Tropescilloscope: Developing Doomed Characters

Spending too much time developing characters that are likely going to die later on. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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More Tropes The Hero Fire-Forged Friends Chekhov's Gunman The '80s Broken Pedestal Bloody Hilarious Would Hit a Girl Product Placement Race Against the Clock Twist Ending "Awesome McCool" Name The Musical More Dakka Ass Shove Casting Gag Papa Wolf Woman in White Bloodier and Gorier Genre Shift Hope Spot Ambiguously Gay Does Not Like Shoes Deliberately Monochrome Unspoken Plan Guarantee Reasonable Authority Figure Laser-Guided Karma Dark and Troubled Past Mama Bear Ghost Fiction Race Lift The Casanova Continuity Nod Ambiguous Disorder Historical-Domain Character Easily Forgiven Anguished Declaration of Love Fainting Rasputinian Death Did Not Get the Girl Bait-and-Switch The Cavalry Break the Cutie The Lost Lenore Badass Longcoat Crapsack World Take a Third Option Humiliation Conga Handicapped Badass Karmic Death Obfuscating Stupidity Spiteful Spit Decoy Protagonist Never My Fault Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality The '50s Unwitting Instigator of Doom Your Head A-Splode Retired Badass Aside Glance Brutal Honesty Failed a Spot Check Mighty Whitey Card-Carrying Villain Knife Nut And the Adventure Continues Jitter Cam Grievous Bottley Harm Breaking the Fourth Wall Red Eyes, Take Warning Book-Ends Wrong Genre Savvy Foreshadowing Idiot Ball Wicked Cultured Pay Evil unto Evil Suspiciously Specific Denial Cold-Blooded Torture Rousing Speech Composite Character Unresolved Sexual Tension Lampshade Hanging Action Genre Hollywood Darkness Deal with the Devil Chekhov's Skill Stalker with a Crush folderlabel Shoot the Shaggy Dog Overly Long Gag Rape as Drama Offscreen Moment of Awesome Wretched Hive Beware the Nice Ones Manipulative Bastard Not Using the "Z" Word Evil Plan Happily Married Leaning on the Fourth Wall Parental Neglect Throwing Your Sword Always Works Wounded Gazelle Gambit Brainless Beauty Older Than They Look Off with His Head! Artistic License – Law As Long as It Sounds Foreign Fingore Mundane Made Awesome Hypocrite Jerkass Has a Point Plucky Comic Relief Our Vampires Are Different Silence Is Golden Pet the Dog Bottomless Magazines Honor Before Reason A God Am I Cool Old Lady Dogged Nice Guy Cluster F-Bomb Police Brutality Anachronic Order An Axe to Grind Loads and Loads of Characters The '90s Abusive Parents Amusing Injuries Naïve Newcomer Getting Crap Past the Radar Killed Mid-Sentence Only Known by Their Nickname Shower Scene All There in the Script Obstructive Bureaucrat Stylistic Suck Unusually Uninteresting Sight Earn Your Happy Ending Does This Remind You of Anything? The Ditz Bury Your Gays Offscreen Teleportation What the Hell, Hero? B-Movie Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Manly Tears Coming-of-Age Story Fun with Acronyms Make It Look Like an Accident Annoying Younger Sibling Video Credits Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Really Gets Around Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Redshirt Army Epic Movie Large Ham Ungrateful Bastard Mr. Exposition Only One Name Cool Car As You Know Guns Akimbo Death by Sex Fatal Flaw Damsel in Distress There Is No Kill Like Overkill Accidental Misnaming Cowboy Cop Dark Is Not Evil Gilligan Cut Peek-a-Boo Corpse Gone Horribly Right BFG The Great Depression Greater-Scope Villain Homage Foil Red Oni, Blue Oni Overprotective Dad Adaptation Expansion Rule of Symbolism Better to Die than Be Killed Stealth Hi/Bye Hooker with a Heart of Gold Historical In-Joke Have a Gay Old Time Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Actually Pretty Funny Time Skip Action Survivor Villainous Breakdown Neck Lift Adorkable Brick Joke Fanservice Everyone Has Standards Faking the Dead The '60s Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Hell Is That Noise Canadian Movies The Smart Guy Mood Whiplash Dropped a Bridge on Him The End... Or Is It? Poor Communication Kills Call-Back Closed Circle Parental Abandonment Missing Mom Insult Backfire He Knows Too Much Extremely Short Timespan Visual Pun Wham Shot Fat Bastard Improbable Weapon User The Dreaded Disney Death Darkest Hour Artistic License – Military Historical Villain Upgrade Married to the Job Enemy Mine Gory Discretion Shot Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Oh, Crap! Bi the Way Psychopathic Manchild Implacable Man Spared by the Adaptation Boom, Headshot! Men Are the Expendable Gender Vacation Films Black Dude Dies First French Films Spiritual