Plot-Triggering Death: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Code Geass]]'': The murder of Lelouch's mother Marianne is the initial trigger of the series' plot.

* ''[[Gurren Lagann]]''; although not at the start of the plot, the death of Kamina (a quarter of the way in) was the key trigger to the character development of Simon throughout the rest of the series

 

== [[Comic Books]]: ==

 

== [[Fan Works]]: ==

 

== [[Film]]: ==

* Ellie's death in ''[[Up]]''.

** Yet another Pixar example: Leland Turbo from ''[[Cars 2]]''.

* The murder of her best friend that Tea Leoni's character witnesses occurs at the start of ''[[Bad Boys]]'' and drives the rest of the plot.

* In ''The Skeptic'', the death of the protagonist's aunt is what drives the plot forward.

* ''[[Ordinary People]]''. In both the film and the novel the death of the family's eldest son in a sailing accident sets into motion the emotional crisis which the family has only outwardly recovered from at the start of the narrative.

 

* Used recurrently in [[Dan Brown]]'s novels.

* In ''[[True Grit]]'' The murder of Mattie Ross's father by Tom Chaney sets in motion the revenge quest that drives the story.

* The death of {{spoiler|King Brion Haldane}} at the start of ''[[Deryni|Deryni Rising]]'', which begins the multi-volume saga of King Kelson Haldane's rule as well as the specific challenges of getting him safely crowned king.

** In the first book, Jon Arryn's death is what causes Eddard Stark (and by extension, the rest of his family) to become involved in the main plot.

** The Iron Islands plot in ''A Feast For Crows'' is triggered by the death of {{spoiler|Balon Greyjoy}}, which happens offscreen during the events of the previous book.

** Towards the end of the first episode, the old man in an RV who Johnny hooked up with dies during a fishing tournament, which Johnny takes as a sign that he should take the old man's 'Bago and [[Roam the Earth]].

* The pilot of ''[[CSI]]'' starts with an apparent suicide. This sets up the Paul Millander mystery arc which lasts one and half seasons.

* ''[[Alias]]'': Sydney tells her fiancé that she is a spy, leading to her boss [[First Episode Spoiler|having him killed]]. When her leave of absence gets a bit too long for her boss's comfort, he [[It Got Worse|sends killers after her too]]. Then she finds out that she works for the bad guys, and that her semi-estranged dad is one of them. Then she earns the bad guys' trust so that she can become a double agent with the CIA. ''Then'' she finds out that her dad has been a double agent all along. Whew. On to episode two.

 

** In fact, a lot of deaths in this game series have kicked off new arcs and plots (Mia Fey, Magnifi Gramarye etc).

* Cave Johnson's death can be seen as this for the ''Portal'' franchise. His death sparked the creation of [[G La DOS]], which in turn caused {{spoiler|the creation of Wheatly, and}} the plot of ''Portal''.

* As the page quote shows the plot of ''[[Eternal Darkness]]'' is set off by the death of the main character's grandfather, which leads Alex to his house and to find the [[Tome of Eldritch Lore|Tome Of Eternal Darkness]] which serves as a framing device for previous characters' struggles in the fight (who might also count as this trope, given they have a tendancy to die [[And I Must Scream|or worse]] at the end of their chapters).

* The plot of ''[[Grand Theft Auto San Andreas]]'' starts when CJ comes back to Los Santos after five years in Liberty City to attend his mother's funeral.