Senseless Sacrifice: Difference between revisions
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Sometimes explicitly invoked to [[Rousing Speech|inspire]] [[Losing the Team Spirit|characters dispirited by the death]]: [[To Absent Friends|Remember Jack Sacrifice!]] If you do not do this, his [[Heroic Sacrifice]] will have been all in vain! (And sometimes the hope of ensuring it was not all in vain will inspire characters to make more and more Senseless Sacrifices, even a [[Stupid Sacrifice]] in hopes of redeeming the previous ones.) |
Sometimes explicitly invoked to [[Rousing Speech|inspire]] [[Losing the Team Spirit|characters dispirited by the death]]: [[To Absent Friends|Remember Jack Sacrifice!]] If you do not do this, his [[Heroic Sacrifice]] will have been all in vain! (And sometimes the hope of ensuring it was not all in vain will inspire characters to make more and more Senseless Sacrifices, even a [[Stupid Sacrifice]] in hopes of redeeming the previous ones.) |
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'''If the character in question sacrificed himself to accomplish a goal, when he could have accomplished the same goal without dying, that's [[Stupid Sacrifice]], ''not'' this trope.''' The two tropes can overlap if a [[Senseless Sacrifice]] is not the most logical option, but it is fairly rare. |
'''If the character in question sacrificed himself to accomplish a goal, when he could have accomplished the same goal without dying, that's [[Stupid Sacrifice]], ''not'' this trope.''' The two tropes can overlap if a [[Senseless Sacrifice]] is not the most logical option, but it is fairly rare. |
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Though [[Tropes Are Not Bad]], this one is a [[Pet Peeve Trope]] for some. |
Though [[Tropes Are Not Bad]], this one is a [[Pet Peeve Trope]] for some. |
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== Anime & Manga == |
== Anime & Manga == |
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* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': |
* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': |
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** [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|In the anime]], Dorochete and Law attempt to hold off Lust and Gluttony so that Greed can escape. Despite their valiant effort, they are struck down immediately and are subsequently eaten by Gluttony. |
** [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|In the anime]], Dorochete and Law attempt to hold off Lust and Gluttony so that Greed can escape. Despite their valiant effort, they are struck down immediately and are subsequently eaten by Gluttony. |
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** [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|The manga]] double-subverts this with the death of Fu. After Wrath wounds him and he realizes that he cannot fight him for much longer, he rips off his shirt to reveal four explosives and lunges at Wrath to kill them both... but Wrath just slices the fuses off of the explosives with his sword, rendering them harmless and slicing open Fu's belly in the process. Buccaneer, who had already been fatally wounded, seizes the opportunity and stabs Wrath ''through'' Fu, taking advantage of the one blind spot in Wrath's otherwise perfect vision to seriously injure him. |
** [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|The manga]] double-subverts this with the death of Fu. After Wrath wounds him and he realizes that he cannot fight him for much longer, he rips off his shirt to reveal four explosives and lunges at Wrath to kill them both... but Wrath just slices the fuses off of the explosives with his sword, rendering them harmless and slicing open Fu's belly in the process. Buccaneer, who had already been fatally wounded, seizes the opportunity and stabs Wrath ''through'' Fu, taking advantage of the one blind spot in Wrath's otherwise perfect vision to seriously injure him. |
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* In ''[[Legend of Galactic Heroes]],'' {{spoiler|both Blumehart and Patorichev}} die trying to protect {{spoiler|Yang Wen-Li}}. Despite their efforts, {{spoiler|Yang}} is shot and bleeds out before help arrives. |
* In ''[[Legend of Galactic Heroes]],'' {{spoiler|both Blumehart and Patorichev}} die trying to protect {{spoiler|Yang Wen-Li}}. Despite their efforts, {{spoiler|Yang}} is shot and bleeds out before help arrives. |
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* In ''[[Fairy Tail]]'', legendary [[An Ice Person|ice mage]] Ur sacrifices her life (sort of) to seal the demon Deliora in unbreakable, unmeltable ice for eternity. Since Deliora was a rampaging beast of destruction, that seems awfully noble of her--until you recall that the ''reason'' she did this was to snap one of her two pupils out of his [[Revenge Before Reason]] obsession. It worked--only for the ''other'' pupil to head down a similarly destructive path after her sacrifice. |
