How To Resurrect A Character (and not suck!) | On Writing

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[@HelloFutureMe]

What the BEST/WORST example of resurrection you can think of? And be sure to mark SPOILERS! Check out BRILLIANT at my link brilliant.org/HelloFutureMe/ where you can learn well... whatever you choose to! That's the brilliant thing about it ~ Tim

[@kaikalter]

** Spoilers for Lord of the Rings ** Gandalf's return

[@zenone9698]

Xenoblade series uses resurrection good by using meaningful death but important resurrection.

[@blacksarlacc91]

Supernatural. I lost count of the number of resurrections yet each of them is more dirty than the last, causing more damage to everything and everyone. I don't think they did it that bad. Each ressurection had both a quest and a cost.

[@Poke-ladd]

From what I remember Lancelot’s sacrifice in the tv series Merlin . He was revived by Morgana and her sister and became a thrall but after the chaos he causes and his death yet again Merlin decided to cover it up and not tell Arthur the truth that their friend was a Thrall

[@mikelitoris8809]

** Spoilers for The Mummy Returns ** ... Imhotep. It's already been established in the first movie that resurrection is possible so it doesn't come out of left field, it doesn't ruin someone's sacrifice or character arc, and now he has a personal beef with Rick.

[@LOBricksAndSecrets]

"What makes us human?" The ability to 'Please select all images that contain a cow'

[@HelloFutureMe]

Theres a dystopian cyberpunk story somewhere in there ~ Tim

[@pyeitme508]

Ha ​@@HelloFutureMe

[@FireStormOOO_]

@@HelloFutureMe We're not in the Matrix for power, we're there to answer capchas.

[@philopharynx7910]

@@HelloFutureMe Yes. The Black Mirror episode White Christmas. Okkay, this isn't traditional resurrection. It's making an AI copy of somebody and then making them do menial tasks. But essentially the same if you are the AI in the bottle.

[@MichaelRainey]

Caprica

[@Maerahn]

Yes, Buffy's resurrection explores a whole new character arc for Buffy. She has to try and pretend to be grateful to her friends for bringing her back to life - which she realises, in their minds, they did out of love for her. But later on she confesses to Spike (a vampire who got his soul back, so he can sort of relate to her on some level,) that they actually wrenched her out of Heaven, where she was HAPPY and finally free to live her life without the burden of being the Slayer. So a part of her is angry as hell with them for ruining her shot at true happiness just because they didn't want to live without her - but another part still loves them as friends, and feels guilty for her anger and resentment towards them.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

I think her say has tons more weight in this regard. Heroes die. Unless they needed to resurrect her to save the world from doom then, on paper, it's not their place to decide her fate for her...

[@anon0124]

Spike didn’t have his soul when Buffy told him. I think she told him because she felt like she had no soul- happiness, connection to others, connection to herself, etc. if she told Spike it was like it didn’t matter. Because Spike, in her mind, didn’t matter.

[@spacedragon1453]

Assuming they knew heaven exists, I’d be pissed.

[@Narutonarutonaruto85]

@@spacedragon1453 I remember them assuming she was in some sort of hell dimension until she told them otherwise. Likely due to the nature of her death.

[@ShadowProject01]

It wasn’t just Spike she told. It was revealed during the musical when that demon forced her to sing too. She revealed to the entire gang that they tore her from Heaven iirc

[@kaikalter]

"My death has been greatly exaggerated"

[@jamestolbert1856]

“Was greatly exaggerated.”

[@kharijordan6426]

Nice.

[@Broockle]

Metroman is literally Jesus tho so his resurrection was just in flavor 😂

[@Prototype-357]

The ONLY way to do ressurection

[@Mewseeker]

"I got better!"

[@bobrubins8976]

I think the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is my favorite resurrection tale. I think having the power to resurrect someone but getting overtaken by doubt and losing them again is very compelling. I think failed resurrections are even more interesting then resurrection stories because it forces you to realize that there are some things you just can’t do.

[@igorlopes7589]

And then you have Isis and Osiris, a semi-failled ressurection. He returned, but just for enough time to give his last goodbye and conceive Horus on her, then having to return to the underworld

[@bluesbest1]

Having the power to do something beyond mortal capacity, but only if your entire soul is devoted to doing that thing is a very nice concept. As long as it's done right and isn't an out-of-nowhere Deux ex Machina to ensure the character doesn't actually grow as a character.

[@inteligentidiot7233]

Jon Snow's resurrection in GOT holds a special place for me. After dedicating his life to an organization until his death, he gets resurrected and walks away from the organization with the words, "And now my watch is over." Brilliant.

[@KarstenOkk]

a bit of a technicality, considering even in-universe, one of his friends mentions the other part of that saying: "for this night and all the nights to come".

[@Daemonworks]

"You don't have to kill a character" Man, I wish more folks understood this. Death is often the most boring of stakes.

[@RabbitShirak]

I actually wish Eiichiro Oda would sometimes kill one of his characters in One Piece! Most of them survive and walk it off even from the direst of situations.

[@gramfero]

​@@RabbitShirakthat bird guy that survived a nuke, despite literally carrying it with him in the air while on the other hand ace dies after being punched through the chest once

[@RabbitShirak]

@@gramfero Exactly! And I get it, he likes his characters and it's great when they come back to the story. But, sometimes killing a character is a good way to up the stakes. It's a fine balance.

[@marocat4749]

Depends, at a point it really can help to have stakes depending on the tone and that naturally hinges it hurtrs, but also has an intentional felt aftermath.

[@TabbyeLynne]

28:00 this is why Buffy's resurrection hits so hard, the revelation that she was in Heaven, she was happy and complete and in peace only to be brought back to life and expected to fight again, to raise a child alone, to pay the bills that had accumulated in the months that she is been dead, and to be happy to be alive is a shock to the audience Buffy died a hero's death, sacrificing herself to save her sister and the world and her friends took away her reward, life feels meaningless to her, she is depressed and low key suicidal but because she knows they did it out of love she doesn't want to tell them the truth, insted she puts on a happy face around them and acts grateful so she doesn't hurt their feelings all the while feeling like life doesn't compare to what she felt when she was dead, she is so off her game that three idiots get the better of her and her friend dies in the crossfire

[@omolisa3783]

And I think the arc of her finding her will to live again was so beautiful! Like, even if you feel like life is meaningless, chances are it will get better.

[@AmoebaInk]

"There was no pain. No fear or doubt, til they pulled me out" Also why the Buffy musical episode hits so hard. Yeah, there's some goofiness, but it moves the story forward significantly.

[@thejohnhopkinscompany9599]

Buffy Season 6 was such a strange mix of some of the absolute best and absolute worst the show had to offer.

[@RabbitShirak]

@@thejohnhopkinscompany9599It is somewhat difficult to watch sometimes because of the subject matter. Buffy's going through a depression, and she keeps handling it the wrong way over and over again.

[@marocat4749]

i love the theme of trauma and mental health being the enemy kinda and grief. And how the hardest thing in the world can be , to live in it, but worth it . , weep Alsao i love that mixed with the slice of life depressing life stuff, and i love she has a fastfood shop, XD , shows how hard life can be.

[@Moshuun]

Somehow, HelloFutureMe returned.

[@GnarledStaff]

That joy on his face when he said “I’m not done with you, get your ass back in there” just warmed my heart and made me smile. Take care of yourself Tim, you’re a gift.

[@robertwild9447]

Maul in The Clone Wars is one of the better examples I've seen because it gave them the opportunity to actually flesh out his character. If you can get past the silly robot legs, I think bringing him back was worth it because we got to see better stories and more depth to that character than we got in The Phantom Menace.

[@Dantprime]

Yeah maul in the original stories basically existed to show up, kill a Jedi and then promptly die once his usefulness was fulfilled. It was nice to see them flesh him out into an actual character instead of a stepping stone in someone else's story.

