Bad Character Deaths vs Good Character Deaths (Writing Advice)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ก.ค. 2024
- Learn what separates a bad character death from a good one--with examples from Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Psycho, Star Wars, Attack on Titan, and more!
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0:00 Intro
1:00 Writing Good Character Deaths
2:43 Psycho Example
4:47 Bad Deaths vs. Good Deaths
5:03 Bad Type 1
5:25 Bad Example 1 - Man of Steel
8:00 Good Example 1 - Attack on Titan
10:00 Bad Type 2
10:31 Bad Example 2 - Game of Thrones
12:49 Good Example 2 - Star Wars Return of the Jedi
14:24 Bad Type 3
14:43 Bad Example 3 - The Walking Dead Season 6
16:14 Good Example 3 - Godzilla Minus One
18:17 Bad Type 4
18:41 Bad Example 4 - 24 Season 6
21:00 Good Example 4 - Fellowship of the Ring
23:01 Outro
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***PLEASE MARK FOR SPOILERS WHEN DISCUSSING ANY CHARACTER DEATHS. For example...
"I hated one particular death in [STORY TITLE]"
[hit Enter]
[hit Enter]
[hit Enter]
[hit Enter]
"When [CHARACTER] died, I was frustrated because..."
I hated multiple particular deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen
There isn't really any specific ones, almost none of the deaths are well executed. Most relevant and intereting characters are killed off for shock value like Gojo, Yuki and Nobara. A lot were interesting and should've been explored more but the creator overestimates shock value which is the only card he can really play.
SPOILER
Sean Bean Dies in the movie he was in
Snopes.
Wait you watch attack on Titan too
I hated a particular death in Lost
when Jack Shepherd died, I was frustrated because he was hyped up to the Island's protector. But instead it's wasted and it goes to Hurley who didn't really deserve it.
Yet somehow, Palpatine returned
Disney is how.
@@GhostRose6500 "yet, somedisney, Palpatine returned"
Ironically this is how we found out Palpatine returned, in a single line of dialog 😶
Somehow, I managed to leave that out of my RotJ analysis
@@corruptauthorthat’s not true at all, he was shown at the start of the movie.
Then after this line that everyone hates, they explain how he came back
So basically a good character death is any scene where Sean Bean dies.
I'm trying to find an exception but I can't because all his deaths are great... or at least in great movies because his death acting has not always been that golden.
Even his fakeout death in Goldeneye, then his real death in Goldeneye.
He died in a movie?😧
Plot twist: All of Sean Bean's characters actually live happily ever after in a parallel universe.
Harrison Ford did a really nasty number on him.
Terrible fake-out death: Chewbacca in ROS. One of the worst ever, especially due to the lack of connection with any of the new characters.
I honestly expected this to be the example
I still search for even one thing that movie did correctly.
Not only is it a terrible idea, but the execution was just so apathetic. Chewie "dies," Rey and Finn scream, then they run away and never really address it again, and in the NEXT SCENE we find out Chewie is alive and well. Absolutely worthless fakeout.
Chewbacca's "death" is horrendous. I wanted to include it here, but I already discussed it multiple times on the channel before
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Yes, you have been very vocal! Never forget...
The better death from prior Superman stories is Johnathan having a heart attack, showing Superman he can't save everyone.
Oo that would of have been chef’s kiss🤌🏽
@@matthewpennington8991 It was, when they did it in the first Christopher Reeve movie, AKA "Better than Man of Steel in every way that matters".
@@ShinGallon exactly!
@ShinGallon The Kents in the Snyderverse are so antithetical to who they are in every other version (except one version of John in the early 2000's).
The Snyder version of the Kents couldn't raise Superman. He would become *something* but it wouldn't be Superman. None of what they show him or say to him teaches him what it is to care for others more than yourself. The core aspect of who he is.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer also did the heart attack death, for the same reason.
"...To the time he gets killed by the writers- I mean the tornado."
-Brandon McNulty 2024
Was there even a storm in this scene, or was it just 'Bam surprise tornado?' Also no Kansan won't recognize a wall cloud when they see one.
The way Eren's mom covers her mouth and says "don't go" makes that scene 10x more impactful and shows so brutally that while the sacrifice was noble, it is no less terrifying for the person making it
Yeah I remember that I wasn't feeling that bad about her (was just a generic mom for me) til she said that.. then I felt terrible. That reaction of the character was soo real
as a Mom, that scene haunts me!
It’s genuinely SO GOOD. Most often, you see characters be all stoic/amused and brave while choosing to sacrifice themselves, as if they’re not afraid to die. But fear is what makes it a heroic thing in the first place; Carla doesn’t want to die and is terrified, this is shown, but she still does it. It’s just a phenomenal scene.
Ned Stark's death in GOT Season 1 and character deaths in the red wedding were emotionally impactful and shocking
The deaths also had ramifications for the villains
Cedric Diggory's death in HP Goblet of Fire is one of the best deaths in my opinion. It was an absolute shock because you went into the book thinking it was a whimsical kid's story and suddenly a likeable character dies a real death with real mourning. And the acting in the film really sold the pain! Not many character deaths have felt like such a blindsided gut punch.
yes, his death hurt me more than dumbledore's, i don't remember the movie but the that's in my opinio the best hp, i remember being terrified reading it, sirius death was good too
good shout, goblet is my fav book cus of how cedrics death went down
His death led to Molly giving him (Harry) a hug that made him feel what a mother’s love felt like for the first time as well. It was a very emotional scene in both literature and film, though I prefer the book.
