Death Equals Redemption: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Occasionally, the character goes through a moment of clarity just prior to death, finally noticing something he has overlooked for the whole story. Occasionally the character realizes just how much being evil has lost him. And sometimes the character is trying to buy himself a way into heaven.

Since the character dies shortly after the [[Heel Face Turn]], this change of heart is unlikely to affect the plot much. There are exceptions, of course; occasionally, the dying character's last words can inspire the hero or even give him a vital clue. Rarely (very rarely), they recover; in media where "recovery" is routine, the redemption might not stick much longer than the death.

 

 

{{deathtrope}}

 

{{examples}}

* In ''[[Ergo Proxy]]'' Raul and Daedalus both get their priorities straight just before dying.

* Quent in ''[[Wolf's Rain]]'', realizing that wolves aren't evil when Toboe tries to save him.

* ''[[Bleach]]:'' Tousen. He spent much of his adult life plotting revenge on Soul Society as a result of the death of his [[Implied Love Interest|friend]]. One of his deepest fears was to [[Becoming the Mask|die a shinigami,]] the thing he hated most. As a result, he hollowfied to escape being a shinigami. At the end, when defeated and dying after his battle with Komamura and Hisagi, he returns to the shinigami form he had once despised, finally understanding the value of the friendships he had forged amongst the shinigami. He has just enough time to make his apologies to Komamura and Hisagi absolutely clear before [[Big Bad|Aizen]] kills him. Of course, he was dying anyway, but [[Complete Monster|Aizen]] just wanted to prove a point.

* Kaiser Ryo of [[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]] most likely fits in season 3. Having found out that he's dying, he spends most of the season looking for one last great duel. However, he also [[Pet the Dog|repeatedly saves his brother's life]], snaps Judai out of a [[Heroic BSOD]] with a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], and is generally loses most of the harsh, psychotic persona of season 2.

 

== Comic Books ==

* [[Doctor Strange|Baron Mordo]], when he discovers that he's dying of cancer. Then he's brought back to life as a villain by writers who [[Did Not Do the Research]].

** Similarly in ''Doctor Strange: The Oath'' the main antagonist manages to linger a few minutes after dying to give a conflicted Strange some counsel.

* In ''[[Thorgal]]'': Ogathai. He recognizes Thorgal as his son in a brief moment of clarity after being fatally shot.

* In [[Tintin]] adventure ''Explorers on the Moon'', Wolff, the traitor of the story, finally sacrifices himself heroically to save the others. Deeply moved by his suicide note, the others consider him "a hero".

 

 

== Film ==

{{quote|'''Rat:''' The boy is being held in an apple crate on top of a gun cabinet in the attic of Bean Annex.

'''Fox:''' Would you have told me if I hadn't killed you first?

* In [[The Expendables]], Gunner reveals to Barney all the information neccessary to succesfully complete their mission after the latter is forced to [[Shoot the Dog]] when the former goes rogue in a drug-induced homicidal rampage. Averted when it is revealed in the ending to be just merely a [[Disney Death]] after all.

* Happens in [[Hudson Hawk]]. After being betrayed and shot full of arrows, Kit Kat's final action is to loosen the ropes holding the [[Damsel in Distress]], allowing her to escape a few moments later.

 

== Literature ==

* Edmund in ''[[King Lear]]''. An evil villain throughout, once he's fatally wounded in a duel with Edgar he repents.

* In ''[[Hamlet]]'', Laertes. Once he gets poisoned, he realises how low he had gone in his quest for vengence.

* Either this or [[Redemption Equals Death]] in the ''[[Percy Jackson]] and the Olympians'' series: Percy spends book two on distrusting Luke and basically calling him evil. It is only when Luke is already about to die that Percy trusts him enough to give him a weapon (leaving Percy defenseless) so that Luke can kill himself and take Kronos with him. Afterwards, Percy treats him like a hero instead of a villain.

** [[Tear Jerker|"We need a shroud. A shroud for the son of Hermes."]]

* For [[The Father Luke Wolfe Trilogy|Colonel Stone]], death equaled not only Redemption, but Confession and Implication as well.

* Craig Toomy's death in [[The Langoliers]] is what allows the heroes to escape alive.

 

* A somewhat literal case with Gowron in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'': Jealous of Martok's popularity, he decides to take control of the Klingon fleet and squander lives in order to gain himself political glory until Worf challenges him to a duel to the death. As a result, he dies an honourable warrior's death and Worf performs the Klingon death ritual for him.

* In the ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]'' made-for-tv movie ''Dark Horizon'', the Tenctonese Overseer Ahpossno spends the entire movie trying to bring back news to his masters of the slaves' survival on Earth. In a desperate attempt to stop him, George infects him with a lethal virus, hoping that the slavemasters will think this means all of the Tenctonese died of a plague on Earth. As Ahpossno is dying while en route to his masters, he has flashbacks of the happy times he shared with George's family. Ultimately he sides with his people and, with his dying breath, tells his fellow Overseers that all of the slaves are dead.

* In ''Lost'', evil undead Sayid fights back against his brainwashing and sacrafices himself saving the lives of his friends.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Exalted]]'': By the time of the Usurpation, most of the Solar Exalted had gone [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|completely nanners]]. After being killed, most of them made their way down to the Underworld... where they found that [[Power of the Void|Oblivion]] was maybe two steps away from eating the whole thing. They united, drove back Oblivion, then passed through Lethe and re-entered the cycle of reincarnation after atoning for their sins of hubris. At least... ''most'' of them did...

 

== Video Games ==

* Psycho Mantis in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', in his [[Final Speech]], helps you move on and mentions it's the first time in a long time he's used his power to help people. He declares it 'nostalgic' just before he dies. Subverted as part of it was really him leading you on further into the villains' [[Batman Gambit]].

 

* Bounty Hunter in ''[[RE-TAKE]]''.

* ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'': [[Defied Trope|Defied]] in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0464.html this comic] by [[Knight Templar|Miko the (former) paladin]], who attempted to save her world by destroying an ancient gate. [[Alas, Poor Scrappy|While she is lying on the floor]] [[Half the Man He Used To Be|in two very large pieces]], she is told by the founder of her order [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|how badly she'd messed things up]]. He sadly informs her that though she carried out her duty, she cannot be readmitted to the paladins, because she never actually admitted that her original mistake was wrong or did anything to fix it.

{{quote|'''Soon Kim:''' Perhaps, if you had more time...but then again, perhaps not. Redemption is a rare and special thing, after all. It is [[Title Drop|not for everyone]]. }}

 

== Web Original ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Death Tropes]]

[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]