Death Notification: Difference between revisions

[[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin]]: Whenever a movie shows the folks at home while there is a war going on, you are very likely to see this: A pair of military personnel, in dress uniform, approaching the home of the soldier's family. [[Genre Savvy|The family will almost always know]] [[He Didn't Make It|what this means.]]

While most common in war movies, it is also a trope tragically familiar to familes of firefighters and police officers as well. When the notice is (most commonly) delivered in person, it is closely related to [[Due to Thethe Dead]]. Compare to [[He Didn't Make It]]. May feature a [[Tragic Keepsake]]. If the notification is laced with white lies to spare the recipient pain or avoid tainting the deceased's memory, see [[The Power of Legacy]].

Should not be confused with ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]''.

* ''[[Ikigami: theThe Ultimate Limit (Manga)|Ikigami the Ultimate Limit]]'' inverts the trope. People are given notification that they ''will'' die in the next 24 hours.

* ''[[Across the Universe (Filmfilm)|Across the Universe]]'': Right after Lucy finishes singing about how her boyfriend (in the Army) will be [[Tempting Fate|coming home to visit soon.]]

* [[Red Tails (Film)|Red Tails]]. The jeep pulls up outside Sofia's home, two officers walk up to Sofia, and Lucas doesn't even bother giving us any dialogue here.

* ''[[Space: Above and Beyond]]'': After the death of {{spoiler|Nathan West's younger brother Neil}}, Nathan is shocked to discover that the notification letter was sent to ''the wrong address''. He ends up writing a letter of his own home to inform {{spoiler|his mother}} himself. It is implied that rather than being hand-delivered, the notices are sent in the mail in "ugly yellow envelopes".

* Sarah Jane gets one of these visits from a UNIT colonel, accompanied by an entourage of armored trucks and gun-toting grunts (Seriously, did they think Sarah Jane was going to ''eat'' them or something?), in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures (TV)|The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' episode ''The Death of the Doctor''. [[Genre Savvy|She doesn't believe it for a minute]].

* A [[Dream Sequence]]/[[Imagine Spot]] in the [[Milestone Celebration|200th episode]] ("Life Before His Eyes") of ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]'' had Gibbs pose the question "What would have happened if I'd stayed in the Marines and never joined NCIS?" The answer is in the form of the fateful knock on the door for Gibbs' wife Shannon.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' serial ''The Curse of Fenric'', Ace's friend Kathleen gets a telegram notifying her of the death of her husband.

* In ''[[Valkyria Chronicles III (Video Game)|Valkyria Chronicles III]]'' [[Expansion Pack|E2]], Not only Kurt must bring the news<ref>The task can't be delegated to anyone else, as his squad is a penal legion that's not officially recorded in the military</ref> of {{spoiler|Gusurg's}} death to the dead guy's big sister, but he must also explain that {{spoiler|Gusurg died as a treator to Gallia, having chosen to defect to the invading Empire's Calamity Raven for the sake of a chance for his ostracized people to found their own country. And that Kurt killed Gusurg by his own hands. The big sister face the news solemnly, stating that Gusurg died for what he believed.}} This is the last straw for Kurt's psyche, and Riela and Imca must talk him to his senses. [[Darker and Edgier|Yeah, it's that kind of story.]]

* ''[[Brawl in The Family (Webcomic)|Brawl in Thethe Family]]'' #200 had this at one point. It even shows up in the page image for [[What Measure Is a Mook?]].

* ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'', while [[Hanging a Lampshade]] on [[The Joys of Torturing Mooks]] present in ''[[Star Wars]]: (Franchise)|[[Star Wars]]: [[The Force Unleashed (Video Game)|The Force Unleashed]]'', in [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/8/20/ this strip].

* ''[[Exo Squad (Animation)|Exo Squad]]'': According to one of the post-episode "Character card" segments the show featured, Avery Butler personally records a message for the family of every Jumptrooper who dies under his command. Given that the homeworlds are occupied, he can't ''deliver'' these messages. [[Due to Thethe Dead|He still records them.]]

* In ''[[The Simpsons (Animationanimation)|The Simpsons]]'', a former street punk turned soldier named Armin Tamzarian delivers one of these to the mother of his MIA superior officer, {{spoiler|Seymour Skinner}}, in a flashback. It's then subverted when he can't bring himself to tell her and pretends to be her son; he is the man now known as {{spoiler|Principal Skinner.}}

* In ''[[Thundercats 2011 (Western Animation)|Thundercats 2011]]'' Prodigal general Grune, arriving home from a years'-long search for an [[Ancient Artifact]], delivers word of his comrade Panthro's loss to mutual friend King Claudus, while handing over one of the former's [[Tragic Keepsake|nunchucks]]. The details are [[Half Truth|suspiciously]] vague, not to spare Claudus emotionally, but to hide Grune's betrayal and defection to [[Big Bad]] Mumm-Ra until their invasion forces are marshalled.