Successor Soundtrack Dissonance You Killed My Father Dark Reprise Broken Bird Rule of Three He Who Fights Monsters Dumb Blonde Eureka Moment Truth in Television Kick the Dog Disney Villain Death Mythology Gag Evil Laugh Sinister Minister World of Ham Adults Are Useless And Starring Horror Films Police are Useless Genre Savvy Aluminum Christmas Trees Gratuitous English Nice Guy Sadistic Choice Drowning My Sorrows German Films Fanservice Extra She's Got Legs A Date with Rosie Palms All for Nothing I Did What I Had to Do Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Bond Villain Stupidity The Cameo Leave the Camera Running Big Bad Duumvirate Shipper on Deck Line-of-Sight Name Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Sci-Fi Horror Based on a True Story Tagline Evil Brit Big Eater Captain Ersatz Artistic License – History You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Not So Above It All Made of Iron Scenery Gorn Up to Eleven Drives Like Crazy Ms. Fanservice Sanity Slippage Anti-Hero Italian Films Imagine Spot Historical Hero Upgrade "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Curb-Stomp Battle Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Hoist by His Own Petard From Nobody to Nightmare Expy Word of God Rewatch Bonus Market-Based Title Male Frontal Nudity Psychological Thriller All Men Are Perverts Flashback Adaptational Heroism Motor Mouth Antagonist Title Evil Sounds Deep Celebrity Paradox Fan Disservice The Place Mr. Fanservice La Résistance The Stoic Daylight Horror No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Cool Guns Australian Movies Television Movie Index Heroic Sacrifice Big Bad The Atoner Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" What Happened to the Mouse? Karma Houdini Training Montage Crucified Hero Shot Crazy-Prepared Vomit Discretion Shot Hidden Depths Mexican Standoff Awesome, but Impractical For the Evulz No Name Given Cat Scare Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Conspicuous CG Male Gaze Hero of Another Story Sacrificial Lion Spell My Name with an "S" Only a Flesh Wound Deliberate Values Dissonance Asshole Victim Those Two Bad Guys Shown Their Work Super Strength The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Captain Obvious Action Girl Sequel Escalation Determinator Face Death with Dignity The X of Y Not Quite Dead Good Is Not Nice Parental Incest Took a Level in Jerkass Kids Are Cruel Bare Your Midriff Evil-Detecting Dog Stuff Blowing Up Totally Radical Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Adaptation Dye-Job Auto Erotica Screw This, I'm Outta Here! My Beloved Smother Intrepid Reporter Bland-Name Product This Is Gonna Suck Wham Line Stepford Smiler The Stoner Real Life Writes the Plot Never Found the Body Even Evil Has Loved Ones Ironic Echo The Alcoholic Precision F-Strike Serial Killer Sports Stories Works Set in World War II Body Horror Establishing Character Moment Random Events Plot Butt-Monkey Dwindling Party Film Noir Bring My Brown Pants Villain Protagonist Improbable Aiming Skills Cool Old Guy Dramedy Instant Death Bullet Irony Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Death by Irony Domestic Abuse Cruel and Unusual Death O.O.C. Is Serious Business Hero Antagonist Determinator aka: The Determinator Ominous Latin Chanting Deus ex Machina Slap-Slap-Kiss As Himself Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Hong Kong Films Exactly What It Says on the Tin Meaningful Name The Brute The Stinger Meaningful Echo Take That! Music Stories Leitmotif Rule of Funny Arc Words Evil vs. Evil Translation Convention Chiaroscuro Drugs Are Bad It's Personal Genre Throwback Scare Chord Central Theme Sealed Evil in a Can The Reveal Star-Crossed Lovers I Need a Freaking Drink Even Evil Has Standards Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Film Noir Index Covers Always Lie Humans Are Bastards Sir Swears-a-Lot Pretty Little Headshots Pragmatic Adaptation Actor Allusion Title Drop Undying Loyalty Setting Update Those Wacky Nazis The Big Guy Posthumous Character Destination Defenestration Room Full of Crazy Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! And I Must Scream Madness Mantra The '70s Developing Doomed Characters Black and Gray Morality Kill It with Fire Adaptational Attractiveness Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Alas, Poor Villain After the End Rich Bitch Improvised Weapon Dull Surprise Shell-Shocked Veteran Creator Cameo Kill 'em All Ship Tease Defrosting Ice Queen '80s Hair Roaring Rampage of Revenge Babies Ever After Double Entendre Due to the Dead All There in the Manual