Line #100 Main/ComfortTheDying


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/itwnpmrykrcxt8tz0wjva5armz6g88ldr86reix_eji.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Priest Luis Padillo offers a dying soldier his last rites.]]
3
4	It goes without saying that the mere thought of death is a terrifying thing. While we're all going to die one day, nobody wants to go through the process of dying. After all, in fiction, it's usually slow and painful, and while you may be able to get off a DeathbedConfession or two, you'll never be able to say everything you want to say. It's worse still if you haven't lived a full life, or have one or more major regrets.
5
6	But it's not all bad. Sometimes, someone will be around to provide comfort in your last moments. In works, this character is usually a loved one of a kind, such as one of the hero's TrueCompanions. Otherwise, it's a NiceGuy who just happens to be there, or it could even be a PetTheDog moment for a morally ambiguous character. In some rare cases, the [[BigBad main antagonist]] might even show their HiddenDepths by staying by the side of the soon-to-be departed until they breathe their last. The important part is, this character is here, and they take the time to make the dying feel comfortable and happy before they pass.
7
8	This can result in some subtropes:
9
10	* CradlingYourKill: A killer gives comfort to their victim by cradling them.
11	* LetThemDieHappy: Someone lies to a person on their deathbed, to make them die happily.
12	* StayWithMeUntilIDie: A dying character requests someone's companionship.
13
14	The exact opposite is DyingAlone, which is the painful alternative that makes this trope so powerful by contrast. Related and overlapping tropes are GoOutWithASmile, YouAreNotAlone, DiedLaughing and DiedInYourArmsTonight (a character may hold a dying person to comfort them). This may come from a moment of DeliriousMisidentification.
15
16	'''As a {{Death Trope\|s}}, spoilers are unmarked!'''
17	----
18	!!Examples (not covered in the subtropes):
19
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23	* ''Manga/AngelSanctuary'': As Kato lies dying, an Alexiel-possessed Setsuna holds him and comforts him by verbally guiding Kato towards [[GoIntoTheLight the light]], which allows Kato to die more peacefully.
24	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': In his introductory chapter, [[AFatherToHisMen Captain]] [[WorldsStrongestMan Levi]] does this with one of the scouts who was fatally wounded, with the soldier asking if his sacrifice meant anything. Though pained and likely feeling that it wasn't, he affirms it to be so. Though the soldier passes before he can respond, Petra Ral notes that the scout's face is that of one who died at peace.
25	* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' has protagonist Tanjiro do this from time to time, staying with some of the demons he's killed until they take their last breaths and expressing sympathy for them.
26	* In ''Manga/InuYasha'', two monsters of the week named Manten and Hiten. Manten in particular wanted to take Kagome to cure his baldness and look more handsome like Hiten. However, once Inuyasha kills Manten, Hiten tells him that he loves him just the way he was, and then tries to avenge him.
27	* At the climax of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Madoka ascends to become the goddess of hope and {{Psychopomp}} for magical girls. What follows is a beautiful montage of magical girls across all time and space succumbing to despair, with their [[SoulJar soul gems]] fully corrupted, only for Madoka to appear in front of them, smiling and cradling their soul gems as they pass away happily.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Comic Books]]
31	* One issue of ''ComicBook/TopTen'' sees Peregrine called upon to provide comfort to a pair of aliens who have become fused with each other after a teleportation-related accident. She has the unhappy task of telling them that they will both likely die within a day.
32	* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanBlackAndGold'': Diana brings Cathy Perkins, her old supporting character from [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 her mod era]], to gaze upon a sunset in her last moments before she dies from cancer.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Fan Works]]
36	* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'':
37	** Kyril did this at least three times throughout his life. The first was when he had a final conversation with his mentor figure Eileen the Crow, staying with her until her breathing stopped. The second was when he [[LetThemDieHappy told a white lie]] to Ludwig so the [[FallenHero once great hunter]] would rest in peace. The third was during the events of the main story, where he [[spoiler:[[MercyKill Mercy Killed]] the BrainwashedAndCrazy Luu-Luu, [[CradlingYourKill holding]] her in her last moments]].
38	** Celestine is [[ImpliedTrope implied]] to have done this in Chapter 24 of the original, when she lends her assistance to the healers patching up the critically injured. Especially during the time where a patient has received six hours of surgery and ended up dead anyway.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
42	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'': In one scene Dr. Goldblum is mortally wounded and trying to tell the heroes about Poison Ivy and Floronic Man's plot. Harley [[PetTheDog holds Goldblum's hand and tells him when he gets to Heaven he should talk to her grandmother, as she thinks he'll like her.]] It's both [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] and [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming]], as before then she was mainly acting [[{{Jerkass}} as obnoxious as possible]], but this scene shows she has a nice streak as well.
