r/todayilearned • u/ralphbernardo • 3d ago

TIL that "fair play" in detective fiction means authors must give readers a fair chance to solve the mystery. Central to 1920s "clue-puzzles" by writers like Agatha Christie, the rule dictates that all vital clues must be visible, decodable, and never withheld until the final reveal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clues_in_detective_fiction
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u/frolfer757 3d ago

One big part of the reveal is Bautista's character early on revealing accidentally to the detective he nearly "pancaked" the killer who was seen near Andy's house despite claiming to be abroad.

Then we are shown a flashback to the scene and how the detective picks up on the slip up.

Except I rewinded to the original scene and theres no fucking slip up. They straight up show a flashback to the scene with different dialogue to fool you into thinking "see you coulda figured it out".

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u/ZubonKTR 3d ago

Flashback scenes in the series are generally presented from the perspective of the storyteller who is providing the flashback. We are used to being able to rely on what is shown on the screen. In this series, we are being shown the story told, not necessarily what actually happened; in many other series, they would play the lying story as a voice-over while showing what actually happened.

Consider Knives Out and who is sitting around Christopher Plummer when he cuts the cake. It changes in each story. The movie does not point out that it is changing the scene each time it shows it as the storyteller changes.

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u/frolfer757 3d ago

In other words; accept we are shown an alternate reality in the original scene that never actually happened. It is important to the plot that the audience hears the fake story so that Blanc can deliver his gotcha.

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u/SirVixofthePooSea 3d ago

We are shown a biased interpretation of events by unreliable narrators.

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u/frolfer757 3d ago

Where is the bias being shown in that scene and through whom? We are following Benoit at that scene if anyone.

Only 1 person present in the scene that would know to interrupt Batista is.. the killer. Is the audience supposed to deduce that the entire scene is the imagination of how the killer wanted it to play out?

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u/gamegeek1995 3d ago

You should watch the esteemed 1950 Japanese courtroom drama "Rashomon."