[@elius1548]

Maul is such an interesting case because he has just as little believable reason to come back as Palpatine on TRoS. There’s no good explanation for either of them. However, most people don’t really get mad about Maul because his story is very interesting, and he makes other characters (Kenobi, Ahsoka, Savage) so much more interesting as well

[@dandanthedandan7558]

The audience can suspend their disbelief more easily if they like the resurrection

[@Kuhnonthecob]

@@elius1548 At least with Maul a reason to how he came back is given. With Palpatine it’s just, “Idk somehow I guess?” Maybe it’s explained in a book adaptation or some bs but that’s not exactly a point in its favor imo

[@darthvaderreviews6926]

@@Kuhnonthecob The heavily implied explanation with Palpatine is he had the cloning facility on Exegol and used Dark Side soul transferal to reawaken in one of those clone bodies, but there's a *lot* of problems with how it's presented and how it fits in, beyond the simple premise of his return. -The big reveal designed to _emotionally_ sell the audience on the premise, the "THE DEAD SPEAK!" thing the intro crawl and characters in the movie refer to, IMO equally as important as selling them on the literal explanation on how it happened, was *in Fortnite* instead of the actual movie, or at least the trailers or something -The way Poe discusses Palpatine's return is rather dismissive, preempting it with the "somehow" then going on to give a random list on some maybes on why, feeling like the writers brainstorming the premise for the story rather than a story with a premise -The reveal of the Exegol cloning facility is muddled in its intended implications with the seperate reveal Snoke was created there -Palpatine is played up as an old, withered husk, further confusing the audience as to if this body actually is the same one he's always been in given the extreme age. The actual explanation is probably something like clones' accelerated aging and Palpatine clinging to life taking a toll on that body -There's an callback to the Darth Plagueis speech, which serves as another red herring. While the James Luceno Plagueis novel got cut off by the Legends decanonisation, it was by an extremely narrow margin, and Luceno has continued writing books in the new canon so IMO it can be considered borderline canon, and that book explicitly shows Plagueis' unnatural life extension was literal resurrection, of dead cells and etc. He did not know the soul transfer technique Palpatine presumably used to survive and tries to use again on Rey in Episode 9, so Sheev's survival has absolutely nothing to do with Plagueis It's all a lot more confusing and chaotic than just saying _"maul landed at the bottom of the pit, was too angry to die, and built dope robot legs, deal with it"_

[@Calebgoblin]

Okay, suggesting that resisiting/overcoming death doesn't HAVE to be a twisted thing, and comparing it to society's advances in health, is one of the coolest nuanced philosophy-x-writing takes I've ever heard

[@HelloFutureMe]

It's one of my favourite subversions to read about! ~ Tim

[@Daemonworks]

The funny thing is, I always found it to be the most obvious take. Death itself just not really special to me? I may miss a person who's gone (or celebrate that certain ones are), but I just don't place death in any position to see basic biological immortality, on its own, as anything other than better medicine. The "violation of the natural order" angle is particularly dead to me... I'm writing this with electrons onto a global network of copper, gold and spun glass that contains the sum total of recorded human knowledge.

[@thesatelliteslickers907]

the idea that death may be natural, but does that equate to it being good? or necessary? if you see someone dying. the thought of doing nothing is unconscionable. if they are dead and you can bring them back then is that not the same? can you morally justify refusing to save a life just because most would see it as already too late? even if they are changed. if they are different. does that change it? necromancy is morally complicated not because raising the dead is unethical. but because, in gaining the power to raise the dead, do you not bring onto yourself moral culpability for every person to have ever died?

[@nemonomen3340]

People resist death everyday when they choose to eat food rather than just starving. It's not only normal but a part of everyday life. What's important is the ability to accept that everyone dies eventually. If medical science advances to the point that dying of old age can be prevented inevitably, then people will still die. Eternity makes exceptions for no one.

[@pisscvre69]

i always thought it was stupid that stuff is like “noooo we should dieeee life has no meaning if we dont die” bs, life is lived day to day, and day to day moment to moment is always the same regardless of existential questions, ive had 2 near death experiences so lets assume then that beyond my knowledge i did die but was resurrected, okay, im still here thats all that matters, i still feel think love, all that all the human stuff, it reminds me of when people say we need bad stuff to know whats good, nah, i had a dilutionally perfect outlook on life when i was 4 i thought nothing bad ever happened other than like a skinned knee lol, and i was happy, i didnt need to know all the things i do now or have bad experiences to realize i was having the time of my life, shity stuff is just shity, and we should never let some cope about balance keep us from making things as good as they can be for all of eachother

[@wystellia]

I love resurrection in Delicious in Dungeon, the fact that it only works in a dungeon, most adventurers died many times but it's still not a pleasant experience, that there are people whose jobs is retrieving bodies and resurrecting people, and that even though the dungeon is the one place where it's possible, it might not always work if the body has been damaged too much. It gives the show an interesting mix of stakes and also makes me wonder about the world outside of a dungeon.

[@WTheKnight]

Good example! I'm in a Dungeon Meshi phase and I like the way they handle healing and how it can still be a problem if they don't have blood or flesh around to replace the body. It feels suitable for the series with its D&D inspirations, just using different spell components other than diamonds or gold.

[@catkittycatcatkittycatcatcat]

@@WTheKnight come to think of it, the only spell component being basically money is pretty weird

[@sunflower1935]

And the fact that is isn't your typical bringing person's soul back from hell but the soul of the person being trapped in the dungeon essentially not allowing death to happen is brilliant!

[@StonetheDestroyer42]

@@catkittycatcatkittycatcatcat The spell component is Calories, really. Energy at its core. The money part is payment to the resurrection specialist for performing the spell.

[@StonetheDestroyer42]

Just generally from a worldbuilding perspective, Delicious in Dungeon is excellent. The rules of the world are fleshed out both through exposition and discovery, but it's all pretty organically conveyed. And the rules are both interesting/unique, and make a ton of sense in context with each other. Ryoko Kui did a great job with it.

[@TheVermilliaFamily]

Re:Zero is a great resurrection story, that specifically explores the mental horrors of knowing death, its pain, and trying to avoid it for those you love.

[@snakeman830]

One of my favorite resurrection stories is probably the story of Feldon, from Magic: the Gathering. Feldon's wife died when he was away, and when he learns this, he starts searching for a way to bring her back. He learns of everything from necromancy to spirits, and more, eventually turning to artifice. He succeeds in bringing her back only to reveal that he only tried so hard because he never got the chance to say goodbye. His wife's resurrection was brief, but it got him the closure he needed.

[@mattjvr6189]

Gandalf is a classic resurrection, but even Gandalf the white is different to Gandalf the Grey, he's more sharp, that softness seems to have gone. In comic books when Superior Spider-Man/ Otto Octavius died to help resurrect Peter Parker back into his body (over simplification) is was a satisfying redemption for that character.

[@nickchambers3935]

I really don't see how Gandalf's softness is gone after he comes back, there are plenty of scenes where he's just as warm and kindly as before kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJLKkGyAZr92aMk kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIelmYRmiJqnq80

[@fisch37]

He also talks about his past life as well... passed. His reaction to hearing his name was "yes, I was called that" [paraphrased, too lazy to look up]

[@sayerglasgow115]

I think another thing about Gandalf is that his resurrection serves to highlight what we already kind of knew: he isn't human, he's something else.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

His resurrection was a straight-up miracle. Instead of inspiring questions on why Boromir couldn't come back, it makes the world seem that much more magical.

[@StarryEyed0590]

@@nickchambers3935 Maybe instead of saying the softness is gone, Gandalf the White is Gandalf with the volume turned up. "He "smiles less, but laughs more." His power is no longer veiled. He is quicker to explain things to his companions, but his patience is shorter too. He is laser-focused on the task he has been sent back to complete, with the hesitations, doubts, restraint, and even in some cases the sympathy that held him back before stripped away.

[@GnarledStaff]

A lot of people ask about why Gandalf’s resurrection isnt treated as a horrible plot device. The answer is cost and effect. (Note: primarily working off movies here but relevant to books) Gandalf’s death leaves the fate of the fellowship uncertain. Gandalf being gone sets off a series of irreversible events including the death of another character and the breaking of the fellowship. His return also provides a powerful emotional response that makes his return affect the story as well.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

but his death isn't the catalyst for either events that transpired on their own. Albeit, his wise presence might've stayed off any wrong turns. But these wrong turns actually lead to the (spoiler LOTR) eventual destruction of the Ring.

[@lettuceman9439]

Gandalf is also running within a Christian Perspective of Resurrection

[@marocat4749]

also ther are christian stuff tolkien inavoidable brought in , and yeah thats one. plus the seperation cant be undone by him coming back. Yes he brings hope but it happened and isnt undone.

[@cjkalandek996]

When you opened with that clip of Poe saying "Somehow, Palpatine returned", I thought you were gonna pull a *Cosmonaut Variety Hour* and edit in Peter Griffin from _Family Guy_ saying "Who the fuck starts a conversation like that?! I _just_ sat down!"

[@PieisDaBest1]

Hades does a fun thing with resurrection. It justifies it. Games always give you a chance to start over or respawn, but Zagreus is literally in the Underworld so of course when he dies, he just gets sent back to his father. It's less like a big loss (unless you were having a good run) and more a source of frustration. The only thing he and the player can do is learn from their failures and keep trying.

[@Mewseeker]

Thematically, it also show how basically Zagreus is feeling trapped and want to get out.

[@deathrayman8074]

Yooo, cool to see you in a HelloFutureMe comment section, friend! You make good videos with funny jokes. Just wish I were more into RTS so I could support you more.

[@PieisDaBest1]

@@deathrayman8074 Ey, appreciate the support!

[@draegonspawn5361]

Palpatine's return would have mattered, had it started a quest to find out how and prevent it recurring again. To learn he is doing the force ghost thing and possessing a special clone in a darkside twist. BUT THEY DIDN'T do anything with it. Which makes it more cheap.

[@DelphinusZero]

Yeah actually if they had committed to that as the plot to episode 7 it could’ve been interesting. Palpatine’s resurrection could be a symbol of the first order rising out of the ashes of the empire, and that would give Luke, Han and Leia a further reason for angst by feeling like they accomplished nothing but a momentary respite. Or maybe could have been a reason for Kylo to have turned to the dark side, meeting the man his grandfather supposedly redeemed himself by killing. Instead it just felt like an ass pull.

[@draegonspawn5361]

@@DelphinusZero it would have even seguayed into Mandolorian as that did have plot elements about making force sensative clones. But nope...somehow.

[@anomiceleven]

I think you could have explored Wolverine in this essay - he is constantly being resurrected against his will. There is something absolutely tragic in the amount of physical, mental and emotional suffering that Logan goes through in the comics. He has lost everyone he loves and cannot die. He is always right on the border of his suffering making him an enlightened hero and reducing him to a mad beast.

[@hockeygrrlmuse]

Oooh, yes - resurrection on a cellular level!

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Wolverine actually doesn't even die, which is worse. He doesn't even get that moment of release of death. Just pain.

[@anomiceleven]

That's the point. That is what I said.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

@@anomiceleven so it's not resurrection, per se, Percy. It's just the pain of undying.

[@Bafflementation]

There's a lot to talk about on the subject of comic book resurrection, particularly when it comes to those revivals being lazy/unearned/damaging to the story.

[@markpolo97]

Westley in the Princess Bride seems to just work, thematically and mechanically.

[@nancyjay790]

Mostly dead.

[@hockeygrrlmuse]

Yup, it's goofy and sincere both. It's also made more believeable because we've seen him cheat death before.

[@Crazy_Diamond_75]

Was he truly resurrected if he was only mostly dead?

[@bluesbest1]

Huge difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is still slightly alive, which can be worked with.

[@kahlzun]

​@@bluesbest1how long does it take for someone to be fully dead though?

[@joshuabarlow2386]

Land of the Lustrous is a really cool manga that has characters "dying" and being "resurrected" over and over again and i love how it uses this in it's characters and story

[@weedweeb9211]

Phos... The manga just ended too Man

[@flowerheart2054]

​@@weedweeb9211yeah, just god, I don't even know how to describe my feelings about this manga, those feelings aren't good but feelings notheless

[@deebambi5567]

Land of the Lustrous: A story about humanoid lifeforms made of crystals who can't die from age (for all we know). Their bodies can be shattered and their own memories, essence, personality is spread throughout their bodies, which means shattering and losing pieces is literally losing a piece of yourself. Lose enough or major parts and they are considered dead, yet if you mend the broken pieces back like a puzzle they can be returned back to life. The story follows them as they are being haunted for their luster, them trying to fight and get the piece of their dead friends and trying to gain the parts they lost along the way. Tl;Dr - Haven't felt that sad for manga MC since Guts (Berserk) and a Shinji (Evangelion) scale of a mental break of the MC, all of these in its own unique way, 10/10 would recommend.

[@flowerheart2054]

@@deebambi5567 for me it's honestly 5/10, mostly because of ending

[@HoneyDoll894]

​​@@flowerheart2054I don't know how the manga ends but I've read some more synopsis, and seen the anime. and honestly i regret watching it. maybe not because its bad but because i wish i hadn't seen it and cried for days afterwards or any time i remember the story

[@Blandy8521]

The main issue for me with Palps coming back is that we're then expected to believe he's truely dead despite him being brought back with no explanation in the same movie. Maybe if he'd been brought back in a similar way to the master in The End of Time it'd be better where his body was decaying and dying & he'd need to keep taking people's life force to stay alive. Would tie into how corruptive the dark side is too

[@philopharynx7910]

If they'd have had foreshadowing through the other movies and shown that this was a powerful work of the dark side it might have come off better. Then again, if they have worked the whole trilogy together a lot would have worked better.

[@MichaelRainey]

The Alliance finding out Palpatine was in possession of Kaminoan cloning technology and his dark side force ghost can inhabit a body would've made sense.

[@pokeyscorpion8224]

There's an explanation in the movie, it's just not exposition because it's not important enough. It's very clearly shown that sith cultists on Exegol have been trying repeatedly to clone Sheev for a long time

[@kahlzun]

​@@pokeyscorpion8224the Emperor coming back is important enough to drive the entire second half of the movie, and summon literally everyone with a hyper drive to come fight him. Anything relating to that is, by extension, important.

[@pokeyscorpion8224]

@@kahlzun I never said it wasn't important, I said it wasn't important enough to get exposition. It is still explained in the movie, it's just visual storytelling

[@MarshmallowRadiation]

***Teen Titans (2003)*** In the Season 2 finale, Slade (THE most underrated TV supervillain, and by far the best version of Deathstroke ever depicted), unequivocally dies. Despite all his machiavellian scheming, he is only a human being with no superpowers of his own. So when he falls into a pool of magma, he is, as any mortal man would be, instantly incinerated. This is highlighted strongly in Season 3, which has an episode with a fake-out resurrection. At first it seems like Slade has returned from the dead in a form only Robin can see, like a vengeful ghost representing Robin's unresolved trauma surrounding Slade. It turns out at the end of the episode that the "ghost" is simply nanobots that Slade left in his mask, programmed to create an illusion of Slade in Robin's perceptions just to have one last hurrah. And that only highlights just how undeniably gone Slade is. So when Slade returns in Season 4 with fire abilities and a strange glowing symbol on his forehead, we've been primed to be skeptical. We've seen this before-- Slade can't be back, so what kind of trick is this? It turns out, it's no trick. Trigon, the big bad of Season 4, has brought Slade's soul back from the literal underworld to be his servant, a display of power that highlights Trigon's threat. At first it seems like a simple case of "jobbing", with Trigon exerting influence over Slade's very existence just to show how much more powerful he is. But as the season goes on, it becomes clear that Slade isn't just rolling over and being Trigon's minion. As always, Slade has a plan. And when Trigon transforms the world, Slade betrays his new master, siding with the Titans to reclaim his body and return fully to life. It is, in my opinion, the best-written villain resurrection arc I've seen. At no point does it feel contrived or out of place. Every stage of his resurrection is carefully planned out to ease the audience into the possibility, without ever jumping the shark. Every plot beat serves another purpose than just to bring back an old threat -- Slade doesn't even appear as a villain for the rest of the show, though it wouldn't be out of place for him to do so. His character arc is effectively over with: his goals were never to destroy the city or take over the world. All he ever wanted was to survive his own mortality, whether that be through grooming Robin or Terra to be his successor, or becoming a ghost in Robin's mind, or using Trigon to bring him back in the flesh. And in the end, he won. He was an ordinary man who, through sheer guile and manipulation, outsmarted the devil himself into giving him back his life. His arc is basically perfect, and I can't think up a better resurrection arc if I tried.