In the movies, his death marked the start of the M-Rating on Harry Potter.
I agree, it really set the stage for how dangerous Harry’s adventure really was. The BEST wizard student at Hogwarts snuffed out instantly by “real world” magic murderers. This was NOT class anymore. No more safety net.
Boromir's death was especially powerful because it was the first trigger for Denethor's madness, which also has consequences.
And with that it leads pippin into pledging allegiance to Denethor. This one deathe sscene from the first part impacts the characters actions and motivations all through the second and third part. And don't forget about Faramir!
I think Denny was already losing it from too much chitchat with Sauron on the palantir.
Agreed to Faramir. He questions Frodo deeply in Ithilien about his “vision” of Boromir lying in the boat and Frodo is worried about all of his friends. He has no idea any are alive until after the ring is destroyed.
It goes deeper than that. Boromir isn't supposed to be there. Faramir is well known as being the diplomat. Faramir was supposed to be at the conference, with Boromir leading the defense of the realm. Denethor sent Boromir instead.
It was a nice touch how you kept saying "Superman" instead of Clark because that just constantly reemphasized the fact that he is freaking SUPERMAN and easily could have saved everyone there. The mark of a true writer
He even goes on to save everyone all the time without hiding his face anyway, so what even was the point?
I call it manipulative, because he's not Superman yet. He's still a kid (even if they got Cavill to play him for this scene). Clark isnt ready to be superman, or have a full grasp of his powers, even in much of the present day scenes, let alone in the midst of his teen life.
I haven't seen the movie, but watching this clip, it's pretty obvious he could have saved everyone including his father AND keep his true nature a secret. Heck, I think a normal human in peak physical condition could have pulled it off.
@@ludovico6890 Exactly. Being a young, healthy guy, he could've easily done better than Jonathan in that situation without tapping into any of his powers.
@@ludovico6890 Yeah it's not just the writing that let that scene down but also the directing too. It looked like Jonathan Kent wanted to die, just standing there for a few seconds waiting to be consumed. From the audience perspective, a logical character would be struggling to survive so he can spend the remaining 20 years of his life with his wife and son. But the way it was shot was very awkward, it looked like Jonathan Kent had enough time to limp to safety and Clark had enough time to carry him without using superpowers.
The intro with Boromir saying "One does not simply" scene with Brandon saying "One does not simply kill characters" is just pure gold
People like to say that it was an incorrect statement since Frodo and Sam simply walked into Mordor, but no, there was nothing simple about their entry into Mordor (Frodo got attacked by a fucking giant spider). That's what makes that scene from this video perfect. Boromir was killed, but there was nothing simple about how it was done, it's complicated.
you know it's gonna be a good brandon mcnulty vid when he starts it with "and I'll explain why it sucks" 😂
That always gets me hyped for the rest of the video. It gets me thinking, "Oh yeah bring on the criticism." 🤣
It wasn't just the killing of the Ice King that was a problem, but the killing of Cersei. Both major villains are therefore killed without any sort of emotional impact.
Especially since Arya killing Cersei would have had the emotional impact that neither death actually gave us.
Thank god they cooked up a third amazing villain in Daenerys to then kill off in a satisfying way, right?
I picked Cerci dying in Jamie's arms as the world crumbles around them a season earlier.
The Hound and the Mountain will kill each other - fire will somehow be involved.
John Snow will kill Daenerys just before she plunks down in the world's most uncomfortable chair.
8th season gets a lot of hate. I just found it predictable.
Thought Hot Pie would end up as king though.
@@brucefreadrich1188 no, you didnt.
@@marvcollins7842 I think her killing was satisfying and books were leading to her being an anti-villain (ditto with Tyrion who for some reason became a hero in the show). The problem wasn't the way she died but the nonsensical lack of buildup. There were plenty of ways her burning down Kings Landing would have been logical (her last dragon dies, or Greyworm is killed or Cersei is hiding among the small folk, or the bell gets broken), but it was like 'I've won and I'm evil now, lol'.
Best Character Death: Sean Bean. He just dies so well.
Sean Bean is a living spoiler- you know, no matter what the story is, his character is gonna die.
He's skilled because he's had 10k hours of practice. That's how you become an expert.
@@chloemchll3774 Not true. Spoiler alert, in Ronin he just gets fired.
@@aaronleverton4221 And I loved how that movie subverted my expectations by not killing him.
Better than any twist M. Night has come up with…
@@chloemchll3774 Do not, under any circumstances, watch him in Screen One: Prince.
15:30 - "Somehow avoided being bitten" with the change of movie on the screen was priceless. lol. One bad use of "somehow" deserves another. XD
Season 8 of Game of Thrones should be a lesson to every writer in how to destroy your own work and credibility. It's a master class in epically failing the ending of a show or written work.
Case study in how not to stick the landing.
The worst part is when people defend the decisions made...in all honesty it wasn't all bad, but it didn't have the build up to make it work. People who try to defend it just don't understand writing
“In this final movie in the Star Wars trilogy” I aprove ignoring the existence of the other movies.😂
ignoring? There are not other movies
@@MrCosinuus Other Star Wars movies? Besides the three?
What is he even talking about?
Really, there's only one and seven eighths.
I think Boromir's death is one of rhe best screen deaths ever!
One of the worst fake out deaths was Jon snow in GoT. When they brought him back from the dead, it felt momentarily euphoric but whatever Jon snow did felt empty afterwards.
Agreed. It had zero consequences because the writers didn't like dealing with magic elements too much. It was disappointing and amazing to me that such a pivotal thing should just be memory holed for the most part.
@@KatAdVictoriam They initially alluded that he would be weaker so he wouldn't have infinite lives. But the weakness failed to materialize. It had no impact on any story line. If he had lost a battle that he would have previously won/ had a brain fart at a pivotal moment or change character and become reckless, it would have added credence to becoming weaker. Nope, Jon snow just kept marching on just the same.
I agree with everything you said about Arya and the Night King, but I think it's symptomatic of a much bigger problem. The stakes in a story are supposed to escalate, not diminish, but GoT season 8 basically has everybody coming together to stop the apocalypse, and then immediately after, it's back to petty politics. It's hard to even care what happens to King's Landing.
I think the biggest problem with that whole season is that there was no satisfying conclusion to ANY of the plots/subplots. Everything ended in disappointment.
Yeah, I was really surprised they chose to have the battles in that order, it seems like the obviously wrong way to do it. Dany would have had a much more interesting & believable justification to roast all those people if she was expecting they were going to get turned into ice zombies, and the Winterfell battle could have been much more tense in the context of that having just happened but everyone left needing to work together afterwards.
Especially since it's rather clear that GRRM is leading up to something big happening in King's Landing _first_ with the Invasion by The Golden Company and 'Prince Aegon'.
godzilla minus 1 mentioned 👍
The ending of Das Boot is amazing from a "good" death standpoint
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.
.
.
.
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where the entire crew survives a harrowing submarine journey just to be killed in a British air raid right after they returned home. It's a reminder that in war, death comes for the "heroes" unexpectedly and at any time
Great example. I hated that movie the first time I saw it because of the ending. As I got older and my understanding of irony (and the horror of war) became more mature, I respected the movie much more. It is now one of my most favorite war movies of all time. Cheers from Boston ☘️
Yes! I forgot about that one.
First saw it when my parents rented the VHS (The Boat). I couldn't get with the ending. Then I grew up a little. About ten years later my parents gave me the complete Das Boot mini-series on VHS for Christmas. Wow. So much more. Of everything. It was like that with The Third Man. I really didn't think much of it and hated the score when I was forced to watch it as an English text. Today it's my all-time favourite film. Anyway, Das Boot is amazing from beginning to end (also, Stalingrad is great).
i watched a russian movie that was not very good but had a similar good scene. the soldiers heroically defend the trenches for so long against the germans in a 15 minute scene of intense fighting and when they are celebrating they are getting carpet bombed and almost everyone dies.
As always, fantastic examples of good and bad options, Brandon. Doc Brown's "death" near the end of the original "Back To The Future" made me cry when I first saw it. Until I realized he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. That unexpected plot twist worked for me.
GoT S8 also did many fake-out deaths too. In The Long Night, we dimly see main characters being enveloped by wights. A few scenes later, they turn out to be fine. From memory, this was especially egregious with Brienne, because she screamed so amazingly as the wights enveloped her. As DaveGibson said, Cersei and Jamie being crushed by falling bricks was dull.
Like you, I was inordinately impacted by the way GoT turned into Marvel phase 4. It gutted me to see characters I loved so mistreated. Poor "Adolph" Danaerys! Alas Tryion and Varys! Poor Cersei was reduced to a tipsy spectator on the balcony, and Jon "She's muh queen" Snow ended up truly knowing nothing. Oh, the pain, the pain.
Damn..Just thinking off all that wasted potential because of season 8 kills me. I always say it's like the writers to the Sansa/Arya bickering from season 7..and how unearned Littlefinger's death was...(unearned as in the setup for it sucked...he totally earned death...but deserved far better setup)...and decided..yeah..we need more of that.
What season??
The character death I found most impactful was that of the Iron Giant, with “you are who you choose to be” echoing one last time. The Iron Giant chooses to be Superman, a hero who chose to “use his powers for good; never for evil”. And even though he was tagged as a dangerous, evil being from outer space, Iron Giant proves that perception wrong by deciding to sacrifice himself to save Hogarth’s town. At least that’s how I’ve always understood it, and then some😊
Bonus it doubles as a great fake out death! And one of the reasons it actually works as a fake out death is because they foreshadowed his self repair ability a lot ahead of time. The Iron Giant is an all-around great movie, but that scene really makes it. Sad he did superman so much better than superman.
The best fake-out death is probably Gandalf in Fellowship
In the book and the movie, it was a bit ambiguous what happened to him, so i expected him come back. It kinda made it work.
FLY YOU FOOLS!
Such an emotional death... That comeback scene blew my mind though.
Me being a Tolkien geek- I'm under contract to say that Gandalf did die, both in the movie and the books. It was explained better in the books, that he died and went back to Valinor, but was asked to return and complete his mission. While he was the same spirit, he was allowed to use the same powers that Saruman had previously, so he was kind of a different person.
@@elishamorgan The anguished scream Viggo made in that scene? It was real, He broke his toe when he kicked the armor. It was so emotional they left it in.
The worst death I have ever seen is not in a movie, but in a video game. In the last of us 2 Joel's death was so forced and convenient that it literally gave me a stomach ache. It took me about two weeks to completely get over it. Great video by the way, as a newbie writer your videos help me a lot. Keep it up, because it's great content, one of the best TH-camrs of this type that I know.
