His penchant to kill off characters has been widely acknowledged. Whedon has admitted extreme tiredness to the criticism, explaining, "The percentage of people who die... is a lot. I think it's pretty near everybody. The percentage of people that I kill—not so many. I think the reason that my rep is so nasty is that I tend to do it... unexpectedly, or to someone people are recently invested in, and that is a real mission statement for me, because, death doesn't leave a card. Death doesn't take Hitler. It doesn't work according to story plans, and when a death feels like a loss, gives you grief... then you have told a story that involves death." Dramatic effect is used to convey the sense of realism and shock value that comes from fatal circumstances.