Line #18 Main/LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt


1	->''"Superman kicks the bucket again. Sure to be a collectors' item with stupid fans who actually think that DC Comics is going to kill off a character worth billions of dollars."''
2	-->-- '''Superman #429''', ''Magazine/{{MAD}}''
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4	Oh no! The poor DelicateAndSickly girl [[LittlestCancerPatient with cancer]] is being menaced by the SerialKiller! [[AnyoneCanDie No one has survived his attacks yet]], and it's going to break her fiancé's heart, and after he finally got up the courage to propose to her!
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6	This is when the audience turns to the writer and says, ''"Like You Would Really Do It"''. Despite the author's best efforts, the audience doesn't buy the suspense or anguish that the character is being menaced with. They ''know'' the SortingAlgorithmOfMortality has this particular character dead last (pun intended) in terms of who's gonna die, and so they're just counting the seconds before the door is smashed open and TheCavalry charges in, or the bad guy goes "You're NotWorthKilling", or (if the character should actually appear dead) for the failed FakeKillScare to be revealed. This reaction extends not just to [[ImprobableInfantSurvival children or infants]], but to [[OurHeroIsDead any hero]] or character with thick PlotArmour in a setting where things CouldHaveBeenMessy. Even the HeroicSacrifice, capable of felling the mightiest of heroes, falls short of [[NotQuiteDead really killing them.]]
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8	It's always worth remembering that in any kind of collaborative work, such as a comic book or long-running TV series, even if one author really does sincerely mean to kill off Captain Astonishoid for ''really reals'' this time, it's usually only a matter of time until another writer comes along and brings them back if the character is popular enough. As such, the notorious phenomenon of DeathIsCheap is more due to this problem than to individual authors regretting their previous decisions.
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10	Often overlaps with a DisneyDeath. If the story attempts to convince you that the main character is killed off even though they obviously can't be or the story would end, see OurHeroIsDead. If this applies to lesser good characters who might otherwise be killed off, it's ImmortalHero. TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin is the most common cause. Contrast EightDeadlyWords: here it is not lack of care for the characters as much as certainty that they will make it out okay.
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12	If they actually do kill the character for real and lastingly despite audiences expectations, that's ShockingMoments. If audiences refuse to believe the character actually is dead despite the story portraying them as such, that's HesJustHiding.
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14	This trope is related to FourthWallMyopia, ''especially'' when the writer(s) are attempting to play this off for drama or suspense. In-universe, the characters don't know what we do because to them? ThisIsReality - they don't know that this dramatic suspenseful cliffhanger is happening in a ''pre''quel, or that the Bad Guy who has apparently won is a DiscOneFinalBoss. Or that they are on episode six of a twelve episode season, or only on book two of a trilogy. But the ''audience'' often fails to empathize with them because they may be SpoiledByTheFormat. A clever writer may be aware of this and thus know to try and avoid playing up the suspense or making the audience looking to them and saying ''"Like You Would Really Do It"''.
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16	Note that if the actor who plays the character [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies leaves the show]] or worse, [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim dies]], then their character may be killed as a result, and nobody will seriously doubt that such death is final. Also, a lead character may have plot armor, but if the series is coming to its end [[TheHeroDies all bets are off]].
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18	'''No examples, please.''' We'd be here all day. [[WikiWalk So spend the rest of the day on]] ''[[JustForFun/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife other]]'' pages.
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20	Also not to be confused with YouWouldntShootMe, for when a character's resolve to take drastic action is tested in-universe, [[StockPhrase even if this page's name appears as exact dialog]].
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Context Main / LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt