Dying is an art....

Firstly, if you ever wondered what a hobbit newspaper would look like and how journalists would comment on Certain Events, look here. Priceless.

Secondly, let's get gruesome. Death Meme from cadesama:


1) What is your favorite death scene (movies and/or tv)? Why?

Like cadesama, I can't just pick one. If I absolutely have to - the finale of Blake's 7, when Blake dies followed soon after by everyone else. It's a freakin' Greek tragedy, so inevitable, so heartrendering, so perfect a conclusion.

Joyce didn't die on screen, so no The Body (BTVS) inclusion here despite the fact it is the best episode dealing with death ever.

Other favorites: Boromir's death in the movie version of Fellowship of the Ring. (Didn't have nearly the same impact on me when I read the novel way back when. I cried over other parts then.) "I would have followed you, my brother...my captain...my king." I had never seen the second half of Fellowship of the Ring as The Tragedy of Boromir. After this death scene, I couldn't see it as anything else...

Darla dying (actually every time Darla dies, but especially in The Trial and Lullaby. The Trial because of the incredible sense of tragedy and the eerie beauty of Drusilla and Darla together, Lullaby because this is the only one of her deaths she really chose for herself and was able to turn into an act of love. Great use of special effects for emotional impact, too, as Darla's hand turns to dust after Angel kissed it and he's left with Connor.

And - andrastewhite, if you're reading this, skip the next paragraph entirely -


Londo's and G'Kar's deaths during that little trip to the future in War Without End I never cried about it the way I do always cry about Londo sacrificing himself to a life, not death, in The Fall of Centauri Crime, but it is an immensely moving moment and a stunning reversal of expectations if you watch it for the first time. Until then, an unspoiled viewer assumes that Londo's death vision means the obvious - that he and G'Kar will strangle each other in mutual hatred. To realize that G'Kar will act on Londo's request at a time whent the two will be friends, so that Londo's plan to save Centauri Prime at last will succeed, so that Londo will be finally free, is incredible.


- Save to read for andrastewhite again -

2) Name the top three filmed death scenes of all time, in order. (The list doesn’t necessarily have to include your favorite.)

Ouch. Difficult, this is. Let's see:

a) "Rosebud." Oh, come on. The opening of Citizen Kane, of course. That brilliant sequence of cuts, setting up the mystery: The "No Trespasses" sign, house from the outside, view from the inside, extreme close-up on Orson Welles' lips whispering that one single word. In that voice which was one of the best ever. Then the glass shatters, as Kane crumbles and dies. Parodied and paid homage to a million times, and still as effective as ever.

b) Augustus' death in I, Claudius. The camera keeps on Brian Blessed's face for about five minutes and never cuts away, and yet you realise exactly when Augustus actually dies - the cliché "the light in his eyes goes out" comes true here. Then the camera still is on his face, his dead face. And the entire time, we hear Livia's voice, explaining herself for the first time. She is the one who killed him, and yet this is not a "the villain gloats" moment. I don't think Blessed ever was better, and it is the death scene which first came to my mind at this question in terms of both acting, writing and cinematic daring.

c) Can I go for my guy Boromir again? If not, Gabriel Byrne's death scene in The Usual Suspects. As he realises, and we do, who Keyser Soze really is.


3) How many times has your favorite character died? Dream sequences can count. Who is it, and how did they die each time?

That would be characters, I guess.
a) Londo Mollari. Hm, let's see, because Londo has a little speech about how many times he died in The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari, but he's talking emotional death there. So: real death just one time, but we saw it happening repeatedly because of the death vision haunting Londo throughout the series. How: got killed at his request by his nearest dearest enemy, to use a Shakespearean expression.

b) Darla. Four times: bitten by a vampire while dying of syphilis, dusted by Angel, bitten by a vampire while dying of syphilis (again), dusted herself in order to give birth to Connor.

c) Buffy. Two times for real (was drowned by the Master resulting in clinical death for some minutes until Xander revived her, died to save Dawn and the world in The Gift through jumping from a tower. Several symbolic deaths and rebirths - the near-drowning in Bad Girls comes to mind; dreamwise, I think twice in season 1 (nightmare about the Master, nightmare about being buried alive), twice in season 3 (Angel's nightmare in The Prom of her bursting in flames, Buffy's nightmare in Consequences of getting drowned by Faith).

d) Anakin Skywalker. Dies once for real in Return of the Jedi but has the almost-death which probably also counts as death and rebirth in Episode III.

4) How do you, as a viewer, feel if a show kills, then resurrects a character? I mean, if someone can’t stay in the ground, do you feel it cheapens the emotional impact of their death? Or do you now not get upset if a character dies?

It depends. I do think Joss pulled it off with Buffy's death and resurrection because of the devastating effect the later had on her (I'm a season 6 and 7 lover, remember). Voyager overdid it by far and a character dying there had no impact on me. DS9 didn't do it, except for Weyoun, sort of, and then they played by the (cloning) rules. TNG brought Tasha back in fair ways (i.e. through AUs) and not permanently, so passes the test. Sheridan's death and resurrection do work (because of the 20-years-clause) with one caveat: the resurrection meant we got one important character who was lazily written as a deus ex machina and not much more, Lorien, and I wish JMS would have found another way. That said, I also think the last two seasons of B5 would have worked without Sheridan, since his personal emotional arc was over at that point, but the question was whether his resurrection devalued death on the show for me, which it didn't. Farscape: am still in two minds on how they brought back Aeryn in season 3 but due to Zhaan's death am leaning more on the pro side.

And of course anything involving My Darling Girl in this regard was perfect. *g*


5) Death stories - love ‘em or hate ‘em? Can you give a two sentence reason?

Depends on the death story. Love them if well written, hate them if not. It's as simple as that. I'm not attracted or repulsed by a death disclaimer as such.