History Main / Retirony

* Subverted in ''LastExile'': a soldier mentions that he only needs two more battle survival medals to retire, right before a hopeless battle in which it's clear that everyone is going to die. The battle is then cancelled, and the soldier survives. Subverted even more when [[spoiler:that same soldier develops a relationship with a former enemy and makes a promise with her that they would both survive; later he appears to die after having saved the day, complete with all the trappings you would normally expect from this sort of death scene...and then, at the end of the last episode, he is shown to still be alive and living with that former enemy.]]

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', the first important character to die is [[spoiler:Maes Hughes, who was one of the few characters in the series with a still-living family]]. A running gag in the series was that [[spoiler:Maes Hughes would constantly talk about his daughter, or his wife]]. This is also {{Lampshaded}} in the manga when [[spoiler:during a flashback to the Ishvalan war, Maes Hughes gets a letter from his then-girlfriend and immediately worries that other men might be taking advantage of his absence. Mustang]] is quick to point out that [[GenreSavvy in movies and novels]] such talks are a surefire way to get the bullet.

* ''TourOfDuty'', which followed a platoon of soldiers fighting the Vietnam War, had an odd tendency of killing off anyone who was 'getting short' (ie: Was about to complete their mandatory one-year Tour and be sent home). [[AnyoneCanDie Even the main characters weren't always immune to this]].

* Subverted in the ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' games. Your squadmates spend the whole game commenting that this is Sgt. Redford's last mission before he can retire. He survives, despite both often TemptingFate [[BlackDudeDiesFirst and being black]], but he's kept out of retirement.

NOTE: this trope is pronounced "RETIRE-ON-KNEE", though some first see it and think it's pronounced like "{{Retcon}}" because it has a similar letter pattern at first glance.

* Coker from ''BattlestarGalacticaBloodAndChrome'' was just waiting through the final weeks of his time in the service when the "milk run" on which he was sent with Bill Adama (whose own survival was a ForegoneConclusion) turned into a fight for his life. Near the end, he is seriously wounded with multiple gunshot wounds and he seems to accept his fate by handing a FatalFamilyPhoto to Bill before his eyes close. [[SubvertedTrope Then we see him alive and in recovery.]]

* In a variation, towards the end of ''Franchise/StarWars I: The Phantom Menace'', Qui-Gon Jinn intends to train Anakin Skywalker, believing Obi-Wan Kenobi is ready to graduate to Jedi Knight status. Needless to say, Qui-Gon doesn't make it to the end of the movie, and Obi-Wan ends up being Anakin's trainer instead.

* The "SecretInvasion" arc of ''BlackPanther'' opens with the Skrull villain narrating that after completing this mission to conquer Wakanda, he will have enough money to retire. He dies.

* Inverted in ''TheBill'' when Probationary Constable Billy Rowan was stabbed to death in his first episode.

* On ''BreakingBad'', DEA Agent Hank Schraeder finally succeeds in nailing his brother-in-law, Walter White, as a drug kingpin; turning Walt in will result in his own career being over, making this his final case before forcible retirement. After arresting Walt, he [[FatalFamilyPhoto makes a phone call to his wife to tell her it's all over]], and is then killed.

** Speaking of SaintsRow, in SaintsRowTheThird, if you take the "happy ending" route, during the "Gangstas in Space" mission, Pierce's character is killed, and just before he dies, says that he only had two days until retirement.

* [=XGen=] Studio's WebGame ''Motherload''. When you first pass a depth of 2,000 feet you get a transmission from another miner saying that next week he's planning to retire to the moons of Jupiter with his wife and three daughters. Guess what happens to him shortly thereafter.

* The set-up is inverted in ''CatchTwentyTwo''. [[spoiler: Nately]] has actually completed all the missions he needs to get sent home to the U.S., but volunteers to fly ''more'' because he needs to stay near the Italian girl he has fallen in love with. He is doomed from the moment he agrees to go on even one more mission.

* Dwight's father, a detective with the MPD, died just days before hanging it up in ''MemphisBeat''. Dwight was never really the same after that incident, and it's implied this is part of the reason he joined the police force in the first place. Dwight recently discovered evidence that [[spoiler:his dad was dirty]], and has since developed even ''more'' confused feelings about him and the incident.

** The first example is the [[TropeNamer Trope Naming]] exchange in the page quote. Police chief Clancy Wiggum doesn't have life insurance because he and his wife expect this to happen to him. The couple gets upset at a financial planner raising the scenario that Clancy lives to retirement.

* ''LawAndOrder'': Claire Kincaid debates leaving the DA's office (and possibly the legal profession altogether) shortly before she's killed in a car accident.
* Subverted on ''LawAndOrderUK'' (while simultaneously playing BirthDeathJuxtaposition straight). DS Ronnie Brooks gushes to his partner about the birth of his grandson and the possibility of reconciling with his estranged daughter. Sure enough, minutes later. . .his ''partner'' is shot and killed.

* In a variation, towards the end of ''Franchise/StarWars I: The Phantom Menace'', Qui-Gon Jinn intends to train Anakin Skywalker, believing Obi-Wan Kenobi is ready to graduate to Jedi Knight status. At the end, he's a pile of ashes in a columbarium somewhere in the Jedi Temple, and Obi-Wan ends up being Anakin's trainer instead.

God help me... he was going home in June.[[hottip:* :Diminished somewhat when you remember the Apollo moon landing took place on July 20, 1969. That means that either Frankie was still nearly a year away from going home when he bought it, or the writer went for the June[=/=]Moon rhyme and figured nobody would notice the discrepancy in the dates.]]

* Parodied in ''HikoninSentaiAkibaranger''. [[spoiler:The heroes were in fear that if the final enemy is defeated the show would end. Thus, the final enemy started spouting lines usually said before someone bites the dust, including 'visiting his fiancee when it's all over' - this very trope.]]