I lifted her head, she looked at me and said "Hold me, Darling, just a little while." I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss; I found the love that I knew i have missed. Well now she's gone, even though I hold her tight. I lost my love, my life that night.
— "Last Kiss" by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers (covered by Pearl Jam)
From out of nowhere Falina has found me Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side. Cradled by two loving arms that I'll die for One little kiss and Falina good-bye.
— "El Paso" by Marty Robbins
The only kiss that's more meaningful and dramatic than the
First Kiss (unless, as is frequently the case, they happen to be one and the same). It's not just the last one we'll see, it's the last one these two characters will ever share... as far as they know at this point, at least. If the characters don't think it could be their
Last Kiss, the music and color scheme of the scene will definitely indicate to the audience that it is.
The favorite time to write it in seems to be when one (or both) of the partners is/are on their deathbed (or past it), literally or proverbially, such as just before someone goes off into battle (or their wedding). Possibly will be teary. Less dramatic in old shows where the main character could share one with every new
Girl Of The Week or
Temporary Love Interest.
See Also:
Final First Hug
Not to be confused with
Kiss Of Death or
Sealed With A Kiss. And
definitely not with
Last Dance With Mary Jane. If the characters think it's their
Last Kiss but it turns out not to be, it's a
Now Or Never Kiss.
Examples:
Film
- In Pirates Of The Caribbean, Elizabeth shares not one, but four last kisses with different partners: the Kiss Of Death with Jack Sparrow at the end of Dead Man Chest; one with James Norrington when he found out Redemption Equals Death; her wedding-cum-battle kiss with Will Turner; and a forced kiss from Sao Feng. Good thing death isn't always permanent.
- Jack Sparrow lampshades this in the third movie when Elizabeth tries to kiss him, telling her that once was enough.
- Neo and Trinity's last kiss before she dies in The Matrix Revolutions.
- One such occurrence in Signs is based off an urban legend of a worker at a quarry who falls into the rock crusher and will die soon whether or not he is pulled out or left there, so a third option is taken: he's fed painkillers and his wife is called in who kisses him goodbye and then turns the machine back on.
- After Madeleine omniously tells Scottie in Vertigo, "If you lose me, then you'll know I loved you and wanted to go on loving you," she gives him a final kiss before heading off to the clock tower that seems to strangely draw her... Scottie runs after her, but is slowed down by his acrophobia enough to see her plunge to her death from the top of the tower.
- Jim and Selena's ...messy kiss from 28 Days Later. It's their third kiss throughout the film- the first was on the cheek and the second was intentional, but this is a full on, Chick Flick Hold, with-tongue affair, sure proof of being doomed. Shortly afterward, he gets shot. Depending on the ending, he usually dies.
Western Animation
- Avatar The Last Airbender: Princess Yue's already in spirit form when she gives Sokka one last kiss before disappearing.
- Teen Titans: After several tries, Cyborg finally lets Sarasim kiss him as the two wait to go into battle.
Live Action TV
- Doyle kissing Cordelia before his death in episode 8 of Angel.
- In the Space 1999 2nd season episode "The Beta Cloud", a monster is rampaging through Alpha Complex and nothing the crew tries can stop it. Maya and Tony Verdeschi are together waiting for the end when they suddenly start making out (kissing).
Anime
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: Misato, knowing she's about to die from the bullet wound in her back, kisses Shinji, possibly to snap him out of the near comatose depression he's in.
- It backfires spectacularly as, moments later, Shinji wipes her blood off his mouth and realizes she has probably died.
- Ninja Scroll - In the cold universe of the film, where lust, violence and greed has cheapened sex as an expression of love, Kagero's simple kiss for Jubei was an expression of love stronger than any other.
- Yoko Ritona from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a prime example of these, having kissed Kamina and Kittan before both of them died in battle. This is prominent enough for her to earn the Fan Nickname Doombitch.
- Objection to Kittan, who kissed her fully knowing he was going to die anyway and apologised for his selfishness.
- Mai and Yuichi in Mai-HiME, although it's unclear if it actually happened or if it was a near miss. Played straight with Sister Yukariko and Ishigami
- Tokyo Mew Mew combines this with Almost Kiss, Final Speech, and Pieta Plagiarism when in the second to last episode Kisshu gets killed trying to help Ichigo.
- Subverted in Basilisk. The dying and insane Kagerou tries to kill a severely injured Gennosuke with her literal Kiss Of Death, but she commits the mistake of briefly looking at her love rival Oboro... who's got the power of neutralizing any ninja's powers. Even more - Oboro had her eyes sealed with some Applied Phlebotinum, but the effect had just wornj out as Kagerou was getting ready.
Literature
- Juliet's final kiss to Romeo before stabbing herself may count, despite that Romeo was already dead.
- His Dark Materials: Will and Lyra and their respective dæmons share one final kiss (rushed, clumsy, and tearful) before Will seals their universes apart forever.
Theater
- Opera example: Wotan's kiss that strips Brunnhilde of her powers at the end of Die Walkuere.
Music
- Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" tells the story of a motorcycle-riding outlaw and his beloved, ending with her coming to the hospital and finding him shot and dying. He "gave her one last kiss and died," slipping her the keys to his titular motorcycle as he does so.
- Marty Robbin's song "El Paso" (quoted above) tells the tale of a man who loved a dancer in a bar and killed a man who shared his interest. He later runs off into the badlands of New Mexico to escape vengeance from the family of the man he killed only to come back to El Paso and be shot off his horse. Crawling to the door of the bar, the woman cradles him in her arms and kisses him before he succumbs to his wounds.
VideoGames
- Subverted in the ending of Final Fantasy X wherein the hero begins losing physical form, so that when the heroine runs after him for the effective Last Kiss she runs through him instead, denying the characters (and the player) a sense of closure.
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ended its rather unsubtle romantic subplot with this.
