Says dumb
The earlier film's point was that Rey's heritage did not matter. Making her a Palpatine reverses that and implies that being great needs a bloodline.
Harbor Lights
@harbor_lights
Level 205,410 reputationPlusFounding Critic #58
Slow burns, long films, and plot threads that never get picked up again.
Halifax, Canada · Joined December 2024
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Continuity Cop
Catches retcons, dropped threads and broken rules.
Founding Critic
One of the first members of DumbScenes.
Trope Spotter
Spots lazy tropes across many titles.
On Why was Rey revealed to be Palpatine's granddaughter? in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
On How did Arya reach the Night King without being noticed? in Game of Thrones: Season 8
Says dumb
The film shows an army of undead that has already killed our heroes in the castle. Arya appearing in time is either plot armor or a visual surprise with no setup.
On Why does Brand argue that love can guide the mission? in Interstellar
Says dumb
The speech is emotional, but it is hard to treat as an argument for the mission. A scientist would be expected to explain more clearly why feelings should count as data.
On Why was Weyland hidden aboard the ship? in Prometheus
Says dumb
The secrecy helps the film's reveal, but it makes little sense within the story. Several crew members would have acted differently if they had known who funded the mission.
On Why was NASA operating in secret? in Interstellar
Says explained
The film explains that the public turned against space programs and that the world's priorities changed. Secrecy is a way to keep the mission alive.
On How did the geologist get lost in a structure he had mapped? in Prometheus
Says explained
It's an alien structure, and the map had to be re-read at speed with no visuals while being afraid. I can believe someone gets turned around.
On How does Jack Bauer stay awake for a whole day without sleeping? in 24: Season 1
Says explained
The show covers one day, and he is shown to be exhausted by the end. It is not a realistic day, but the show does not hide it.
On Why was Merle left handcuffed on the roof? in The Walking Dead: Season 1
Says explained
The group acted to protect itself from an aggressive man. The lost key is an accident, not a decision.
On Why did Rose give a false name after the Titanic sank? in Titanic
Says explained
The film makes it clear that she wanted a life of her own, and that Cal and her mother were the reasons she could not go home.
On Why was Bran chosen as king of the Six Kingdoms? in Game of Thrones: Season 8
Says explained
It is a tidy finale choice: someone with no ambition and a lot of knowledge. The series spent years teaching us that wanting power is the problem.
On How did Blake know that Bruce Wayne was Batman? in The Dark Knight Rises
Says explained
Blake was a boy at the home where Bruce visited. He recognized something in him. The film frames it as emotional, not forensic, and I think that is enough.
On Why did the Starks shelter civilians in the Winterfell crypts? in Game of Thrones: Season 8
Says dumb
Even if the crypts were physically safe, the film should have acknowledged the obvious problem. It plays as a set-up for a scare and the characters just walk in.
On How did the Joker rig a hospital with explosives without anyone noticing? in The Dark Knight
Says dumb
I like the scene, but it needed one line from the Joker about the plan. Instead we get a long walk away from an explosion.
On How did Jack walk from Philadelphia to New York in a superstorm? in The Day After Tomorrow
Says dumb
I like the idea and would have been happier with a short note about the route. As it is, the journey is cut to fit the plot.
On Why did Anna agree to marry someone she had known for a day? in Frozen
Says explained
The film uses this to set up a lesson about love. Anna's choice is a mistake the story wants to correct.
On How did Palpatine come back in The Rise of Skywalker? in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Says dumb
I could accept the return if the film took a few minutes to show how. As it is, the line about 'somehow' is not enough for a return of this size.
On Why did Harry take AJ's place on the asteroid? in Armageddon
Says dumb
It is predictable, but I cannot say it is a bad choice. A movie about a man who is going to die for his family is going to end this way.
On How did Bruce Wayne get from the prison back to Gotham so quickly? in The Dark Knight Rises
Says dumb
I do not need a montage, but a line from Bruce about how he got home would have helped. As it is, it looks like a jump cut for convenience.
On Why did the scorpions hit Rhaegal but miss other dragons? in Game of Thrones: Season 8
Says dumb
The scene's quality is fine, but the broader choice that the fleet is lethal in one and useless in the next is jarring and unexplained.
On Why do the six friends spend working hours in a coffee shop? in Friends: Season 1
Says explained
Some of them have flexible work and others are between jobs. It is a sitcom and the setting is what matters.
On Why was Chewbacca's apparent death reversed so quickly? in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Says dumb
Even if the film technically played fair, it undercuts the stakes of the sequence, and the characters accept it too quickly.
On Why did NASA only discover the asteroid with 18 days left? in Armageddon
Says dumb
I can accept an early miss, but a delay this large makes me doubt the agency in the film. It could be helped with one scene of a missed warning.
On How did Bane take Bruce Wayne's fortune in one trade? in The Dark Knight Rises
Says explained
In a city under siege, the usual rules do not apply. Courts and regulators are cut off, which fits with the rest of the film.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Why was Rey revealed to be Palpatine's granddaughter?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) · 1:46:40
Guilty
7.7/ 10(1,250 ratings)
24: Season 1
How does Jack Bauer stay awake for a whole day without sleeping?
24: Season 1 (2001) · S1 E24 · 0:10:00
Explained
5.2/ 10(700 ratings)
Prometheus
6.2/ 10(380 ratings)
Interstellar
4.4/ 10(480 ratings)
The Walking Dead: Season 1
Why was Merle left handcuffed on the roof?
The Walking Dead: Season 1 (2010) · S1 E2 · 0:16:40
Explained
5.8/ 10(700 ratings)
Interstellar
6.0/ 10(840 ratings)
Titanic
3.8/ 10(600 ratings)
Game of Thrones: Season 8
How did Arya reach the Night King without being noticed?
Game of Thrones: Season 8 (2019) · S8 E3 · 1:06:40
Contested
6.1/ 10(1,620 ratings)
Swap a detail
Interstellar (2014)
How did Cooper send data through the bookshelf and the watch?Replace the watch with a model of the wormhole that Murph keeps on her desk. The message would be in the way the pieces move.
Would this fix it?52% say yes (84 votes)
3 weeks ago
Cut a line
Prometheus (2012)
Why did Holloway take his helmet off on an alien planet?Cut the shot of the helmet leaving his head. Let him say he wants to and cut to the next room.
Would this fix it?44% say yes (125 votes)
4 weeks ago
Change an action
Armageddon (1998)
Why did Harry take AJ's place on the asteroid?Let AJ and Harry draw the short straw together and decide who stays. The scene keeps the emotion and drops the trick.
Would this fix it?58% say yes (95 votes)
5 weeks ago
Add a line
Game of Thrones: Season 8 (2019)
Why did the Dothraki charge the Army of the Dead at night?Daenerys says 'Wait for the signal' and Jorah points out that the Dothraki will not.
Would this fix it?57% say yes (70 votes)
1 month ago
Swap a detail
Prometheus (2012)
Why did Vickers and Shaw run in a straight line from the falling ring?Make the ring roll down a slope that funnels them into a corridor, so sideways is not an option.
Would this fix it?73% say yes (124 votes)
2 months ago
Plant it earlier
Game of Thrones: Season 8 (2019)
Why did Jaime leave Brienne and return to Cersei?Before he leaves, show Jaime visibly shaken by news of Cersei's plan and Brienne asking him to stay. His leaving is then a choice, not a switch.
Would this fix it?90% say yes (290 votes)
4 months ago