History Main / OhAndXDies

Of course, more devious writers can also employ it as a way of misdirection. An audience that is already preoccupied with the impending death of a character, usually a pretty significant event in itself, probably won't expect it if a more serious twist were to sneak up on them in the same episode.

* ''VideoGame/ArkhamKnight'':

* The film ''Film/IMissYou'' opens with Tina telling the audience that her twin sister Cilla will die soon and that the story is about what happens to the sister who is left.

* Like in the book, Tina tells at the very beginning of ''Film/IMissYouIMissYou'' that her identical twin sister Cilla will die before they both turn fifteen.

* On an episode of ''Series/{{Cinematech}}'' that crossed over with [=GameSpot=], [[GiantBomb Jeff Gerstmann]] finished up a summary of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' as such: "And oh yeah, [[ItWasHisSled Aeris dies]]."

* Played with in the famous {{Spider-Man}} story 'The Night Gwen Stacy Died'. The title of the book was a WhamLine, revealed at the absolute end of the issue.

* ''{{Concerned}}: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Frohman''.

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

* At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', the mariachi owls declare the story is about "the amazing life and untimely death" of the title character. Throughout the movie, they further drop hints that he is going to die in the desert. [[spoiler: At the end, when he's still very much alive, they clarify that "he will inevitably die someday" - just not in that story.]]

-->"What do you mean 'Westley dies'? You mean '''dies'''?"
** In TheFilmOfTheBook, it is {{inverted|Trope}}:
--->'''Grandpa:''' She doesn't get eaten by the eels at this time.
--->'''The Grandson:''' What?
--->'''Grandpa:''' The eel doesn't get her. I'm explaining to you because you look nervous.
--->'''The Grandson:''' I wasn't nervous. Maybe I was a little bit ''concerned'' but that's not the same thing.
*** Appears in the book as well, although it's a shark, not an eel. Goldman then remarks upon how obvious it is that you can't really make shark kibble out of your heroine.

** Vonnegut basically did some variation on this [[OncePerEpisode in every book]]. Even in-story in ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'' - Billy Pilgrim knows exactly when and how he will die. There's also Edgar Derby - pretty much every time he appears, the narration notes that eventually, he'll be executed for stealing a teapot.

*** The {{Arc}} of Season 18 - each story drops a heavy symbolic hint that [[Creator/TomBaker the Fourth Doctor]] is going to die soon, dealing with themes like the natural death of all things or fears of ageing and weakness. By the time a future incarnation of himself begins interfering in events like a revenant (significantly named "[[YouBastard the Watcher]]"), he - and the audience - know this is it for him. The rest of the story is about putting the Doctor, facing his death with brooding [[FaceDeathWithDignity dignity]], in a variety of precarious situations and teasing us with how exactly he will die - which, significantly, is not a HeroicSacrifice like the Doctor wanted but an [[LifeWillKillYou accident stemming from his attempt]].
*** The final act of Season 4 and the series of specials with the Tenth Doctor, which started after Creator/DavidTennant had announced his departure. This was exploited to create maximum pain for both the Doctor and the audience - in-story, we get hints and then an explicit statement that the Doctor is going to die, and out-of-story we get show titles like "The Next Doctor" (which does ''not'' star the next Doctor, but could have done) and one particularly brutal {{Cliffhanger}} where the Doctor begins to regenerate. The second part of "The End of Time" (in a manner similar to "Logopolis" above) delights in putting the Doctor through all kinds of nasty situations likely to kill him - long drops off high things (as eventually killed the Fourth Doctor), torture from the Master (a RedHerring based around the ArcWords "he will knock four times") - before finally killing him in a situation where he was forced to flood himself with radiation to save the life of a lovely old man.
** The episode "The Death of Dr. Who" (part of "The Chase"). [[spoiler: Of course he doesn't die - but his EvilKnockoff RobotMe does.]]