* In ''[[Fairy Tail]]'', legendary [[An Ice Person|ice mage]] Ur sacrifices her life (sort of) to seal the demon Deliora in unbreakable, unmeltable ice for eternity. Since Deliora was a rampaging beast of destruction, that seems awfully noble of her--until you recall that the ''reason'' she did this was to snap one of her two pupils out of his [[Revenge Before Reason]] obsession. It worked--only for the ''other'' pupil to head down a similarly destructive path after her sacrifice. |
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* In ''[[One Piece]]'' this is performed by the elite guards of Arabasta who drank the ''hero water'' (a drink that makes you incredible powerful at cost of killing you in 5 minutes) just to save the princess from the [[Big Bad]]. He just stood on the rooftop of palace and waited until they died, unwilling to fight against them just because they did it. |
* In ''[[One Piece]]'' this is performed by the elite guards of Arabasta who drank the ''hero water'' (a drink that makes you incredible powerful at cost of killing you in 5 minutes) just to save the princess from the [[Big Bad]]. He just stood on the rooftop of palace and waited until they died, unwilling to fight against them just because they did it. |
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** A non-lethal, comical variant, where if Luffy fell into the water, Chopper, followed by Brook, would jump in to rescue him, forgetting that they are also Devil Fruit users and cannot swim either. Zoro or another crewmate usually saves them each time. |
** A non-lethal, comical variant, where if Luffy fell into the water, Chopper, followed by Brook, would jump in to rescue him, forgetting that they are also Devil Fruit users and cannot swim either. Zoro or another crewmate usually saves them each time. |
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* In the second episode of ''[[Code Geass]] R2'', Urabe [[Self-Destruct Mechanism|self-destructs]] his [[Humongous Mecha|Knightmare Frame]] in order to defeat the seemingly-invincible opponent Knightmare (or, at the very least, to buy time for Zero and Kallen to get away from it). Unfortunately, Urabe had no way of knowing that his opponent possessed a power which lets him (subjectively) [[Time Stands Still|stop time]], allowing him to avoid the brunt of the explosion. |
* In the second episode of ''[[Code Geass]] R2'', Urabe [[Self-Destruct Mechanism|self-destructs]] his [[Humongous Mecha|Knightmare Frame]] in order to defeat the seemingly-invincible opponent Knightmare (or, at the very least, to buy time for Zero and Kallen to get away from it). Unfortunately, Urabe had no way of knowing that his opponent possessed a power which lets him (subjectively) [[Time Stands Still|stop time]], allowing him to avoid the brunt of the explosion. |
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== Film == |
== Film == |
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* The film ''[[Gallipoli]]'' is based entirely around this trope. |
* The film ''[[Gallipoli]]'' is based entirely around this trope. |
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** As is the entire theatre of battle, let alone [[World War One|the entire war]] this film is about. You could say the [[Senseless Sacrifice]] in the film is a microcosm of the whole. |
** As is the entire theatre of battle, let alone [[World War One|the entire war]] this film is about. You could say the [[Senseless Sacrifice]] in the film is a microcosm of the whole. |
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* The jihadists in ''[[Four Lions]]'' dream of making a grant [[Heroic Sacrifice]] (from their point of view, at least), but each one of them ends up throwing his life way in an utterly pointless fashion. |
* The jihadists in ''[[Four Lions]]'' dream of making a grant [[Heroic Sacrifice]] (from their point of view, at least), but each one of them ends up throwing his life way in an utterly pointless fashion. |
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* In the remake of ''[[Dawn of the Dead 2004]]'', a good portion of the survivors does this in the film's finale. The survivors want to make it to the docks to enter one of the survivors' ship, and to sail to his private island off the mainland, where the zombies can't possibly reach them. After the said sacrificing, they may find themselves on the boat, but as they dock on the private island, they are greeted by dozens of dozens of other zombies. Even if they managed to get back onto the boat (we don't actually find out; it's a [[Bolivian Army Ending]]), they would not have had enough fuel to go anywhere else. |
* In the remake of ''[[Dawn of the Dead 2004]]'', a good portion of the survivors does this in the film's finale. The survivors want to make it to the docks to enter one of the survivors' ship, and to sail to his private island off the mainland, where the zombies can't possibly reach them. After the said sacrificing, they may find themselves on the boat, but as they dock on the private island, they are greeted by dozens of dozens of other zombies. Even if they managed to get back onto the boat (we don't actually find out; it's a [[Bolivian Army Ending]]), they would not have had enough fuel to go anywhere else. |