I didn't love that death scene , but I didn't question the decision for Joel to be killed. Hard to imagine a more evil villain than Joel when you consider Abby's perspective.
For me the worst fake out death was Chewie's "death" in Rise of Skywalker.
I love the story of how Christopher Lee, former WW2 commando, corrected Peter Jackson regarding how a man reacts to being stabbed in the kidney regarding Saruman's death scene in the LOTR movie. Jackson started to argue with him, then remembered who he was talking to, LOL!
By the way, Mr. McNulty...my favorite obscure space opera is a show called Farscape. I hated it when it came out but rewatched it a few years back and truly fell in love with it. Been applying your analyses to it as I rewatch again and it's so fun! Free on TH-cam. Several main character deaths there...
Keep up the great work.
Being stabbed in a lung actually.
@@LuminaryGames That makes more sense.
Farscape!!!!
@@julietardos5044 I know, right? lol
One of the best “meaningless deaths” is Samuel L Jackson in Deep Blue Sea. Seriously it’s the only thing anyone remembers of that movie.
Maybe it does add a sense of realistic chaos, in the fact that random and crazy events can happen, but it is a great example of where you need to show restraint as a writer lol. It was such a terrible scene.
Thomas Jane and L L Cool J are my two favorite characters of that movie. Even my first time watching it, I somehow knew Samuel L. Jackson’s character would die, but even then I was still surprised how he died too suddenly.
I’m so glad you made attack on Titan as one of your examples. Absolutely love that show 🔥
The first season was so good, I wish it'd kept that level up. I gave up about 4 episodes into S3.
@@ShinGallon You should try finishing season 3, the final arc of season 3 is amazing
@@Doctor.Trolling Do they ever stop having endless interminable dialog scenes about royal bloodlines? Because I couldn't be paid to care less about that.
That first death is brutal. Sends the message of how the shows is going to be. And, then we have when the new recruits has their first mission and is almost a total failure.
I watched the first series and found it infuriating as it kept looking like it was subverting the normal anime tropes but then revealing that it actually wasn't. When the main character is apparently killed I was hooked, but it was not to be.
I love/hate the deaths in Serenity... it hits worse if you have seen all the episodes of Firefly. Tissues.. lots of tissues needed.
I wasn’t a fan of Book’s death. It played like Ron Glass asked Whedon to be in the film as little as possible.
@erakfishfishfish I think it really solidified Mal's decision not to run and it was important bc of what he said about believing in something.
I think Book's death was meaningful, Wash's death was shock value. I also like that the Operative does not die.
I did not require any tissues.
@@woodog57 Wash's death was important to show that none are safe anymore. I remember dreading who's next after that.
Arya surviving a sliced gut and five stab wounds to the gut while jumping into the water and stumbling across the entire city to the one person she knew in the city without any consequence was the worst non death of all time. Only to set up her killing off a guy who just needed to watch everyone continue to die just to win the battle.
Padme in Revenge of the Sith is one of the worst case of killed by the writer. She’ s healthy but she has to die because we know from the original trilogy that she died shortly after giving birth to Luke and Leia, so “she lost her will to live”. For me, that’s right up there among the stupidest lines in Star Wars, after of course “somehow Palpatine returned”
And childbirth is dangerous, even in the far future of super space technology. They didn't have to make her die because she was sad. She could have died from a uterine rupture during some space fighting and because she was sad.
The daft thing is that, there is actually no reason for her to die at all, she just needs to be gone 20 years later for A New Hope. And Leia has vague memories of her. I appreciate George didn’t want to have her die offscreen but…..
@@intergalactic92 Luke specifically asks Leia about her and Leia remembers her, which is kinda hard if she died in childbirth. "Somehow, Padme Died"
Yeah it's not like she just had 2 children, thus giving her a reason to go on living or anything...
And I see people now defend the prequels like they weren't also written horribly.
@@ShinGallonThey had flaws but they were good
Best death was probably [spoiler] in JoJo Rabbit.
When Scarlet Johansson is caught and killed, and JoJo is left only with the person he has been told is his mortal enemy, and the most terrifying thing in Germany.
Almost perfect, except Tika did like a few too many close ups of her feet/shoes making it easier to predict she would be killed.
The way he discovers her body was chilling
Great example- but Psycho tops them all.
What more could be done?
@@thomasdurfee7157Easier to recognise it was her in the very moment. Easier to predict? I don't remember if I predicted her death while watching for the first time. Are shoes a symbol of death, am I missing something?
@@JR-sx3gl Yeah, it worked perfectly for me. Didn't see it coming, nor was I surprised, knowing how dangerous her actions were during the war. I thought very well done, like everything, pretty much, in that movie.
So many interesting characters. Rockwell did his usual exceptional job and Rebel and that tall dude were funnier than they should be as nazis.
Undoubtedly some will have a problem with "funny nazis", but I'm older and grew up with WW2's memory still fresh 60s-70s.
I read the Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich and understand how deadly serious the fascist Nazi were- but the movies humour did not lessen or make light of them. They were funny yet still horrible as Nazi (Rebel giving the kids rifles and later hand grenades. Funny and awful).
Great movie.
I feel like The Acolyte was created to illustrate all of the types of bad deaths perfectly.
One of the funniest character death scenes I’ve ever seen is in the Obi-Wan Kenobi show.
Tala’s death was so hilarious because they played such dramatic music for a character who was mostly just a plot device with little development and no personality.
You are supposed to spoiler tag..
