A mechanism or tactic · 1994 · Fandom
The character death
Killing a popular character for narrative effect, and the organised reaction that follows.
The most reliable audience manipulation in fiction, because it is the only one the audience cannot avoid. Grief engineered as a plot device is the writer's oldest trick and the fandom's most reliable grievance.
Manipulation. One-sided attachment engineered for somebody else's benefit. Paid intimacy, parasocial persuasion, sasaeng, grief extraction, the streak. The lane that pays the bills and the lane that causes the most harm, frequently at the same time.
Where it sits
1950 1950-1999 · 1994 1999
Provenance · 2 source record(s)
- unverifiedn=840: both the positivity of a main character's outcome and perceived narrative closure were associated with reduced emotional distress - depression, anger, anxiety. Ending well measurably lowers the damageKrakowiak, K. M. (2024). How It Ends. ↗
- retrievableProduced for finale-hype: producers craft a deliberate path to closure, and the anticipation of the end then shapes the entire final season retroactivelyMcCormick, C. TV finales and the meaning of endings (doctoral dissertation). ↗
CHARACTER The written character
Connected · 3 out, 5 in
Grieving a person you never metdepicts · 1970 · A mechanism or tacticThe ensemble farewellcites · 2019 · An event or momentThe finale nobody wantedcites · 2019 · An event or momentThe ensemble farewelldepicts · 2019 · An event or momentRobin died by 72 votescame before · 1988 · An event or momentHe did not ask to be buried as Draculacame before · 1956 · An event or momentThe finale nobody wantedcites · 2019 · An event or momentGrieving a person you never metcites · 1970 · A mechanism or tactic
It sits in