43	* The young furlings of ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAForest'' have only two days' time in which to retrieve medicinal herbs for the dying {{moe}} Michelle. Their adult mentor Cornelius cannot accompany them since he dares not leave Michelle unattended. As the furlings journey forth, Cornelius conducts an agonizing vigil at Michelle's bedside. Although the furlings return with the herbs at the eleventh hour, Michelle remains unresponsive. It's a DisneyDeath, however.
44	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': When Megara is mortally injured and Hercules must go save Mt. Olympus from Hades's siege, Philoctetes volunteers to stay behind with her and holds her hand as she dies. Prior to this, the two had been butting heads since the moment they met.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
48	* In ''Film/{{Atonement}}'', this is one of Briony's duties as a nurse during World War I -- sitting with dying soldiers and holding their hands so that they don't have to die alone.
49	* In ''Film/BigFish'', the "climax" of the film is Will telling his dying father, a lover and teller of tall tales of his life, a tall tale of his own in which Will helps his father escape the hospital and chased by the law enforcement but helped by all the characters from his father's tales until they reach the lake from his youth and becomes the titular fish. Needless to say, his father is more than pleased to leave the mortal coil on that ending.
50	* ''Film/DungeonsAndDragonsHonorAmongThieves'': The final barbarian corpse interrogated by the party finally gives them a lead on the Helm of Disjunction: he had barely escaped the battle and was on the verge of death, only for wandering paladin Xenk to stumble upon him. According to the barbarian, Xenk somehow made him feel like everything was going to be okay, despite his impending death.
51	* ''Film/Fury2014'': In the aftermath of the hedgerow tank assault, [[BadassPreacher Bible]] is seen approaching a dying German soldier. He holds the dying soldier's hand and asks him calmly if he was a praying man. The German weakly nods and Bible brings him through his last rites in English.
52	* In ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'', one of the [[PetTheDog few moments of true decency]] in the film's [[CrapsackWorld otherwise bleak setting]] is when Blondie (who is supposed to be the titular Good, but has mostly just been ALighterShadeOfBlack) finds a young soldier dying in the aftermath of a [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]] battle. Without hesitation Blondie removes his coat and [[ImColdSoCold wraps the young man in it]] to comfort him, then gives the kid OneLastSmoke from his cigar. Blondie even ignores the fact that one of his rivals is getting a head start towards the fortune in gold that all the main characters are trying to claim while he stays with the young soldier.
53	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse
54	** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': After Loki is seemingly fatally stabbed by Kurse, he starts to repeatedly apologize to Thor, gasping and looking distressed. The latter calmly tells him that it's okay and promises to tell their father about his sacrifice while cradling Loki in his arms. At the end of the film it's revealed that Loki faked his death, but Thor remains none the wiser.
55	** At the end of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', Thanos snaps his fingers causing fifty percent of all living creatures to be ReducedToDust. Peter Parker's SpiderSense tells him that he is going to pass away and he gets terrified, sobbing that he does not want to die. Tony Stark hugs him and tries to calm him down before Peter eventually turns to dust.
56	** In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', Tony Stark, a.k.a. ComicBook/IronMan is suffering from the CastFromHitPoints effect of the [[{{Superweapon}} Infinity Gauntlet]], which he has just used to utterly disintegrate a GalacticConqueror and his armies. In his final moments, his best friend, his protégé, and his wife are the ones to comfort him as he struggles to stay alive, but it's [[HopeSpot a battle Tony is losing]], and they all know it, as the toll of the Infinity Gauntlet had [[ChekhovsBoomerang already been established]] as nearly too much for [[TheBigGuy Hulk]] at peak condition, whereas Tony used it after a prolonged skirmish that left him running on fumes. With Tony's stubbornness serving only to prolong his pain, he finally passes, peacefully, when his wife tells him that they'll be okay thanks to his HeroicSacrifice.
57	* Viktor Taransky directs ''Film/{{S1m0ne}}'' and her costar, Hal Sinclair, in his latest production. [=S1m0ne=]'s character lies abed dying, while Hal's character professes his undying love. Of course, Hal is saying this to an on-set stand-in, because [=S1m0ne=] is purely digital, and can only appear as post-production computer graphics.
58	* In ''Film/{{Heat}}'', after fatally shooting his criminal adversary [=McCauley=] during the final shootout at the airport, Lt. Hanna silently holds [=McCauley=]'s hand as he bleeds to death while planes land and ascend behind them.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Literature]]
62	* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
63	** Katniss spends a good chunk of the 74th games bonding with Rue, who reminds her a lot of her beloved little sister, Prim. When Rue gets fatally wounded by Marvel, Katniss stays with her until she dies and uses that time to sing her off.
