Clarification worthwhile: Leave The Plot Threads Hanging

So I was recently proposing this in YKTTW, and was told it was Leave The Plot Threads Hanging.

Now, I'm not sure what the description says this trope is, but according to the laconic, it's basically "the plot was better when you didn't explain everything."

For one thing, this is very specific, and my YKTTW's Watterson or Joker examples, or even my in-universe one from The Shawshank Redemption, wouldn't apply to it. Watterson's would come close, but it would really only be an aversion if you think about it. So what exactly is this trope about, and does my YKTTW qualify as separate?

Oh wow.

The person who said that didn't know what they were talking about. In your trope, there's no answer given to something. In Leave The Plot Threads Hanging, an answer is given, but the fandom doesn't think it was as good as it could have been.

edited 28th Jun '11 9:57:38 AM by SenshiSun

If that is indeed the trope, then this needs a rename. Leave The Plot Threads Hanging is one of those names that sounds like it should be Exactly What It Says on the Tin, and it definitely doesn't sound like it should be "the fans wish they'd left it hanging, because they don't like the answer".

Agreed. This could use a rename, or it Needs A Better Description, or both.

Unwanted Explanation?

A quick check of the examples and wicks makes it look like there's enough misuse that a Trope Transplant's in order.

The trope it wants to be should probably have been called something like Should Have Left The Plot Mysterious. Though that's really long. Unwanted Explanation might work but it's a bit broader than the trope.

Bump. I was reminded this trope doesn't match its name when I wanted to reference it in a sandbox I am working on. This should probably get fixed.

Fan-Disliked Explanation? It's reasonably concise and describes what the article's going for quite well.

I would agree with Fan-Disliked Explanation, and it seems nobody has yet disagreed that a revision is in order. I'm a bit unsure about what's required for taking action, since Hi I'm new here.

The description and current examples seem split on "They didn't explain it" versus "They explained it and it was bad." These seem like two very different tropes to me.

Maybe we could change the title and pick up the YKTTW to reflect the more objective definition. I'm willing to do the footwork, but don't wanna step on toes.

There is now a page action crowner for this trope here. Feel free to add options as you see fit though, since I am not exactly sure what the best way to approach this would be.

I think that if there is a consensus to rename Leave The Plot Threads Hanging, that name can go to the YKTTW in question.

edited 12th Oct '11 6:13:45 PM by LouieW

Wow, this is what Leave The Plot Threads Hanging is supposed to be about?!?

I always assumed it was a Continuity Trope about plot elements or story development that's accidentally forgotten about by the time the audience learns of a resolution, like some cross between Aborted Arc and Plot Hole. Never would have guessed that the convention here depended entirely on audience reaction. Definitely gonna vote for a rename.

Wow, that name is horribly misleading. I'm definitely supporting Fan-Disliked Explanation over it.

Given the support for a rename, there is now an alternative titles crowner for this trope here. Feel free to add names as you see fit.

I'm honestly wondering whether we want the trope defined by the page (as opposed to what the name sounds like) at all. Just how many "tropes" about fans disliking something does this site truly need anyway?

Rename is definitely needed. There's been misuse on the trope page itself, which is about as careless as it gets.

I'm not arguing against a rename, I'm questioning whether it might be best to do a Trope Transplant here and ditch the original definition altogether. The trope implied by the name is something I think has much more place on the wiki then yet another complaining "trope".

I was just making a general statement, but it appears I came in late. I actually wasn't arguing your point.

In this case, I think it's more than just a bashing trope. YMMV pages cover both positive or negative audience reactions. I think that "interesting mystery has convoluted/anticlimactic explanation" should count as a YMMV item.

...That is, if it's even common. There aren't too many examples on the page that actually fit that definition.

I have an idea for a rename: Leave Them Guessing.

That would have the same problem. People would use it for situations where the writers, well, left people guessing.

Should Have Left Them Guessing? Or too long?

edited 30th Nov '11 7:18:19 PM by Webby

It is a bashing trope - this can be effectively summed up as Complaining About Plot Resolutions That You Don't Like. A trope about how authors deliberately sought to avoid this by, well, leaving the plot threads hanging seems much more worthwhile (though it might be covered already by Shrug of God).

While I concur with most everything else you've had to say so far, this was not the concept I thought you had in mind to substitute this page with.

When a work is deliberately put together by its creator to have an open ending or leave a conclusion open to interpretation, those are the exact phrases people use to describe such a thing—Open Ending and Left Open To Interpretation.

When someone says "plot threads are left hanging" or "dangling", it generally refers to a continuity problem where "threads" in a storyline are not "tied up" or "tied together" when everything else gets a conclusion or resolution.

edited 30th Nov '11 9:20:22 PM by SeanMurrayI

No, what I meant was cases where a plot thread or mystery is deliberately left unresolved so as not to theoretically disappoint the audience with an unsatisfactory conclusion (or possibly other reasons - the point is that it was deliberate). What you're describing seems to be something else.

edited 30th Nov '11 9:27:25 PM by nrjxll

Then that's too specific, even for this name , as well.

edited 30th Nov '11 9:49:13 PM by SeanMurrayI

Calling the crowner. Please start the rename.

Page moved, indexes fixed, subpages moved and cutlisted. Currently 50 wicks to change, and the archived discussion needs to be re-hooked.