[@jatzi1526]

Ya know I never watched the last season of Teen Titans. I should rewatch it. That fake resurrection episode also has awesome music. Or clips of it have awesome music I can't remember

[@AmoebaInk]

It was such a good show.

[@rubystewart2361]

One of my favourite resurrections is that of Jason Todd. Not because the method was especially elegant but because (unlike a lot of other superhero resurrections) it isn't just a 'blip' where he wasn't alive for a while but his death and resurrection becomes THE most salient parts of his personality and relationships. He is brought back to life, but he does not get his life back. Every facet of his existence is defined by his death, what other people did (or failed to do) because of his death and absence. This feels (emotionally) like a realistic reaction to being resurrected. Additionally, without his death and the resurrection he would be physically much worse off (coma with long term or permanent injury) especially as his method of resurrection healed his issues with childhood malnutrition as well as the peri-mortem injuries. In this, there is an element of blessing that he is unable to see as he only looks at what he lost - what was taken from him.

[@malicious-fisheeves]

Immediately came to mind was Dark Souls and Dungeon Meshi. Resurrection in DS is especially interesting because the cost, hollowing (in which you lose your memories, motivations, etc., until becoming just a husk), is also part of the game play loop. It's notorious difficulty ties to the act of hollowing in that many people (myself included at times) just threw up their hands and went 'screw this!', not unlike a person might dying painfully, over and over again and making little to no progress (it in some ways however also ties to DS's more positive story aspects--that the indomitable human spirit CAN overcome even very difficult and bleak obstacles) especially towards a goal that seems less and less obtainable with every step forward taken. One can interpret giving up on the game completely is almost like allowing your in-universe character to go hollow. Dungeon Meshi does something very interesting in that death appears, at first, relatively cheap. My friend made a really good point in our discussion "It's been established people come back. But then as you go you get more details (they can't be revived after their soul separates, you need most of the body, you have to substitute with animal blood, etc) and then you also witness the like. Fucking GIG ECONOMY that's been created surrounding this and how people will GET YOU KILLED specifically to pick your pockets. And the fact that the lower in the dungeon you die, the less likely you are to be found." By introducing the costs piece meal, it ratchets up the tension when they finally *do* get back to their dead friend only to realize it might be too late. And, when they do resurrect her, it gets even more complicated! It's really just fantastic.

[@erilinapolly]

Fullmetal Alchemist is a brilliant example of a study on resurrection, especially TV1 (even though I prefer TV2)

[@DabbleDo]

Gotta give it to Buffy when they ripped her from heaven and then found out through song in the musical episode

[@philopharynx7910]

Darn, and I was almost to that episode!

[@kahlzun]

Sweet didn't stick around long, but he probably did more lasting damage than any other demon in the whole series

[@philopharynx7910]

@@kahlzun I would have loved to see him come back.

[@Nimelennar]

​​@@kahlzun​ I would disagree. All of the damage that happens in the episode (minus the people dancing themselves into spontaneous combustion) is done by the main cast to each other. Tara finding out what the flower is, for example, is almost entirely disconnected from the plot of the episode: it would have happened anyway. And, to a lesser extent, I think it's the same for the rest of the damage done in the episode. It's all secrets that would have come out eventually, but Sweet forced them all to come out at once.

[@kahlzun]

@@Nimelennar and then he just left. They never defeated him. He did what he came to do and then dipped.

[@nunyeh]

I really like how Matthew Mercer handles Resurrections for Critical Role. In DnD, it can sometimes be trivial to resurrect, just another spell with some costly components cast by the cleric. Matt gives it a lot more stakes by involving the whole party, making them contribute to it and actually making it quite possible to fail. Resurrection scenes are some of CR's best.

[@ewelinapatek3631]

Especially Molly's resurrection at the end of CR2! You couldn't script it more perfectly than what actually happened. I'm still to this day blown away by how well that worked

[@tiph3802]

I was looking for this! Spoilers for Vox Machina! Every member of Vox Machina died at *least* once, yet every death had weight. (You could argue Keyleth's was so unexpected and insane there was no weight felt in the moment because honestly? Amazing. Peak Dungeons and Dragons.) I came to C1 late and knew they would each come back to save the day, but I still cried and felt grief with each death anyway. I think the two that hit the hardest were Percy's after Ripley and Scanlan just before "what was my mother's name?" We all talk about what a genius Mercer is, and his praise is well-deserved, but as a DM, not enough praise is given to his players. Campaigns aren't told by the DM alone. Matt came up with a mechanic to give death meaning in D&D. His players made us feel it. Laura had Vex shoot Ripley through the heart to express her grief. Travis sang Sam's sports ball team anthem to beg Scanlan to return. Those things are what add weight and context to make the deaths hit like a truck even when you know it will all work out.

[@bluephoenix6067]

In addition to the poor handling of Palps resurrection, Rian Johnson was clearly setting up Kylo Big Bad, whether people liked it or not, and that was just tossed.

[@eyesofthecervino3366]

It could've been so good, too!

[@sethb3090]

Kylo came SO CLOSE to making a decision for himself that wasn't driven by hormones

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Hey man! My favorite resurrection has to be Jason Todd! It gave us red hood!

[@s.f.nightingale1735]

I'm not an expert, but I do think that one qualifies as at great cost, and having a great affect on everyone involved.

[@couver73]

Usually a resurrection is making clear that a character's story isn't over just yet. It's not that their arc must continue where it left off, but that their story can continue in a new direction in light of their death. I have a character who took his body to its limit, working alongside others with similar powers to save his home. He ended up diagnosed with cell death in the aftermath and died over time. But he was brought back with a new purpose: protect those mourning him in the shadows from things that threaten all of reality. Safe to say, I was proud of that.

[@LaneGamesYT]

The Barbossa quote you included is always so damn good. I need rewatch Curse for the millionth time

[@user-np1yz4xq8h]

I would have to say I really loved the resurrection in "Pet Cemetery". The anguish in grief, and the horror and fear of what you've done because of your grief.

[@morningstarcollective4671]

tbh as much as Supernatural is an example of death is cheap for the main characters, it also, EVERY time, makes things worse, that they're willing to bring each other back. Or that the angels want someone alive. It's a constant escalation because of back and forth resurrections, burning the world down for each other.

[@tiph3802]

Agreed. When Dean is brought back by his father, there's a whole season devoted to the trauma he's struggling with as a result! I also disagree that Sam or Dean specifically being brought back was fanservice. They're the protagonists. Unless Jared or Jensen wanted to quit, they were coming back. You could argue Cas, Lucifer, Crowley, or anyone else (*cough* Chuck *cough*) was, and you'd probably be right, but Sam and Dean were basically just a study in severe codependency and this codependency had consequences for the world as often as not.

[@SuperSupper2]

One of the weaknesses in One Piece's storytelling is that characters the audience believe to die almost always come back when there is the slightest room for doubt. A blantant example of this is the sacrifice of Pell, who saved many lives by flying a massive bomb out from a city. At the end of the arc, he was brought back with no explanation but a wink and nod. Outside of Brooke, it's never an explicit resurrection, but it may as well be to the audience perspective. Speaking of Brooke, fantastic resurrection story: having come back to life entirely by chance, he barely keeps his sanity as he drifts in the fog on a broken ship full of his late crewmembers, living for the promise to his last friend remaining in the world.

[@SilentFlatulence]

There were a few issues with that earlier in the series while the target audience were still young, but Pell was the only really bad one. As the audience grew older, the story grew more mature too, and thus death became more permanent.

[@anthonyschlott916]

Brooke wasn't resurrected by chance, they knew what Fruit he had eaten because there is a book on Devil Fruits. So he knew the fruit would give him a second chance and he spent years and years searching for his body.

[@pinkbuninja6536]

@@anthonyschlott916I think it was only 1 year or so until he got back to his body, then he was just a living skeleton with no where to go. Also, yes it was a funny note that after he ate the fruit and found out what it was he and his friends all said it was useless because until he dies, he’s just a normal guy that can’t swim. But they also counted on him to carry on their wills since they knew he’d come back to life. …I’m gonna cry thinking about it

[@cheesecakepaws]

I think while some writers completely overuse death as a story trope for their characters, Oda is one of the few examples that is the completely opposite of this. He should use death more often than he does. We could see with Ace how much of an impact the death of a character can have on a community that is used to everyone getting out and away from difficult situations with only a few exceptions. The anime always uses those few exceptions and completely destroys that characters death and their impact by overusing it in a desperate way to make the audience sad about it. I can not tell you how annoyed I was when O-Toko was shown for the 50th time "grieving" her father. Yasuies' death lost its meaning so quickly that I didn't even had the time to mourn at all about that guy tbh. The manga does a much better job at this, but since Oda mostly uses side characters when choosing someone has to die, death has a very loose and kinda meh meaning in the One Piece world, in my opinion.

[@LyriaSiders]

Really old spoilers for JJBA but I think one of the best choices for resurrections was Dio Brando in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. His return and becoming an antagonist of the descendents of his former adversary completely recontextualises an earlier part of the series, turning it from an epic to a tragedy.

[@guilhermesavoya2366]

Your description of Pinocchio's being an attempt at resurrecting a dead son reminded me of the forgotten Astro Boy film. The scientist's son died, and he tried to resurrect he by creating a robot who looked identical. But Astro was a new person, a new son who wanted his father's approval, and his father soon became horrified by this "thing" he created doing the exact same thing he created him to do and acting like his dead son. Your video also reminded me of how the effects of the Resurrection Stone from Harry Potter's lore, or how (initially) macabre and disturbing Edo Tensei (Reanimation) Jutsu was treated in Naruto.

[@Duiker36]

The connection between Astro Boy and Pinocchio is deliberate, btw.

[@sethb3090]

Oh yeah, edotensei was interesting. The initial uses were a cool play on the unresolved storylines literally everyone dead had (for all its faults, Naruto does a great job with the war is hell theme) while also showing how the new generations have truly grown beyond the old. Then Madara shows up and it's basically "Man, I got the resurrection from Wish? Where's the manager?"

[@musakamara4157]

The word Avatar is the rebirth of a divine teacher. I think Avatar the last Airbender and Avatar way of water handled its resurrected characters well. In last Airbender the Avatar is one soul but reborn as many different people with different personalities throughout history. Similarly in the way of water the character Kiri is a reborn version of Grace Augustine, also losing the original memories in the process but still retaining that "soul". Resurrection works best when the character is completely different but their core remains.

[@tiph3802]

Do we know this about Kiri? Has this been confirmed somewhere?

[@tzisorey]

🎶 There was no pain, No fear, no doubt, 'Til they pulled me out, Of _heaven._

[@gaara_of_the_desert1118]

Never in a million years did I expect to see a Stargate clip on this channel. It's so rare to find anyone who's actually watched it.

[@MichaelRainey]

Dozens of us!

[@gaara_of_the_desert1118]

@@MichaelRainey Lol

[@daviddaugherty2816]

He was totally right, too. Ronan's death in the finale was so heartfelt, and they just tore it away for no real reason.

[@lucyla9947]

Stargate was actually a major cultural phenomenon for a while, it's just mostly gone from most people's recollection by this point.

[@orikarru7877]

We're still around. Just finished my yearly rewatch of SG1. Gonna start in on the Atlantis run in a few days.

[@matth9103]

'Glitch' (Australian TV show) is an interesting/unusual one. Essentially, a few random people from a single small-town graveyard all come back to life, with no known cause. Rather than delve into how/why someone brought them back, it instead focuses on how these resurrected individuals adapt to the changed world around them. Some died only a couple of years ago, and so try to regain their former life, whilst others died ~100 years ago, and struggle to find meaning in this modern world. 'Bobiverse' (book series by Dennis E. Taylor) is also fascinating. Essentially, a guy signs up for cryonics, dies, and is awoken a century later as an uploaded mind that has been placed in command of a Von-Neumann probe. Without giving too many spoilers, it is an interesting exploration of what it means to be human (let alone an individual), and his responsibilities in a world so different from his own. It's definitely amongst my favourite book series, so I'd highly recommend it - especially to fans of 'The Martian' and other technically-minded sci-fi works.

[@DEML91]

When talking about resurrection the first thing that comes to mind is the Fullmetal Alchemist scene of the boys trying to resurrect their mother, its not just a tension filled scene but is also the main driving plot of the series and it's even more impactful in the 2003 version where all homunculus are resurrection attempts and directly impact how they behave and how can they be defeated rather them kill them enough times until they die that was used in FMA , which is why I always recommend people to watch both versions.

[@TheKrilicious]

Barbossa at the end of Dead Man's Chest. Even though he's only in the last 10 seconds of the movie, and has one line of dialogue, it's such an unexpected and exciting character (re-)reveal. At World's End brings such a good character dynamic between Jack and Barbossa since we get to see some of their previous rivalry we only heard about in the first movie. It also helps that Depp and Geoffrey Rush basically live in the characters and give them such charisma. It also sets up Tia Dalma as a more important and intriguing character since she's the one who brack Barbossa back from the dead. The movie keeps the magic system deliberatly vague and mysterious

[@daviddaugherty2816]

I do like when Jack and Barbossa set their rivalry aside to commiserate over coming back from the dead.

[@anyawatchesmovies]

You absolutely HAVE to watch Buffy, I just know you're gonna love it

[@cheesecakepaws]

It drags the story in a way that gets boring real quick. I knew it would get better because my parents watched it back then when I was too young to watch it and was only allowed a few episodes that weren't that bad occasionally because those episodes had been really gripping but even with that in mind I couldn't make it through the first part of the series because it's just so incredibly boring.

[@anyawatchesmovies]

@@cheesecakepaws It's just episodic structure, villain of the week format. Not everyone's favorite thing, but I like it. Later it becomes more serialized.

[@The_Open_Book]

I quite liked the resurrection in The Lazarus Effect. I can't remember if they explicitly said as much, but I distinctly remember coming away from the movie feeling as though it wasn't "something else" they brought back in their lover/friend's body, it was that their soul never *should* have been brought back and what death/hell might rightfully do to someone.

[@Grim-Owl]

Honestly when it comes to death and resurrection, you could probably make a video only about Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood and get nearly the exact same conclusions at least in my opinion

[@hyperionclarke118]

One of my favourite versions of resurrection is in the Destiny games. "Guardians" are brought back from death with no memories of their past life, and can continue to be resurrected from that point on without issue. To me the most interesting part is, because almost everyone can constantly resurrect, there are loads of different interpretations. Some view it as a curse of immortality, others views it as a second chance, there are even a group who continuously end their lives to receive the flashes of imagery before death. Enemies of the Guardians believe they are abominations, corpses raised to fight as soldiers, with my favourite quote being "You are a dead thing made by a dead power in the shape of the dead. All you will ever do is kill."

[@Skip6235]

Oooo, this just gave me an idea for a character who is revived and is now so terrified of dying again that they will do anything to prevent it. . .

[@ewelinapatek3631]

You may enjoy Malevolent - amazing podcast, following private investigator Arthur Lester and a mysterious voice in his head. This is one of the themes and the driving force behind one of the main characters. Cannot recommend it enough!

