I'm Cold... So Cold...: Difference between revisions

{{quote|[''[[Alice and Bob|Alice]] collapses'']

'''Bob''': [''gathers Alice in his arms''] ''"Alice! What's wrong?"'' or if that's obvious ''"Hang in there! I'll get help."''

 

They're right to be bothered: Saying "I'm cold" means that a character is seriously unwell. [[He's Dead, Jim|It can be a sign]] that a character will be [[Killed Off for Real]] and these are their last words. When a new, unknown character says this it can even mean that they are a ghost. This is also something dead people are traditionally expected to tell anyone they talk to on the telephone.

{{examples}}

== Advertising ==

** How on earth does this make ''anyone'' want pizza??

*** Maybe they're trying to cater to that elusive "Roboracist" demographic. After all, there's no reason people who hate robots can't come together to celebrate their hatred and enjoy a nice, hot, exploding pizza.

* {{spoiler|Meruem}} started the I'm tired version in ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]''

 

* A scene in ''[[The Crow]]'' which was never adapted into the film: This trope invoked because of shock, bloodloss, and death when Eric removes one of his first targets at the shins. Quite possibly the most unpleasant scene of the lot.

* Justified in the second ''[[Silver Surfer]]'' series, when Frankie Raye, a fire elemental, [http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/3/38780/1270369-nova_s_death___silver_surfer_75_super.jpg is fatally injured]{{Dead link}}. Her flame then starts to dwindle before dying out.

 

== Film ==

* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: Curse of the Black Pearl'', after the titular curse is broken, rendering Barbossa and his men mortals again, Jack Sparrow shoots Barbossa and he says, "I feel... cold." (falls over) Bonus points on this one, because this is the very first thing Barbossa felt since he turned immortal.

** Extra bonus points as, from the look on his face, he was quite pleased at being able to feel cold, indicating that being turned human again is a bit of a [[Blessed with Suck]] moment (it's awesome to be able to feel ANYTHING again, even if it means dying).

* Said by {{spoiler|Kayla Silver Fox}} at the end of ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men Origins: Wolverine]]''.

* {{spoiler|Fly}} in ''[[Help! I'm a Fish|Help! I'm A Fish!]]'' says a variation of this {{spoiler|after sustaining a bad injury due to a crab}}.

'''Chuck:''' Uh......Maybe. }}

* ''[[Red Dawn]]''. When [[Action Girl]] Toni is fatally wounded by [[Death From Above|Hind gunships]] she asks Jed to leave her a hand grenade to kill herself with, saying "I don't want to be cold". She doesn't use it though; just [[Booby Trap|leaves the grenade under her body]] to kill the first [[Dirty Communist]] that tries to move her.

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[Catch-22]]'', the {{spoiler|rear gunner, Snowden, who Yossarian tries and failes to save mutters this repeatedly as Yossarian tries to patch up his leg. Yossarian thinks this is because they're high in the sky in the tail of a plane with holes shot it in it. It's also because the gunner has been nearly shot in half - ''[[Nightmare Fuel|though is still alive]]'' - and Yossarian doesn't realize he's had his gut torn open by shrapnel which got underneath his flak jacket.}}

* While he never says the trope, the Marquis de Carabas from ''[[Neverwhere]]'' describes death as "very dark, and very cold".

{{quote|So cold. Just... Can you just get me a blanket or... I'm scared. Does that... Does that make you happy, Andalite?

Jake: No. No, it doesn't make me happy. }}

* ''[[Wuthering Heights (novel)|Wuthering Heights]]''.

{{quote|'I heard distinctly the gusty wind, and the driving of the snow; I heard, also, the fir bough repeat its teasing sound, and ascribed it to the right cause: but it annoyed me so much, that I resolved to silence it, if possible; and, I thought, I rose and endeavoured to unhasp the casement....'I must stop it, nevertheless!' I muttered, knocking my knuckles through the glass, and stretching an arm out to seize the importunate branch; instead of which, my fingers closed on the fingers of a little, ice-cold hand! The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most melancholy voice sobbed, 'Let me in - let me in!' 'Who are you?' I asked, struggling, meanwhile, to disengage myself. 'Catherine Linton,' it replied, shiveringly....'I'm come home: I'd lost my way on the moor!'}}

* [[Bill Bryson]] discusses the dangers of hypothermia to Appalachian Trial hikers in ''A Walk In The Woods'', and the 'Paradoxical Undressing' phenomena (see below). He also recounts a day when he went off hiking and forget to pack his waterproofs. He gets soaked by the incessant drizzle and starts to lose track of time... {{spoiler|it turns out that his watch had stopped.}}

* ''[[Redwall|Lord Brocktree]]'': {{spoiler|Fleetscut}} dies with a smile on his face; "Funny. [[Big Eater|Don't feel hungry anymore]]. Jolly cold, wot!"

