TV Tropes and Wikipedia both quote Chekhov but both to various degrees misinterpret what he’s saying. Here’s Wikipedia:
The gun is not an “irrelevant prop” whose importance only becomes apparent later. If it really was an irrelevant prop it wouldn’t matter if it was fired or not. Chekhov’s whole point is that if you introduce a compelling element like a gun early in a play, you create an expectation in the audience that it will somehow figure into the story at a later point. As the play progresses, this expectation shapes the audience’s anticipation of how the story will resolve itself. If the gun (or another similar compelling element) doesn’t figure into the resolution of the play, it should be omitted entirely.
Chekhov’s gun (as Chekhov originally described it) is NOT an inconsequential element whose significance later emerges. It’s a CONSEQUENTIAL element that immediately creates expectations in the audience. And Chekhov is also clearly using it as a counter-example – as something you should avoid doing. An intriguing element that REVEALS its importance later in the story is just normal foreshadowing. However, an intriguing element that never contributes to the narrative – that’s bad storytelling. It leaves the audience confused and frustrated and THAT’S what Chekhov is warning against.
Right. Therefore, Chekhov’s gun is always used before the end of the play, because Chekhov knows enough to not introduce that element without resolving it in some manner. The gun that’s introduced, but never resolved, can’t be Chekhov’s gun, because Chekhov knows enough not to make that mistake. That gun must belong to some other guy. Maybe Chekov.
Considering that his argument specifically refutes the idea that Chekhov’s gun refers to a seemingly inconsequential object, I rather suspect that he did.
I’d like to see a drama about Los Alamos in the early days, when they were still doing ill-advised criticality experiments on the “Demon Core” and stuff. At the beginning of the episode you’d see the camera linger on the Demon Core with one scientist giving exposition (in voiceover) on the dangers of criticality. The camera then cuts away to another young scientist in the kitchen preparing lunch; as he turns from the counter he fumbles and drops a blue plate, which shatters on the linoleum. Later, during the experiment, that same young scientist’s screwdriver slips and the two halves of the core come together, and there’s a sudden flash of blue light. At that moment, you realize you’ve witnessed an instance of
Hey!! Trekkies and Russian Lit fans!! Wings! 7 years, 172 episodes! I don’t care if its Chekov’s gun, Chechov’s gun, or Shecky Green’s gun, come up with something better than that!