They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot Cleanup

One More Day is apparently a huge complaining-magnet, so its examples might be shoehorns. Many of these sound like they're just saying "here's how this comic could have been better" rather than "these plot points should have been given more focus", but I'm not sure.

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • The story briefly setups Mary Jane getting shot, only to have Aunt May be the final victim . This situation would have put Peter in a Morton's Fork, where he would have to decide to save her life at the cost of their marriage, or let her die but still keep his memories of her — but instead, Marvel decided to go with the elder that had already lived a long and satisfactory life, robbing the setup of potential drama and preventing the ending from making a lot more sense.
  • Early in JMS' run, Spidey had an encounter with Loki that ended with the Norse trickster-god saying he now owed Spider-Man a favor that he could collect whenever he wished. What better moment to use it than Peter's lowest of the lows? Instead, this never comes to pass in the storyline proper.
  • Early on the story, Peter gets into a quick confrontation and fight with Tony Stark, who he blames for May getting shot. Peter mentions how he has no money and that he can't even properly take care of Aunt May because he's on the run. Stark quickly blows him off by saying that openly cooperating with a criminal would undermine his position. So, this means that Peter will get registered again and this way get help from Stark, right? Nope. Other than Iron Man bringing up multiple times that he has to arrest Peter, the confrontation only serves to remove yet another option for Peter. Worst of all, Spider-Man being unregistered is a such a non-factor on the post Brand New Day storylines that something like this could have been easily woven into the narrative with no issue.

Definitely cut the second two bullet points, they're just fanfic ideas.

Atop the Fourth Wall posited some ideas as to how Aunt May's death could have worked, had Marvel intended for her death to be an issue and not just a way to contrive Peter and MJ literally selling their marriage to the actual Devil. Essentially, Linkara proposed that this could force Spidey to actually grapple with the dictum that "with great power must also come great responsibility", as he tied his colours to the wagon during Civil War I, his side lost, and now he has to deal with the consequences.

Ukrainian Red Cross

I have found this entry on Doctor Who 2022 CEN "The Power of the Doctor":

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Whether or not Thasmin is an example of queerbaiting aside, many fans found it a bit insulting that after years of Ship Teasing and Legend of the Sea Devils outright confirming that the characters love each other that the ultimate pay-off to the first explicitly Gay romance between the Doctor and a Companion, in a series that since it's revival has shown Queer relationships to be just as passionate and loving as Heterosexual ones, amounted to a cute ice-cream date and a kiss on the cheek. When compared to 10's romance with Rose, or even 11 & 12's romance with River Song, it comes off as almost hilariously passionless.

I think this might count but I am not sure as it also reads a little complainy about a ship not getting enough to me as well. However, that could also just be me. So I thought I would get a some more opinions.

Edited by Bullman on Nov 3rd 2022 at 5:04:42 AM

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

That doesn't come across as TWAPGP, that comes across as the plot didn't do what they wanted, and the date just falling flat. I don't think "scene falls flat" is an audience reaction in its own right (it's misuse of several types of audience reaction, however).

Edited by Wyldchyld on Nov 3rd 2022 at 4:48:38 AM

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.

Okay. I removed in that case.

Fan-Preferred Couple cleanup thread

also the fact that 13 already said she couldn't, and Yaz respected that.

I cut up one dozen new men and you will die somewhat, again and again.

I wrote awhile back in the Kingdom Hearts III section and am wondering if this counts.

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot
  • Many fans felt the Anti-Aqua boss fight would have worked far better if, instead of Sora, it was Mickey that was the one the player took control of due to the deep connection the two have. Given that it was Mickey who teamed up with Aqua multiple times, helped her destroy the proto χ-blade and save Ventus from Vanitas, saved her while she was in the Realm of Darkness but being forced to leave her there once more to save all the worlds (something the previous scene between them made clear that he feels completely responsible for), making Mickey the Player Character for this boss fight would have been a much more fitting and emotional confrontation given the history and tightly forged bond of between these two. It doesn't help that the impact of the fight we did get is much weaker due to Sora not remembering his first meeting with Aqua.

Edited by TrueChaos on Nov 3rd 2022 at 9:32:25 AM

Continuing from this ATT:

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Alan Turing was still making discoveries in mathematical biology while enduring his chemical castration, none of which is shown in the film.
  They didn't show it because it was irrelevant to the narrative. The entire point of the final act was to show the protagonist's deterioration until he resorted to suicide, not to go through every discovery he made in real life. Cut for being a shoehorn/complaining?

