Grieving the loss of a loved one is no doubt one of the most intense emotions human beings experience at any given point in their lives, so it is unsurprising that many TV shows, books and movies, will use the death of a loved one to push the plot forward and help develop character arcs.

In the books and movies of the Harry Potter franchise, the untimely death of Harry’s parents, James and Lily, is often referenced and is the driving factor behind a lot of what Harry does. It is the primary motivator behind his decision to join the Order of the Phoenix and knowing they are waiting for him in the Harry Potter version of the afterlife gives him the confidence to face Voldemort at the end of the series when he thinks he is going to die. The death of his parents is portrayed on screen, and while the scene is quite dramatic, between the slo-mo shots and depressing music, it gives the watcher the same heart wrenching feeling that Harry no doubt also feels given his circumstances. The scene absolutely doesn’t go overboard and is able to perfectly capture the way traumatic memories can feel segmented.

In the Percy Jackson book series and new TV show, Percy’s mom Sally dies, which motivates him to accept a quest that will lead him to the Underworld despite the horrific tales he hears about it. Although it is later revealed that Sally is actually alive, her ‘death’ puts Percy, who naturally loves his mom very dearly, as she is his only parent for 12 years, through serious emotional trauma and very effectively pushes the plot forward, despite the actual death scene not lasting very long in both the book and the show. Her ‘death’ lasts only a few seconds and accomplishes exactly what Rick Riordan wanted it to. It symbolizes Percy’s newfound separation from his old life while simultaneously pushing him into the plot of the first book.

So, while death in media is common and sometimes can feel dramatic, the drama practically always serves to deepen the impact the death has on the viewer or reader, which helps establish an emotional attachment between the viewers and the characters on screen, and, when deaths aren’t as dramatic, they can still serve to further the plot and help characters move forward along their character arcs.