In other words, crew deaths are a feature, not a bug, Cassaway said, dryly.
In John Scalzi's "Redshirts," the narrative concept revolves around the notion that crew member fatalities are an expected part of their existence rather than unfortunate incidents. The character Cassaway's remark emphasizes a darker truth within the story's universe, where the characters are aware of their precarious fates, akin to the tropes seen in classic science fiction series.
This self-awareness leads to humor and a critique of genre conventions, as the characters navigate their roles while recognizing that their deaths serve a specific narrative purpose. By framing crew deaths as an integral aspect of their reality, Scalzi invites readers to reconsider the implications of storytelling in science fiction.
