Last night I dreamed about Home and Away.
There's a shootout between Martin Dibble and someone else. Lance Smart is in the room. The next thing I know, the scene is over and I learn Lance Smart has died.
Also...
Alf Stewart has died on the show. But then I realize it must be a mistake or fake-out because I know his character ends up being on the show for many decades. I think of Ailsa Stewart's reaction to his death. She didn't seem that sad. I decide it makes sense that she's not upset...since he's not really dead.
If you know an actor's going to be on a show for awhile, you don't have to worry so much about their character dying.
On my episode yesterday, young Sally Fletcher was in mortal danger because sad, crazy Danny thinks his dead father wants him to kill her. Viewers back 1989 might have been biting their fingernails. Not me in 2014. I know that Sally ends up being on the show for many years. Something is going to mess up Danny's plans. Or maybe he's going to fight back against his ghost-father.
I'm thinking of other Aussie shows. Patrick and Lou's death were shocking, traumatic, and depressing for me. Maybe it would have been better if I had been emotionally prepared.
Then again, we had spoilers about deaths on McLeod's Daughters and it made us lose interest in the show. If you know there's sadness up ahead, sometimes it's easier to just walk away. There's a certain Australian show that is so incredibly sad, I don't know if I would have chosen to even begin watching it if I knew what was in store for the characters.
Back to Home and Away....
I know of some upcoming deaths. Tom doesn't have many years left. Bobby's going to drown, but I don't know when. And then I know something eventually happens to Ailsa—maybe some kind of disease?
I'm prepared. But I suppose in the near future, it will be nerve-wracking when I see scenes with these characters. If Tom looks any bit uncomfortable, I'll be expecting him to drop dead of his heart attack. Anytime Bobby goes near water, I'll get anxious. And if there's talk of Ailsa going to the doctor, I'll assume it's the beginning of the end for her.
It all makes me think about real life. Because as sad as death is when it's on television, it's often quite worse when it happens to people you know in real life.
Would it be better if we all knew when and how we were going to die? I think maybe it would. I'm an anxious person, and a lot of my anxiety comes from worrying about people dying. If I knew a certain person was going to die from a fall when they were 79, I wouldn't have to worry about them drowning in a boat accident when they're 36; or dying of food poisoning when they're 45. If someone had a suspicious mole, we wouldn't have to worry if we know destiny has them dying in a plane crash twenty years from now.
The only thing is...I think it would need to be very specific. If all we're told is our year of death, that last year is going to be horrible. We'll be sitting around waiting...completely paranoid.
I think we need to either know the exact day of death. Or we need to know the cause of death. If you know you're going to die in 2018 of a pandemic, you don't have to fear rock climbing and roller coasters.
But then let's say it IS rock climbing that's going to kill you in 2018, wouldn't you just avoid rock climbing?
Yeah. Probably.
So then a lot of us might win the game against the angel of death. The earth will be overcrowded and very uncomfortable. But at least we won't have to be anxious about dying. No...I think instead we'll be in despair about not being able to die.
Maybe things are fine the way they are. Even if they do make us sad and anxious sometimes.
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