@@ikmorit’s been out for two years
I was more sad about the robot that has zero lines dying than her 😂. I'll never forget the way she lightly punched a stormtrooper in the helmet and it disoriented him so much he couldn't even fire his blaster.
But what about WADE?!
He was a true hero of the not-rebellion, a brave soul, and a deep and thoughtful character. His loss was totally felt in one of the shows of all time.
@@rollinghouse7140 You're right. Wade was truly one of the characters in Star Wars history. I remember seeing his death and thinking his wounds were surely mortal. He did indeed die in that show.
You could have used Braveheart for every good example each death is meaningful from Wallace's father dying in a failed attempt at freedom, to William's climactic death bringing the Bruce's arc to fruition (I know the history is fuzzy I don't care) but the death that haunted me was Muron, the pivotal moment is accentuated by Wallace's belief that she made it to safety only for her to be executed while he thinks he is on his way to meet her, you have a great attachment to her character and her death feels almost too real, and the reaction is definitely appropriate and it pushes Wallace to the action he was reluctant to take
Totally right on all counts. From a storytelling standpoint Braveheart is in the mold of classic historical epics of the 60's-70s.
As to the history, weeeell, we all know 😅...look on the bright side though, it lead many of us to learn about the real history of the Medieval period.
My WIP wouldn't exist without seeing Braveheart. I have a love/hate relationship with it.
@@JamesRDavenport my view on historical accuracy in fiction is that it's nice but rare, if a movie like Braveheart gives you a basic general overview of the actual history and especially if it inspires one to look deeper into the real history it has done its Job
@@johntabler349 The problem, rather obviously so comment not meant for those who can see the obvious, is the majority of muppets who quote the film as historical truth. Like the "we don't have the facilities to take you all prisoner" line in A Bridge Too Far. The majority, whether vast or not, are not interested in research or learning, only being spoon-fed. To them "based on a true story" means "every moment is true" and at a party, during a discussion, they force you to make yourself look like a pedantic wanker while explaining historical reality and "bringing the mood down".
Wait, you mean Ridley Scott doesn't strive for historical accuracy in ANY if his historic epics?
Say it ain't so!
Oh. Mel Gibson directed? Argh! Why isn't it historically accurate! Argh!
@@James_Bee why isn't the Robe historically accurate, why isn't Last Samurai, Kingdom of Heaven, Gunfight at the OK Corral, or the hundred more I can think of? Why does it bother people with some of these and not others? Valid question I think
An oldie but goodie is Dr. Janet Frazer on Stargate SG-1. After eight or so seasons of being the quintessential doctor giving everything to look after others, she died doing exactly that, helping others to survive on a battlefield off-world. The sacrifice was meaningful and true to her character, and yet still unexpected and shocking.
That 2-parter was so good, with the very well handled death fake-out as well, and the emotional impact of the real death on the guy filming the documentary.
@@Sparkykueken Yeah, I remember the first time I watched the first part, knowing that someone (but not who) was going to go and thinking it was a really cheesy way to get rid of a character. By the end of watching the second part, I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
A good death I enjoyed was in Guardians of the Galaxy 2
when Mary Poppins died. It really brought home the message of family.
I'm Mary Poppins y'all
"Mary Poppins - is he cool?"
"Yes. Yes, he is cool."
(Paraphrasing here, but man, such a strong moment!)
My eyes water just thinking about it, that movie is so freaking good
@@dyegoeduardosantossilva3659 My least favourite of the three, but it's such a good trilogy. The story arc for Yondu is fabulous.
@HandSoloRecords Really? I think it's my favorite ( although i didn't watch 3 :P )
But yeah, i think Yondu is my favorite part of it. The soundtrack also
Speaking of the tornado in Man of Steel, how about a video on good and bad uses of weather?
Bad: Man Of Steel
Good: Sharknado
Star Trek II....need I say more?
"Ship....out of danger?"
Gets me every time.
You need not. Gets me every time too.
One of the most impactful deaths that affected me a lot when I was younger was Ol' Yeller. Animal deaths as well can be very important to a story, and as well done very badly.
Damn it i went dyslexic for a bit i thought the thumbnail said "Bad Breaths vs. good breaths" lmao
Also useful to know.
😂😂
Boromir definitely beats the Night King in that one
Mint: good Morning Breath: bad
Kind of surprised to not see Bane’s lame death not on here.
Huge anticlimax for sure.
‘No. I came back to stop you!’ Once they used this line it became very clear that this was not the dark knight 😂
Re: Man of Steel. Another contrivance is that Clark's father takes on the more dangerous tasks even though Clark, even if he weren't Superman, was the better choice. He was younger, stronger and faster. If Clark was still a child or even a teen, it would make sense, but he was a strapping adult man who was more than capable of carrying a child or dog.
Re: Walking Dead. What added insult to injury was...
...that they killed Glenn a couple of episodes later, after milking yet another cliffhanger. It was clear the writer's were playing with the audiences emotions. I stopped watching the show after that.
One of my favorite meaningless deaths is from Burn After Reading. Brad Pitt’s death is so shocking, out of nowhere, and so tonally different from the rest of the film it becomes darkly hilarious. And aside from Clooney’s character fleeing the country, it doesn’t impact the story at all. As the final scene of the film tells us, none of the events make rational sense and we learned nothing at all. I love that movie.
Mine too! It was so shocking!
I recently quit watching BAR in the middle. After your comment, I have no regrets.