[@ajaxnoe9606]

This makes me think of the currently topical Dungeon Meshi, or Delicious in Dungeon and (spoilers ahead for both the anime and manga) Marcille's resurrection of Falin. Resurrection is commonplace inside the dungeon, to the point that some characters have grown numb to the threat of death when a skilled mage in your party or roaming corpse hunters can simply bring you back. There are critical limitations to the magic, even in a dungeon where one character muses that death is "forbidden" - you need to be able to access the body, of course; the greater the damage, the more energy is required, and fresh meat like livestock might be needed to replace the corpse's blood and flesh; and if the body leaves the dungeon, the connection between the body and soul is severed and they cannot be brought back. Going into the specifics of the scene would take forever, but the resurrection is, unlike how simple and without second thought other scenes are done, framed like humanity tampering with something it should have never touched due to Marcille using black magic to bypass some of resurrection magic's usual limitations. Shadows loom over head, whispers fill the party's head, and Marcille's hair undulates like tentacles as blood burbles underneath Falin's charred, bloodied skeleton, slowly knitting muscles over her bones, pooling in her mouth and eye sockets to form a tongue and eyes. But, ultimately, this taboo act is Marcille's ultimate expression of love, breaking international law and defying the natural order of like and death to bring back the friend she watched grow from a young student to a loving and skilled magician. Marcille's use and study of forbidden ancient magic also ties to her own character's motivation and growth, too. I won't go into it further, since I believe that her story is one of the most beautiful parts of the entire series, but to her, death is the ultimate betrayal, condemning her to sorrow and loneliness. Not only is the use of black magic to defy death her greatest gift, but also rooted in her deepest desire.

[@onthecreatingofthings5017]

I like having the bookshelf in the background. It was something that helped me keep looking at the screen picking out all the nerd references I related to. Please never stop making videos. Take breaks when you need and do retire when you feel you've said all there is for you to say, but let that be a long time to come. And bring the bookshelves back (optional)

[@Aceedius]

Final Fantasy 14 finished its' first major saga in the last expansion, which talked a lot about the question of accepting mortality. A kind of precursor species in that game with godlike creation powers was similar to one example you mentioned: Death existed for them, but only as a choice, as a social norm (though not strict requirement) after one had "completed their life's work" by serving on the ruling council. This is painted as a kind of complacency, which left them both desensitized to the lives of their mortal creations and fundamentally unable to handle the loss of control that mortality entails. A calamity they inadvertently cause nearly destroys the world, and the survivors' willingness to go to any extreme and to undo the damage rather than accept it and move on sparks the story into motion, with them serving as antagonists. It's not about anyone coming back 'wrong' per se, but rather the idea that any other life will become acceptable collateral damage for those who see themselves as above mortality. It's a story very firmly on the side of mortality being something we have to accept to have a reason to live. I don't personally agree that it's the end-all be-all take on that question, but it does a great job inspiring a will to make the most of the life we have, for those of us in the real world who (at least for now) have to accept death as an inevitability.

[@Thessalin]

That was a brilliant non specific way to not spoil every thing. Bravo. I agree wholly. I love that our light boss didn't rezz nor light mommy came back. It means something that they died and sacrificed. And due to the would setting, we can see echos in the future. But that one test of our rezz reflexes was such a wander through the crazy mess of it all that it made the end kind of ridiculous in a good way. But the theme also came crashing down for some real look at death and why and how it matters. Knowing some of the staff had medical issues during that last two expansions really brought it home. Especially when I finished the story having my own serious issues. It makes me ponder: Was this life a gift... or a burden?

[@joendeo1890]

Sounds somewhat similar to. FF-13's overall story line. Where there was one creator diety who made gods. But then the creator dissapeared. Those gods felt neglected so they made lesser gods and humanity. But only the goddess of death actually cared for humanity and so put into each of them a drop of chaos from the void so they might have lives unto themselves. The other gods made their lesser gods perfectly logical and rational almost like machines. Then the original gods became uninterested or unable to interact with the world. With the most powerful of the gods taking some of humanity and putting them under the rule of their lesser-god machines. Those lesser gods thrn ruled over humanity. But many of them felt neglected by their creators, just as their creators felt neglected by the Creator. It's a cycle of creation and abandonment. And the only ones not abandoned by their maker was humanity by the goddess of death, who still cared, and intervened as much as she could from across the sea of chaos where the souls of the dead dwell.

[@Para2normal]

For all the writers faults, the resurrection of Durnik in Eddings "Belgariad" was significant and quite well constructed.

[@rotmistrzjanm8776]

I think good example of ressurection is in Summer Time Rendering and Re:Zero where ressurection is basically used as a mean of timeloop but having consequences in case of STR or hit on psyche in terms of ReZero

[@danielmarhuenda]

Dungeon meshi does resurrections pretty in a pretty interesting way: Souls normally leave the body just after you die, but in magical places, like the dungeons, the soul is trapped in the body until the flesh decomposes, so if your body gets recovered you are not in danger, but if for example you get dragged somewhere remote it will be impossible to be revived, the tension is not whether you can be revived, but if the healer finds your body in time or if its too late

[@ASyler]

I had avoided spoilers for Rise of Skywalker when waiting to see it. I'll never forget the moment I read that opening scroll... "Um, what?!" I was so angry and confused and betrayed. How could anyone think that was a good idea with how unconnected Palpatine was to Eps 7 & 8? PS: You should totally watch Buffy. You'd love it.

[@sonicrose8430]

Not to mention Palp’s message that revealed to them he is back is only shown/heard in a one time only event IN FUCKING FORTNITE

[@Duiker36]

In fairness, I don't think anyone actually thought it was a good idea. The more you learn about the events behind the scenes of Ep 9, the more you kinda wonder how it wasn't worse. Like, read the *other* script. It's somehow *worse*.

[@ASyler]

@@Duiker36 That's so sad to think it worse. Recently, I tried to rewatch Ep 9 with fingers crossed that it wasn't as bad as I remembered it.... I didn't finish it. Lol

[@tiph3802]

​@Duiker36 jesus, what was the old script?! I read the Wikipedia entry on ep 9 because I'm not into Star Wars in general, and I sure as shit wasn't going to sit through another toxic "strong" female character movie that by all accounts was ass. My eyes nearly fell out of my head! How does this shit get funding?

[@blorbdestroyer]

I would consider the Homunculi to be both capable of resurrection and regeneration. When Greed gets his brain crushed, he is clinically dead. He only comes back to life when his head regenerates. He came back from the dead, ie he resurrected. Similarly, I believe it was Lust who at one point disintegrated and regrew from the philosopher's stone. Her body was gone, therefore she was dead for a second

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Reminds me of the Homunculus in Hellboy.

[@kingofhearts3185]

Plus greed gets a new body at one point, and while it's mainly about the man whose body he has, it does change him as a person.

[@eris9062]

@@kingofhearts3185 It is also implied that his last body was quite unique in the level of willpower it possessed, and that being able to fight back isn't something that is normally possible/normally works.

[@kingofhearts3185]

@@eris9062 Also true. I only meant to say that we see how rebirth put him on the path to change.

[@IlonaCapistran493]

I just don't have enough words to express my enthusiasm for this video!🤩

[@countdeville4146]

Spoiler for supernatural this show is the one that i think does bringing people back the worst, except for somehow palpatine returned. I loved it when dean was brought back the first time by the angels, it had weight and impact. It was a mystery and pretty much unheard of. But afterwards they just came back so often that there was no point to it. Someone died, oh no, give it a few episodes they will be back. Except when its not a main character, then its so tragic that nothing can be done.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

I thought Sam coming back without a soul was also pretty interesting. After that, death was a revolving door for everyone but side characters. Screw those guys, I guess.

[@countdeville4146]

@@daviddaugherty2816 True, that arc was interesting, but the problem was that now both sam and dean had come back, so it was no longer a one time thing. So there was not much tension with deaths afterwards. What made this worse is that when characters that are not Sam, Dean or Cas die and everyone acts all sad, like there is nothing that can possibly be done about this.

