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Summary
The figure known as the"decoy protagonist"describes when a piece of mass medium , such as a boob tube show , introduces a fiber and pull a fast one on the audience into believe they are the story ’s main character . This may be the case withTV shew that killed main characters early , completely undermining what the audience thought their long - term role would be . The most coarse scenario with the decoy protagonist is thatafter a character ’s introduction , they are killed off moments subsequently .
There are other possible possibilities withTV characters who stop up being different from expect , such as the jape where the show jokingly insert one character before target stress to a less conventionally appeal one ( which might also involve the first character ’s death).Misleading ad campaigns for moviesand telly shows might also ( intentionally ) confuse the audience about who the primary character is guess to be . Hopefully , the decoy protagonist is a substantial twist , rather than vexatious blow sweetener .
A pilot sequence is commonly where a show get hold its foothold , but these television set serial boldly define themselves from the outset with jaw - dropping twists .
10Thodin (Barry Bostwick)
Lexx (1996-2002)
Lexxis seemingly another blank adventure series taking afterStar TrekandStar Wars , although the latter did not yet have any live - action TV shows at the clock time . The foreign dark comedy and travesty show has profit a cultus follow since it first premiere and subverted some of the genre ’s biggest trope . The serial publication starts with a glimpse of the origin fib of the assassin Kai , before shifting its attention to the exploits of greyback drawing card Thodin thousands of age later .
After lam instruction execution , Thodin frees some others and leads them in an attempt to steal the Lexx , a powerful starship and superweapon . This is a clear setup for a series about a gang of fugitives on the run with this weapon at their administration — but not with Thodin lead them . In the escape , Thodin is killed by an undead Kai . Kai then ends up becoming a extremity of the main group and one of the series ' leading persona , alongside the other escapees .
Lexx is a Canadian - German sci - fi television series that follows a radical of misfits traveling in a sentient spaceship . The crowd , include a cowardly security safeguard , a love life - slave , and a stagnant assassin , navigate a flakey and dangerous universe while facing various adversary .
9Master Indara (Carrie-Anne Moss)
The Acolyte (2024)
Carrie - Anne Moss was heavily advertize as the biggest seasoned star joining the cast ofThe Acolyte , alongside major ascend stars Amandla Stenberg and Dafne Keen . The placard forThe Acolytetypically feature of speech Stenberg ’s Mae compose by Moss ' Master Indara and Lee Jung - jae ’s Master Sol , possibly with some other characters in a less focused stead . Even the first few minutes seem to substantiate Indara ’s character as a major mentor figure — until she is kill off within those same few minutes .
This is n’t the most satisfying surprisal , as Moss would have been great as a Jedi Master who was give more attention .
As it turn out , Indara ’s primary purpose in the narrative is to be the inciting incident , mark up the secret plan of Mae being framed for murder and leading to her growing involvement in the Dark Side of the Force . Indara appear in two more episodes in flashbacks but is n’t really a main theatrical role . This is n’t the most square surprisal , as Moss would have been great as a Jedi Master who was given more attention .
The Acolyte is a television serial publication set in the Star Wars universe at the death of the High Republic Era , where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence . This sci - fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all take to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and train to bring about the end of the High Republic .
8Suzie Costello (Indira Varma)
Torchwood (2006-2011)
TheDoctor Whospinoff about the Torchwood Insitute and their investigation of supernatural phenomena was seemingly set up to include Indira Varma ’s Suzie Costello as one of the main team extremity . In the first episode , Captain Jack Harkness ' team ascertain themselves at odds with police force police officer Gwen Cooper , who witnesses some of their activity . However , the mystery of this sequence reveals that Suzie has expire rogue and is working towards her own goals within Torchwood .
Suzie is revealed to have kill multiple people to practice using a Christ’s Resurrection gauntletin the hopes of eventually being able to resurrect citizenry for good . Upon being discovered and go to kill Jack , Suzie takes her own life . The squad resurrects Suzie in a recent episode to get information on a new case , but she is killed again presently thereafter , and decidedly not a core squad phallus as she ab initio seem to be .
This Doctor Who spinoff follows the adventures of beloved quality Captain Jack Harkness as he works for the Torchwood Institute , a diminished team in Cardiff dedicated to investigating extraterrestrial phenomenon .
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7Sarah Miller (Nico Parker)
The Last Of Us (2023-Present)
Anyone go intoThe Last of Uswith a basic knowledge of the plot would have known that Joel ’s girl Sarah ’s end is the preamble to him taking another girl under his protection . The trailer throw it eminently vindicated that the girl Joel is traveling with is not Sarah , showcasing Bella Ramsey as the series ' other lead . However , without this context and only hints in the trailer that Joel loses his daughter , the first instalment ofThe Last of Usis misleading by following Sarah ’s perspective as refinement break down .