@@julietardos5044 that’s a shame. That scene is the Coen Bros at their best.
Thank you for using time stamps for the spoliers!! I wish more people did this, and I hope you continue to!
Borimors arc and death will always be my GOAT
You could make a whole series of comparing good versus bad just from Game of Thrones. Seasons 1-4 great, 5-7 meh to bad, 8 so horrific that I've almost forgotten that GoT exists. As for best and worst, I would say as far as emotional impact Boromir was both. It really hit me in the feels, yet it was so well done. Of course, speaking of shows that go back and forth, you could also do a whole series on Supernatural, comparing the good seasons to the bad. There's no clear-cut division on that show, but it waxed and waned over its entire 15 year run.
Great video and awesome job marking the spoilers, thank you!! Much appreciated.
The Glen fakeout death in the Walking Dead is the reason I stopped watching the show. As soon as he was "alive" again, I turned the T.V. off and never watched another minute of the show.
It also really was Not helped by the twist at the end of Season 6 And the beginning of Season 7 (IYKYK).
How about a spoiler tag?
For me it was the Neegan brutality in Episode 1 season 7. So horribly gratuitous. I was done and never watched it again.
I really liked Kevin Stacey's death in LA Confidential. It kind of came out of nowhere, but the way it impacted White's and Exley's rivalry in a way that made them come together and work out who was the big bad was in their investigation was great. I love that film.
It's difficult to think of a more satisfying death than Joffrey in Game of Thrones
Also one note about the death scenes in Man of Steel and AOT, Superman's father's death was meant to set up Superman's reasons for being a hero but fails meanwhile Eren's mother's death sets a dark path for Eren and it works.
Your videos just keep getting better and better, Brandon, and you covered a *lot* of ground in this one! You are the absolute best at providing specifics backed by clear-cut examples and rigorous reasoning. I admire your work more and more every time I watch one of your videos. (And btw, I'm also enjoying The Half Murders very much!)
“John tells his Superhuman son…” lol!
I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but Jurassic Park has some iconic death scenes, from the park worker in the opening, to the lawyer, to Muldoon’s “clever girl” moment… however, I’d give the award to Dennis Nedry’s death scene… it’s important to the plot, involves consequences and the end of a character arc, it’s suspenseful, and the way he screams when he’s blinded by the Dilophosaurus venom is so visceral and chilling, I could never watch that scene as a kid for that reason…
Brandon, you´re jokes are getting better and better. I love hearing all of your advice along with your witty humor.
One thing I see _annoyingly_ often is people minimizing the impact of a character's death _on purpose,_ to give some hamhanded supernihilism moral, like "This character's death means and changes nothing, and that's the point. His life meant and changed nothing, just like YOUR life and death means and changes nothing. Haha aren't I so hashtag DEEP."
Shoutout to every single character death from Better Call Saul.
I love how there always has to be spoiler warnings because someone out there may not have seen the 6th sense
I still haven’t watched it, and it was my best friend’s favorite when it came out. I just didn’t get around to it. 🤷🏻♂️
I mean...no shit?
Some amazonian tribe who just got internet this week might have never watched it
I always enjoy when Brandon notes Empire Strikes Back/Vader is Luke's father spoilers. I always imagine someone saying "wait, Darth Vader is his father????"
@@crashingatom6755 It's predictable and nowhere near as shocking or good as everybody made it out to be. And the pacing is sloooooow.
Not only do you give great examples, you make sure to avoid spoilers for people who haven’t seen it yet. Much respect!
I have two examples, both from Supernatural.
The good example, the death of Charlie Bradbury.
***In her final episode, Charlie goes to bring The Book of the Damned to Sam, but she is intercepted by two members of the Styne family. Over the phone, Sam and Dean both tell her to just give them the book so they don’t kill her. But she chooses not to listen to them, and she died fighting to protect the book and to save Dean. It's emotional because it sent Dean on a revenge murder spree.***
My bad example is how they killed off Abadon. ***In the big confrontation, Dean is immune to Abadon's demonic powers. And when she tries to hit him with a wind forcefield, it fails. Her response is to try it again: to the point of Abadon trying the same useless attack three times and just standing there as Dean runs up and stabs her. She wasn’t being restrained, she could have thrown a punch or a kick, but instead, she just stood there and watched him run up to her. It’s extremely underwhelming because they spent all of two seasons building her up to be superior over all the other demons. And the end result left me shaking my head in disbelief.***
Also I don’t know if the spoiler tags will work or not.
Favourite character death: Stoick the Vast from How To Train Your Dragon 2.
The villain Drago Bloodfist wants to conquer the world with an army of dragons. The main character Hiccup tries to convince Drago to stop and that dragons are creatures of unity, not weapons of war. Drago doesn’t listen and Hiccup’s father Stoick sacrifices himself to save him. Drago wins and takes all the dragons, their best shot at defeating him.
Hiccup is devastated at his dad’s death, as half an hour ago they finally reunited with their mother and were talking about being a full family again. Hiccup found his lost mother and it came with the price of his father. It also leaves the characters lost and powerless as they are left without a leader and their dragons, so with Hiccup’s newfound understanding that some people out there are just straight up bad people, he stands up to take his father’s role as chief of their tribe, and makes a plan to avenge his father’s death, and defeat Drago.
My favorite character death in a movie was in L.A. Confidential.