64	** In the 75th games, the tributes are stuck on an island full of timed traps. During an attack by crazed monkey-mutts, an older woman from District 6 known only as "The female Morphling" sacrificed herself for Peeta. In return, Peeta brought her to the beach and held her until she died. Since they have the CommonalityConnection of both loving to paint, he describes his paint set at home and all the beautiful colors of the sunrise, and she uses the last of her strength to paint a flower on his cheek with her blood, making her GoOutWithASmile.
65	** They both take after their mentor in this regard, since Haymitch also did this in his Games for his district partner and ex-ally Maysilee Donner when he found her dying from a mutt attack, holding her hand and staying by her side.
66	** Rounding out the tradition of District 12 tributes doing this, Lucy Gray Baird also did so for Jessup Diggs, her own district partner who had been infected with rabies. She keeps her physical distance from him for obvious reasons, but verbally comforts him, and gets close enough to him to stroke his forehead once he's too weak to move anymore and finally succumbs.
67	** In a villainous example, Cato for Clove after Thresh fatally wounds her.
68	* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': In a flashback, [[spoiler:Shallan]] comforts [[spoiler:her [[AbusiveParents father]]]] while she strangles him to death for trying to murder [[spoiler:her brother]]. The knowledge that his SanitySlippage was [[spoiler:partly, albeit inadvertently, caused by her is only ''part'' of the TraumaCongaLine of her backstory.]]
69	* ''Literature/DoctorSleep'': After finally overcoming his alcoholism, Dan Torrance finds work in a hospice, where he uses his psychic powers to provide comfort to dying patients. This is what acquires the nickname "Doctor Sleep."
70	* In ''Literature/WiseChild'', while her mentor Juniper is away, Wise Child goes in her place when a villager comes to the house to request aid for a man named Witolf, who was mortally wounded from being run over by a cart. Wise Child isn't able to save his life, but gives him a herb draft that relaxes him, holds his hand, and talks to him in his final hours before the priest Fillan shows up (as per the man's request to see a priest before he dies to avoid being damned).
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
74	* Spoofed on ''Series/{{Community}}'' in the episode "[[Recap/CommunityS1E23ModernWarfare Modern Warfare]]". After Shirley is eliminated in the paintball match, Britta goes to comfort her.
75	-->'''Britta:''' Shirley! Shirley, I am so sorry.\
76	'''Shirley:''' I'm going home, Brit-ta.\
77	'''Britta:''' Yes, you are. Yes, you are.\
78	'''Shirley:''' No, seriously. I'm going home. Can you help me up?\
79	'''Britta:''' Oh. Sure.
80	* ''Series/ThePacific'': One of the more emotional moments towards the end of the series has Eugene Sledge stumble onto a dying Okinawan woman in a cabin. He can't do anything more than comfort her, and despite the LanguageBarrier he stays with her until she dies.
81	* ''Series/{{House}}'':
82	** In the season 6 episode "Lockdown", the hospital is locked down when a baby goes missing from the maternity ward. Dr. House ends up trapped in a room with an elderly man with only a few hours left to live. With nothing else to do, [[DrJerk curmudgeonly loner]] House bonds with the man and helps him say his goodbyes to his daughter by leaving a voice message.
83	** In the season 1 episode "Histories," when it becomes clear that the patient of the week is going to die because her diagnosis, rabies, is untreatable, Foreman decides to go out immediately after needing to get the rabies vaccine himself (she had bitten him earlier in the episode), in order to see if he can find the mysterious James that she keeps talking about so that she won't [[DyingAlone die alone]]. This winds up being for naught, as he discovers that both James (her son) and her husband, Paul, had died two years prior in a car crash. He comforts her the best he can afterward by pretending to be Paul and "forgiving" her for the car crash (she had been the driver).
84	* In ''Series/BabylonFive'' there's an episode in which a plague is spreading through the Markab population. Delenn and Lennier go into the isolation zone for this purpose.
85	* In ''Series/CallTheMidwife'', this is part of the protagonists’ job as district nurses. Usually the patients are elderly (the old pub owner who needed to reconcile with his daughter, Valerie’s grandmother, the time Nurse Crane had to have a standoff with the police to allow a woman who once fled the Holocaust to die in her own home), but some of the most brutal episodes [[DeathOfAChild combine this duty with their role as midwives]], such as the one during the Thalidomide storyline in which the only thing Sister Julienne could do for a severely deformed infant was to let her die, warm and loved, in her arms.
