The stakes for giving queer characters equal odds at survival are higher than merely wanting more happy endings the continued usage of the trope can be interpreted as punishing queerness, or as a cautionary tale for what happens when one deviates from heterosexuality. Popular films and TV shows that have invoked this trope include “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Brokeback Mountain,” “Pretty Little Liars” (twice), “Black Swan,” “The Walking Dead,” “Teen Wolf,” and many, many more. In fact, it is difficult to think of stories in which substantial queer characters don’t end up dead or heartbroken to the point of collapse.
Or, at the very least, an ending they survive to see. Thanks to the ubiquitousness of the Bury Your Gays trope-in which queer characters are killed off at much higher rates than cisgender heterosexual ones-there has historically been a dearth of film and television with queer characters getting a happy ending.