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** But Soaron always gets better courtesy of [[Good Thing You Can Heal|nanoregeneration]]. Of course, even the [[Master Computer]] [[Big Bad|Overmind]] admits it has no idea how long it would take for Soaron to regenerate from ''this''. |
** But Soaron always gets better courtesy of [[Good Thing You Can Heal|nanoregeneration]]. Of course, even the [[Master Computer]] [[Big Bad|Overmind]] admits it has no idea how long it would take for Soaron to regenerate from ''this''. |
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*** He would have come back for sure though as he was being set up for a [[Heel Face Turn]] in the next season if it had gotten made. |
*** He would have come back for sure though as he was being set up for a [[Heel Face Turn]] in the next season if it had gotten made. |
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** Of course, for ''Charlie'' it makes sense: he clearly knows he's going to die and embraces it the entire episode. |
** Of course, for ''Charlie'' it makes sense: he clearly knows he's going to die and embraces it the entire episode. |
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* Inverted, in a way, the ''[[Torchwood]]'' miniseries ''Children of Earth''. {{spoiler|John Frobisher [[Offing the Offspring|kills his children]] in order to keep them from being [[Fate Worse Than Death|turned over to the 456]], then kills his wife and himself, presumably to spare both of them a life without their children}}. This was unnecessary not because he failed, but because {{spoiler|the 456 are defeated before they take the children}}, and he could have helped achieve this if he'd been willing to {{spoiler|work with Torchwood}}. Not a [[Stupid Sacrifice]] because his motivation makes sense. It seemed almost inevitable that even this would go terribly wrong, as not one good thing happens to him in the entire miniseries. |
* Inverted, in a way, the ''[[Torchwood]]'' miniseries ''Children of Earth''. {{spoiler|John Frobisher [[Offing the Offspring|kills his children]] in order to keep them from being [[Fate Worse Than Death|turned over to the 456]], then kills his wife and himself, presumably to spare both of them a life without their children}}. This was unnecessary not because he failed, but because {{spoiler|the 456 are defeated before they take the children}}, and he could have helped achieve this if he'd been willing to {{spoiler|work with Torchwood}}. Not a [[Stupid Sacrifice]] because his motivation makes sense. It seemed almost inevitable that even this would go terribly wrong, as not one good thing happens to him in the entire miniseries. |
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** Also, {{spoiler|Ianto's death}} seemed to pretty much come under this trope too. |
** Also, {{spoiler|Ianto's death}} seemed to pretty much come under this trope too. |
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** To be fair, {{spoiler|Ellen and Jo}} did assure Sam and Dean's escape from there. {{spoiler|On the other hand, if they did die (and they did a lot), they'd just be brought back.}} |
** To be fair, {{spoiler|Ellen and Jo}} did assure Sam and Dean's escape from there. {{spoiler|On the other hand, if they did die (and they did a lot), they'd just be brought back.}} |
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* {{spoiler|Rio}} in the penultimate episode of ''[[Juken Sentai Gekiranger|Gekiranger]]'' thrusts himself into the [[Big Bad]] and pretty much self destructs. Though it's revealed not two minutes later that the villain survived it. |
* {{spoiler|Rio}} in the penultimate episode of ''[[Juken Sentai Gekiranger|Gekiranger]]'' thrusts himself into the [[Big Bad]] and pretty much self destructs. Though it's revealed not two minutes later that the villain survived it. |
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* Happens at least twice in ''[[V|V: The Final Conflict]]''. |
* Happens at least twice in ''[[V|V: The Final Conflict]]''. |
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** In the scene where Donovan arranges to trade himself for his son, the rebels are set up to ambush the visitors, but they don't. Instead, they let Donovan get taken by the aliens. |
** In the scene where Donovan arranges to trade himself for his son, the rebels are set up to ambush the visitors, but they don't. Instead, they let Donovan get taken by the aliens. |
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** In a scene where the rebels are sabotaging the water facility, one of the rebels is wounded. The rebel's girlfriend comes back for him and insists she will stay with him. Two (fit) mercenaries come back, too. They pick up the perfectly fit woman and haul her away, leaving the wounded man behind to be killed. If they'd grabbed the wounded man instead, they would have all made it out alive. |
