Chekhov's gun

A literary element that, at first, seems to have no purpose but is later revealed to be important to the plot. This is commonly thought of as a parallel of foreshadowing, but it is more properly interpreted as "do not include any unnecessary elements in a story."

The return of Carmelita Spats in The Slippery Slope after her seemingly unnecessary appearance in The Austere Academy is an example of Chekhov's gun.

"One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it." -Anton Chekhov

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