And then they all died. Again.

I've been watching Supernatural lately.  Since I've been watching it in full binge mode because it's on Netflix instant watch (or at least today it is,) I've noticed a theme I want to talk about today.

The two main characters die constantly.

One of them dies and the other brings him back, then the other dies and the first one brings him back, or one of them dies and it was just a dream or a time loop or what have you.  They just die all the time.  And although there are some really interesting issues that crop up with their various methods of dying and being brought back, I've become acclimated to it.  The last time it happened my response wasn't anything visceral, but rather "Huh.  Wonder how long he'll stay dead."

I care about the characters, but death is no longer a stake that I can take seriously.  I'm more worried that one of them will be sad (even though that happens all the time too.)

Part of this is just the nature of serialized television.  Of course they aren't going to kill off a main character.  I doubt the show would work with only one of them running around.  I doubt the fan-base would stand for one of the guys leaving the show.  The other part is that I'm about 5 seasons behind and I know that they're both still on the show.  I'm well aware they're both walking around, but I guess one or the other or both of them might be a friendly ghost or sharp-witted zombie or something.  If that's the case, it doesn't look like too much has changed.  Maybe the deaths would have been more dramatic if I was watching it as it aired.

So somehow, killing them repeatedly has actually lowered the stakes.

Thinking about this reminds me of another show I watched--an anime called Attack on Titan.  Everybody dies.  Everybody.  No one is safe.  In watching this, I got to the point where I purposefully stopped remembering the characters' names, because as soon as I learned their names they would die in the next episode.  I started doing this thing where, when I realized I was starting to emotionally invest in a character, I would pull back and say to myself, "No.  He's going to die soon.  It's not worth it."

So in Attack on Titan, the stakes stayed high, but they were raised at the cost of me caring about any of the characters.

I can't decide if these two situations are the opposites of one another or if they're basically the same: so much character death has made me less invested in some aspect of the show.  Maybe they're so far in opposite directions that they end up in the same place.