** In a scene where the rebels are sabotaging the water facility, one of the rebels is wounded. The rebel's girlfriend comes back for him and insists she will stay with him. Two (fit) mercenaries come back, too. They pick up the perfectly fit woman and haul her away, leaving the wounded man behind to be killed. If they'd grabbed the wounded man instead, they would have all made it out alive. |
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* [[Power Rangers]] has a few of these early on: |
* [[Power Rangers]] has a few of these early on: |
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** In the finale of ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'', T.J. decides to activate the Rescue Megazord's self destruct in a last resort to destroy the enemy (granted the Megazord was horrendously damaged and they didn't have time to repair it on the battlefield). The monster survives, requiring the Rangers to switch to the Turbo Megazord... which also gets defeated. {{spoiler|They do eventually beat the monster, but later the Command Center is destroyed and they lose their powers.}} |
** In the finale of ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'', T.J. decides to activate the Rescue Megazord's self destruct in a last resort to destroy the enemy (granted the Megazord was horrendously damaged and they didn't have time to repair it on the battlefield). The monster survives, requiring the Rangers to switch to the Turbo Megazord... which also gets defeated. {{spoiler|They do eventually beat the monster, but later the Command Center is destroyed and they lose their powers.}} |
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*** A similar thing happened in the source series [[Gekisou Sentai Carranger]], in the exact same footage, the enemy survives VRV Robo's self-destruct, RV Robo gets badly damaged (but is later rebuilt) and the monster (who is the [[Big Bad]], [[Demoted to Extra]] in Power Rangers), only dies after being shrunk by stale [[Make My Monster Grow]] food (changed to a weapon sacrifice in Power Rangers since the Make My Monster Grow method was changed). |
*** A similar thing happened in the source series [[Gekisou Sentai Carranger]], in the exact same footage, the enemy survives VRV Robo's self-destruct, RV Robo gets badly damaged (but is later rebuilt) and the monster (who is the [[Big Bad]], [[Demoted to Extra]] in Power Rangers), only dies after being shrunk by stale [[Make My Monster Grow]] food (changed to a weapon sacrifice in Power Rangers since the Make My Monster Grow method was changed). |
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** In ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'' former [[Big Bad]] Astronema [[Heel Face Turn|turned traitor]] but is sent back to her old base in order to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth. It doesn't work. Overlaps with [[Stupid Sacrifice]] because the Rangers had [[Humongous Mecha|Megazords]] they could have used. (Granted, Astronema did volunteer and the Megazords they had weren't enough anyway, they needed one more) |
** In ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'' former [[Big Bad]] Astronema [[Heel Face Turn|turned traitor]] but is sent back to her old base in order to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth. It doesn't work. Overlaps with [[Stupid Sacrifice]] because the Rangers had [[Humongous Mecha|Megazords]] they could have used. (Granted, Astronema did volunteer and the Megazords they had weren't enough anyway, they needed one more) |
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* On ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'', Marian prevents Guy of Gisborne from assassinating King Richard at the cost of her own life. However, if one knows their history, it's rather depressing to realize that Richard returns to England only to leave and then die soon after in Normandy. |
* On ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'', Marian prevents Guy of Gisborne from assassinating King Richard at the cost of her own life. However, if one knows their history, it's rather depressing to realize that Richard returns to England only to leave and then die soon after in Normandy. |
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* Al on ''[[Flash Forward 2009|Flash Forward]]'' commits suicide because his flash forward has him receive news on the death of a woman. Afterwards, everyone takes to the fact that the flash forwards will not necessarily come true. In a later episode, the woman is hit by a car and dies anyway. Al was only receiving the news of her death and was not responsible for it. |
* Al on ''[[Flash Forward 2009|Flash Forward]]'' commits suicide because his flash forward has him receive news on the death of a woman. Afterwards, everyone takes to the fact that the flash forwards will not necessarily come true. In a later episode, the woman is hit by a car and dies anyway. Al was only receiving the news of her death and was not responsible for it. |
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== Music == |
== Music == |
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* [[Bruno Mars]]' "Grenade" falls into this. The lyrics tell of a man who would [[Too Dumb to Live|give his life]] [[Dogged Nice Guy|for someone who]] [[Love Makes You Crazy|doesn't love]] [[All Love Is Unrequited|him back.]] |