Yeah, cut.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

I wouldn't say it's complaining, though I do agree it's a shoehorn and that it should be cut.

I'm trying to salvage this example from The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank. Do you think it could work as They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot?

Here the draw:

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Going even further, it's rather depressingly clear that the three vigilantes were designed from the get-go to be nothing but shallow knock-offs to Frank for him to easily pick apart and take down. Rather than show the downside of the Punisher's vigilantism that kills people without a trial, it instead argues that other people might copy what he's doing but not do it as well. Making the point less "vigilante justice is inherently wrong and easily corruptible" to "boy oh boy, isn't it funny that these losers aren't as awesome as Frank."

Valdo

That sounds more like complaining about a few characters.

Err, what about my post?

Yours also seems to be misuse, assuming that it wasn't set up at some point that Mickey could fight her. It does seem to follow the "plot fans would've preferred" thing, unlike the "fans think this idea was wasted" idea which is the point of the trope.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

I'll admit I haven't played the game, only seen reviews, but I still think YMMV.Hunt Down The Freeman could use a look:

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: A game taking place during the Seven Hour War could have been interesting if only its writing, development, or anything had been vaguely competent. This opener already screams "poorly executed" red flags, but let's take a deeper look, shall we?
  • As contentious as the story may be, the very premise of the game's second major story arc is right there in the name. Mitchell finally goes full Villain Protagonist and sells his Child Soldier army into service to the Combine and aids them in assaulting the Resistance members at Black Mesa East, all for the chance to finally confront Gordon. What does this lead to? Nothing. Gordon isn't actually directly relevant to the plot, and never even personally shows up as Mitchell is too late to stop Gordon from being teleported away; the man that fucked up Mitchell's face was Adam, an original character for the game he met shortly after awakening from his injuries. The entire plotline amounted to a wild goose chase and an infamously terrible conclusion that doesn't actually bother to answer why it happened, turning the game's very title and advertised premise into a pure Bait-and-Switch. The game's premise is a Bait-and-Switch for something else. Might be valid, but I'd like your guy's thoughts.
  • It's often pointed out that Mitchell's revenge being motivated by his HECU comrades being killed by Gordon would be a much more compelling reason than the beating and scarring, especially since it would make much more sense for someone to hold a grudge for multiple decades over that and it removes the need for Adam disguising himself as Gordon in the first place, but the game brushes it off in favor of an angle where Mitchell frequently calls himself a villain just because he has a few scars lining his face. Unsure.
  • People have recognised that although it's let down by inconsistent animation, acting and character models, the SFM cutscenes themselves are actually pretty well made. When the creator of many of those cutscenes, DeremixProductions, opened up about working on the game, some expressed that a Half-Life game with cinematic cutscenes isn't that bad of an idea on its own if only the rest of the game was up to standard. On a related level, Half-Life: Alyx proves that a Half-Life game that bucks tradition and offers a fully voiced Player Character can work. "Poorly executed" misuse.
  • Mitchell invading Black Mesa East with the help of his comrades and the Combine makes for an interesting spin on the events in Half-Life 2, but he doesn't encounter Alyx, Eli or any other major resistance member located there at the time, and he inexplicably heads out to Ravenholm during the midst of the attack with no dialogue to indicate that he knows Gordon is heading that way. Unsure.
  • A well-executed parkour system actually could be a good way to expand on Half-Life gameplay, which already includes a lot of running, jumping, and climbing. Unfortunately, the actual game does a poor job of integrating it into gameplay, fails to clearly explain to the player how it works, and since it requires the use of a control function that isn't bound by default, it doesn't even work until you essentially manually enable it in the settings. Some of the other mechanics aren't necessarily bad ideas in themselves but fall apart here due to poor execution. The shift to a tactical shooter isn't that much of a stretch from Half-Life 2, and the ability to go prone makes sense with that shift, but the game fails to accommodate the change. "Poorly executed" misuse.
  • The reveal that Adrian Shepard is Mitchell's brother is easily missable, but as stupid as it may be, it could actually make sense if it was Mitchell's true motivation and the main plot point all along instead of a secret cutscene. Not only would this make Mitchell more sympathetic, but his encounters with the G-Man himself would have been more meaningful. I can see a case being made about how easily missable this reveal is and how little bearing it has on the plot, but as is this entry needs some work.
    • The reveal of Mitchell being Adrian Shephard's brother makes even less sense when you realize there is actually a much easier way Mitchell could have been tied to Opposing Force that would feel a lot more natural. Mitchell was already a member of the HECU, the exact same combat unit as Adrian Shephard. It would have made a lot more sense to simply say that the two of them served together, even that Mitchell just saw Adrian as a brother. It could also have been a good way to develop his character, for instance, if he was led to think Adrian was killed by Freeman or dealt with survivor's guilt from the apparent loss of a fellow marine. This could have even have been G-Man's way of exploiting Mitchell's survivor's guilt with promises to end the pain or bring back Shepard. It also would have made the Non-Standard Game Over where the two are reunited a bit more meaningful rather than a cheap twist. I don't even know what this is trying to see in regards to the trope.
  • Just the premise of a U.S army remnant hiding in the ocean and raiding the Combine after their main force left would have carried an entire game on its own. Plus, this group of U.S soldiers would not know the truth about the Black Mesa incident and Gordon's innocence, thus fostering conflict between them and the Resistance once they do meet. Can someone with better knowledge of the game tell me if this is introduced and underdeveloped or just something the writer of this entry thought would be neat to have? Thank you.

