The Plot Twist in TV Serial Narratives

Abstract

This article explores the use of the plot twist in screen fictions. This is a largely unexplored area, as interest in this phenomenon has largely focused on the so-called “plot twist movie,” which is an older narrative tradition. In order to explain this aesthetic phenomenon, it draws on the model of surprise originally proposed by the cognitive psychologists Wulf Meyer, Rainer Reisenzein, and Achim Schützwohl. Plot twists are characterized by three distinct but intimately intertwined temporal segments and their corresponding functions, which are explained by this model. The objective of this article is to explore how cognitive-emotional interactions shape the aesthetic viewing experience and to identify how that experience relates to shows’ artistic qualities. Game of Thrones (S01 and S03), Homeland (S01), and Westworld (S01) will be used as test cases. In each of the three plot segments, there are specific processes that distinguish the experience of surprise as an aesthetic phenomenon.

On Jon Snow’s death: Plot twist and global fandom in Game of Thrones

“…Cognitive film theorists propose to use theories from psychology and other sciences to achieve a better understanding of the effects of films on viewers. Searching for psychological theories relevant for the explanation of plot twists, Pérez (2019) found that the structure of plot twists bears a strong similarity to the phases of the surprise process described in an empirically well-supported psychological model of surprise (Meyer, Reisenzein, & Schützwohl, 1997; Reisenzein, Meyer, & Niepel, 2012; see also Reisenzein, Horstmann, & Schützwohl, 2019). Based on this similarity, Pérez (2019) proposed that plot twists are a subform of surprising events as conceptualized by this theory, that exploit a basic, evolutionary mental mechanism of humans—the surprise mechanism—to achieve several desired effects, in particular the stimulation of explanatory search processes and connected to this, of interest in viewing the continuation of the narrative.…”

“…Contemporary media studies have dealt with the phenomenon of surprise in fiction before, in particular in theoretical analyses of surprise endings (Plantinga, 2009) and in case studies of so-called “plot twist” films, conducted in recent years as part of a broader research program devoted to the investigation of narrative complexity (e.g., Bort & Garcia, 2013; Buckland, 2014; Ghislotti, 2011; Strank, 2014; Wilson, 2006). However, only recently has the plot twist in contemporary serial television become an object of study (Pérez, 2019).…”

“…The analysis of plot twists offered by Pérez (2019) adopts a cognitive film theory approach (e.g., Bordwell, 1989; Nannicelli & Taberham, 2014; Smith, 2017). Cognitive film theorists propose to use theories from psychology and other sciences to achieve a better understanding of the effects of films on viewers.…”

“…Pérez (2019) has used this method to analyze a number of plot twists in contemporary TV serials, focusing on the causes and effects of the twists on the individual viewer. In the present article, in which we analyze yet another case of a plot twist, we extend these analyses to include aspects of the participative and social culture that is an essential part of contemporary serial TV (Mittell, 2013).…”

“…To this end, we conducted a theory-guided analysis of Jon’s Snow’s death in GoT that paid particular attention to the social and participatory aspects of the reception of the serial. That is, the GoT narrative preceding Jon Snow’s death, the plot twist itself, and the verbal and nonverbal reactions of viewers to the plot twist documented in social media (Internet forums, Twitter comments, YouTube videos) were analyzed in terms of the theory of plot twists as surprise structures (Pérez, 2019). We will try to show that this theory, when combined with information about the content and sociocultural context of the narrative, is able to provide a plausible explanation of the reactions of viewers to Jon Snow’s death in GoT .…”