Quotes / You Should Have Died Instead

SpongeBob: Poor Mr. Krabs. Gone, forever out of our lives. (starts crying) Why couldn't it had been me?!
Squidward: (crying) Yes, why couldn't it have been you?!
SpongeBob: Why did he have to go like this?! Why?!
Squidward: Why did he have to go like this and leave me tied to this idiot?!

—SpongeBob SquarePants, "Clams"

"Wrong kid died!"

— Dewey's father, Walk Hard

"He doesn't talk to me. Doesn't teach me. It should have been [Kratos]. Do you hear me? Him... not you."

— Atreus, God of War (PS4)

"Aroooooo...itshouldvebeenyouHumphrey...arooooooo!"

— Bobsheaux, reviewing Alpha and Omega

Akihiko: (Why are you doing this? We never did anything to you!)
Clint Barton: (You survived... half the planet didn't. They got Thanos. You get me...)

— Avengers: Endgame (translated from Japanese)

"Out of all the Autobots to survive... fuck me.."

— Optimus Prime addressing Blurr's survival after the deaths of most of the original G1 Autobots, "The Rude Awakening of Optimus Prime"

Artorius: It was always there, in the back of my mind. "If only it hadn't been Celica and my son who were killed that day". "If only it had been you two instead.."
Velvet: I thought the same thing. So many times. If it had been us, then I know...I know you would have fought to save the world for us.
Artorius: Its true...I wanted to save everyone...

—Tales of Berseria

A clay ashtray? You're an idiot. Why do you have time to make pottery? Couldn't you use a little more practice being a doctor? Not that it'll ever bring your brother back to life... It was supposed to be you on that rollercoaster, Richard. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE YOU!

— Rich Stephenson's mother, Community

"You little pig. Six years old and you're still wetting yourself. You don't know how many times I wished it was you, not him, that died."

—Amelia, The Babadook

"And Soon, just in case it IS you standing here listening to this, let me just add this personal note: It should have been you that died in that rift, you cowardly son of a bitch."

—Girard Draketooth, The Order of the Stick

"God... you took the wrong son."

—George Joestar, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run

"Lana, what's wrong with her? Why is she so horrible to me? I do what she asks. I try so hard to help her, and all I get is her anger. Her disapproval. She wasn't like this when dad was alive. I can't help but wonder, Lana... Why cuh—" (whispering) "...Why couldn't [Reactron] have killed her instead of father?"

— Supergirl, Who is Superwoman?

"Should've been you."

—Emma Hawkins to herself, Turtle Head: Unmasked, Emma's Story

"You should have been the one to die, not her."

—Cmndr. William Riker, Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Icarus Factor"

"YOU'RE A MISTAKE! If you hadn't been bit, your Peter Parker would have lived! Instead he died, saving YOU! He would have stopped the collider before it even went off, Spot wouldn't exist, and NONE OF THIS would have happened! And all this time, I have been the only one holding it all together! You don't belong here. You NEVER did."

— Miguel O'Hara to Miles Morales, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

"Tommy Dreamer, the only thing I wish is that it was you who died instead of your worthless, stupid grandpa!"

— Justin Credible, ECW

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