86	--> Sister Monica Joan: We are the Sisters of Saint Raymond Nonnatus, present at life’s commencement, and at its end.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Music]]
90	* Music/TearsForFears: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJFRf6av3M "Last Days on Earth,"]] the narrator reassures his ailing loved one that he'll be by their side until they pass away.
91	-->''I told you\
92	I'd hold you\
93	'til the last days on Earth''
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
97	* In the revolutionary-themed TabletopRPG ''TabletopGame/{{Comrades}}'', there is a special mechanic called "Cradle a Dying Comrade", when a PlayerCharacter attempts to comfort another who is dying due to loss of all HitPoints. The comforting player makes a single die roll, modified by their RelationshipValues with the dying one, and on a good roll, the latter may [[ThePowerOfFriendship miraculously survive]], or at least leave the former with some last words that will inspire their fellow revolutionaries later on (i.e. giving them bonuses on rolls done in memory of their late comrade).
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Video Games]]
101	* ''VideoGame/AWayOut'' has the final climax gunfight between [[spoiler: Vincent and Leo]]. Whichever one survives, they will make a point of not leaving the other alone until they're gone.
102	* ''VideoGame/ChoiceOfTheVampire'': The PlayerCharacter can choose to comfort their grandmother on her deathbed by talking with her, leave her to [[DyingAlone die alone]], or brush off her hopes of seeing an afterlife.
103	* In ''VideoGame/BioShockInfiniteBurialAtSea Episode 2'', Elizabeth gives Fontaine the code for a trigger phrase for his sleeper agent which in turn would kickstart the plot of the first ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' game. Of course, not long after, he kills her with a wrench (Though nearly doesn't get the code because he brains her ''before'' asking what it said as he can't read it. She remains conscious long enough to tell him). However, he keeps his word to let the Little Sister he had held captive, Sally, go. As Elizabeth dies (though contently, since she knows that Jack, the protagonist of the first game, will stop Fontaine and Andrew Ryan, avenge her and save the other Little Sisters), Sally stays with Elizabeth and comforts her with a song in her final moments.
104	* In the GoldenEnding of ''VideoGame/MystIVRevelation'', when the Stranger manages to transfer Sirrus out of Yeesha's body to prevent a GrandTheftMe, Achenar has to force the Life Stone into the old Memory Chamber's heart in order to keep it alive long enough for Yeesha's mind to return. But to do so, he has to break the glass container holding in the heart's toxic gases, and the Stranger has to enter the Dream world to force Sirrus' mind to let go of Yeesha's. After the plan works, Achenar turns up poisoned from the fumes, admitting that he's [[RedemptionEqualsDeath better off dying after his past atrocities]]. He lasts long enough for Yeesha to stroke his hair while [[DiedInYourArmsTonight collapsing in her lap]].
105	* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition:'' While Cole can often be found doing this throughout Skyhold for the dying Inquisition soldiers, if he is allowed to stay, many of the Inquisition's soldiers and staff can be overheard commenting on strange happenings throughout Skyhold. It's later revealed that Cole was behind all of them as acts of compassion and mercy. In one particular case, he arranged to spill some peaches over a fireplace, so that the smell would remind a nearby dying soldier of their happiest memories of their home, before passing on. Fittingly, this is because Cole was originally [[spoiler: a spirit of Compassion]].
106	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has [[BigBad Kuja]] being defeated by the heroes and uses his Ultima spell in attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe kill them as he dies]]. When the party beats Necron afterwards, Kuja uses the last of his strength to teleport the heroes out of the Iifa Tree before it collapses. Zidane goes back to find Kuja because the two are brothers (in a sense) and he didn't want him to die alone.
107	* In the ''Heavensward'' expansion of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', Haurchefant, a close friend of the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]], commits HeroicSacrifice in the form of [[TakingTheBullet taking a light spear]] intended for them. As he lays dying, he tells the distraught Warrior that A Smile Better Suits A Hero, to which the Warrior smiles despite their own despair, comforting Haurchefant as he passes.
108	* In ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', there's a potential encounter if you go into the Lower Wards with Dak'kon in your parting as the two of you find a githzeri woman who's dying of a lung disease due to the ward's polluted air. If you allow it, Dak'kon will speak to her and comfort her before giving her a MercyKill.
