Tropescilloscope: Developing Doomed Characters

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

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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