[@daviddaugherty2816]

@@countdeville4146 Exactly! That's why I tend to just avoid that sort of mess altogether in my writing. Resurrection: not even once.

[@Greatcelestialkaligo]

Delicious in dungeon does this very well, feels like a game and makes death feel weird

[@Nixeen]

2 characters I thought about. First obviously, Goku. He's died so many times, its just a hassle to come back to the living, but the tension is in the side characters or planets getting destroyed. Also Asura from Asura's Wrath. He dies multiple times, coming back thousands of years later only seeing how the earth and humanity has gotten worse, forcing him to fight even harder to save it and his daughter.

[@michaelwoodby5261]

The primary antagonist in Arcane defines himself by his near-death experience, and repeatedly tries to make it as important to everyone else as it was to him. The most important death in the series is probably going to be undone, but they're so solid about their writing and characters that if anyone can pull it off it will be them.

[@kimwasalreadytaken]

My absolute favourite resurrection story is The Brothers Lionheart by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. It's so good.

[@CptnCanuckShow]

Two examples that jump directly to mind on this topic: Full Metal Alchemist - A series entirely based around the costs and weights of resurrecting the dead, and how disturbing the natural occurrence of death can be so detrimental to the future. Almost every episode tangles with this core premise in different ways. What is truly the cost of life? Glitch - A niche australian drama series that honestly most people probably never saw. But it sees a number of people spontaneously return from the dead, including a police officer's deceased wife. He's already moved on, and fell for her best friend, and the two of them have conceived a child, due to be born soon. The return of the woman he'd thought he'd lost turns his entire life upside down, and the drama that ensues is truly interesting. Kind of a low-budget B-series, but great writing and an awesome concept to run off of.

[@nicokrasnow1851]

This version of Pinnocchio makes me think of Astroboy's premise. Astroboy himself is probably based in the OG Pinnocchio

[@bluehax6]

emesis blue is my personal favorite take on this topic (spoilers below, please go watch it) I love the way it explores the experience of the afterlife for the characters, having to wait an eternity before being able to be revived. Most of the time, the characters don't remember the afterlife once they come back, but sometimes they do and having to literally wait forever with nothing to do drives them to madness.

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

Tim, we love your passion. Have a good one.

[@IlluminaudioOG]

Perfect timing with this video! A PC died at level 1 in my Pathfinder 2e game last week and the party decided they would seek out a way to resurrect her. It has been SO difficult coming up with a semi-logical way for level 1 character to get that done. I figure the only person they know of who might be able to pull this off is her mortal enemy, the Hand of the King. He would jump at the chance to get his enemy to owe him one but I'm having trouble figuring out what he might want from her. In my mind there should be a social cost from owing the Hand for doing this and also a spiritual cost from being pulled back from the afterlife that will become increasingly obvious with time but doesn't take away player agency.

[@usagihinorei]

What about something like 1 year of service. Have your ressurected PC and Party get called upon by the hand to go adventuring for some powerful artifact for him, in the meantime while your PC's chew on " oh no are we going to hand this artifact over" your dude the hand pulls off whatever scheme or plan that the PCs would have prevented had they been present.

[@finaldusk1821]

Sometimes, the hardest lesson a GM has to learn is when to say "No". Depends on the party and the kind of game you're running, but for a party that weak (especially if they're still really early in their story), my inclination is to let them try and fail at this damn near impossible task, and see how the characters and players cope with that eventual realisation. Though of course, if you want the mortal enemy to exploit their desperate grief as a bargaining chip, that is a compelling angle in its own right!

[@tiph3802]

​@@finaldusk1821yeah, I don't think I'd allow a lv 1 character to come back. They're barely a step above a commoner. It would feel cheap.

[@Glitterblossom]

My favorite resurrections are Catherine Foundling’s rule-of-three resurrections in A Practical Guide to Evil.

[@PeanutStrawberry]

Hey Tim, are you ok?😛 But seriously, I hope you're ok, Tim sensei 🥺🙏

[@000Dragon50000]

Falin's resurrection in Dungeon Meshi is probably the best one I've seen so far, the exact mechanisms of how and why it works are clearly explained, and very neatly tied into the other themes of the story. Also, there are significant consequences for it later in the story.

[@StepBaum]

Another great video, and I feel like your humour improved even more. Thanks !

[@mesektet5776]

One of the best resurrection I have seen is actual in manga/anime Yu Yu Hakusho - the demon Yoko Kurama - as Suichi Minamino or just "Kurama" as the other characters call him - The whole bought back with functioning memory of what you were but born again from infancy and thus more or less being re-raised, thing creates for some interesting soul searching especially if you were and still remember being a sociopath, but this time around developing a conscience creates some FASCINATING character study, of a teen who has learned to be a good person but still remembers all the moral short-cuts and the advantages still available if he lets go of the lessons his new mother raised in him, and the totally ingrained love even his dark side has for her where if you touch her, Sociopath Kurama will come back and go full unblinking torture on you. Character stuff aside, the world establishes that reincarnations DO happen, it's not a plot contrivance, this demon just had to possess a fetus to be reborn because he was so weak and dying fetus was all he could possess, thus insuring his own resurrection with self-reincarnation. It's something technically any demon could do, but why would they want to possess something dependent on a human mother? So the world rules aren't fudged to get the situation. -------- I will spare details for spoilers here, but the resurrection i detest the most is from Immortus for Avengers 200.... To those who know... YOU KNOW! Aside from the awful, AWFUL way things done to Ms. Marvel, why would you need to be reborn and then create a machine to make sure your quantum state stuck in the new body? Doesn't make sense, I mean, if you are going to *[[* *censored* *for* *spoilers* *and* *nerd* *rage* *]]* and take over the baby in the first place why would the baby/new body need to be stabilized, also, if he can just do this at any time, why wouldn't he just try again? The comic never bothers to tell us.

[@juanpabloherreragonzalez5974]

The best resurrection hands down is Wei Wuxian's in MDZS. Tim, It'd be amazing if you give a try to the novels and then tell us what you think! Btw there's no spoiler here, resurrection it's literally the first word in the novels iirc. The whole book start with that.

[@IridescentFalcon72]

Donna's death of self is still one of the most devastating character "deaths" for me.

[@echowolf4230]

I think that one of the most important questions in stories with resurrection is this one: why aren't more people getting resurrected? If there is a magical (or otherwise to "mortals" accessible) means to resurrect someone - why aren't more people doing it, even if their is cost? There are many people who grieve over the loss of loved ones and I think you could find many who would be willing to pay the cost of resurrection, whatever that may be. If the way someone is resurrected is more divine in nature (something like "the grace of a divine entitiy is bestowed upon character X") then that leads to the question why a divine entity is bringing this person back. What makes them special? Why not others?

[@artusking9747]

I think a really good example of resurrection done right is Zane from Ninjago and his season 4 character arc.

[@hyukasstuffedanimals5259]

Garmadon’s in season 8 was actually pretty great too! For Ninjago, I think his was done well, imo. Not to mention it being further dealt with in season 9. Seasons 8 and 9 are fan favorites for a reason ;)

[@AndrewMovie13]

​​@@hyukasstuffedanimals5259 Thought the show ended in 2016... ._.

[@druidt8949]

​@@AndrewMovie13 No, it ran for a long time, 15 seasons, with it ending in 2022. All things considered, it was pretty good throughout its life

[@maninanikittycat4238]

Zane's my favorite out of the ninja. looking back on Ninjago the reveal of him being a robot was crazy!

[@artusking9747]

@@AndrewMovie13 The original series had 15 seasons and the sequel series "Ninjago: Dragons rising" currently has 1.5 seasons with the second half of the second season coming out later this year.

[@beastwriter3915]

Still waiting for immortality (which you touched on) and post apocalypse Can we have On Writing Romance or Comedy?

[@tofupowda]

i just love how shameless the palpatine line was. the absolute gall to bring one of the most iconic characters of a franchise back from the dead without an ounce of continuity or care about it in mind. he simply rose from the ashes, walked out of the void and appeared, just like that and this return must be accepted by the audience, because what are they gonna do about it?

