And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding, but a dream!
There is a hole in the plot you could drive a truck through.
Plot Holes are gaps in the internal logic of a story, plot details that is not resolved properly or new information that does not have a clear origin. Hitting a Plot Hole at high speed can damage your Willing Suspension of Disbelief.
Plot holes can come in many forms:
Plot holes occur for several reasons:
Plot holes are thus contradictions or glitches in the fictional universe of a story. Even intentionally unrealistic, fantastical stories can suffer when plot holes arise, as audiences are willing to suspend disbelief regarding magic and other supernatural powers as long as the story makes sense within its own rules and is consistent.
It is also important to point out that plot holes aren't plot contrivances, as the two terms are sometimes conflated. The difference between a plot hole and a plot contrivance is one of the impossible verses the improbable. A plot hole is something that happens in the narrative that's impossible due to the internal logic of the story's universe, or at least, the story have never established or even hinted at it as being possible. A plot contrivance is when something happens in the narrative that's certainly possible within the story's universe, but the chances of it happening are extremely, sometimes even infinitesimally slim, and only happens because the author needed it to happen. For such cases, the trope you would be looking for is Contrived Coincidence.
Also of note, is the fact that it is important to distinguish between plot holes and continuity errors. A continuity error is merely a minor oversight or mistake that doesn't change anything about the course of the story. In order to truly qualify as a plot hole, the gap in the story must also have at least some sort of tangible effect on the plot. Say that in one scene, a character is hatless. But in the next scene, which is supposed to take place immediately after the previous one, he is now suddenly wearing a hat, despite having clearly had neither the time nor the opportunity to obtain said hat. That would merely be a continuity error. But if the character was to take said hat, that for all intends and purposes has just appeared out of thin air, and use it to create an Outfit Decoy to help him sneak past some guards then it becomes a plot hole.
Plot holes are sometimes plugged up or ignored with a casual Hand Wave, or occasionally dealt with by a Lampshade Hanging, and some writers think Plot Holes that only become apparent well after the story is over aren't worth sweating.
Remember that Tropes Are Tools. Some stories contain plot holes as part of their basic nature. This includes many ludicrously comical works, and everything involving a Timey-Wimey Ball. Even when it isn't being deliberately played for laughs, the storytelling and explanations necessary to close a plot hole might serve as a distraction from the main plot; especially for more minor or obscure plot holes, it often makes more sense for a writer or director to invoke the MST3K Mantra and focus on their main story rather than getting bogged down in explaining minutiae.
Can overlap with Retcon and Continuity Snarl. A Cliffhanger Copout can create a Plot Hole if a Hand Wave is handled poorly. An attempt to resolve or remove a Plot Hole that introduces another Plot Hole is a Voodoo Shark. Contrast What Happened to the Mouse? for potential plots that get dropped, then picked up. See also Writers Cannot Do Math.
Also see Fridge Logic for cases where a Plot Hole isn't immediately obvious and only becomes visible in hindsight.
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