The third step in the Five-Point Finale proves
how overly optimistic that assessment was. For this is the part
where the hero reaches the High Tower where the princess is being
kept and finds something shocking: no princess! (For a twist on the
“Princess,” check out the Five-Point Finale of
Enchanted, which proves Princesses can often save their
own damn selves, thank you very much!) But the point is made: The
High Tower Surprise shows we were not only overly confident in our
plan — overconfidence is one of the problems! Seems not only
is the plan dashed, but the Bad Guy, or the forces aligned against
our hero, “knew we were coming” all along. This is the
part where “traitors are exposed” and our brilliant
plan is revealed to be a trap set by the Bad Guys (as Russell Crowe
in Gladiator
discovers when his plot to rally Rome
and overthrow Joaquin Phoenix proves to be doomed from the start).
The effort now comes to a dead stop. The hero and his allies are
“arrested in their tracks” and the “clock is
ticking” on our doom. It looks like all is lost
again! However smart our hero thought he was up to this
point, however much he’s done to “synthesize” his
lesson by reuniting his allies and giving it his all…
it’s not enough. The shock of the High Tower Surprise is
learning that’s not what this effort has been about. And the
real challenge of the Final Exam the hero must pass is about to
become clear.
