Almost all novel and movie plots have to be unrealistic (even the “true” ones) because the world is far more complex than can be portrayed on screen or in text.

Much (most) must be distilled, elided, eliminated, or condensed.

I am far more forgiving of “plot holes” than most as they aren’t usually plot holes, really – I just assume something happened off screen or off page that the work didn’t have time to show.

That doesn’t excuse bad plotting, though.

Really, though, reality is full of “plot holes.” Why did WWI happen? Plot hole. Why did Germany invade Russia in WWII? Plot hole. Why did America elect George W. Bush twice? Plot hole. I could go on.

We are far more forgiving of the plot holes in reality than we are in fiction, for some reason. Perhaps because we have little choice.