Tropescilloscope: Developing Doomed Characters

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

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