Because the television receiver show adaptation ofThe Last of Usmakes Sarah ’s death worse , it incline into the narrative trope that present her as the main character . Sarah ’s entire day is show rather than startingin media res , which can be interpreted as the presentation to her character before she is launched into a long - termWalking Dead - style survival story . However , as most people love , this is a misdirection ; Sarah is down in the first episode , which segue to Joel ’s parallel relationship with Ellie .
The Last of Us is a post - revelatory play series ready two X after a global catastrophe . It surveil Joel , a seasoned survivor , who is tasked with see Ellie , a teenage daughter , across a desolate United States , transforming into a harrowing journey of survival and fellowship .
Lexx is a Canadian-German sci-fi television series that follows a group of misfits traveling in a sentient spaceship. The crew, including a cowardly security guard, a love-slave, and a dead assassin, navigate a bizarre and dangerous universe while facing various adversaries.
6Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev)
The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
Most of the early poster forThe Vampire Diariesfeatured Elena with the Salvatore sidekick , advertising the trio as the show ’s main characters and the love life trigon as its core premise . As a variety of storyteller in the early episodes and the kernel of the love Triangulum , Elena is the basal master case , parallel other vampire romance properties . However , theVampire Diariescreators did not know Nina Dobrev was go to leave the show before its conclusion , forcing them to demote her from primary character status .
While the final two years might not be thebest seasons ofThe Vampire Diaries , the showrunners did a great job of recontextualizing the series to win over the audience that Stefan and Damon had been the true primary characters all along . Enough attention had been throw to the brothers ' relationship over the year and the erotic love trigon had been gradually phase out , allowing them to organically take over the story . The Vampire Diaries’ending is also in military service of this expectation on the series , despite Elena ’s return in the finale .
Based on the novels by L.J. Smith , The Vampire Diaries is a story about the develop love Triangulum between Elena Gilbert and two vampiric brothers , Stefan and Damon Salvatore . position in the town of Mystic Falls , Virginia , the show follow the III from high school through college as they combat for one another ’s affection .
The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.
While a master character ’s exit would presumably signalize the end of a serial , some TV show render to keep going after their admirer left .
5Rider (Jessie Mueller)
Centaurworld (2021)
Centaurworldopens with an idealized medievalist hero set out on another missionwith only her stately steed for company . Some other figure of speech come into play : a mysterious artefact to redeem , a home hamlet that is wipe out . The teller of this opening sequence , providing context for the deputation , is connote to be the Rider . However , as Rider only let the cat out of the bag or shouts out loud in this prospect , it ’s hard to say that the narration is n’t in reality her vocalization .
It turns out that the series ' chief case is actually Horse . After Rider and Horse are single out , the latter is confirmed to have been the storyteller in this first scene before being set in motion into Centaurworld . The first installment also seems like it need to imply that Rider is killed when the main duad is separated , which is the standard iteration of the decoy protagonist figure . However , Centaurworldalso misdirect this as Rider comes back later on .
Centaurworld follows a war horse transport to a whimsical earth of centaurs , where it embark on a pursuit to reunite with its passenger , navigating through musical adventures and run across with eccentric characters .
This Doctor Who spinoff follows the adventures of beloved character Captain Jack Harkness as he works for the Torchwood Institute, a small team in Cardiff dedicated to investigating extraterrestrial phenomena.
4Holly Gribbs (Chandra West)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000-2015)
The pilot burner of the originalCSIshow revolve around Holly Gribbs , making it seem like she will be the main theatrical role . Holly is a cub on theCSIteam;in her only instalment , Jim Brass , who does go on to become a major character for the show , is n’t happy with give birth an inexperienced investigator like Holly around . However , this would be the typical start of an underdog story about a greenhorn who proves themself to their strict superior .
First , Holly handle to embarrass herself by fleeing the way during an autopsy and incidentally locking herself in a stiff storage freezer . However , Holly ’s arc never adopt the flight people would expect when she is shotby another reference try on to cover up a crime view . Chandra West only appears in two sequence of CSI , but Holly ’s shocking death efficaciously set the stagecoach for the eternal rest ofCSI : Crime Scene Investigation .
In this long - running , Hellenic offense procedural , a squad of investigators searches crime prospect to collect forensic grounds , take apart it , and utilise it to pick up the crook of the workweek .
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3Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond)
The Shield (2002-2008)
The Shieldis also a legal philosophy enforcement show that kicks things off by introducing an ship’s officer who will ostensibly be a main character and then killing him . However , The Shielddiffers from other examples because it is pitched as being about corrupt police officer , and Detective Terry Crowley ’s destruction reverse out to be a potent opener to this story . As Terry is a newfangled phallus of Vic ’s Strike Team , he is also set up to be the rookie underdog of a classic narrative about becoming a more veteran officer .
Terry was asked to supervise the Strike Team by Captain Aceveda , which led to his death and forced him out of the show early . After discover that Terry had been crop with Aceveda to expose his crimes , Vic shoots and pop Terry during a maraud . However , this is only the beginning of several seasons of Vic ’s corrupted and violent deals , which make up the premise of the show .
The Shield is a gritty police drama starring Michael Chiklis as Detective Vic Mackey , the loss leader of a corrupt anti - gang whole in Los Angeles who breaks the law because he thinks it ’s the only way to add criminals to jurist . The series endure for seven seasons on FX and received several nominations , admit Emmy and Golden Globe nod .
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2Ned Stark (Sean Bean)
Game Of Thrones (2011-2019)
With so many perspectives , Ned Stark is the closest thingGame of Throneshas to a main quality in season 1 . The overall flight ofGame of Thronesis that the theatrical role who would appear to be the most authoritative to the long - terminus write up are killed off in the early time of year , letting others ascend to being the ultimate protagonists . However , Ned still work well as the centerpiece for all that takes place in Westeros and Essos during season 1,showing a kind of concern for what is bechance everywhere .
Upon Ned ’s death , the narration is fractured as several other persona move into more crucial roles .
This leads to one of the most famous TV theatrical role deaths ever , where anyone who did n’t read the Good Book was leave shock by Ned ’s precipitous and brutal instruction execution . Upon Ned ’s death , the story is fracture as several other character move into more important roles . At this point , Robb , Daenerys , Jon , and Catelyn might be considered the main characters , but the distribution will again shift when more go bad at the Red Wedding .
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Based on George R. R. Martin ’s ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire novel series , Game of Thrones is a fancy drama set in the fictitious Continent of Westeros and Essos . It follow imposing families like the Starks , Lannisters , and Targaryen contend for control of the Iron Throne while a turn out threat from the undead looms in the North . The serial receive substantial vital succeeder and pile up a loyal fan foot due to its high production value , sprawling sets , iconic character , and lurid twists .
The deaths of Ned Stark , Glenn Rhee , Boone Carlyle , and other major characters established that no one is secure from death in their respective shows .
1Scott Pilgrim (Michel Cera)
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023)
Scott Pilgrim admit Offleans into the prospect that the show will more or less follow the events of the movie , with the time to be a more close adaptation of the in writing novels . With most of the flick ’s cast returning , legion other phantasy series getting the same treatment , and the first episode showing an identical lead - up to Scott ’s battle with the first Evil Ex , this seemed like a safe assumption . Then Scott Pilgrim disappears ; truthfully , Ramona Flowers is more this series ' protagonist .
The rest of the series draw marvellously meta and further develops many of the characters , showcasing some amazingly wacky antic with the Evil Exes . Meanwhile , the cardinal plot of land follows Ramona trying to fix the secret of Scott ’s fade , while reflecting upon her own shortcomings . Scott Pilgrim Takes Offpulls off a beneficial decoy protagonist than most TV shows because it is very much aware of the pictorial novels and picture show ’s condition in the cultural zeitgeist .
found on the noted graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley , Scott Pilgrim take Off is an alive adaptation of the comedic activity - risky venture serial publication . The serial publication will see the nominal Scott Pilgrim hold up a routine living until he fall for a obstetrical delivery girl named Ramona Flowers - but before they can go out , he ’ll have to combat with her seven evil exes . The serial publication will see several hark back talents , such as the cast of the 2010 movie by Edgar Wright , all reprising their theatrical role , and melodious partners Joseph Trapanese and Anamanaguchi .
Based on the novels by L.J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries is a story about the developing love triangle between Elena Gilbert and two vampiric brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Set in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, the show follows the trio from high school through college as they battle for one another’s affection.
Centaurworld follows a war horse transported to a whimsical world of centaurs, where it embarks on a quest to reunite with its rider, navigating through musical adventures and encounters with eccentric characters.
In this long-running, classic crime procedural, a team of investigators searches crime scenes to collect forensic evidence, analyze it, and use it to catch the criminal of the week.
The Shield is a gritty police drama starring Michael Chiklis as Detective Vic Mackey, the leader of a corrupt anti-gang unit in Los Angeles who breaks the law because he thinks it’s the only way to bring criminals to justice. The series ran for seven seasons on FX and received several nominations, including Emmy and Golden Globe nods.
Based on George R. R. Martin’s ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, Game of Thrones is a fantasy drama set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos. It follows noble families like the Starks, Lannisters, and Targaryen vying for control of the Iron Throne while a rising threat from the undead looms in the North. The series received significant critical success and amassed a loyal fan base due to its high production values, sprawling sets, iconic characters, and shocking twists.
Based on the famous graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is an animated adaptation of the comedic action-adventure series. The series will see the titular Scott Pilgrim living a routine life until he falls for a delivery girl named Ramona Flowers - but before they can date, he’ll have to battle with her seven evil exes. The series will see several returning talents, such as the cast of the 2010 film by Edgar Wright, all reprising their roles, and musical partners Joseph Trapanese and Anamanaguchi.
