Comment by luckylion

> But the story isn't chemical X is bad for you. It's about how Suzy and Michael, within a specific set of circumstances, had bad things happen after being exposed to chemical X.

That's a very specific story then, and that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about "eating poison is not good for humans". Suzy and Michael are humans, therefore eating poison is not good for them, but they could be replaced with any other human: they specifically don't add anything to the story. They're an emotional connection for the reader at best and a filler at worst.