A bad guy cruises along for a few episodes, or sometimes a few seasons, and isn't really taken seriously. Maybe a huge war is on and you know the good guys are going to win, because of Contractual Immortality. Suddenly a main character or a fan favorite brutally dies. This shows that this threat is Dead Serious. Compare Not-So-Harmless Villain, Stuffed Into the Fridge and Shoo Out the Clowns. Examples of Dead Serious include: