08-05-2014, 05:30 AM
What are the most common, cliche death flags you hear in gaming, TV, movies or literature?
Death flags are usually recurrent themes which involve the foreshadowing death of a fictional certain character in many series that a genre savvy audience can spot almost a mile away. Some examples would be:
The Retiring Cop - A policeman (or other person of the workforce) declares his retirement from his job before getting killed on the job a few days before it actually happens.
The Marriage Promise - A soldier (or someone going off to war) promises to marry his beloved. He never returns, and his friend notifies his fiancee about his tragic death.
Redemption Sacrifice - A mind-controlled, corrupt or otherwise traitorous person realizes the consequences of his actions shortly before the world is destroyed, a place is about to explode or "one must be left behind", and volunteers to right his wrongs by sacrificing his own life.
The Unfulfilled Confession - The love interest of the main character (usually unknown to them) pulls them aside before a huge battle and is about to confess something important, but goes against it and decides to tell them what it is after the battle is over. Tragic consequences happen, and the main character either never figures out what they wanted to say, or realizes that they wanted to confess to them.
The Loner who Found a Friend - A withdrawn recluse suffering from relationship problems (usually with finding a friend because of their background, their psychological status, or a power that can kill) finally finds in the end that, before sacrificing himself to save his comrades, the people he was around were the friends he was looking for all along.
So, what are some noticeable recurrent actions or sayings you seem to figure out before a character's demise?
Death flags are usually recurrent themes which involve the foreshadowing death of a fictional certain character in many series that a genre savvy audience can spot almost a mile away. Some examples would be:
The Retiring Cop - A policeman (or other person of the workforce) declares his retirement from his job before getting killed on the job a few days before it actually happens.
The Marriage Promise - A soldier (or someone going off to war) promises to marry his beloved. He never returns, and his friend notifies his fiancee about his tragic death.
Redemption Sacrifice - A mind-controlled, corrupt or otherwise traitorous person realizes the consequences of his actions shortly before the world is destroyed, a place is about to explode or "one must be left behind", and volunteers to right his wrongs by sacrificing his own life.
The Unfulfilled Confession - The love interest of the main character (usually unknown to them) pulls them aside before a huge battle and is about to confess something important, but goes against it and decides to tell them what it is after the battle is over. Tragic consequences happen, and the main character either never figures out what they wanted to say, or realizes that they wanted to confess to them.
The Loner who Found a Friend - A withdrawn recluse suffering from relationship problems (usually with finding a friend because of their background, their psychological status, or a power that can kill) finally finds in the end that, before sacrificing himself to save his comrades, the people he was around were the friends he was looking for all along.
So, what are some noticeable recurrent actions or sayings you seem to figure out before a character's demise?