Killed Mid-Sentence: Difference between revisions

'''[[Ridiculously Human Robot|Ennesby]]:''' [[Bond One Liner|"...finish my sentence," I think he was saying.]]|''[[Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|Schlock Mercenary]]'', [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2004-07-19 2004-07-19]}}

No matter what the medium or genre of a work of fiction is in, there are a few general rules that are usually in place. One of them is that if a character isn't a [[Red Shirt]], it doesn't matter if they're in a situation of dire peril as long as they're speaking. Because [[Talking Is a Free Action|as long as they're talking]], nothing bad is going to happen to them. Oh sure, they can die after saying some [[Famous Last Words]] or important [[Final Speech]], but dying in the middle of a sentence, especially if it's an ordinary, unimportant one? That's not going to happen, ri--[[Self Demonstrating Article|GHAAAAACKKK!]]

There are any number of reasons to kill a character, whether major, minor, or [[Mook|mookish]], in the middle of a sentence. Firstly, in an [[Anyone Can Die]] story, it's a great way to show that not only can anyone die, but ''they can die at any time''. (Which can make for great drama and suspense over the fates of your favorite characters). Secondly, it can be a great way for an [[Anti Hero]] to show off his [[No Nonsense Nemesis|no nonsense]] [[Badass]] nature by killing an antagonist in the middle of some sort of threat, or as a more lethal version of [[Talk to The Fist]]. (Likewise, it can be a way to show a villain is truly [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] and avert the classic [[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him]] scenario). It can be a way of showing that a story is on the gritty and cynical end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]. Lastly, it could just be that the author doesn't care much for interminable [[Final Speech|Final Speeches]], and chooses to subvert that trope.

* Revy from ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', [[Tranquil Fury|having a bad day]] and faced with a [[Those Wacky Nazis|huge Nazi general]] wielding a [[Bling Bling Bang|huge golden pistol]], calmly reloads and shoots him in the chest before he can finish [[To the Pain|bragging about his gun]], then [[Lampshade Hanging|ridicules him]] and sends him off with a final lesson: [[Pre Mortem One Liner|"As long as they hit their target, any gun will do."]]

* The ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''/''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' crossover ''[[Time Lords and Terror (Fanfic)|Time Lords and Terror]]'' has this done to {{spoiler|'''the Doctor''' of all people}}.

* In the [[Lucky Star]]/[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]] crossover ''[[Stars Above (Fanfic)|Stars Above]]'', {{spoiler|this happens to Tsukasa in the 2013 timeline, setting up Kagami's [[Start of Darkness]], and then to [[Puella Magi Kazumi Magica|Kazumi]], to reinforce the fact that [[Anyone Can Die]]... [[Everybodys Dead Dave|and most eventually do.]]}}

[[Bond One Liner|"Yes. Considerably."]] }}

* This is how {{spoiler|Fred Weasley}} died in ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows|Harry Potter]]'':

** Jack's [[What the Hell Hero|failed kill]] of {{spoiler|Locke}} would have happened this way, if the gun had been loaded.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode "World War Three", one of the Slitheen gets one, getting out half of [[Precision F Strike|"Oh, bollocks."]] before getting blown up.

"[[Pre Mortem One Liner|Goodbye. *snap*]]"<br />

{{quote| '''{{spoiler|[[Morally Ambiguous Doctorate|Dr. Clarke]]}}:''' Ah, yes, {{spoiler|the numbers.}} They're the key to-- ''(headshot)''}}

* Partially subverted in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Dark Forces Saga|Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast]]''. While the [[Mad Scientist]] is giving an insane speech about how the galaxy will tremble before him, [[Badass|Katarn]] casually throws his lightsaber into the ship's shield generator, leaving it wide open to attack. Followed by a cheesy [[Pre Ass Kicking One Liner]].

* The intro cutscene of ''[[Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds]]'' has a Martian commander blasted mid-sentence while reporting on the poor state of the invasion. The elders change plans accordingly.

* A genuinely funny moment from the [[Sega CD]] adaptation of ''[[Space Adventure Cobra]]'' occurs when Cobra discovers that {{spoiler|the Parrot Grass on his vessel is actually a spy impersonating the plant}}. When confronted, [[One Winged Angel|it reveals its true form]] and says "My name is--" before getting blasted to smithereens by Cobra's [[Arm Cannon]].

* {{spoiler|Mike}} from ''[[Its Walky]]'', in the middle of a [[Facing the Bullets One Liner]].

* [http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0455.html Count Dooku] in ''[[Darths and Droids]]'': "Non! Wait! [[Luke I Am Your Father|Anakin, Ah am your f]]--"

* {{spoiler|Zombie Boy/Bonz}} gets shot in the head by Yami Bakura with an [[Family Friendly Firearms|invisible]] [[Running Gag|gun]] in episode 37 of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]''.

* ''[[Death Battle]]'': [[Transformers|Starscream]]. "You haven't won. I'm invincible! My Spark lives. You can never defeat Star--" '''GULP''' {{spoiler|Spark eaten by [[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|Rainbow Dash]]. Yes, a ''[[My Little Pony]]'' character just defeated a giant robot.}}

[[Category:Trope]]