#35: Killing the Villain

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  Seemingly, the best way to punish the villain in most stories is to kill them in some way.  After all, death is the worst punishment and through killing them, the world will not have to worry about them anymore.  However, that isn't exactly true.  Killing the villain is an easy way to solve the problem, and really doesn't punish the guy at fault.  Sure, the hero got rid of someone threatening, but couldn't have been done in a different way?  It is so cliche to just kill the villain off, much like it is cliche to kill the hero off.  A better method of punishing the villain is solitary confinement, exile, or denying the villain an afterlife by causing them to disappear.  The world is still safe in the end, and the hero can still come home victorious. 

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