Saved by Canon/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: Character can't die in a prequel since it was established that they are alive in a previous story that took place in the future.

  • Straight: In The Great Story, Bob is alive. In the upcoming Before The Great Story, Bob won't die.
  • Exaggerated: ?
  • Downplayed: Bob was only in a single scene in The Great Story.
  • Justified: Fans don't like it when you toss canon aside.
  • Inverted: Doomed by Canon
  • Subverted: Bob dies in Before The Great Story, his twin brother takes his place and name.
  • Double Subverted: Bob didn't really die, and eventually regains his name and place.
  • Parodied: "Don't worry about Bob's safety, he is in the next show".
  • Deconstructed: When making a prequel, we can't have as many surprises since the fans know what will follow.
  • Reconstructed: Bob has a lot to live up to in The Great Story, so we will just make a prequel instead.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob was killed, resurrected, really killed - we promise this time, before time travel was used to solve the problem.
  • Averted: Bob doesn't appear in Before The Great Story.
  • Enforced: Making a spin-off often means you aren't armed with canon, but you have to follow it.
  • Lampshaded: Bob goes on the front line, because "he is too important to die".
  • Invoked: Whenever a flashback is used.
  • Exploited: The king constantly has Bob doing the dangerous jobs, because prophecy said he won't die.
  • Defied: Screw canon
  • Discussed: ?
  • Conversed: ?
  • Played For Laughs: Bob is constantly told to "Brush it off" any time he gets hurt.
  • Played For Drama: Everything good that Bob did in The Great Story is shown to be for an even bigger evil in the prequel.
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