Writers! I am far from the first to say this but you could do worse than study last night’s game if you want to think about suspense, because it was perfectly plotted. So I’ve put together this thread to explain more (drawing on @jyintothewoods’ 5 Act structure as I’m a fan)
Act 1: you establish the characters, the heroes and the villains, the first half culminating in the should’ve been red card doing this perfectly and setting up the drama.
And of course our goodies have shadows hanging over them, long carried failures, so much to prove.
And of course our goodies have shadows hanging over them, long carried failures, so much to prove.
Act 2: Then from adversity our hero scores! And for a while all goes well, before disaster strikes at the very moment victory seems assured (Act 3, mid point). Suddenly the ending, the penalties, are inevitable but this just adds to the drama.
Act 4: They battle on through extra time, facing off more challenges, weakened, but still fighting. Then comes the Act 5 denouement we’ve all been waiting for, when they must face the thing that has always defeated them in the past.
It’s ok, it’s ok, it might go our way. Then our heroes falter, all seems lost. But the villains’ hubris brings fresh hope & the height of drama, and our heroes find what they need to bring final victory in the sweetest way with both a save & a goal that vanquish their demons.
It really does make me believe there’s a god of drama, because there are so many ways it could have ended with us going through without playing out in truly perfect dramatic structure
