Which plot devices / tropes in fictional media annoy you the most?

Parent Cafe Entertainment
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I asked a ChatGPT a similar question. Its response is quoted below:

Plot & Storytelling Tropes

  1. The “It Was All a Dream” Ending – Wipes out all stakes by revealing the events never happened.
  2. Villain Monologue of Doom – Giving the hero time to escape by explaining the entire evil plan.
  3. Last-Second Defusal – Bombs always stop at 00:01, never 00:57.
  4. Convenient Amnesia – Selective memory loss only affecting the plot-critical details.
  5. Plot Armor – The hero survives explosions, gunfights, or falls that would kill anyone else.
  6. Random Expert Syndrome – A main character suddenly has deep knowledge of hacking, piloting, or ancient languages for one episode only.
  7. The Misunderstanding That Could Be Solved in 5 Seconds – Entire conflicts caused by nobody asking a basic clarifying question.
  8. The MacGuffin Chase – Object has no real purpose except to make people run around.

Character Tropes

  1. The “Chosen One” with No Work Ethic – Gifted all the skills and victories without real training.
  2. Smart = Glasses – Every intelligent character must have glasses and zero fashion sense.
  3. Women in Refrigerators – Killing off a female character purely to give the male hero motivation.
  4. The Token Minority – A single non-white or LGBTQ+ character whose sole purpose is diversity optics.
  5. Evil = British Accent – Especially in Hollywood productions.
  6. The Love Triangle Nobody Asked For – Often shoehorned in to drag out romance arcs.
  7. Manic Pixie Dream Girl – Quirky woman exists only to inspire a sad man to live again.

Action & Genre Tropes

  1. Infinite Ammo – Guns never run out unless the plot needs a dramatic reload.
  2. Stormtrooper Aim – Bad guys cannot hit the hero even at close range.
  3. The Slow-Mo Hero Walk – Bonus points for explosions in the background and no one looking back.
  4. Enhance! – Low-resolution image magically becomes crystal clear when zoomed in.
  5. Car Won’t Start at the Worst Time – Works fine until a chase or killer is near.
  6. Villain Dies by Falling – The laziest way to avoid the hero “killing” them directly.

Romance Tropes

  1. Enemies to Lovers in 30 Seconds – Hatred turns into passionate romance with zero build-up.
  2. Interrupted Love Confession – Always just before the other person says it too.
  3. The “Ugly” Girl Is Actually Gorgeous – She just needed to take off her glasses and straighten her hair.

Horror Tropes

  1. Splitting Up – The group separates for no reason except to get picked off one by one.
  2. Investigating the Strange Noise – Alone. In the dark. Without calling for help.
  3. The Immortal Killer – No matter how many times they’re stabbed, shot, or burned, they’re fine.
  4. Jump Scares Over Story – Startle instead of actually building tension.
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