Premature Eulogy: Difference between revisions

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Why did we waste our time watching a eulogy for a character who isn't dead? The idea is to generate sympathy for the "dead" character and a sense of loss in the viewers, without actually having to give up the character at all. It's useful for a lot of different reasons: Maybe to expose the true feelings that other characters have about Bob, now that they feel there's no need to further hide their true emotions. Maybe they'll reveal more of Bob's backstory. Or maybe the author feels that Bob [[Creator's Pet|needs a boost to his popularity among viewers]]. Whatever the reason, the fact is that Bob isn't really dead, so the point isn't to sum up his exploits and let him go - it's to enhance Bob's appeal through the sincere mourning of his friends, who have no idea that they have no reason to mourn at all.
Why did we waste our time watching a eulogy for a character who isn't dead? The idea is to generate sympathy for the "dead" character and a sense of loss in the viewers, without actually having to give up the character at all. It's useful for a lot of different reasons: Maybe to expose the true feelings that other characters have about Bob, now that they feel there's no need to further hide their true emotions. Maybe they'll reveal more of Bob's backstory. Or maybe the author feels that Bob [[Creator's Pet|needs a boost to his popularity among viewers]]. Whatever the reason, the fact is that Bob isn't really dead, so the point isn't to sum up his exploits and let him go - it's to enhance Bob's appeal through the sincere mourning of his friends, who have no idea that they have no reason to mourn at all.


For a true [[Premature Eulogy]], the author must have the clear intention of bringing the "dead" character back within a relatively short timeframe. On TV shows, this will occur either in the same episode or within a few, just long enough to keep the audience believing that the character has been [[Killed Off for Real]]. This works best in shows where [[Anyone Can Die]], but can be even more jarring if the death of major characters is not common at all.
For a true '''Premature Eulogy''', the author must have the clear intention of bringing the "dead" character back within a relatively short timeframe. On TV shows, this will occur either in the same episode or within a few, just long enough to keep the audience believing that the character has been [[Killed Off for Real]]. This works best in shows where [[Anyone Can Die]], but can be even more jarring if the death of major characters is not common at all.