<(0_0<) <(0_0)> (>0_0)> KIRBY DANCE

I think the first bullet and the one about the brother are possibly keepable if rewritten, but the rest all just seems to be complaining.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

Alright then. How about these rewrites?

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • The very premise of the game's second major story arc is right there in the name. Mitchell finally goes full Villain Protagonist and sells his Child Soldier army into service to the Combine and aids them in assaulting the Resistance members at Black Mesa East, all for the chance to finally confront Gordon. What does this lead to? Nothing. Despite the game's advertised premise, Gordon isn't actually directly relevant to the plot, and never even personally shows up as Mitchell is too late to stop Gordon from being teleported away; the man that fucked up Mitchell's face was Adam, an original character for the game he met shortly after awakening from his injuries.
  • A Non-Standard Game Over reveals that Adrian Shepard is Mitchell's brother. This could have been a good way to develop Mitchell's character, for instance, if he was led to think Adrian was killed by Freeman or dealt with survivor's guilt from the apparent loss of his brother. Unfortunately, not only is this scene easily missable, but it has no relevance to the game's story.

<(0_0<) <(0_0)> (>0_0)> KIRBY DANCE

From the YMMV of Hardcore Leveling Warrior:

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: There's hints here and there that there's some overlap between the real world and Lucid Adventure where the characters could possibly use their game abilities in real life, yet it never truly takes advantage of it until the Final Battle of the series.

If the plot point was used in the Finale them was not wasted, right?

Valdo

I've seen quite a lot people bring up the potential of Mitchell trying to avenge the fellow HECU soldiers going to waste because in the end, they are never brought up again, and in addition Mitchell says to the culprit "You fucked up my face", therefore his earlier reaction at their corpses in the prologue goes full Bait-and-Switch punchline.

That said, I think that the HECU teammates thing should still stay, just altered a bit.

Edited by DukeNukem4ever on Nov 6th 2022 at 8:56:44 AM

Dragon Ball Online has this:

• They Wasted A Perfectly Good... Everything: The game was shut down before a lot of elements could have been expanded on. The Mechanic classes, Cell's clones and descendants, Mira's plans, all those had merely passing mentions before the end. That's to say nothing of the character creation system, which after the shutdown left only the generally-loathed Ultimate Tenkaichi as an option for those with Alt-itis.
  • It seems that the people making Dragon Ball Xenoverse are looking to subvert this, what with the superior character creation as well as the recycling of several characters and plot elements from Dragon Ball Online.

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Aside from the trope being "renamed" (which is undeniably wrong), it doesn't seem to count since the reason the "plot" was wasted was because the game shut down before they could be elaborated upon, when this trope should be about plot points that are underdeveloped because they are not relevant to the planned main story. And the second bullet point says it might not be a real example.

Yeah, I agree that isn't an example. I also feel it's closer to What Could Have Been.

This is on South Park S 7 E 11 Casa Bonita:

• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The episode itself is a classic, but you have to admit, the apocalyptic fiction Cartman puts on for Butters sounds like it would make a pretty good movie.

This doesn't sound like a plot that South Park could do at all.

That's also just "hey, this thing that got mentioned once would be a cool thing"

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

I don't think that counts since that was something he made up and isn't actually a plot point. Plus, I feel the first part is gushing.

I guess this trope isn't "Missed opportunity for Continuity Nod"?

I've been thinking of a hypothetical example where Connected All Along is revealed, but some characters that do fit aren't brought up.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup