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Scorpion451 (Edited uphill both ways)
Mac_R (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded)
10th May, 2024 02:52:13 PM

I think those count as Revealing Continuity Lapse too. The Laconic version of that trope is "An in-universe continuity error, meant to signify something about the story, setting or characters.", which applies to the Bob's Burgers and Spongebob Squarepants examples - they reveal something about the characters Tammy and Mrs. Puff.

I don't know if it was an intentional plan from the writers, though, but if not, it can also count as a Deliberate Flaw Retcon.

Stouca (Apprentice)
10th May, 2024 03:46:45 PM

Mac_R thanks for your criticism, however the Revealing Continuity Lapse mainly works to hint out a character’s reality being messed up, and inconsistent and the examples I provided aren’t very surreal. And Deliberate Flaw Retcon is based around audience’s criticism, my examples are beyond that.

WarJay77 (Troper Knight)
10th May, 2024 04:12:35 PM

Right. The laconic is a bit misleading as many of them are. Revealing Continuity Lapse is not meant to have any mundane explanations; by "signifies about the story, setting, or characters" it doesn't mean "someone is actually wearing a wig", but "someone isn't alive / reality is breaking / we have an unreliable narrator / the fourth wall is lapsing". Stuff of that sort. In these examples, there's no actual change in continuity since nothing was amiss in the first place.

I'm really not sure what these would be. Lampshading / Subverting a Series Continuity Error maybe?

Edited by WarJay77 Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Stouca (Apprentice)
10th May, 2024 05:10:07 PM

Maybe it’s Revision, my examples are just the same as this Red Vs Blue example.

  • In the first season of Red vs. Blue, Church talks about his time in Sidewinder, where Tex killed a slew of soldiers including one "Private Jimmy". This was later contradicted in The Recollection saga, with revelations about the Alpha AI and Project Freelancer. In season 14 episode "Why They're There" we learn that Church never knew Private Jimmy. Poor Jimmy was lobotomized and had the Alpha AI implanted into his skull. Church's memories are an amalgamation of the Alpha and Jimmy's, which was why Church's recollections were later proven wrong.

Scorpion451 (Edited uphill both ways)
11th May, 2024 08:27:08 AM

The key thing on revision is the "Mrs. Puff's marital status was never mentioned, therefore it's not a retcon because there's nothing to contradict" part - it can be a major or minor detail, but there's a loophole that lets them add or change things without blatantly altering the universe.

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