Third-Act Stupidity: Difference between revisions

This is when for most of a work, the hero or the villain has been reasonably smart in his/her/its actions. But if that character acts just as smart in the climax, it would be [[Curb Stomp Battle|over in a minute]]. Time for this [[Sub -Trope]] of [[Idiot Ball]].

* The [[Big Bad]] in the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' special "[[Doctor Who (TV)/NS/Recap/S4 E17 E18 The End of Time|The End Of Time]]" tells the Master in the most insulting terms that the moment his plan (which the Master is an essential part of) succeeds, the Master [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|will be killed]]. While the Master is standing next to the machine that forms another essential part of the plan. He also passes up numerous opportunities to [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|shoot the Doctor]] despite having previously shown a willingness to kill people for disagreeing with him; and the Doctor ''isn't'' part of his plan.

** In the original series story "[[Doctor Who (TV)/Recap/S13 E5 The Brain of Morbius|The Brain of Morbius]]", the Doctor defeats and captures Morbius by the middle of the last episode, deciding to remove his brain and return it to the Time Lords. It's fairly logical for him to threaten Solon, the [[Mad Scientist]] responsible for giving Morbius his new body, into doing the job for him. It's less logical for him to leave Solon alone to do the job and go and check on Sarah in a room with a lock on the door. To the surprise of no-one but him, Solon locks them in and revives Morbius.