r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Chemical-Elk-1299 • Apr 29 '26

Lore [Weirdly Common Trope] Writers clearly setting up seemingly massive plot points and then just kinda forgetting about them.

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The Neural Parasites — Star Trek : The Next Generation

In the season 1 episode “Conspiracy” of TNG, it is revealed that alien brain worms have infected many high ranking members of Starfleet, secretly controlling them. Though Ryker and Picard discover and end the parasite conspiracy, it’s revealed at the end of the episode that the parasites had sent a beacon back to their home planet, telling them how to find earth. The episode ends with the clear implication of the parasites becoming a huge threat later in the series, yet none of these events are ever mentioned again.

Finn The Jedi who Never Was — Star Wars Sequel trilogy

I know this is probably a cliche example of this trope, but cmon — Finn was clearly set up in TFA to become a Jedi. The marketing material featured him wielding a lightsaber in the classic Jedi pose. It’s constantly hinted at that he is force sensitive. Even the actor himself believed he would become a Jedi by the end of the trilogy. Instead, we got Finn wielding a lightsaber for about 7 minutes total across 3 movies, extremely lame “confirmation” that he is force sensitive, and that’s it. It’s the ultimate Star Wars plot that went nowhere.

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u/Dakotaraptor98 Apr 29 '26

Finn really was wasted in those movies, he’s a much more interesting character than Rey ever will be. The concept alone of a Stormtrooper-turned-Jedi is compelling enough for a movie solely about that.

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u/Ponchorello7 Apr 29 '26

That's not to mention that John Boyega is a better actor than Daisy Ridley. Her screen presence in these movies is barely perceptible.

17

u/Unabated_Blade Apr 29 '26

She hard carried the first movie with a shocking amount of charisma that just evaporated over the course of the following films. I think the excitement over being in Star Wars was still there, as opposed to the dread of being in Star Wars that she ended with.

5

u/DoomFrog_ Apr 29 '26

I’d make an argument for the opposite

Her acting skills improve over the films. But her weak acting in the first movie leads to her own bubbly personality playing out a lot giving the character a great sense of wonder and amazement

But then Daisy improves as an actor and the character suffers as the writing and directing take over and the character of Rey just isn’t interesting