Brother–Sister Incest Kick the Son of a Bitch N-Word Privileges Gold Digger Bunny-Ears Lawyer Vampire Fiction Adaptation Name Change Adapted Out Badass in a Nice Suit Air-Vent Passageway Important Haircut Mistaken for Gay Skewed Priorities The Mafia No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Immune to Bullets Retirony Not So Different My Greatest Failure Light Is Not Good Here We Go Again! Dissonant Serenity Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Bolivian Army Ending One-Man Army Driven to Suicide Soft Glass Frame-Up Public Domain Feature Films Four-Temperament Ensemble Token Minority Adaptational Villainy Gender Flip Attempted Rape Adult Fear Riddle for the Ages As the Good Book Says... Black Comedy Rape Protagonist Title Bilingual Bonus Betty and Veronica All Girls Want Bad Boys Villain Ball Back from the Dead Mind Screw Calling the Old Man Out Bad "Bad Acting" War Is Hell Villain Song It's All About Me Slasher Movie Get Out! Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Empathic Environment Refuge in Audacity Worthy Opponent Arranged Marriage Jerkass Grey and Gray Morality Taking the Bullet Alliterative Name Dual Wielding Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Early Installment Weirdness Crazy Jealous Guy Badass Normal Non-Indicative Name Revenge Big-Bad Ensemble Noodle Incident Science Fiction Films Faux Affably Evil Villain with Good Publicity Zombie Stories Advertised Extra Yandere The Un-Reveal Big "NO!" Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Defiant to the End Evil Is Hammy Friend to All Children Facial Horror Groin Attack Running Gag Diabolus ex Machina Reality Ensues Daddy's Girl Early-Bird Cameo Camera Abuse Combat Pragmatist Intergenerational Friendship Author Appeal Amoral Attorney One Steve Limit Suddenly SHOUTING! Hate Sink The Ghost Deadpan Snarker Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Naked People Are Funny Ambiguous Ending Novelization What You Are in the Dark Double-Meaning Title Shirtless Scene Hypocritical Humor Face–Heel Turn Dutch Angle Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday In the Back Heterosexual Life-Partners Eiffel Tower Effect Black Best Friend Big Brother Instinct Only Sane Man Final Girl Thriller Love Triangle Affably Evil Creative Closing Credits Together in Death Half the Man He Used to Be Playing Gertrude Sassy Black Woman Made of Explodium Funny Background Event Badass Grandpa Say My Name Taking You with Me Blackmail Armor-Piercing Question Fantasy Films Ascended Extra Mugging the Monster Affectionate Parody Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism I Have Your Wife Jerk with a Heart of Gold The Sociopath Paper-Thin Disguise Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds 20 Minutes into the Future Love at First Sight Kubrick Stare Expository Hairstyle Change Toplessness from the Back Animated Credits Opening Index of Film Westerns The Lancer Big Damn Heroes Death Seeker Trailers Always Spoil Pre-Mortem One-Liner The Chessmaster Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Dies Wide Open Dirty Cop Politically Incorrect Villain Animal Motifs Took a Level in Badass Bullying a Dragon Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Let's Get Dangerous! A Father to His Men Contrived Coincidence A.I. Is a Crapshoot Whole Plot Reference No Celebrities Were Harmed Artistic License – Biology Pimped-Out Dress Dramatic Gun Cock The Bully Artistic License – Physics Red Right Hand Bloodless Carnage Exact Words Last-Name Basis The Vamp Bond One-Liner Small Name, Big Ego Dying Moment of Awesome Straight Gay timeperiod Heel–Face Turn You Have Failed Me Superhero Heroes Want Redheads Demoted to Extra Military and Warfare Films Freeze-Frame Bonus Jerk Jock Award-Bait Song Reality Is Unrealistic Insistent Terminology Properly Paranoid Cool Shades Knight Templar Biopic Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Storming the Castle Age Lift I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Bavarian Fire Drill Russian Films Retcon Plot Hole Victoria's Secret Compartment Scary Black Man It Will Never Catch On Animal Title Index No OSHA Compliance Bad Boss Sequel Hook Blatant Lies Logo Joke Almost Kiss Reality Has No Subtitles Action Prologue Framing Device Fake Shemp Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Suspiciously Similar Substitute Monumental Damage Arch-Enemy The Film of the Book Famous Last Words Eagleland The Starscream Eldritch Abomination Obviously Evil Rated M for Manly Disguised in Drag Black Comedy Fiery Redhead Names to Run Away from Really Fast The Mole Unusual Euphemism The Power of