Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Miss Saigon Plot Hole
ChenghisKhan
Swing Joined: 6/13/17
#1Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 2:18pm
Remember my first post: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1102191? Well looking back I can say that I probably exaggerated too much and was too dramatic. My real point is that there is an obvious plot hole in Miss Saigon that is currently unexplained. When I saw Miss Saigon, the first thing that got me concerned was how quickly Chris forgot about Kim. I mean, I understand that PTSD was probably involved, but I don't think a person should forget about someone whom he spent the night with. I think there should be a scene that explains why Chris forgot about Kim by showing an event that makes Chris forget about Kim, such as some sort of head trauma or combat injury.
Jvj24605
Chorus Member Joined: 8/31/17
#2Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 2:25pm
Maybe John bashes him in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle as he's yelling "Kiiimmm!" while the helicopter is taking off. Head trauma. "Kim who?" Problem solved.
#3Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 2:28pmHe doesn’t forget about her. He moves on and starts a new life with Ellen. He even has nightmares about Kim and the fall of Saigon referenced during “I Still Believe,” “Please” and “The Revelation.”
#4Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 2:29pm
ChenghisKhan said: "Remember my first post:https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1102191?Well looking back I can say that I probably exaggerated too much and was too dramatic. My real point is that there is an obvious plot hole in Miss Saigon that is currentlyunexplained. When I saw Miss Saigon, the first thing that got me concerned was how quickly Chris forgot about Kim. I mean, I understand that PTSD was probably involved, but I don't think a person should forget about someone whom he spent the night with. I think there should be a scene that explains why Chris forgot about Kim by showing an event that makes Chris forget about Kim, such as some sort of head trauma or combat injury."
There is nothing in the show that suggests Chris forgets about Kim.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#5Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 2:34pm
I don't think that it's hard to imagine a man sleeping with a woman in a foreign country and having one or a few extremely romantic nights with her in an extreme situation like a war, and then going home and moving on...well trying to move on anyway.
#6Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 3:00pm
Exactly, there is nothing in the show to suggest that he forgot about her. Yes, their time was brief, but clearly - he loved her.
#7Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 3:21pm
Slightly off topic, but I have always wished that Chris had a solo number in Act II that would have showed the struggle of him having to choose to either stay with Ellen or leave her to get back with Kim. I can only imagine how much of a showstopper it could have been.
bwaylistener
Stand-by Joined: 9/13/17
#8Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 3:28pm
In the song "Please" (original production)/"Too Much for One Heart" (revival), John tells Kim the following about Chris: "He went crazy when he lost you. Spoke to no one for a year. Then he finally said, 'I'm home now. My life has to go on here.' " I think this pretty clearly explains what happened. Chris not only didn't forget about her quickly (unless you think a year is quickly?), but tried to move on with his life after a year of being depressed and dysfunctional.
ScottyDoesn'tKnow2
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/22/14
#9Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 5:21pm
I've read some really good critiques of Miss Saigon and other shows, but the OP's post here and the original post he linked to with all of his "issues" with the show don't seem well-reasoned to me. They seem like joke criticisms.
#10Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 5:51pm
It's not a plot hole. It's addressed in the lyrics. All you have to do is pay attention when you listen to them.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#11Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 5:52pm
Also, in the revelation after Bui Doi, when Chris meets John after the speech, Chris sings something like:
"You don't now John, these nightmares, the things that I've seen.......I have seen her face burn, seen her shot with my gun........I have chased her through streets.....etc".
Then there's also the part in "I still believe" when he dreams of her, the references in "Please", etc. The beauty of this show is you get to see how the human soul reacts in certain situations. Everything that happens makes sense.
It's also very interesting that when Chris sings to Ellen about how confused he was, explaining the situation, deciding to choose her (what else can he do? They are married), it really is left to the audience to decide how much he really still feels/has felt for Kim, or how it would have been had they met in another time/place/situation. That isn't something that has to be explained in the show. I like to think there is a part in Chris' mind that wishes he had the chance to take Kim back and Ellen wouldn't be around, but it could also be that he loves Ellen so much that he really wouldn't want that. The fact that that is left unsaid is something I love about the show.
It's basically what the whole show is about, the choice or standpoint from a character is not always black or white, there is a big grey area. Every character struggles with confusion, desires, circumstance, does and says good and bad things, and often is stuck between 2 options that are both not ideal. That's what makes it real.
#12Miss Saigon Plot Hole
Posted: 2/1/19 at 7:33pm
He DEFINITELY doesn't forget her - he has PTSD induced nightmares about Kim that haunt him every night. In fact it could be argued that the entirety of MISS SAIGON is one of Chris's Vietnam PTSD nightmares (this is how I would frame the movie)
Though, to your point it always seems like such a weird choice for Ellen to sing "You've been with me two years and not shared things you've done." Again, a perfectly normal lyric however unnecessary. It could have just as easily been: You've been with me a year and not shared things you've done," or something even less specific. For some reason that line throws me completely out of the plot and I am suddenly distracted trying to figure out just how long Chris waited until he found a new girl and then I start wondering if he actually tried to find her and then I just completely am taken out of the musical. So I understand the concern the OP has, however technically it is all in the current libretto. I just think that maybe it could be clearer - and I TOTALLY agree if a Miss Saigon movie ever gets maid I hope they add a flashback song and/or replace "Confrontation" with a flashback song where we see what John went through with PTSD and how Ellen helped him.
