Netflix's The Electric State has a potential plot hole that many fans might have missed

The Electric State showed Millie Bobby Brown starring in another Netflix project after her successful stint with the streamer. She was joined by the Russo brothers, who have executed many Marvel tentpole projects. Chris Pratt co-led this sci-fi adaptation, which did not receive the warmest receptions. At this point, it's not news that the movie received scathing reviews from film critics. However, a major part of the audience is not a fan of this movie either.

Many Letterboxed users disliked The Electric State's CGI-heavy visual language and the fact that it was one of the costliest movies to have been made, but felt like a logically inconsistent, passive watch. The book's fans were upset that it was not as gritty in presenting the dystopian wasteland. Some Reddit users also pointed out that it could have looked as ominous as Alex Garland presents in the dystopian setting of Annihilation. Regardless, there is a common theme among their arguments about the plot holes in the movie.

There is a chance that some fans have missed a potential plot error in The Electric State related to Marshall Bradbury's drone. It may not be going against the plot's pre-established narrative flow, but it appears like a gap in the plot's logic—which remains unexplained.

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The Electric State: What's the issue with Marshall Bradbury's drone?

The Electric State brings the age-old good vs. evil narrative and places it in a post-apocalyptic setting where humans and robots are at war. Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) is a powerful human who runs an enterprise using both. Michelle (Brown) loses her brother, Christopher (Woody Norman), amid these conflicts. On her way to find him, she enlists Keats (Chris Pratt), a smuggler of vintage items, who gets threatened by Marshall Bradburry (Giancarlo Esposito).

Bradbury's reputation makes him known as "The Butcher." In their retro-futuristic world, drones offer humans a chance to upload their minds to lead virtual lives. Bradbury remotely operates a similar drone. It allows him to confront Keats from a distance. Michelle starts running away from the drone, and Keats joins her. Bradbury's drone follows them only to get stuck under rubble. So, he gets trapped inside what appears to be a cave.

It creates a tricky situation for this middle-management operative, who cannot function as he is supposed to. Some viewers might presume that this incident effectively destroys Bradbury's drone. However, this drone reappears in the movie when Skate requires Bradbury to finish a mission for his evil enterprise. However, the film doesn't make it clear how a robot stuck behind a pile of rocks gets out.

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How can Bradbury's drone get its power back? Speculations explored

The Electric State takes many creative leaps to track Michelle's emotional journey to rescue her brother. So, some viewers might argue that anything can happen in a film, fundamentally showing things happening in a similar "anything-can-happen" fashion. However, it might leave some fans with questions related to a potential plot error in the film.

What seems to be a part of the lack of development in the script, the film doesn't address how Bradbury's drone returns to a condition where it can work again. The film never explains whether the robots can be put back together if destroyed similarly. So, it may feel odd to some viewers that Bradbury's drone magically reappears.

A possible explanation is that the drone may have lost signal from the outside world. So it doesn't lose all its power, which makes it possible to keep working. The simplest explanation is that Skate's enormous wealth and power allow him to do anything he wants, including restoring a robot stuck under rubble.