Line #36 Main/BigSleep


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5	[[caption-width-right:350:A rather [[{{Pun}} low key]] death.]]
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13	The polar opposite of DiesWideOpen. A character gently closes their eyes as they die. They may also slump a little. May result in PeacefulInDeath.
14
15	Named for the [[Literature/TheBigSleep novel]] and [[Film/TheBigSleep movie]], ''Literature/TheBigSleep''.
16
17	Subtrope of HesDeadJim. If someone is actually sleeping, only metaphorically like the dead, see DeepSleep.
18
19	Compare PassedInTheirSleep, where a character dies in their sleep, with their eyes closed, and EyeLightsOut, where the dying character's eyes slowly go dark.
20
21	!!'''As a {{Death Trope\|s}}, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
27	* Saya at the end of ''Manga/BloodPlus'', although it's more like a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin literal big sleep]] than it is death.
28	* Lelouch in the ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'' finale. While he's uttering his last words to Nunnally, a backwards ReallyDeadMontage plays in the background until it reaches their childhood at which point he finally expires with a slump. Cue Nunnally breaking down in tears as she just realized moments before that Lelouch was running a ThanatosGambit for world peace, hence why everyone else is cheering at his killer.
29	* In the ''Manga/DeathNote'' anime, this happens to both the GreatDetective antagonist L, and the VillainProtagonist Light Yagami in similar ways as they die from the ArtifactOfDoom, the titular Death Note. Light didn't go so peacefully in the manga.
30	* This trope is rare in ''Franchise/DragonBall''. In the pre-Z phase, DiesWideOpen was near-universal for death. Raditz's death added in BlankWhiteEyes to that. But this trope does occasionally apply:
31	** Goku during his first death in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. After [[HeroicSacrifice holding his brother Raditz in place so they can both take the hit of Piccolo's attack]], he tells Krillin, Bulma, and Roshi to gather the Dragon Balls to wish him back to life soon before slowly closing his eyes. (He even says, "Bye" right at the moment he closes his eyes in the Ocean dub.) The anime even gives the three a few minutes to mourn him before Kami-sama whisks his body and soul away to the after life.
32	** Yamcha and Tien also both die this way in the Saiyan saga. Vegeta as well when killed by Frieza. Krillin dies this way in ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' when killed by Super 17.
33	* In the end of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' 2006 adaptation, as Saber lies dying back in her own time, she tells Bedivere that she has been {{d\|yingDream}}reaming. Bedivere tells her that [[LetThemDieHappy if she closes her eyes, she'll be able to see that dream again]]. Then Saber slowly closes her eyes, uttering "This sleep is going to be a bit... longer..."
34	** [[Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} Nasu]] just likes this trope. ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'''s best example is Kohaku, after stabbing herself in the chest. Arcueid actually goes into perpetual sleep in her True ending.
35	** At the end of ''Literature/FateZero'' (and the beginning of the ''Anime/FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorks'' adaptation), a SecretlyDying Kiritsugu and Shirou are sitting down with each other, with the former explaining to the latter about why it's impossible to become a hero that can save everyone, since [[TraumaCongaLine he knows from personal experience in his youth]]. Shirou [[TakeUpMySword vows to be what Kiritsugu couldn't]], which brings Kiritsugu peace. He ends up falling asleep after he tells Shirou that [[SoProudOfYou he's proud of him]], and it turns out he died right there.
36	* In the DistantFinale of ''Manga/FirePunch'' the immortals Judah and Agni reunite and close their eyes together, implying they never woke up again.
37	* Most important characters in ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'' and its [[Anime/GingaDensetsuWeed sequel]] close their eyes before they die.
38	* Angelina of ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' is implied to have died at the end of the first anime. She closes her eyes while being told a story. In the anime, she wakes up in ''Teatrino'' (with a [[YouDontLookLikeYou completely different character design]] at that), making her dramatic death scene in season 1 a bit hollow. In the manga, she's not so lucky and dies at a later point in the story.