The sudden death of Jack Vincennes in the kitchen of Captain Dudley Smith was utterly shocking to me. It was a twist that I didn't see coming. It was incredibly well acted by Kevin Spacey. It was completely believable, intensified the stakes of the plot, and became the catalyst for everything that followed. It looked like Vincennes was on a redemption arc, and that was stolen away from him, yet his last words sealed the fate of his killer. The entire movie had great writing, but that scene in particular stands out.
Not to mention that I had just seen James Cromwell in Babe, so I could not conceive of him as the villain.
Your videos are so cool, very intelligent and entertaining. As a writer AND movie/TV lover I appreciate the analysis which helps me be a better writer AND enjoy stories more when watching.
I love this channel so much. So glad I found it while I was on paternity leave.
The worst character death I've ever experienced is from Stephen King's book 'Carrie'
Carrie is my favorite Stephen King character, and having her die at the end breaks my heart every time.
She was alone her entire life, and that adds to the extra depressiveness to it.
she dies in a parking lot, covered in blood and grass and with a knife sticking out of her shoulder.
Carrie's death has shocked me like no other could. That's how a good character should make you feel.
So it's the worst, and the best!
@ikmor in a way, yes. She's my favorite book character ever, but she has the saddest death because of it.
Stephen King gave me so many emotions for a first book.
Thor Ragnarok had one the worst handlings for death of characters. Even when Asgard fell, someone said a stupid joke about it.
I am so glad you mentioned Godzilla Minus One. After leaving the theatre I found myself reflecting and sharing your thoughts on Noriko. It helped me realize that there can be merit in fakeout deaths and other "bad" story tropes, so long as it's executed properly and not used as a cheap way to advance the story or induce artificial emotion.
You are a major resource brother. God bless and keep up the good work!
Glen's fake death was a major series turning point for me. It wasn't the moment that killed the show for me entirely, but I lost a lot of respect for the writing. Like Game of Thrones, TWD is a show that hit massive highs, making the downturn all the more frustrating.
Love the spoiler tag. Very helpful and this is definitely the video that needs it more than anything.
This got me thinking, what about a video on fake-out deaths? There’s plenty of bad ones (in Star Wars for example) but there has to be good ones out there, too.
You, sir, along with your channel is perhaps the best thing that could've happened to TH-cam! Thank you so much for what you're doing.
I was wondering, if possible, could you make a video about story formats and their structures and how to write for each. So you're currently doing novels, could you perhaps show us what would change for short stories, flash fiction and micro fiction?
Spoiler alert for the Star Wars sequels (not that anyone needs it):
I'm not even a Star Wars fan and the deaths of the 3 protagonists, Luke, Leia and Han, were still insulting to me.
Han's death wasn't terrible just incredibly unnecessary given what they did with it in the next two films (spoiler nothing). Leia's death was added on after Carrie Fischer died and they didn't really give it a good send off. Luke was one of the biggest bullshit things I've ever seen in my life.
Bad death example: Joel from The Last of Us Part 2. Fans waited 7 years for their favourite character to die in the first hour of the game, and then for the half the game we play as the killer.
And the way he died contradicts what we know about him in the first game. He nonchalantly lets his guard down even though he was easily able to see his way through traps in the first game (and nobody say he grew soft there is nothing in the game to suggest that; it’s just a bullshit explanation people use to try to justify the scene). The game rushed through the scene and ignored character consistency to get to Joel’s death, which is a terrible way to kill off a character.
@@connoroboyle6761 The "he Got soft" could work, but as we see, he was still going on patrols, he had 20 years of experience, he wouldn't lose it in 4 years.
As Brandon said on his other video "changing a character for plot purposes is one of writers sins" and thats exactly what happend to Joel. A totally different character.
*SPOILER TAG: THE LAST OF US* Wow. Awesome. 😒
Dude... WTF?? Not everyone has played the games and knew that was coming. You just spoiled any future 2nd season of the HBO show for me. Thanks.
@@BJ-bd5fc Story of Part2 is crap anyway, don't watch it. Show is mid, game is 10 times better.
I first watched AOT in 2014 and Karla's death stuck with me to this very day. And it hooked me so much that I couldn't stop thinking about it for months. Great example for a great video, as always.
I feel like I've been on point today! Was able to guess what over half the examples were going to be!
So glad your watching Attack on Titan! I Look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on plot twist, foreshadowing, and big reveals!
Anakin killing the Emperor will always be my favourite death. The way he toils between saving his son and obeying his master as he looks back and forth at both of them. And when he finally realizes that he needs to save his son, he says "no" as he realizes that what he is doing is wrong. And then he shouts "NOO!" as he is willing to sacrifice himself to save Luke. These two words and their delivery give me chills everytime.
@WriterBrandonMcNulty As a half-Japanese person, I really appreciate how much respect you've shown for the movie "Godzilla Minus One" in your videos. The American versions have been ruining Godzilla for years, but "Minus One" was an incredibly moving picture with a well-told story. People forget that the original "Godzilla" was not conceived to be some kind of big action blockbuster but was in fact an allegory for the anxiety Japan was experiencing in the wake of the nuclear bomb. The writers of "Minus One" understood that concept and used it to tell a story about people learning to choose life in the wake of tragedy. I normally hate remakes and reboots of anything, but this movie is one of the few exceptions.
