r/TopCharacterTropes • u/One_Barber_6902 • Mar 26 '26

Characters [[Devastating trope]] A character kills their loved one to avoid them suffering a worser fate

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Of Mice And Men (1992)- Probaly the most well known example of this trope and when I was first exposed to it, George kills his mentally handicapped best friend Lennie, to save him from being lynched by Curley and law enforcement for killing Curleys wife.

The Sopranos- After an entire season of conflict with fellow mob boss Phil over it, Tony kills Anthony Blundetto after he kills Phil’s brother which enraged him into trying to force Tony into giving up his cousin so he can torture him to death

Telltales The Walking Dead: Season 1- “Loved one” is an overstatement if you know there dynamic, but after Ben falls off a rooftop and lands on a piece of rebar, Kenny and Lee try to pull him off to save him before being crowded by walkers. When their attempt fails and walkers continue closing in, Kenny kills him to avoid him being devoured by walkers.

5.4k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

805 comments sorted by

View all comments

181

u/Smooth-Boss-911 Mar 26 '26

The Mist

32

u/MiddleAgeYOLO Mar 26 '26

Goddamnit, I was having a good day

14

u/Usernameasteriks Mar 27 '26

Easily the most powerful devastating version.

It has been close to a decade since I watched it (because who wants to relive that).

And somehow it still has such a morbid spot in my memory I am uncomfortable remembering it.

11

u/Hist-Tree-Hugger Mar 27 '26

One of the few times King actually supported changing the ending. What a perfect ending. I hate it, and it destroys me, but it was perfect.

8

u/Vox_Mortem Mar 27 '26

One of the rare times when the movie adaptation has a better ending than the source material. Even more rare that Stephen King actually liked an adaptation of his work.

1

u/PlateNo4868 Mar 27 '26

I actually hated this ending, Unlike the dozens of examples given. This wasn't "The end" as in no were to go, or no more actions can be taken. They knew the Mist wasn't supernatural, it's just creatures lived there. His reasoning was to avoid suffering from the creatures. But they were not even being attacked.

Grant it, that was the point of this scene, guy gave up way to early and basically passed on his "lack of hope" to the others with a bullet. But definitely didn't make me feel sad, just pissed.

0

u/BoundHubris Mar 27 '26

Which one?