39	* Chito and Yuuri in ''Manga/GirlsLastTour'', after reaching the highest layer of the megacity, later go into this as they sleep at the end of the story. Their last appearance hammers it hard that they're [[KilledOffForReal dead for good]], as they appear in a wheat farm. ''Manga/ShimejiSimulation'', the manga's StealthSequel, also nails the point that they [[DoomedByCanon canonically died]] as their souls are uploaded inside the simulation, where they are seen inside a train that serves as an Afterlife.
40	* Makoto in ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' sleepily shuts her eyes just before [[DownerEnding she dies and disappears into air]].
41	** Nagisa's death in ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}} After Story'' qualifies, as well as her daughter Ushio's a few episodes after that. Tomoya, however, just drops dead in the snow.
42	** Misuzu's death in the finale of ''VisualNovel/{{Air}}''.
43	%%** Creator/KeyVisualArts seems to love tearjerkers and this a lot, don't they?
44	* Subverted in ''Manga/OutlawStar''. Did you really think Aisha was going to get killed?
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Comic Books]]
48	* In a way averted in ''Lenore'' when after experiencing an explosion the demon bounty hunter Pooty Applewater goes on to the "Long Sleep" only to return after an hour, since "that's a long time for a demon".
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
52	* In the Owl House Fanfic "Fanfic/MyBrotherCainMyBrotherAbel" as Caleb's thoughts are scattering in his final moments he describes the sensation as 'Like falling asleep, only not like falling asleep at all'
53	* In the ''FanFic/Gensokyo20XX'' series, this happens to Sakuya, as she dies of radiation sickness, while Yuuka tells her what she wants her to hear. It was noted that she looked as though she had simply fallen asleep, except she didn't wake up.
54	** It was also noted periodically, later in the series, that is how Reimu tends to see death, which, because of her [[ChildrenAreInnocent innocence]], seems to be the most comforting.
55	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9536599/1/It-Wasn-t-Sleep It Wasn't Sleep]]'' is a oneshot based off of ''The Mysterious Benedict Society''. Kate and Sticky had been captured and, while trying to escape, they were shot at. Sticky doesn't notice that Kate has been shot until after Kate "falls asleep".
56	* [[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/kalash93 Kalash 93]] has used this more than once.
57	** [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/72998/last-one-standing Last One Standing]] was the first time this happened.
58	** [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/85411/reflections Reflections]] also mentions this trope, with the immortal protagonists wondering if that's what it's like to die.
59	* Narrowly Averted during the third setting of ''Fanfic/MassesToMasses''. Ian, infected by a Varen bite, peacefully accept his death only to be saved by Garrus.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
63	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'''s "Rite of Spring" sequence, after the Stegosaurus loses its battle with the T-Rex and the camera slowly pans across its dying body from tail to head, its moment of death is conveyed by its eye closing.
64	* In the AnimatedAdaptation of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldHis9Lives'', at the end of one episode, "Diana's Piano", after hearing her last piano concerto from married mother Sara, Diana jumps down onto the piano keyboard, yawns, and drifts off into a deep sleep from which she never wakes up.
65	* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', after Louis finds Ray having been stepped on by Doctor Facilier, the alligator brings Ray to Tiana and Naveen, who tell Ray that they're going to remain frogs and get married. After Ray says that both he and Evangeline (The evening star that he's fallen in love with because he thinks it's a firefly) would like that a lot, he closes his eyes for the last time in the company of his new friends and the love of his life.
66	* Subverted in the film ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'': Gune, who combines TheProfessor and PluckyComicRelief in one character, apparently slept the Big Sleep after being wounded, even saying "Must have nap..." as he went. Much later, he returns during the final battle in a BigDamnHeroes moment, loudly proclaiming "I've finished my nap!" as he pilots the CoolStarship to the rescue.
67	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', Flynn/Eugene gently closes his eyes and breathes his last as he succumbs to his stab wound. [[DyingDeclarationOfLove Right after he and Rapunzel had confessed their love to each other.]] Fortunately, Rapunzel's tears had enough of the magic flower's healing powers to bring him back to life.
