Have you ever watched a TV show, a movie series, or read a book and suddenly went, “What is this nonsense?!”
Oh yeah, that is definitely me right now reading over the Black Jewels series. I loved the earlier books, absolutely loved them.
Were they dark?
Absolutely yes.
However, I recently discovered there are more books in the series, and some of what happens in them just makes no sense to me.
It is the writer’s world. I will agree to that, and Anne Bishop can write what she wishes.
But the thing I have noticed is that the longer a series goes on, the more the holes seem to become obvious. Or maybe it’s my age.
I turned 43 earlier this month, and I am seeing it not just with Buffy and Charmed, but even with beloved book series. I can step back now and go:
What is this nonsense?
Prime example, in the short story The High Lord’s Daughter, it literally states that Saetien SaDiablo is a dream made flesh for Daemon and Surreal, and by extension Jaenelle.
That is kind of important in this universe.
“Dream made flesh” is not just a pretty way of saying somebody really wanted a child. Dreams, visions, tangled webs, and people being dreamed into existence are actually part of how the Black Jewels universe works.
So when you tell me Saetien is a dream made flesh for these characters, I am going to assume that means something.
But then in the later books, Saetien, who is an adolescent, is sent away after being put through a living hell, her power stripped and repeatedly told she broke the bonds with her family. She eventually ends up in another country, essentially trying to figure things out on her own.
Can you see where I have a problem with this?
And before anyone says it, I am not saying Saetien did nothing wrong. She did. She made bad decisions. She trusted people she should not have trusted. She got involved with things that had horrible consequences.
My problem is not that there were consequences.
My problem is that this is a series that has spent book after book showing us how serious it is to break a witch. Emotional manipulation matters. Isolation matters. Convincing someone they are unwanted matters. Destroying someone’s trust in the people they love matters.
Then suddenly, when it happens to Saetien, the story seems to shrug.
This is what I’m talking about when I say plot holes. Maybe “plot hole” isn’t even the perfect word every time, because sometimes it is more like the story forgetting its own rules. And then the characters who actually caused a lot of the bad things get off scot-free!
For a series that prides itself on consequences, it just makes no sense to me.
If you are going to build a character or a world like that, own up to it.
Another example is Xander Harris’ whole hyena possession in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1.
There is no proof that the Hyena ever completely left Xander.
In fact, the final scene of the episode seems to show that something is still there, even if Xander is back in the driver’s seat. Or is he? You could even argue that some of his worse behavior later in the series may have been influenced by the Hyena.
Now, do I know for certain that was what the writers intended?
No.
But that is exactly my point! You introduced it. You left that little door cracked open. Then you never really dealt with it again.
Then we have Chris Halliwell from Charmed. Now this one really annoys me to this day. In the final episode, “Forever Charmed,” Chris and Wyatt have to go back in time because their powers are gone.
However, Chris seems to retain memories belonging to the Chris who died. This makes no sense to me. That version of Chris came from a future that was changed. The Chris we later meet grew up in the good future.
So how does good-future Chris have both the knowledge and memories of Dark Future Chris?
Where did they come from?
Did something transfer?
Did the timeline merge somehow?
Did the writers just decide not to think too hard about it?
Because I have questions.
Like I said, writers seem to forget important details like this the longer a series goes on.
And I think that bothers me more now than it did when I was younger.
Maybe when I was twenty I was just along for the ride.
Now I am 43 and apparently sitting in the passenger seat going, “Excuse me, you missed an exit three seasons ago.”
This is why I like actors like Sam Witwer, who is a giant Star Wars fan and has actually spoken up when something being done would go against established canon.
That is what I like to see.
Someone willing to go:
Wait.
That goes against established lore.
Because if you are working inside a giant fictional universe that has existed for years or decades, somebody needs to remember what happened before.
Otherwise, eventually the audience will.
And some of us have apparently reached the age where we remember the weird little thing you wrote twenty years ago and would now like an explanation.
I know it sucks, but I have a question for y’all:
Have you noticed these problems too?
Have you ever gone back to a show, movie, or book series you loved and suddenly realized something doesn’t fit anymore?