troperville

tools

toys

Wiki Headlines

5th Feb: Echo Chamber Season 1 blooper reel on Youtube here

SubpagesLaconic
Main
PlayingWith
Quotes

main index

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

new edits	forum	reviews	YKTTW	tweets	random
to do	pm	add watch	drop watch	watchlist	profile

Subpages:

source

history

edit page

Heroic Sacrifice

Nevermind this particular situation turned into a subversion. It still makes a badass illustration.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

— John 15:13

A character does something incredibly brave and is killed, maimed, or otherwise irrevocably harmed doing it.

A bad character who was once good can redeem himself in the last act by Taking the Bullet that was meant for The Hero, thus expunging all his previous evil, avoiding forcing The Hero to arrest or confront him, and avoiding any real life penalties like disgrace and jail. This is like Redemption Equals Death. In this case, the death and redemption come in a single act.

There are essentially three kinds of Heroic Sacrifice:

The one at the beginning of the story, which sets the tone for the rest of the tale.
The one in the middle of the story, wherein the Heroic Sacrifice leads to new heights of Bad Ass, or new depths of depression, depending on the story. Sometimes both.
The one at the end of the story which serves as a Grand Finale, an example of "This character is Too Cool to Live", or the kernel of a Downer Ending or Bittersweet Ending. The "Too Cool to Live" Heroic Sacrifice is the most common type in American movies. Often, The Hero Dies in a heroic sacrifice at the end.