Kind of like how you ignored my counter-argument that Lex's plan to make Bruce sad by sending him mean letters doesn't really make sense in the first place because, as you brought up, why would angry letters from a former employee concern the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company? Interesting indeed.
I honestly don't care to get into the real world semantics of how disability checks work. I asked questions and received adequate answers. I have not yet received an adequate answer in regards to the point I have been addressing, which is honestly more pertinent to discussing the inner-workings of this film.
You mean real world facts about how disability checks work, which dispelled your initial idea that Wally would have gone to the media or sued the company and completely unraveled Lex's whole plan.
No, convenient things happening at convenient times with nothing in the way of an explanation that only serve to push the plot forward are adequately deemed as "contrivances". This is one of those occasions. You have not done anything to show how Lex executed this plan properly to have the intended effect at the right time save for suggesting hypotheticals not supported by the film.
Lol, suggesting hypotheticals. That's one way to describe it, or you could say I've been offering potential explanations that make sense within the context of the film.
I mean, do you act like this whenever something happens in a film that isn't explicitly shown/explained but seems to be convenient or coincidental in some way? Was your mind absolutely boggled when Commissioner Loeb drank The Joker's poison literally half a second before Gordon realized it was there, seemingly at the same moment the judge got blown up in the car and The Joker crashed the party? The film does nothing to show how The Joker executed Loeb's murder at the exact right time and before Gordon could stop it, outside of assuming The Joker banked on Loeb choosing to drink his liquor in time.
You have also not addressed the fact that, had Bruce stumbled upon this earlier, it would have undone everything Lex was planning for. I recall the film outright stating that each letter was marked return to sender, and Bruce asking "why am I just finding out about this?" implying that this was clearly something that was going on for a while. This is a plan that relies on Bruce being unaware of what was going on until exactly the right moment, or else Lex's entire plan is in jeopardy. I'd be curious to see this scene again and find any details that would either support or disprove this claim as that is what I recall.
Or something Bruce thought was going on for awhile, since the Metropolis battle happened 18 months prior. We don't know when the checks started come back or all came back together, and it isn't really important. What's important is that, after seeing Wally on TV, Bruce asked about his checks, and they were brought to his attention at the Capitol bombing took place.
You're now the one talking in "hypotheticals". "What if this happened, or what if things didn't go this way?" Like I said before, we could do this for countless movies and stories (including some of the truly amazing ones) but it's beyond pointless.
Also, to address your hypothetical concern, it should be stated that Lex's entire plan didn't hinge completely on Bruce seeing those letters in that exact moment. "Ripe fruit, his hate; two years growing, but it did not take much to push him over. Little red notes, big bang "you let your family die!""
As Lex says, Bruce's hate towards Superman had been growing for nearly two years. He had already actively pursued the Kryptonite to kill Superman, and failed. If Bruce had seen the returned checks earlier, it's highly unlikely any of that would have been able to be traced back to Lex or would have "undone" everything Lex had planned for. And if Bruce hadn't seen the checks in that exact moment as the Capitol blew up, it's not like his hate for Superman would have suddenly evaporated.
Let's not forget that the Capitol bombing had just taken place with Superman at the center of it all -- which was a huge part of pushing Bruce over the edge. The letters stoked the fire and helped to push Bruce to that "enough is enough" moment, but if he hadn't seen the letters and didn't decide to steal the K from Lexcorp immediately after the bombing, we can all reasonably assume he still would have done so eventually -- even if Lex had to find other ways to push his buttons.
That aside, if what you suggested took place, we can reasonably assume that Lex's foresight borders on a near super power. He knows exactly where Bruce will be and what he will do on the day of the capital hearings, so he properly sets up the paperwork to arrive at precisely the necessary time so as to not arouse suspicion until Bruce inquires about Wally. And let's not write this off as "oh, Lex is just that smart" - this is a dumb plan for numerous reasons that I have already outlined, and it only works because this is a dumb movie. If you'd like, we can also use the word "convenience" to describe this plan instead of "contrivance", although both are appropriate.
Not unlike The Joker in TDK, again, who seemed to know exactly what everyone would do or how they would act up until the finale.
So earlier when you called Lex's plan layered and well thought out, were you referring only to the UC?
Probably. After seeing the UC which is actually the complete version of the film, it's hard to unsee it or think back to the TC. In my mind, it's the only version of the film that should be watched.
But either way, even in the TC, this particular issue you seem to be having with the letters is not something I would describe as a flaw or plot hole. It seems like a weird thing to be harping on when, in your view, there are dozens and dozens of other legitimate problems with the film outside of "Lex had perfect timing with this part of his plan!"
Inwonder what would have happened if Bruce succeeded in killing Superman.
Then what happens to DD?
_/¯