A Premature Eulogy is always played ''straight'', not for comical effect, since it's meant to generate sincere viewer sympathy for the "dead" character. A little comedy ''might'' be involved as a starting point for the eulogy, but things are supposed to look ''bleak'' - a gut-punch to the audience. If it's played JUST for laughs, it's a sort of [[Informal Eulogy]].
A Premature Eulogy is always played ''straight'', not for comical effect, since it's meant to generate sincere viewer sympathy for the "dead" character. A little comedy ''might'' be involved as a starting point for the eulogy, but things are supposed to look ''bleak'' - a gut-punch to the audience. If it's played JUST for laughs, it's a sort of [[Informal Eulogy]].
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*** In this case, the audience knows that the two aren't dead, having seen them making their escape in the intro. This makes the Premature Eulogies especially glaring, but fortunately it doesn't take long before the station crew gets savvy about what really happened.
*** In this case, the audience knows that the two aren't dead, having seen them making their escape in the intro. This makes the Premature Eulogies especially glaring, but fortunately it doesn't take long before the station crew gets savvy about what really happened.
*** In the episode ''The Visitor'', Jake Sisko recalls his father's funeral, where Major Kira gives a eulogy. Of course, Ben Sisko isn't dead, just frozen in time. He's [[Back From the Dead]] by the end of the episode.
*** In the episode ''The Visitor'', Jake Sisko recalls his father's funeral, where Major Kira gives a eulogy. Of course, Ben Sisko isn't dead, just frozen in time. He's [[Back From the Dead]] by the end of the episode.
*** The ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' episode ''Who Mourns for Morn'' from season 6 is practically made of this trope. Morn, a ''decidedly'' minor character in the series, "dies" in a freak accident and is eulogized by several of the regular characters. A sizeable portion of the episode is dedicated to eulogies and other sympathetic gestures by the show's regulars. By the end of the episode, it turns out {{spoiler|he faked his own death}}. ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' is doing a double subversion here. The first subversion is the fact that Morn certainly doesn't answer the criteria you'd normally expect in a character being prematurely eulogized, or even mourned at all, for an entire episode - he has ''NO'' speaking lines, and only appears on screen for a dozen seconds an episode ''if he appears at all''. Other characters often speak of Morn as though he's a truly interesting, talkative and vibrant character, and we (the audience) only ever see him shrugging, nodding, or drinking. And the [[Premature Eulogy]] follows the same formula: everyone is eulogizing this insignificant minor character and telling stories about him as though he were one of the major protagonists. The second subversion is of course that this is probably one of the only instances in any [[Star Trek]] work where a eulogy isn't being taken with utter gravitas - normally a series staple. They're not eulogizing Spock, or Worf, or even [[Creator's Pet|Wesley]], they're eulogizing a character who has been given absolutely no depth or role anywhere in the series up to that point.
*** The ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' episode ''Who Mourns for Morn'' from season 6 is practically made of this trope. Morn, a ''decidedly'' minor character in the series, "dies" in a freak accident and is eulogized by several of the regular characters. A sizeable portion of the episode is dedicated to eulogies and other sympathetic gestures by the show's regulars. By the end of the episode, it turns out {{spoiler|he faked his own death}}. ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' is doing a double subversion here. The first subversion is the fact that Morn certainly doesn't answer the criteria you'd normally expect in a character being prematurely eulogized, or even mourned at all, for an entire episode - he has ''NO'' speaking lines, and only appears on screen for a dozen seconds an episode ''if he appears at all''. Other characters often speak of Morn as though he's a truly interesting, talkative and vibrant character, and we (the audience) only ever see him shrugging, nodding, or drinking. And the Premature Eulogy follows the same formula: everyone is eulogizing this insignificant minor character and telling stories about him as though he were one of the major protagonists. The second subversion is of course that this is probably one of the only instances in any [[Star Trek]] work where a eulogy isn't being taken with utter gravitas - normally a series staple. They're not eulogizing Spock, or Worf, or even [[Creator's Pet|Wesley]], they're eulogizing a character who has been given absolutely no depth or role anywhere in the series up to that point.
**** It should be noted however that although it's not being played straight, this is STILL a [[Premature Eulogy]] because by this point in the show's running many fans considered Morn to be a major [[Ensemble Darkhorse]], and it's likely that some were truly shocked when his death was announced. The episode manages to generate a lot of sympathy for a completely irrelevant character, then proceeds to make him very relevant, then brings him back to life at the end.
**** It should be noted however that although it's not being played straight, this is STILL a Premature Eulogy because by this point in the show's running many fans considered Morn to be a major [[Ensemble Darkhorse]], and it's likely that some were truly shocked when his death was announced. The episode manages to generate a lot of sympathy for a completely irrelevant character, then proceeds to make him very relevant, then brings him back to life at the end.
** Not to be left out, ''[[Voyager]]'' has its share of [[Premature Eulogy|Premature Eulogies]], but one glaring example is in the episode ''Coda'', where Janeway is stuck in a time-loop where she ends up dying over and over again. At one point, she becomes "detached" from her dead body, and is [[Attending Your Own Funeral|Attending Her Own Funeral]] with crewmembers gushing over her for a full four minutes. This shouldn't be surprising given that this episode was written by [[Mary Sue|Jeri Taylor]]. The narm levels go through the roof, just ''one'' reason why this is one of the lowest-rated episodes on the show.
** Not to be left out, ''[[Voyager]]'' has its share of Premature Eulogies, but one glaring example is in the episode ''Coda'', where Janeway is stuck in a time-loop where she ends up dying over and over again. At one point, she becomes "detached" from her dead body, and is [[Attending Your Own Funeral|Attending Her Own Funeral]] with crewmembers gushing over her for a full four minutes. This shouldn't be surprising given that this episode was written by [[Mary Sue|Jeri Taylor]]. The narm levels go through the roof, just ''one'' reason why this is one of the lowest-rated episodes on the show.
*** [[SF Debris]] pointed out the true irony of this particular eulogy: {{spoiler|It's all in Janeway's head. There is no time loop, no death, and no funeral. Meaning that this scene that is supposed to demonstrate how awesome Janeway is and how much her crew loves her and couldn't bear to be without her actually demonstrates that she has a massive ego and seriously overinflates her own importance.}}
*** [[SF Debris]] pointed out the true irony of this particular eulogy: {{spoiler|It's all in Janeway's head. There is no time loop, no death, and no funeral. Meaning that this scene that is supposed to demonstrate how awesome Janeway is and how much her crew loves her and couldn't bear to be without her actually demonstrates that she has a massive ego and seriously overinflates her own importance.}}
** The greatest Star Trek one of all: Kirk eulogizing Spock, in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|The Wrath of Khan]]'' and ''[[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock|The Search for Spock]]''.
** The greatest Star Trek one of all: Kirk eulogizing Spock, in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|The Wrath of Khan]]'' and ''[[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock|The Search for Spock]]''.
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[[Category:Death Tropes]]
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[[Category:Funeral Tropes]]
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[[Category:Premature Eulogy]]
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