And I once again have to thank you for helping me slicing the knot. I struggled so long with a story idea I had years ago because it just wouldn't come together. This video opened my eyes for the underlying problem: I had no villain. Well, I had one, I even have an epic battle in the end planned which I love. But I totally forgot the set-up the villain at the start of the story, because I wanted the villain to be much younger than my hero. Now I see that I have to alter my beginning to make the pay-off a logical consequence and not simply switch viallains mid-story for no other reason than getting the real baddie in play. I don't need all my secondary characters die without reasons beyond "I need to get my hero in place, so he can face the viallain he doesn't even know". Thanks again!
SPOILERS DARK KNIGHT RISES
A great example of an anticlimactic death is Bane in the Dark Knight Rises. Batman repeatedly struggles to defeat him, and he does do some damage but Bane ends up dying instantly to a gunshot from cat woman and the movie moves on in 5 seconds. Its a bummer cuz Bane was great except for this.
A good anti-climatic death is the book version of Voldemort. Their final stand-off with Harry is anti-climatic in a sense that it’s not a flashy wizard-duel, it’s a duel of words. Harry realizes that he has all the cards and Voldemort doesn’t know that he has none. All the cruel and evil things he’s done set up a path for faliure, not greatness. Because of his ignorance towards love, friendship and family, he has to fail. It is a battle not of skill, but of values, and when he raises his wand, his curse bounces back and kills him. It fits perfectly into the theme that good will win against evil and tyrants create their worst enemies.
not read it but there's something about the 'anti-climax' not just with deaths, any anti-climax ending, that really stays with me - john carpenter does it well in his films, 1984 probably the best literary example.
I remember being confused when I read that final battle. Never thought that it is supposed to be anticlimatic.
Good in the book, bad in the movie 😬
Deep. Blue. Sea.
I can’t even say whether it’s the worst or best death in a movie. Simply the most.
I love your videos man. Keep it up!
Two more good examples of deaths, maybe some of the best, from Last Samurai and Gladiator:
Nearly every major death from these movies. I just love them. In Last Samurai of course Katsumoto, but also his son. And also the deaths in battle of the major side characters are not wasted. Not with the same kind of emotions, but also Colonel Bagley is well written.
And the same with Gladiator. Maximus and Proximo especially.
Nothing ever has sucked quite as much as Jonathan Kent's death in Man of Steel. Superman does not stand by and watch his father die, never. On the other hand, the Darth Vader demise is one of the greatest character arcs in film history.
As a non-writer, my appreciation for this video is great. Your examples and education of audience (me and others like me) are excellent. I don't know if I'll ever write that great novel that many times one hears is worth doing, but your insight will help anyone who tries this...not just portraying the cinematic versions. Thanks for this video, it's worth more than the 20+ minutes I (and I use this word properly) invested. If everyone shared one or two ideas the way you did in such a free display of education, the world would indeed be a greater place, thanks again for impacting mine.
I love this list! I want you to do more of the bad VS good character deaths! Ugh... Game of Thrones... So, so sad that I can't even look at clips much of the time...maybe the parodies where someone puts a Seinfeld music backing and laugh track with the scene. LOL
The death of _______ on "Succession" was brilliant because it was both so unexpected and banal, which is how it happens in real life
And the way they dragged it out, so you’re never really sure until late in the episode.
@@erakfishfishfish Yeah all the building up towards it (eg his deteriorating relationship with the main characters of that episode) made it totally plausible that he was just fucking with them. Plus the impact on all of the characters in the show for the remaining episodes was done incredibly well.
Oh my god, that whole episode is an absolute masterpiece. It's amazing how a show having little to do with death portrays it so well.
One of my favorite things about that episode is that we, the audience, are as unsure as the characters that “he’s” dead. We can’t accept he’s dead.
Love you content, man! Bane’ & Talia’s deaths in Dark Knight Rises (and Bruce’s lack of one) always hit me as slight blemishes on an otherwise fantastic trilogy.
I’m so excited you started watching attack on titan. I’m looking forward for your next comments on the show. It is a great show because it was faithfully adapted from the original material, and the original material, the comic book (manga), had it script fully written and revised by the author years before the manga first chapter release, and he never changed it despite popular opinion while the manga and the show were running on
I am SO HAPPY you're watching AOT!!!! There's just incredible writing for the whole show and it just keeps on getting better.
“There are Good Deaths And There Are Bad Deaths, I’ll See That Your Death Is A Good One.”
- Juan Bolsa (Better Call Saul - Rock And Hard Place)
I can't even imagine what a bad death by the cartel must be like
Which brings up the greatest death, Gus in "Breaking Bad." Plus the best explosion ever in a TV series.
I like how you go out of your way to save you subscribers from spoiling tv shows/movies. Thank you!
One of my favorite character deaths was in the 1984 version of "The Razor's Edge"
Early in the movie, the character, Piedmont (played by Brian Doyle Murray) dies saving Larry (Bill Murray). The rest of the movie is Larry trying to live a life worthy of the sacrifice. But what makes this great (and the film is not without flaws) is that you only learn this at the end of the movie. If it were made today, the director or studio would demand they bring it up every 20 minutes to remind the audience because they think all audiences are stupid. So Piedmont's death is only seen as pivitol at the end of the story.
Good death example from Cabin in the Woods was
spoiler
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Marty's fake-out death.
He is presumed to die off-screen at the hands of some zombies. I didn't feel cheated when it is later revealed that he lived because all other character deaths were shown on-screen, foreshadowing Marty's survival.
That's an excellent example!!
I have watched that movie easily five times - one of my favorites! And each time I marvel when I see how completely fair they were to the audience with the fake-out, and also how much his fake death affects the plot while he's off screen.