Basic Trope: A character is killed but the actor returns as his hitherto unseen (usually twin) sibling.
- Straight: Alex is Killed Off for Real. In the next episode, Alex's long-lost twin brother Bob is introduced and continues to play pretty much the same role. Bob was not shown or mentioned in any previous episodes.
- Exaggerated:
- After an "Everybody Dies" Ending, all killed characters are revealed to have long-lost twin siblings. The cast remains exactly the same.
- The twin dies, and it turns out there were triplets. Then the triplet dies and it turns out there are a whole ton of backup siblings.
- Flashbacks in earlier episodes explicitly show that Alex grew up with only his parents. Despite this, Alex's brother Bob is abruptly introduced.
- Downplayed:
- Alex is Killed Off for Real. In the next episode, Alex's long-lost twin brother Bob is introduced and makes a few guest appearances from then on.
- Bob appears in a few episodes before replacing Alex as a main character.
- Bob is just a regular sibling of Alex (or perhaps something even further out, such as a half-sibling or even a cousin), and though he shares some looks, quirks, and personality traits with Alex, he also has quite a few of his own.
- Justified: Alex and Bob were long estranged, but the other characters already knew about Bob. When Alex died, they specifically sought Bob out and convinced him to take over Alex's duties.
- Inverted:
- Alex resurrects his dead twin brother Bob, then takes a Long Bus Trip. More so if Alex returns a few seasons later and rekills Bob.
- Alex died before the events of the show, and is only seen in flashbacks.
- Gender-Inverted: Alex dies and is replaced by his Half Identical Twin sister, Roberta, as a favor to the actress playing his part.
- Subverted:
- Bob is actually an impostor who took on Alex's appearance to infiltrate the circle of his friends.
- It turns out that Alex has faked his death, and that Bob is actually him.
- Bob shows up... And, aside from looks, is nothing like Alex.
- Shortly after his introduction, Bob undergoes a rapid bit of Divergent Character Evolution, and soon he is nothing like Alex.
- Alex seemingly dies but returns after Bob jumps in, kicking off a heated argument on who is the real Alex now.
- Alex is resurrected from the dead; it turns out that his "death" was nothing more than a publicity stunt.
- Double Subverted:
- After getting to know Alex's friends, the impostor Bob decides to become the mask.
- It turns out that Alex was Bob all along, got tired of acting like his twin, faked his death, and reappeared as himself.
- Bob is hypnotized to act like Alex.
- "Alex" was Emperor Evulz in disguise.
- Claire later dies and is replaced by her sister Diane.
- Parodied: Alex has vats of clones ready to replace him in case he dies, and they are all individually named in order to resemble siblings.
- Zig Zagged: ????
- Averted:
- Alex does not have a sibling to replace him.
- Everybody Lives
- Enforced: "But he signed a contract with us for the entire season! You can't just kill him off like that! Find a way to put him back in!"
- Lampshaded: "Ah, you must be Alex's twin brother. Nice to meet you. I guess there's no need to tell you that He Didn't Make It."
- Invoked: Bob decides to replace Alex as part of The Team.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Hearing about Alex's death, Bob blows town to avoid associating with whatever business Alex was in. He is never seen or mentioned again.
- Discussed:
- "He's Dead, Jim." "Check his family records for any unaccounted-for twin siblings."
- "Sir, I know what you are thinking but if Alex did have a twin, don't you think he'd tell us?"
- Conversed: "Why did they bother killing Alex if they were just going to bring Bob in to replace him?" "Alex was a main character. Duh! At least they didn't pull out a Disney Death."
- Implied: Alex dies, and a character resembling him starts appearing in his place. The others simply refer to him as "Not Alex".
- Deconstructed:
- Alex's friends find Bob whose personality is nothing like Alex's, and an attempt to substitute him with Bob ends badly.
- Alex died in a way that was noble and deeply affecting, so the audience views the attempt to "bring him back" in the form of Bob as a cheap trick which sullies their memory of the character.
- Reconstructed:
- Alex's friends find Bob whose personality is nothing like Alex's but he learns to do what Alex did in the group and they learn to like him for what he is.
- Alex was a popular character, so most fans think it was a mistake to kill him off. As a result, they are thankful that Bob was introduced to fill Alex's role.
- Played For Laughs: Though physically identical, Bob is nothing like Alex, forcing the main cast to go to ridiculous lengths to cover for his mistakes and/or explain his changed personality to those who knew Alex well.
- Played For Drama:
- Alex's girlfriend cannot accept Bob but is forced to appear together with him to maintain the secret of Alex's death.
- Bob is deeply effected by brother's death, and he's in town to get some closure, bringing with him all the angst and/or bloodshed he can carry.
- Bob, who is The Unfavorite, is groomed by his Abusive Parents to become a replacement for his dead twin brother.
The main page is dead? Don't worry, a Backup Twin will show up soon enough.