[@scarredchild]

Thanks for the next two ideas for my Mass Effect play-throughs! A solid reason for the fourth ending (depression) and the renegade ending (changing Shepard from light to dark on a fundamental level).

[@blacksarlacc91]

I think the most ressurections have to go to Supernatural. What I kind of liked about them is that they always had sideffects. For the public because something evil got out (or awakened) too or for the resurrected because he changed.

[@gunsandroses896]

I think my favourite examples of resurrection are Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3. In 2, some characters resurrect, but without their memories. Some Blades even keep diaries in an attempt to keep their memories alive or they try to fuse with their Driver in an attempt to escape their cycle. In 3, similar story with the humans of the world. They die in battle and get resurrected at age 1 to fight again. And there's a whole pantheon of Consuls who are resurrected people trying to keep the status quo, sometimes sacrificing part of themselves in order to be immortal. (N having to kill residents of The City or Triton just simply tired of being a Consul and making his own colony, etc.)

[@dancedancelauren]

Good examples - I was thinking about the XC2 Blades myself.

[@gunsandroses896]

@@dancedancelauren right? Like they reincarnate to an almost literal degree, but as Jin said in his diary: "when I wake up, will I be the same man as I was before?"

[@hamilpatel4025]

def a topic that bring me to tears ( I should prob stalk to a therapist about, this and a litany of other things).

[@Sly-Moose]

Tim: Over and over again for the Fatherland. Togh: You mean the Fire Lord. Tim: That's what I just said-

[@beammeupscott3032]

Immediately thought; shadow of Colossus

[@user-yo5eh7nt9u]

Something that often gets forgotten when discussing "somehow palpatine returned" is that ep 7 set up two big villains for the sequel trilogy - kylo ren and snoke, and then ep 8 killed off snoke and gave kylo a redemption arc. there was no way that the sequel trilogy could have had a satisfying ending after that. although I personally think ep 9 should have completely undone the kylo redemption arc and have him as main villain instead of bringing back palpatine

[@daviddaugherty2816]

There were a couple hints here and there through 7 and 8 that Kylo would be redeemed and Rey would go dark. Honestly, I think that's the direction they should have taken.

[@lonjohnson5161]

My current story is a variation on resurrection. I didn't realized it until I watched this. I now have more to consider.

[@deebambi5567]

The manga "Gantz" is good candidate for this subject In short the story is revolving around a room with weird alien/future tech sphere in the middle. The sphere teleport people at random to the room right on the verge of their death healed from any injury/illness, than it sends off the group of people to fight for their lives in deadly monster/alien fights which are gory, scary a literal nightmare fuel stuff. As long as you're alive even if seconds away from death bleeding and starting to lose consciousness, if the main monster has been dealt with they get to return the room and the sphere gives them a score as if it's a game. Those who survive can leave the room and get to go back to their life, but they will be summoned again at the next game back to the room for another fight together with the other survivors and new stock of people who've just died. How does resurrection come into play? The sphere "Gantz" will give it's players a special reward if they manage to survive to 100pts: Get a better weapon in the future game OR Get released for the game and forget everything about and related to it OR revive someone who died. The story gives flawed characters left and right, nobody has plot armor - group dynamic always keeps a possible next MC candidate. The revived characters return as if to them it was just blink no matter the time passed, yet they have to deal with those they left behind as to them they just ran away or disappeared in their day2day life outside Gantz, and them realizing their fellow Gantz members gave up their freedom for them. The story is driven by the riddle that is the "Gantz" games (that keeps changes its own rules like a kid throwing a tantrum), the human connections and growth form repeated near death experiences, how much and who of the main group will get to leave the Gantz games, and you feel the cost they pay to revive another person. Truely from all the mangas that I've read none hit like this with the primal fear of "fight to survive".

[@oeurydice]

Spoilers for Campain 1 of Critical Role Vex's resurrection in the Sunken Tomb and it's consequences for her brother has always stood to me. Matt Mercer's resurrection rules that require the players to make a tribute to thier fallen companion led to a lot of lovely character moments throughout the campaign - but it's "take me instead you raven bitch" that lives in my head rent free.

[@tiph3802]

The fact that Mercer used this to help Liam, who was going through an incredibly difficult time, just adds so much, too. It was already impactful, but that Matt was able to turn a reckless decision two players made into a way to lift up a third was beautiful.

[@Poke-ladd]

Makes me think of a certain character from the Merlin series A man who sacrificed himself only to revived against his will and becomes a thrall and after the chaos he causes I don’t think Merlin told Arthur the truth

[@Junosensei]

There's another novel series (-turned-anime) called Re:Zero where the main character starts the story with a "Return By Death" ability he has no control over except that he knows if he dies, he will return to a previous point in time. This point in time "updates" and he never knows when or how. Of course, dying isn't pleasant, and he sometimes carries phantom pains for a time, confused or driven insane by the state of the death he just experienced. There are a few times he somehow gains the courage (or rather, the desperation) to kill himself, and it is first played as without consequenceーhe simply resets and nothing bad comes of itーbut we later see him commit suicide to reverse the loss of a very precious character, only to wake up again moments before he stabbed his own throat, unable to go back and save this character. Af'ter that, he goes through a trial that reveals to him the possibility that every world he dies in goes on without him, and that killing himself comes with extreme consequences for those he leaves behind. When he finally meets the one supposedly behind the ability, he nearly breaks and tries to tell them that he will use the power as much as it takes to achieve his goals, but the character then tells him to stop sacrificing his life as if it is cheap. This is a major turning point in the series, where several events culminate in the main character finally seeingーnot understanding yet, but seeingーhis own self-worth. The whole series is about mental health and self-love, and I love it to bits.

[@sabrinamcclain162]

Some favorite resurrections off the top of my head are Beric Dondarrion sister in resurrection, Lady Stoneheart, a book series I read where people can get brought back as robots that deals heavily with the social implications of it and whether or not they're considered the same person that they were before, Orpheus and Eurydice. I also like stories like the tell tale heart where the character hasn't really come back to life but someone thinks they have because their guilt is screwing with their head. Since you brought up Ned Stark, I read a fanfiction where Varys fakes his death and the events of the books that have been released so far still happen as is while Varys has him prisoner before he escapes, and part of what made it interesting and somewhat tragic was the fact that all the pain and suffering caused by Ned's death was for nothing, and the fanfiction was exploring that. It was one of those things where it probably could work in a fanfiction but not canon (I don't mean in a derogatory way but in a 'fanfiction has more freedom to explore things that the text might not do for good reason' way) but it was very effective.

[@shandaniel2999]

“Resurrections are complicated” -Sax music

[@B2WM]

One of the best excuses for Gandalf bobbing.

[@Poke-ladd]

I wouldn’t say this is for or against the Troupe- The anime series Overlord Resurrection has a price, conditions and drawbacks on the target It’s something they delved into to a degree If the body is too damaged or has been affected by certain death spells the target can’t be resurrected- at least not with low tier resurrection spells (possibly 5 tier and below won’t work) Most revives come with a price being gold, the loss of levels and stat debuffs which last for some time, speech impediments for a could of days, items on the character might be lost The spell comes in a variety of strengths and can be a specialty staff one which Ainz has used a few times

[@coldfire-blitz3122]

10:30 A great example of this mindset is in Corridor Digitals movie SYNC.

[@moistcement]

LOVE this thumbnail! drew me in before i even realized it was a video from tim!

[@SageVallant]

Palpatine has come back plenty of times across the Expanded Universe, too. Maybe that's why they couldn't pick a method. No matter what they picked, someone has done it before and they didn't want to pay royalties.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

Palpatine might have come back from death multiple times, but those where all in one specific story line, Dark Empire, and it was the same method each time: his spirit possessing a new body, usually a clone of himself.

[@zen_of_chloe]

The unexamined assumption of most resurrection stories is that "human" is a valuable category in itself. Looking around that seems like an assumption to question.

[@germainelowpt7206]

Loved this!