Chekhov's gun, but it's just "useless" background info

We all know how Chekhov's gun works: in short, it's the "rule" that whatever is explicitly shown to the audience should be important later, otherwise you should get rid of it. Don't show us a gun if it doesn't get fired at some point.

I don't know if there is a specific name for what I have, but it's kinda like a Chekhov's gun, except it's in the background and not really important in the story that follows. Here's what I have, in my magic medieval setting:

The main protagonist meets an unusual looking woman on his journey, who says something about how her mother went missing a few years ago and nobody knows where she went. Understandably, this is an event that deeply traumatized this woman and shaped her actions in the present. The main protagonist sometime later is sent to a cursed place where a monster is lurking. This monster has a habit of turning anyone it sees into a statue. In the background, you see a figure of a woman who looks very similar to the woman the protagonist met earlier, implying that's her mother who went missing. However, he doesn't notice it and it has no bearing on the plot that follows, it's just a neat little background info that tells the audience what happened to that woman's mother.

Is there a name for this "trope"? It's not a Chekhov's gun, is it?

posted almost 6 years ago

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noClue‭

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