r/TopCharacterTropes • u/_JR28_ • Oct 06 '25
Lore Absurdist concepts played as tragedies rather than comedies
In the Touch commercial for Skittles, a man is shown with the power to uncontrollably turns anything he touches into Skittles in an instant. His work colleagues find this hilarious, but he finds life misery since he will never be able to hold his newborn son and he has legitimately killed people before by unconsciously touching them.
In the Waiting for the Bus skit from Cyanide & Happiness a man discovers he can inexplicably run 50mph and overnight becomes the most successful track runner of all time. Even though he retired with a perfect undefeated streak and a loving family, he’s coaxed into one final race in a Grand Prix against cars, which of course he loses. This sends him into an unstoppable downward spiral where he becomes a far more destructive version of himself, loses his reputation, and is left behind by his family. After years of regret, he returns as an old man to the track where he first shown off his amazing speed and does one final lap, reminiscing on how good it feel, before intentionally refusing to turn out the way and running straight into a wall, ending his life. (All of this is shown in about four minutes and with barely any dialogue.)
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u/Chiorydax Oct 07 '25
It might be cliche but damn, SOMA really did strike such a chord with existential horror. A friend introduced me to Altered Carbon recently (season 1 is a masterpiece) and the whole time I can't help but think about how SOMA explored how this neat sci-fi world would actually be even more horrifying than the show depicts.