This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Isn't this Bus Crash ?
Ununnilium: It is, as far as I can see.
Lale: How does this break down?
- Put on a Bus: Character and actor are alive off-screen.
- Died On A Bus: At first, character and actor are both alive off-screen. Actor dies off-screen, character remains alive off-screen.
- Bus Crash: At first, character and actor are both alive off-screen. Character is eventually killed off-screen.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Death by Writer on Board.
I think the only way to differentiate this trope from Bus Crash and Died On A Bus is to make this strictly a case of "the actor returns to the role for one last hurrah."
Ununnilium: I don't think it's worth it, really.
Branfish: As far as I can see, a Bus Crash is when the character dies offscreen, whereas this trope is when they bring them back for one episode, and kill them then. This trope might be a duplicate, but not of Bus Crash.
Duckluck: I'm not sure about the name, it could mean several things, and what it does mean is pretty low on the list. Perhaps we should call it Last Hurrah, or something like that?
Zeke: I think it's a distinctly different trope from the others and worth keeping, but I agree that the name isn't ideal. Maybe Short Lived Come Back or something. Also, I modified the Kirk example from this:
- While this example actually named another trope, does anyone doubt that Captain Kirk's appearance on Star Trek: Generations served any other purpose than allowing the character to die on screen?
