Let Characters Die!

Please stop this trend where writers bring characters back because fans were upset.

As comical as it is in Spongebob, it’s terrible for shows and movies to get into the habit of

Viewer discretion is advised — I might mention a character death from a show or movie that could be deemed a spoiler. For that, read on with caution if you are not currently caught up with your favorite shows/movies/etc.

I have been writing in some shape or form for well over ten years of my life now. I’ve published one book that was semi-autobiographical and wrote short stories purely fictional in my spare time in mini composition books. One “rule” I’ve always followed for myself in said fictional pieces is that if a character dies, it’s probably going to be a permanent death unless something in the story lore or world-building calls for otherwise. For me, if a character is constantly cycling through life and death, it overall cheapens the effect and frankly heavy feelings that tend to naturally come with death (looking at you comic books and the show Supernatural).

I’ve noticed the opposite trend in recent movies and TV shows, however. It’s mostly because fans get outrages because such-and-such character died even though they were really attached to them (Brian from Family Guy, Colin Robinson from What We Do In The Shadows, Groot from Marvel, Sarah from Motherland Fort Salem, etc.). Characters die, but only to be…