This is the most crucial of all the beats in the
BS2. The Midpoint is the “no turning back” part of
every movie. It’s where the “stakes are raised,”
meaning a whole new problem — even bigger than the one the
hero started out with — is now thrown in the hero’s
lap, forcing him or her to deal with it. The Midpoint is where we
get either a “false victory” (high) or a “false
defeat” (low). It’s also where “time
clocks” appear. This is where the detective is yelled at by
his boss, and given “48 hours” to solve the case. Why
here? Because another hallmark of the Midpoint is that we now want
to pick up the pace of the story and rush to the end. From this
point to the Final Image, things happen faster.
Why are there so many scenes at Midpoint that
involve the “hero kissing a girl,” you may well ask?
It’s because another intersection that happens here at
Midpoint is the A and B
Story cross. Midpoint is
not only where we “raise the stakes” of the
hero’s A Story, but where we do the same for the B Story. And
that’s why the boy and girl so often kiss here — or at
least come close.