 

* Subverted in ''[[Firefly]]'' where Kaylee says something like this after being shot, but she recovers without complication.

** She says it not because of impending death, but because she's going in to shock from the traumatic injury.

 

== Music ==

* "[https://web.archive.org/web/20150315015440/http://www.obsidianshell.com/div_en.php?p=lyrics#19 Second Birth]" by Obsidian Shell starts with "So cold... am I dying?"

 

== Radio ==

* An infamous ''[[The Stephanie Miller Show]]'' sketch ends with [[Yogi Bear]]'s [[Sidekick]] Boo Boo being killed off by [[Sarah Palin]]; this phrase is part of his death scene.

* Somewhat subverted in the radio play version of the second (or fifth) [[Star Wars]] movie, [[The Empire Strikes Back]], when Luke (still played by [[Mark Hamill]]) nearly freezes to death in the ice planet Hoth. As Han Solo finds him delirious in the snow, Luke moans about being cold, followed by "Warmer now," which causes a deeply concerned Han to yell "No, Luke, that means you're freezing!"

 

== Theatre ==

* In the musical ''[[Rent]]'' {{spoiler|Mimi complains of being cold in the finale, where she appears to be on the edge of death}} but subverted in that {{spoiler|she doesn't actually die}}.

* Invoked, then poignantly subverted in Puccini's Opera ''[[La Boheme]]'' (the 'original' ''[[Rent]]''). As she lies dying, Mimi is 'cold, so cold' and longs at least to warm her hands. Her friends rush out to buy her a fur muff. She is happy, and murmurs as she drifts off to sleep that she feels warm at last. {{spoiler|These are her last words - she dies quietly, while the dramatic focus is on the other characters.}}

 

== Video Games ==

* This is a common death line in ''[[Fire Emblem]]''.

* In ''[[Baldur's Gate]] 2'', "I feel so cold" are Aerie's last words before her hit points drop to zero.

* Among the many [[Memetic Mutation|theories]] for why [[Touhou Project|Touhoes]] wear such silly hats is that it prevents them ''from freezing to death.''

 

* Played for laughs in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0091.html this] ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'' interlude.

* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' a man has this reaction after having to [https://web.archive.org/web/20090703181324/http://beta.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080405 put gym shorts on a Duh-Mentor].

 

== Western Animation ==

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', this doesn't actually ''happen'', but is the topic of a ghost story Katara tells to the Gaang. Of course, said story ''is'' set at ''the South Pole'', and the death did occur during a weeks-long blizzard.

* In ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]'', the Jetsons arrive in Birdman's office, but have to ''walk'' to his desk, as there is no conveyor belt. Eventually, Astro collapses during the trek, saying "Ro rold, ro rold..."

 

== Real Life ==

* As described above, victims of shock frequently complain of feeling cold, and cold clammy (diaphoretic) skin is a major sign of shock, along with rapid heart rate and low blood pressure. Sudden complaint of cold in a trauma patient or one with known risk of shock (from infection, heart failure, internal bleeding, etc) is a very ominous sign indeed.

** Cold itself is also a leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in shock patients, as it forms one of the three bases of the "trauma triad" or "triad of death": cold induces massive shivering as the patient attempts to maintain body heat, which generates lactic acid buildup in the bloodstream through anaerobic metabolism, which in turn impairs tissue oxygenation and promotes coagulopathy (inability to clot blood properly). Survival rates in this situation are dismal. Modern care of the shock victim frequently involves aggressive rewarming measures in addition to the usual protocols (fluid and/or blood product replacement, pressors where indicated, etc) in recognition of the risks of this outcome.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Death Tropes]]

[[Category:Stock Phrases]]

[[Category:Last Words]]

[[Category:Horror Tropes]]

[[Category:Heat Index]]