: Re: What makes a plot twist believable/unbelievable? I'm just interested. Since there were many plot twist in books, movies, etc some critics say they're unbelievable. Now I'm asking myself, what makes

@Debbie451

Vote Up Vote Down

@gravity_train has it correct in the comment above:

a plot twist is unbelievable if it comes from absolutely nowhere.

A plot development, twist, and/or character action is unbelievable if it seems arbitrary. If there is no evidence, no foreshadowing, no hints, no clues, absolutely nothing a reader could have picked up, even on a second reading/viewing, to point to the action or event, then it shatters the "willing suspension of disbelief" which a reader must have to embark on a story.

A meta example of this is the satirical film Murder by Death. Parody versions of a group of famous literary detectives are invited to a mansion to solve a murder mystery in exchange for million. At the end of the film, all the detectives assemble and one after another accuse one character of committing the murder(s). But the character stands up and snipes at all of them:

You've all been so clever for so long you've forgotten to be humble. You've tricked and fooled your readers for years. You've tortured us with surprise endings that made no sense. You've introduced characters at the end that weren't in the book before! You've withheld clues and information that made it impossible for us to guess who did it.

Additionally, when a character acts "out of character" by doing something without any kind of motive, or acting against what's been established for the character previously, without explanation, the audience loses belief. "Without explanation" is the important part — over the years of Star Trek, Vulcans (who are presented as logical, stoical, and generally imperturbable) have laughed, wept, danced, screamed, and raged, but all believably, because the script made a point of explaining why the Vulcan in question was behaving that way.

(0)

Login to post a comment!