Love Vomit Indiscretion Shot Self-Deprecation Fantastic Racism Foregone Conclusion Creepy Child Department of Redundancy Department Corrupt Corporate Executive Darker and Edgier Belligerent Sexual Tension Gainax Ending Mercy Kill Maybe Ever After No Antagonist True Companions I'm a Humanitarian Fish out of Water Reckless Gun Usage The Voiceless The Remake Dressing as the Enemy Evil Counterpart Nothing Is Scarier Meaningful Background Event Insane Troll Logic Artistic License – Geography Eye Scream Very Loosely Based on a True Story Major Injury Underreaction Blood Knight Corpsing Death of a Child Agony of the Feet Punch-Clock Villain Tranquil Fury Anti-Villain I Want My Beloved to Be Happy An Arm and a Leg Becoming the Mask Pyrrhic Victory Fate Worse than Death Author Avatar You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Not So Stoic Sexy Discretion Shot Curse Cut Short Not Even Bothering with the Accent Badass Boast Parental Substitute Christmas Movies Index Scenery Porn No-Sell Serious Business Only in It for the Money May–December Romance Cain and Abel The Ace Informed Ability Documentary Dramatic Irony Mad Scientist Jump Scare Pragmatic Villainy Femme Fatale "Shaggy Dog" Story Once More, with Clarity! Film Series Henpecked Husband NO INDOOR VOICE Eyepatch of Power Tempting Fate Break the Haughty Moment Killer Horror Comedy Alpha Bitch Five-Man Band Off-into-the-Distance Ending Guile Hero Laughing Mad "The Reason You Suck" Speech Pretty in Mink Martial Arts Movie Be Careful What You Wish For The Quiet One A Minor Kidroduction Death by Adaptation One-Word Title Nice Hat Bittersweet Ending For Want of a Nail Same Language Dub Broken Aesop Beta Couple Credits Gag Demonic Possession Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Unreliable Narrator Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Man on Fire Despair Event Horizon Stealth Pun Death Glare Vitriolic Best Buds Woman Scorned Villain Opening Scene The Dragon Manchild Neck Snap Big Fancy House The Load Adaptational Badass Green-Eyed Monster The Faceless Beauty Is Never Tarnished Artistic License – Gun Safety Heroic BSoD An Aesop Bald of Evil Catapult Nightmare From Bad to Worse Extreme Doormat Blood from the Mouth Well-Intentioned Extremist Red Herring Didn't Think This Through Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Ripped from the Headlines Anyone Can Die Chase Scene In Name Only Our Zombies Are Different Red Shirt The Alleged Car Hollywood Law Adaptation Distillation Call-Forward Catch-Phrase Rule of Cool Outrun the Fireball Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Evil Is Petty Disproportionate Retribution Every Car Is a Pinto The Hero Dies Deconstruction Fatal Family Photo Cloudcuckoolander Downer Ending No Ending Smoking Is Cool Car Fu Psycho for Hire The Oner Flipping the Bird Ax-Crazy Freudian Excuse "Well Done, Son!" Guy Re-Cut Cassandra Truth Big Applesauce Redemption Equals Death Sole Survivor My God, What Have I Done? Fourth Date Marriage Tap on the Head The Smurfette Principle Apocalypse How Country Matters Mooks Punny Name Abhorrent Admirer Recycled IN SPACE! Character Development Not What It Looks Like Those Two Guys Manic Pixie Dream Girl Morality Pet Never Trust a Trailer Malevolent Masked Men The Bad Guy Wins Too Dumb to Live Bound and Gagged Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Romantic Comedy Epic Fail Needs Wiki Magic Love Shout-Out In Medias Res Beard of Evil Anachronism Stew Real Life She Cleans Up Nicely MacGuffin How We Got Here Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Dirty Old Man Comically Missing the Point Match Cut Costume Porn Loophole Abuse Dirty Coward Show Within a Show Lock and Load Montage Japanese Films Smug Snake Narrator Left the Background Music On Meet Cute Bar Brawl Accidental Murder Canon Foreigner Disappeared Dad Put on a Bus The Chick It Can Think Badass Bookworm Cat Fight Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Would Hurt a Child Stock Footage Hair-Trigger Temper Shut Up, Hannibal! Dark Action Girl Your Cheating Heart All Just a Dream Children Are Innocent Mystery and Detective Films Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Heel Realization British Films Distracted by the Sexy Spanner in the Works Chekhov's Gun Silent Movie Depraved Bisexual Bowdlerise Romantic False Lead Berserk Button Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Chewing the Scenery Camp Gay Drill Sergeant Nasty Interrupted Suicide Lighter and Softer Batman Gambit Danny Peary Cult Movies List Authority Equals Asskicking Slashed Throat Gorn Funny Foreigner The Dog Bites Back Slasher Smile