* [[Bruno Mars]]' "Grenade" falls into this. The lyrics tell of a man who would [[Too Dumb to Live|give his life]] [[Dogged Nice Guy|for someone who]] [[Love Makes You Crazy|doesn't love]] [[All Love Is Unrequited|him back.]] |
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{{quote|''I would go through all this pain, |
{{quote|''I would go through all this pain, |
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Take a bullet straight through my brain, |
Take a bullet straight through my brain, |
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** And again with {{spoiler|Faldio}} when he decides to [[Taking You with Me|take the already-soundly-defeated]] {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]]}} [[Taking You with Me|with him]], despite not being injured in the slightest. |
** And again with {{spoiler|Faldio}} when he decides to [[Taking You with Me|take the already-soundly-defeated]] {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]]}} [[Taking You with Me|with him]], despite not being injured in the slightest. |
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*** That one was more {{spoiler|[[Redemption Equals Death]]}}, however. |
*** That one was more {{spoiler|[[Redemption Equals Death]]}}, however. |
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**** And played totally straight with {{spoiler|Selvaria. If she hadn't specifically requested that Squad 7 be the ones to escort the rest of her men away to spare them, they would have gotten burnt up like everybody else and Maximillian could have had Gallia in his pocket by dinnertime.}} |
**** And played totally straight with {{spoiler|Selvaria. If she hadn't specifically requested that Squad 7 be the ones to escort the rest of her men away to spare them, they would have gotten burnt up like everybody else and Maximillian could have had Gallia in his pocket by dinnertime.}} |
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* In the characters ending, {{spoiler|Xianghua of}} ''[[Soul Calibur]]'' does this in the fourth game, senselessly holding on to {{spoiler|Kilik as he sacrifices himself to neutralize both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. He was going to die, with nothing that could have been done without another characters interference, and there was no reason beyond suicidal devotion for Xianghua to go as well.}} [[What a Senseless Waste of Human Life]]... |
* In the characters ending, {{spoiler|Xianghua of}} ''[[Soul Calibur]]'' does this in the fourth game, senselessly holding on to {{spoiler|Kilik as he sacrifices himself to neutralize both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. He was going to die, with nothing that could have been done without another characters interference, and there was no reason beyond suicidal devotion for Xianghua to go as well.}} [[What a Senseless Waste of Human Life]]... |
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* ''[[Mortal Kombat|Mortal Kombat: Deception]]'' starts out this way when a three-way showdown between {{spoiler|Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi}} is interrupted by the resurrection of the game's [[Big Bad]] The Dragon King. {{spoiler|Both villians try their hand to take it out with their own sorcery to no avail, then try it together; again, to no effect. In a brief [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], Raiden gets up, and all three enemies join forces to try to destroy the Dragon King...unsuccessfully. In a last-ditch effort, Raiden uses the aura of all three of them to send a powerful [[Heroic Sacrifice]] magic explosion that kills them and destroys everything...everything except for the Dragon King, who now holds the amulet the three were fighting over that could reawaken the King's [[Animate Dead|undead army]].}} |
* ''[[Mortal Kombat|Mortal Kombat: Deception]]'' starts out this way when a three-way showdown between {{spoiler|Raiden, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi}} is interrupted by the resurrection of the game's [[Big Bad]] The Dragon King. {{spoiler|Both villians try their hand to take it out with their own sorcery to no avail, then try it together; again, to no effect. In a brief [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], Raiden gets up, and all three enemies join forces to try to destroy the Dragon King...unsuccessfully. In a last-ditch effort, Raiden uses the aura of all three of them to send a powerful [[Heroic Sacrifice]] magic explosion that kills them and destroys everything...everything except for the Dragon King, who now holds the amulet the three were fighting over that could reawaken the King's [[Animate Dead|undead army]].}} |
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[[Category:Cynicism Tropes]] |
[[Category:Cynicism Tropes]] |
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[[Category:Heroic Sacrifices]] |
[[Category:Heroic Sacrifices]] |
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[[Category:Senseless Sacrifice]] |
[[Category:Senseless Sacrifice]] |
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