Fifty More Horror Clichés That Should Be Left to Spoil

#27: Shock Value Deaths

  Recently, I have had the "pleasure" of finally watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina finale on Netflix.  For those who do not know about the show, basically it is a reimagining of the original TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch with a lot of darker undertones.  Status quo is not given to the cast at the end of every episode like in the original sitcom, the witchcraft in this version is dark magic with hints of voodoo in it, the cat Salem does not talk and is instead something called a familiar, serious modern issues in society are more throughly discussed, and basically, the whole show is Sabrina's internal conflict of staying good despite being in a Wiccan culture that worships the Devil himself.  It is a pretty interesting dark fantasy series that I recommend for anyone who likes great witch-related media with a strong dose of horror spice mixed in.  The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is far from perfect, but a great show to check out if you like stuff such as Riverdale.

  The reason I mention this TV series is due to the show runners recently falling into a very annoying cliché during the finale.  That awful cliché is something that way too many horror-related material has been plagued with for years; shock value deaths. 

  In the finale of the show, the writers decided to apply that dumb shock value death to the series's protagonist herself, Sabrina, not only once but twice to put salt into the wound.  The first time around, Sabrina's copy, whom she created a season earlier to rule Hell in her place, dies for nothing more than to spread shocking information that the main threat of the season, The Void, is coming to consume all of existence.  The second time around is even worse when the original Sabrina basically bleeds out on a sacrificial alter in order to contain The Void for good, when a perfectly good Pandora's Box nearby really could have prevented the death completely.  By using the stupid trope-filled card of shock value twice, the writers ended the series on a seriously sour, and extremely rushed note that pissed off not only me but a majority of the fans as well.  A series meant to improve on issues from the original source material did not deserve such a flat ending that suffered from a cliché that was completely unneeded to make an impact.

Shock value deaths, whether in the finale of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, or really any type of source material never works well for the narrative.  As the name of the cliché suggests, the trope always results in a big character death in the narrative that for the most part is completely unneeded.  If not needless, the shock value death will erode away common sense in the plot, creating massive gaps in the narrative that goes unexplained.  Like in the case of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina finale, the characters will ignore taking a more reasonable route to resolve the main conflict, such as better utilizing the Pandora's Box that if used faster would have saved Sabrina's life mere seconds before she would have bled out.  Thus, the logic of the cast of any narrative's characters will completely be disrespected for the sake of being "shocking" and potentially putting the audience off guard for an unneeded twist.

  When it comes to writing any type of narrative, creating a shocking death somewhere in the plot is just going to lead to unneeded frustration from the audience.  Twists in the storyline such as shocking deaths are not needed to make the story create a lasting impact on audiences, which seems to be the common misconception on using them.  With well balanced writing, twists in the storyline can be few and far between, just as long as the plot and its characters are captivating enough to capture the audience's attention.  You can simply create appeal in the story by crafting a basic plot that does not require something shocking to be memorable.  A well told story with plot points that are more expected is better than one with plot twist after plot twist that completely discredits everything being built up in the story.

  Having a lack of twists is what made other show's finale, Breaking Bad, a masterpiece for many people.  Instead of focusing on shocking the audience with character deaths, the writers chose instead to focus on the final moments of Walter's White's reign as the drug lord Heisenberg and the consequences his actions have brought onto those around him.  It was not about killing off Walter White's character to shock the audience.  Instead, it was a strong sendoff to a critically acclaimed dark drama series that was respectful to its characters as well as the world it had built up for five full seasons.  Breaking Bad's finale was a masterpiece in crafting a proper narrative full of enough conflict to keep its audience completely content with whatever direction the series wanted to end off on.  It is an strong example of how great finales are crafted, unlike the train wreck that was the one for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

  Plot twists like the shocking character death should not be used in any narrative that wants to respect its audience.  Instead, writers should focus on developing the cast of characters they are given and developing a storyline that can be remembered for the masterful pacing and tone of the plot.  Just trying to shock audiences with plot twists is just going to lead to massive problems instead of any type of positive feedback.