109	* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': The player character finds a woman on her deathbed with the same MysticalPlague that, unknown to her, killed her boyfriend. In a bit of VideoGameCaringPotential, they can [[LetThemDieHappy lie to her]] that her boyfriend sent them to take care of her; if they're [[PowerBornOfMadness Malkavian]], they can convince her that they ''are'' the boyfriend and comfort her as she dies.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Web Animation]]
113	* The four Maidens in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' normally pass on their powers to the last person they're thinking of when they die (provided that the person in question is a woman under the age of 30), so a simple act of kindness towards them in their final moments can sometimes be all it takes to inherit their abilities. [[spoiler:This is how Penny ends up taking on the mantle of the Winter Maiden from Fria in the Volume 7 finale.]]
114	* ''WebAnimation/{{Shrapnel}}'': As [[spoiler:Goggles]] lies dying from his wounds, Reznya does her best to humor him by [[FlatJoy trying to sound excited]] about [[spoiler:the cellphone he brought her]].
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Webcomics]]
118	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': {{Downplayed\|Trope}} after the fallen [[ThePaladin Paladin]] Miko is fatally injured in an explosion of her own doing. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html The spirit]] of her order's founder can only manage [[DamnedByFaintPraise faint praise]] for her efforts and doesn't pretend that she's redeemed herself, but concedes that she'll see her [[BondCreatures celestial horse]] in the afterlife.
119	-->'''Miko:''' OK... OK, then... I can live with that. ''[dies]''
120	* ''Webcomic/AloneTogether'' has Sergeant Jerom recovering from a cracked skull in the ship's infirmary. Another patient, mummified in bandages, mutters something unintelligible. A combat veteran, Jerom knows severe burns are both painful and deadly. Jerom holds the fellow's hand until, "A life-time later" according to the panel header, medics come to check on them. Jerom is taken back to his bed, while the deceased patient gets the sheet pulled over him. Mutters Jerom to himself, "No one should have to die alone." Chapter 3, page 15, specifically.
121	* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Duane arrives at the Red Berry Boys' hideout in time to find Cara cut open and dying on the table. He tries to heal her and comfort her, but she's ready to die and be with her parents and passes quickly.
122	* ''Webcomic/TheZombieHunters'': One rare variety of zombie is infamous for seeking out hopelessly sick and injured humans, trying to comfort them, protecting them from other zombies, and finally delivering a clean MercyKill.
123	* ''Webcomic/{{Harbourmaster}}'': Tal cares for his mentor Partasah throughout his final illness, though Partasah is alone with his husband when he finally dies. Partasah's child explains how important this duty is in their culture:
124	-->'''Gilou:''' You looked after Partasah when he was dying, didn't you? Made sure he was never alone, never needed for anything? Let him know he was loved and that his life was appreciated? You performed the final duty. It's important to us that a person doesn't die alone. Not if it doesn't want to.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Web Videos]]
128	* ''Series/TheCryOfMann'': After Jouglat gets killed by Frank, Ghost Lady stays by him as he passes on, even giving him food and talking him through his pain and fear.
129	* An animated short video ''WebVideo/TroisPetitsChats'' has a feline father visit his ailing daughter in a hospital. She's in quarantine and begins a horrifying coughing fit. When no one comes to check on her, the father defies the quarantine and enters the room to give what comfort he can. Almost immediately, his skin begins to fracture like porcelain, a sign that he has contracted the virulent malady. Viewable on Website/YouTube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZsIxEnN0k0 here.]]
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Web Original]]
133	* From the ''Website/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-4999 SCP-4999]] seems to exist to do this, seeking out lonely, dying subjects and staying until they pass.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Western Animation]]
137	* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': In "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E13Epilogue Epilogue]]", Terry (from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' fame) confronts a now aged Amanda Waller [[spoiler: about how he's Bruce's biological son]]. As she explains herself, she relates to him a story in which the Royal Flush Gang reformed (last seen in "Wild Cards") with new members save Ace who had given the others powers. However she had developed an aneurysm from her psychic powers and her death could potentially cause her power to level Gotham from the feedback. Amanda had given Bruce a device that could kill Ace before this happened. But when Bruce got to her, he simply talked with her, knowing that she was simply a scared girl afraid of her impending death. Thus he stayed with and comforted her to the very end of her life, letting her pass on peacefully and nullifying the threat without violence. This can be [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWHHsdE_oQg seen here.]]
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Real Life]]
141	* Anyone who has a loved one that is diagnosed with terminal illness or a pet close to euthanasia will likely have to remain with them during their final moments so that they can die peacefully.
142	** Some primitive hunter-gatherer tribes, both during prehistoric times and even in the present day will do this to their prey which they hunt after their quarry is finally slain, with the hunter performing ceremonial gestures that ensures that the quarry dies peacefully in the hands of the hunter.
143	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ComfortTheDying