68
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
72	* B.OB from ''Film/TheBlackHole'' does a different version where the 'lid' of the TinCanRobot closes over his eyes, after his power fails during the FinalBattle.
73	%% * Roy Batty in ''Film/BladeRunner''.
74	* In ''Film/Camille1936'', Marguerite's death is conveyed by her eyes closing as Armand [[DiedInYourArmsTonight holds her close to him]].
75	%% * Talia al Ghul in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
76	* In ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', Spock closes his eyes before dying after bidding farewell to Kirk one last time.
77	* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': Likewise for Yoda just before his death. He even extends the "big sleep" metaphor out further by actually settling down in his bed as if he's preparing for a long nap, calling it "forever sleep."
78	* In ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', Loki closes his eyes before dying after saving his brother Thor. However, at the end of the movie we find out that he [[FakingTheDead did not actually die]].
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Literature]]
82	* Literature/TheBible uses sleep as a metaphor for death a lot.
83	* Oddly, the trope namers (Creator/RaymondChandler's novel ''Literature/TheBigSleep'' and the movies based on it) don't include this trope. The character said to be "sleeping The Big Sleep" not only doesn't die on stage, but is dead before the story begins.
84	* In the ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheMind'', this is how Ender Wiggin finally passes away. The book describes it as feeling just like falling asleep.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
88	* Played straight in episode 2 of the 2nd season of ''Series/{{Angel}}''. He finds the woman who betrayed him long ago. After she is forgiven, she proclaims that she will go outside after she has her rest. She never wakes up. Though the phrase she uses--"go out"--is ambiguous and could just as easily mean "die, cease to exist".
89	* The king of the SubvertedTrope, Creator/JossWhedon, does this in the pilot episode of ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. Kaylee, having been shot by a jumpy Alliance lawman who was after Simon, closes her eyes and goes limp; Mal goes to Simon and informs him she's dead. He rushes to the med-bay, where he finds out that not only is she alive, she's awake and talking. Turned out she was taking a nap and the rest of the crew decided to play a rather cruel joke on the man who was partially responsible for her injury.
90	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Robb's direwolf Grey Wind dies this way when he slowly closes his eyes after being shot multiple times. Judging by the majority of reaction videos, this actually hit a lot of people harder than the human deaths that followed.
91	* Jack Shephard in ''Series/{{Lost}}'' goes out like this in the last scene, mirroring the opening scene of the series.
92	* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E21AllHellBreaksLoosePartOne "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One" (S02, Ep21)]], Lily dies with her eyes closed and hangs limply from a noose.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Theatre]]
96	* In the conclusion of ''Theatre/LaBoheme'', Mimi dies in this manner, to the point where Rodolfo [[PleaseWakeUp assumes that she is only sleeping]]. When he learns the truth, he starts crying about it, and the audience weeps with him.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Video Games]]
100	* Corporal Reiss from ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', after getting gang-beat by bandits and holding on just long enough to give the player some vital information says that he's going to take a nap and the player should wake him up when he's not on Pandora any more. Thus passes Corporal Reiss.
101	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
102	** ''[[VideoGame/CrisisCore Crisis Core: Final Fantasy]]'': Zack Fair. What precedes it is.... [[PlayerPunch less than peaceful.]]
103	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Serah's death narrowly averts DiesWideOpen and becomes this; after her final vision (where her eyes are wide open), she breathes a final breath and closes her eyes before [[DiedInYourArmsTonight slumping over in Noel's embrace]].
104	* Bartre in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' claims he is going to take a nap when he is injured fatally. Like everyone else who runs out of HP, [[{{Permadeath}} he isn't gonna wake up.]] In [[Videogame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade the 7th game]], he just leaves (since it's a prequel to the 6th).
105	* The priest Carter in ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonBackToNature'' has a sermon where he mentions a father who tried to tell his son that his deceased mother was sleeping. It backfired when the boy asked to get his mom an alarm clock.
