Follow TV Tropes

Following

Misused: A Wizard Did It

Go To

Deadlock Clock: Jun 4th 2014 at 11:59:00 PM
Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#1: Apr 30th 2014 at 8:43:29 PM

As things stand right now, A Wizard Did It is a huge mess. The trope is supposed to have two forms:

  • A fan reaction which completely glosses over/ignores any attempts to logically explain/justify something strange.
  • An in-universe explanation for supernatural phenomena explicitly disclaiming any rules or formulas that it might follow; related to a Hand Wave.

However, the examples are pretty much using it as "Any In-Universe explanation for plot holes", and there are many that aren't even using it as that much. The examples need serious pruning to cull out the crap, and then the page ideally should be hard split between the two definitions. I lean toward A Wizard Did It being for the former and the latter getting its own name, but I can also see it fitting the latter.

theAdeptrogue iRidescence Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
iRidescence
#2: Apr 30th 2014 at 9:07:38 PM

The page image seem to lean towards the latter, and I think I've seen this used frequently to hand wave Fridge Logic and Headscratcher in fantasy-related works (e.g. Harry Potter).

And isn't "In-Universe explanation for plot holes" covered by Voodoo Shark?

Madrugada Zzzzzzzzzz Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: In season
Zzzzzzzzzz
#3: Apr 30th 2014 at 9:47:25 PM

No, a Voodoo Shark is an in-universe Handwave/explanation of a Plot Hole that solves one problem but creates another, different, often bigger, one.

edited 30th Apr '14 9:49:16 PM by Madrugada

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#4: May 1st 2014 at 8:14:25 AM

A Wizard Did It is not a Voodoo Shark — the latter is when a Plot Hole is covered up by an explanation that only creates a different Plot Hole. In the former, no explanation is given at all, or it's transparently worthless as an explanation.

  • Voodoo Shark: "How come the fairies can lift rocks that are three times their size?" "They all have miniaturized nuclear reactors in their wings."
  • A Wizard Did It: "How come the fairies can lift rocks that are three times their size?" "It's magic. It just works that way."

The use of A Wizard Did It as an audience reaction is a corruption of the original intent of the trope. My opinion is that these should all be removed and the only examples kept be those where there is an In-Universe or Word of God Hand Wave.

Another facet of A Wizard Did It is that the explanation is designed to be an inquiry stopper, either for the characters or for the audience. The specific intent of the trope is to establish a form of Bellisario's Maxim whereby we stop asking how the crazy stuff works and just go with it.

edited 1st May '14 8:22:59 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#5: May 1st 2014 at 8:41:24 AM

I'm a bit confused.

Hand Wave is when there is an In-Universe explanation for why something works.

A Wizard Did It is when the Hand Wave is "magic. Don't ask."

Is that right?

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#6: May 1st 2014 at 8:46:30 AM

Hand Wave is when an explanation is ad hoc and doesn't follow from anything in the story (contrast to Justified Trope).

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#7: May 1st 2014 at 8:50:58 AM

Let's borrow an example from an actual work, Big Trouble in Little China. This film contains a famous Hand Wave near the ending when the protagonist's allies manage to get somewhere improbable to help effect the escape and the hero lampshades it.

  • Hand Wave (original): "How'd you get up there?" "Wasn't easy!"
    • Here, there's no attempt to explain it at all; it's just acknowledged and then ignored.
  • Voodoo Shark: "How'd you get up there?" "Teleportation spell."
    • This creates the bigger Plot Hole of why Egg Shen didn't demonstrate the ability to teleport earlier, when it might have been useful, not to mention how he brought others with him.
  • A Wizard Did It: "How'd you get up there?" "Ancient Chinese magic."
    • Here, it's acknowledging the magical nature of the escape in a manner consistent with the setting, while making no attempt at explaining the actual mechanics.

A Wizard Did It is generally a subtrope of Hand Wave.

Edit: As noted, it can also be Word of God, when the creator gives a similar answer about their work. It takes the same form, though.

  • Hand Wave: "They just did." "Does it matter?"
  • A Wizard Did It: "It's magic." "Technology works that way in this world."
  • Voodoo Shark: "They took a ride on a space whale." "They got help from Jesus."

edited 1st May '14 11:22:36 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#8: May 1st 2014 at 12:34:45 PM

So basically a Hand Wave isn't an explanation at all, just a request to not think about it too much, and A Wizard Did It is a generic explanation that could make sense, but isn't given enough detail to determine if it does, and a Voodoo Shark is where those details just add plotholes?

Check out my fanfiction!
Furienna from Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Since: Nov, 2013
#9: May 1st 2014 at 12:38:02 PM

Yeah, it sounds like that would be it.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#10: May 1st 2014 at 12:46:28 PM

Then Hand Wave is massively, massively broken because (as the description and quote indicate) Hand Wave can have an In-Universe reasoning (Why can he do that? Uh, his ancestor made a wish) that sounds like it'd belong in A Wizard Did It.

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#11: May 1st 2014 at 1:08:04 PM

A Wizard Did It is still a Hand Wave, just one that carries some degree of verisimilitude within its universe. One imagines that those examples could be transplanted to the more specific trope.

"His ancestor made a wish" is one of those things that might fall under any of those tropes depending on how it plays out in the work. If it's a throwaway line that's never mentioned again, then it's a Hand Wave. If we're supposed to believe that ancestor-wishing is an explanation for anything inexplicable within continuity, as long as we don't think about it too much, then it's A Wizard Did It. If ancestor-wishing actually becomes a plot point such that it causes problems with the narrative all on its own, then it's a Voodoo Shark.

Put another way, a Hand Wave is to MST3K Mantra as A Wizard Did It is to Bellisario's Maxim.

edited 1st May '14 1:12:22 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Willbyr Hi (Y2K) Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Hi
#13: Jun 5th 2014 at 5:47:27 AM

Clock's up; locking for inactivity.

Add Post

Total posts: 13
Top