The Illusion of Danger

[Mickey Finn]

*looks at Danny. Looks at Dresden. Looks back at Danny.*

Hrm.

[Kalshane]

Honestly, I think I'd rather see a beloved character die than become corrupted by evil. I mean if the journey is Good Guy=>Fall From Grace=>Evil=>Redemption sure. But to end the story with "Mwah-ha-ha, now my death ray will destroy Metropolis!" is a much bigger let-down than having the character die.

I think the biggest, most important, thing is for the end to fit the character. There are some characters who by the end are so thoroughly broken (see Wesley on Angel) that as sad as it is, their death is in some ways a mercy. There also times when self-sacrifice is necessary.

As long as the death has a meaning or purpose, I'm fine with it. Hero saves the day only to get hit by a bus, not so cool.

[harryismyhero]

I completely agree.

[Mickey Finn]

...except about the Wesley dying bit.

[Kalshane]

Not to go off-topic (which inevitably means I will) Wesley's death worked for the story. (Whether he'd be stupid enough to try magic against a sorcerer is something else entirely, but that's not the point here.) His death and the "Shall I lie to you now?" and the turning blue as she knocks sorcerer-boy's block off and Illyria feeling grief all worked as part of the narrative.

Trip, on Enterprise, blowing himself up for no good reason other than "It's the last episode, someone has to die" is an example of how not to do it.

[Mickey Finn]

Oh, it was well done, but still unnecessary. Whedon has this thing about killing off loved characters because he seems to think it adds to the story. While this is often true (Buffy's "The Body"), it doesn't quite feel right, other times. (Serenity, anyone?)

[Kalshane]

Oh, it was well done, but still unnecessary. Whedon has this thing about killing off loved characters because he seems to think it adds to the story. While this is often true (Buffy's "The Body"), it doesn't quite feel right, other times. (Serenity, anyone?)

I understand. For me, Wesley's death hurt (and he was one of my favorite characters on the show at that point, so it hurt a lot) but I understood it.

With Serenity, while I understand Joss' reasoning "If no one died, the last 30 minutes are nothing but a bunch of noise" the actual execution left something to be desired. I also think it suffered from the fact that he was trying to write to both the fans and the general public. For the general public, without the death, there's no tension. The death brings home that any one of these characters could die at any moment. For the fans, the death feels like a horrible betrayal, because they're already invested. I've come to grips with it in later viewings, but walking out of that initial pre-screening, I was angry when I was expecting to be feeling elated (It was the Big Damn Movie, after all.)

[BigMama]

If you can accept the concept that there are things that are much worse than death, then you can certainly have an immortal character and still have a great deal of tension in the story. Especially if the character is immortal, but not invincible. Horrors!

[Lord Arioch]

"Kid, don't threaten me. There are worse things than death, and uh, I can do all of them."   --The Plague, Hackers

[Willowhugger]

Well I know this is necromancy but I wanted to make a statement because it reflects my views on the topic of book writing.  For me, the important thing about danger is that it isn't about whether the character will live or die but helping the reader identify with the main protagonist.

Highlander the series had characters whom were immortal but because they feared death at the hands of their enemies and had all the other mortal foibles, they were able to be identified with.

[Tasmin21]

With an immortal character, you simply have to find something else that is their cause for continuing.  Most people function every day to survive.  If you don't HAVE to do that, why do you keep going?  I have a main character in an as-yet unstarted novel who is an angel.  His main concern isn't surviving day to day, or having enough to eat.  His main concern is trying to FIND his purpose, when he thinks God has abandoned him, his kind, and the human race in general.  He's on a search for faith.  That can be just as compelling as a fight for survival.

[WonderandAwe]

There is a lot more ways of doing damage to a character than just physical.  For example imagine what spending time in a concentration can do to one's mind?  Or watching generations of loved ones die can change a person.  Would they go mad with grief or would they distance themselves from society?  What is one life to a person who has watch Rome rise and fall?  Also, what happens when they lose a limb or get locked in a box that is dumped in the bottom of the ocean?