* Subverted in the final episode of season 5 of ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': given that there were rumors that the show was being canceled (later proven accurate), when a few minutes into the episode an interrogator asked Ford for the details of the rest of the characters' deaths during the botched heist - and cut to [[HowWeGotHere said details]] - it would not have been surprising if the writers had pulled a Whedon and decided to kill everyone in the final episode of the show. Turns out the whole HowWeGotHere was actually simply Ford spinning a ''story'' of the heist, so that in checking for verification of the story, Interpol would unlock some doors the team couldn't unlock themselves, and they could sneak in and pull off the heist while Ford was being interrogated.

-->'''The Great Herrmann''' (after performing a death-defying illusion): I live to amaze another day!
-->'''Narrator''' (VO): But not another day after that.

** Also, the very nature of being a l'Cie means you will inevitably die ([[AndIMustScream or end up in a horrible situation]]) in one way or another; ignore your focus - you're a [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Cie'th]] - or complete it - [[TakenForGranite you're an elaborate crystal paperweight]]. Since the party are made l'Cie very early on in the story, it becomes this trope, and the contemplation of this fate is what creates most of the dramatic tension between characters.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[spoiler:You.]]
* And everyone who [[spoiler:isn't you]].
[[/folder]]

* The Solicit Synopsis for ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}'' #250 ends with "Also, SPOILER: Deadpool dies at the end of the issue". [[spoiler:He did, [[ComicBook/SecretWars2015 But so did]][[EarthShatteringKaboom everyone]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GnomeoAndJuliet''. A supporting character clearly believes this is going to happen and states it many times because the troubles of a new-found friend resembles a classic story he once wrote. ItMakesSenseInContext.

* ''GnomeoAndJuliet''. A supporting character clearly believes this is going to happen and states it many times because the troubles of a new-found friend resembles a classic story he once wrote. ItMakesSenseInContext.

*** The {{Arc}} of Season 18 - each story drops a heavy symbolic hint that the Fourth Doctor is going to die soon, dealing with themes like the natural death of all things or fears of ageing and weakness. By the time a future incarnation of himself begins interfering in events like a revenant (significantly named "[[YouBastard the Watcher]]"), he - and the audience - know this is it for him. The rest of the story is about putting the Doctor, facing his death with brooding [[FaceDeathWithDignity dignity]], in a variety of precarious situations and teasing us with how exactly he will die - which, significantly, is not a HeroicSacrifice like the Doctor wanted but an [[LifeWillKillYou accident stemming from his attempt]].
*** The final act of Season 4 and the series of specials with the Tenth Doctor, which started after David Tennant had announced his departure. This was exploited to create maximum pain for both the Doctor and the audience - in-story, we get hints and then an explicit statement that the Doctor is going to die, and out-of-story we get show titles like "The Next Doctor" (which does ''not'' star the next Doctor, but could have done) and one particularly brutal {{Cliffhanger}} where the Doctor begins to regenerate. The second part of "The End of Time" (in a manner similar to "Logopolis" above) delights in putting the Doctor through all kinds of nasty situations likely to kill him - long drops off high things (as eventually killed the Fourth Doctor), torture from the Master (a RedHerring based around the ArcWords "he will knock four times") - before finally killing him in a situation where he was forced to flood himself with radiation to save the life of a lovely old man.

* [[Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies "September 21, 1945. That's was the night I died."]] First line. [[spoiler: Seita's not the only one who'll die before ninety minutes are up.]]

** Played straight with "The Death of Jean [=DeWolff=]" by PeterDavid.

* Inverted in DanBrown's ''AngelsAndDemons'' where he says how a character will ''survive''.

* The back cover of ''DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'' mentions that the cat dies. The cat, however, is practically irrelevant to the story.

* [[spoiler: You.]]

* Although averted in the film, in the original novel of ''Literature/TheGodfather'' this happens with both Luca Brasi and Sonny Corleone: the two's deaths are respectively revealed out of the blue, and then each following chapter flashes back to the day of their death to show when and how they died.