TSTL is a term used in the mystery reading/writing community for Too Stupid To Live. These are the characters in books and on big or small screens who seem to be smart but then make ridiculous mistakes that totally undermine their credibility. It’s the person who’s fully aware that a serial killer is on the loose who walks into their house and doesn’t turn on any lights. Readers or viewers howl in disbelief, press the pause button, or toss the book across the room.
I was recently watching an excellent British crime series that features some very strong woman detectives, and was very disappointed with a sudden plot twist.
The capable, resourceful, dedicated, and fiercely intelligent woman detective got a call and rushed off to meet someone, refusing to take anyone with her. She also didn’t say where she was going or why. The source she was meeting was closely connected to more than one murder and was possibly going to supply crucial information the detective’s whole team had been unable to get.
So what happens? We see her in conversation at a restaurant but don’t see who it is (though we can guess), and she excuses herself to make a call to her chief to let him know she’s on to “something big.” Okay, informing her superior is believable, and so is wanting some prvacy, but she doesn’t just step outside of the restaurant.
She crosses the street.
And walks down a dark alley.
With her back turned to passersby and traffic.
So of course she’s attacked before revealing what she knows. The ambulance can’t get there quickly enough. She dies.
This was infuriating. There was no reason at all for her to behave the way she did, from start to finish, and it contradicted her character arc over four+ seasons. Yes, she was impulsive, but never stupid.
Another term in the mystery world that applies here is “femjep.” That’s when writers of whatever kind put a woman in ridiculous jeopardy. It serves the plot, but it’s both retrograde and foolish. Here, it was especially infuriating because you felt the writers wanted an unhappy ending to the season, and so they wrenched the character way out of whack.
Lev Raphael loves crime fiction and is the author of the acclaimed Nick Hoffman mysteries. He teaches online creative writing workshops at writewithoutborders.com.