown reading.
One of the biggest ones in mystery is “Why didn’t X simply Y”
They can literally just be stupid. Or ego driven. Etc.
There’s a great series of mystery games where the final villain even admits this exactly. He found evidence of a murder plot against the sister of his dead girlfriend, and instead of reporting it or detaining those involved, he let it almost happen. It was literally all so he could feel like a hero saving them at the last second, and he says as much directly.
It can also be bad writing. Like, an author can just write inconsistent characters. That doesn’t mean it’s a plot hole.
Blade Runner 2049 doesn’t seem to contradict itself or the original.
Ex-wife and I saw that in a theater by ourselves. Not another human came or went. What an experience.
Breaking Bad, maybe?
Maybe not any plot holes per se, but there’s definitely some character inconsistencies, a whole lot of convenient timing and coincidence, and they stretch plausibility to its absolute limits. But hey that’s what makes great television.
Closest I can think of is the magnet thing in the season 5 pilot would definitely not work IRL
Is that a plot hole though? That’s just something that wouldn’t work in reality
I define a plot hole as doing something that doesn’t work in the established roles of the series universe. The show universe is not shown to have rules different from our own, so if it wouldn’t work IRL then it shouldn’t work in the show.
I acknowledge that this is probably not a common take and even so it is a stretch to make the claim.
Nobody has called for Quentin yet?
Quentin! Oh Quentin Darling! Be a dear and bring me some of that white dudes dropping the hard r.
Primer is a time travel movie with no plot holes. But I don’t think you’re looking for plot holes, there are plenty of movies, even time traveling ones, that don’t have plot holes.
ITT: Edgar Wright movies
First, we have to agree on what a plot hole is.
My definition of a plot hole in a story is something that simply can not happen given the existing rules of the story, or something which could only happen in an unexplained and if not literally impossible than at least so unlikely it is practically impossible way that defies everything else we know about the story.
This would be an item inexplicably jumping locations, a character having knowledge they could not possibly have, or a character or item being in two places at once. Things like that which gnarl the story.
What it isn’t: A character making a bad decision, a character acting unusual (even to the point of acting out of character- that can be bad writing, but not a plot hole), a character forgetting something, a plot contrivance, an unlikely coincidence, something being unrealistic but consistent within the context of the story.
I commonly see poorly written scenes, or scenes where someone thinks a character was acting irrationally, or scientific or legal or other plot points that are intentionally written to serve the story described as plot holes.
With that description, I’d say quite a great number of works of fiction don’t have plot holes.
A character acting out of character may not technically be a plot hole, but for the consumer of the media, it is tantamount to the same thing. The character’s previous characterization is equivalent to “the existing rules of the story”.
Not to say that characters cannot change, but you can tell when a character suddenly does something out of character simply because the author decided that some event has to happen for the plot to work, and it makes the plot seem impossible.
Yeah, say you have a story about Gandhi, and in act 3 he stabs a British soldier in the neck, and chomps on a hamburger. I’d call that a plot hole, even if the events are entirely possible.
I 100% agree with this.
One of the classic examples often given (and one of the top results if you search for “famous plot holes”) is from The Lord of the Rings. “Why don’t the Eagles just fly them to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, allowing them to bypass all the trouble getting there?” It’s often cited as a well-known plot hole and given as an example to define what a plot hole is.
Yet it’s not a plot hole at all. It’s just characters making decisions the reader might not agree with.
Shrek, of course
Real life is riddled with plot holes, you cant expect a work of fiction to be perfect.
By definition, no it’s not. If it’s a thing that can actually physically happen, it’s, by definition, not a plot hole.
“Wait a minute, so you expect me to believe a politician blatantly and openly do corrupt things and still won over the voters? Twice?” 🤣
Perfect example, if it was a book people would tell you no one could be that dumb.
The answer, as with all things, is Tremors.
I can’t think of any plot holes in Grandma’s Boy.
For my money I’d say “Hot Fuzz”. The script is so tightly written that it’s AMAZING on rewatches. Almost every single line of dialogue is either a joke, set-up for a joke, a payoff, advances the plot, foreshadowing, establishes characters, or some combination of all of these.
The only things I could maybe see people thinking of as plot holes would be how absurd some character motivations are, but to me that just falls into suspension of disbelief.
Yarp.
I use this near daily
Is it cops can be likeable? That’s a pretty big plot hole for me.
Not everywhere is America buddy, most cops here at least are good people.
What a surprise some gun nut hunter loves cops.
My wife’s sister is awesome and funny as fuck. And when she’s not a fireman she’s a cop.
Cool story bro. I’m sure she is “one of the good ones”. Just kidding I bet you aren’t even married.
I refuse to watch it
I agree, same actors as that stupid zombie movie.
…cops?
He’s not Judge Judy and executioner!
Quantum Break pulled off an extremely well made time travel story. I don’t recall any plot holes, especially not major ones.
I just finished the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It’s a series of books (that was recently turned into a tv series) which was pretty great.
No time travel, but plenty of robots!
Correct me if I’m wrong but I didn’t think the TV series had started shooting yet, they just signed a deal. (If I’m wrong I’m gonna have to suck it up and get Apple TV because the entire series is phenomenal and I’m looking forward to it)
First two episodes are available on Apple TV!
My wife is a HUGE murderbot fan and she says the first episode, which I personally thought was good, and she’s ecstatic. Now we’re waiting until the whole season is out so we can binge them in what I’m guessing is going to be a whole-day marathon.
Yep. Alexander Skarsgard as Murderbot. I think it needs more time than two episodes to cook and find itself before I pass judgement. I will watch at least another couple episodes.