106	* ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'': If you screw up and get Garry killed, having Ib inspect his dead body gives you this:
107	-->"Garry is sleeping..."
108	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'': Keyblade wielders who die have a chance to reincarnate or "sleep". It's made clear that choosing to sleep effectively means passing on, while their [[{{Familiar}} Chirithys]] transform into Dream Eaters. This means that ''all'' of the Dream Eaters you see in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'' belong to dead Keyblade wielders.
109	* The Illusive Man of ''Franchise/MassEffect'' does this after a few surprisingly moving last words near the end of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''.
110	** So does Captain Anderson if you kill the Illusive Man before he can shoot Anderson dead.
111	* Iris' death in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' has her gently close her eyes and go limp [[DiedInYourArmsTonight in Zero's arms]].
112	* At the end of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' the protagonist, running on pure willpower after doing a HeroicSacrifice, finally goes to "sleep" when he realizes that his TrueCompanions ''are'' going to keep ThePromise to meet up on graduation day. He falls asleep in Aigis's {{lap\|Pillow}} or, in the NewGamePlus of the UpdatedRerelease, [[DiedInYourArmsTonight in the arms of his/her lover]].
113	* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': At the end of Chapter 6, a high-honor Arthur Morgan gently shuts his eyes as he succumbs to [[IncurableCoughOfDeath tuberculosis]] while [[CueTheSun watching the sunrise]]. After all the pain and exhaustion he's been through, it's as if he's drifting off into [[{{Heaven}} a deep and eternal golden slumber]].
114	* ''VideoGame/{{Signalis}}:'' In the Memory ending, Elster manages to make it to Ariane's cryo pod, only for her to be so weak from blood loss that she simply sits down by her side, closes her eyes, and calmly dies.
115	* Almost averted at the end of ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland Chapter 4: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood'', when the mortally wounded Guybrush's eyes open wide in a blank stare at a saddened Elaine (almost in a DiesWideOpen position), but then gently close as he collapses and "falls asleep" with his mouth open. (Possibly {{foreshadow\|ing}}ed in a way previously in Chapter 1, when Guybrush looks at the quarters door of either Elaine's ship or the Screaming Narwhal and says, "[[Music/WarrenZevon I'll sleep when I'm dead.]] Or later tonight.")
116	* At the end of Season 1 of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'', Lee dies this way if you/Lee tells Clementine not to [[MercyKill shoot him]].
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
120	* Although we don’t see most victims in ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' close their eyes as they die except for Romein Letouse whose eyes close as he dies, the other victims eyes are already closed when they are first found dead with the exception of Jack Hammer in the first game ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' [[DiesWideOpen whose eyes are open]] when the other people found him dead in the flashback of the Steel Samurai case.
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Western Animation]]
124	* ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'': Sarah Lynn dies in [[DiedInYourArmsTonight BoJack's arms]] right after she states she wants to leave the fame and excess behind to be come an architect, while [=BoJack=] has taken her to her favorite place: the Planetarium.
125	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Jurassic Bark", Fry's dog Seymour spends over a decade waiting in vain for Fry to come back before closing his eyes for the last time. Or so you're led to believe, until "Bender's Big Score" reveals more.
126	* The TropeNamer comes from the pilot episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'', where "the big sleep" is used as a [[NeverSayDie euphemism]] for euthanasia.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Real Life]]
130	* While an interpretation of much less flowery technical language, the last words of the Martian rover ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_(rover) Opportunity]]'' have been frequently rendered as "[[ImColdSoCold My battery is low, and it's getting dark.]]" Having wandered the sand dunes of Mars for 14 years, ''Opportunity'' was caught in one of Mars's [[WeirdWeather gigantic]] [[DeadlyDustStorm sandstorms]], which covered its solar panels in mid-2018. Unable to retain enough power to remain active, ''Opportunity'' quietly entered its hibernation mode [[PassedInTheirSleep and never woke up]].
131	[[/folder]]
132

Context Main / BigSleep