Well-crafted imaginary characters often resonate deeply with people. In the case of a television show, these are characters who you have invited into your home for weeks or months or, often, years. You’ve joined them on their adventures, listened to their hopes and secrets, and you’ve shared both their happiness and their pain. And their loss hurts in a way that people who don’t watch those shows can ever know. People react to these final scenes in different ways but, whatever outrage and despair they may inspire, character deaths are often some of the most memorable on television - and they can feature some of the best writing and performances as well. Sure, there’s no shortage of poorly thought out bullshit deaths but they’re for another list. Get those hankies out and join me as we prepare to have our hearts kicked in the balls all over again, discussing “The Saddest Television Deaths”.
Spoilers, most certainly follow!
THE DEATH OF THE TENTH DOCTOR
DOCTOR WHO - “THE END OF TIME, PART 2”
Okay, so it’s not a real death but fuck you I don’t care. I know there are some who take umbrage at certain aspects of this particular scene and I fully understand that. This episode has many flaws and I don’t dispute any of them but I can only speak from personal experience here, and I was a big fan of the Tenth Doctor when he regenerated. This death was a big event in the show, not only because arguably the most successful actor since Tom Baker was departing, but we were also losing an entire era. Showrunner Russell T Davies, who had done the impossible and brought a dead show back to life, was departing along with Tennant, in order to make way for Steven Moffat and a new team, Though undeniably too long, it’s still nice to see the Tenth Doctor, who is now dying from radiation after saving the life of a companion’s grandfather, visit all of the characters who became important during the Davies era and bid them a farewell.
When I watch this scene at the end of “The End Of Time”, I may find myself wishing that perhaps those final words had been different but I certainly can’t deny that they devastated me at the time. As The Doctor sadly calls out to the audience that he doesn’t want to go, tears streaming down his eyes and his TARDIS breaking apart around him, I’m transported back to that original airing when I found myself mourning a version of The Doctor whom I had come to treasure. I had travelled far and wide with him, seen him save entire planets from darkness, and witnessed him win all but this final battle. Matt Smith’s subsequent performance as the Eleventh Doctor would allay my fears that nobody could live up to Tennant, but I still sometimes find myself missing that odd man in the suit and trainers who would declare “Allons-y!” before launching into the unknown.
LOST: Charlie’s death. This one got me.I knew it was coming, but that knowledge didn’t make it any easier. The fact that he went out bravely and provided a last minute bit of information to Desmond made it all the more heroic.
Good call. The music, the performance… God, that was a real gut punch at the time. I remember being incredibly moved by that scene when I first saw it.
AHmmm… Can we put spoiler space here? Since people can be prone to very short answers that will show up on new posts, and this is specifically about character deaths. Sorry to be oversensitive… Just a request.
He was affable, likeable, and often enabled the main doctor’s antics. He was the epitome of “a nice guy just trying to get by”. And there was genuine affection between him and Radar, and as Judas mentioned, makes it all the more powerful. His goodbye is poignant without being treacly.
Not to mention, they kill him off-screen while he’s on the way home. You think you’re getting a happy “Say bye to this character!” episode, and then they drop a bomb on you in the final scene.
Just as a suggestion, since I’m sure there is going to be a wide variety of shows listed here, maybe list the name of the show, then spoiler text the rest. I’d hate for people to not want to participate in the thread just because they haven’t seen every important show that will likely be listed. (but do list the name of the show. Doesn’t do me any good to have it spoilered if I don’t know what show it’s spoiling)
Bobby Singer, as played by the brilliant Jim Beaver, was a constant, reassuring presence in the ever-unstable lives of the Winchester brothers. He’d been through a lot, including the Apocalypse itself, only to end up as target practice by Dick Roman, the leader of the Leviathans in Season Seven. Although he would later reappear as a ghost, that doesn’t diminish “Death’s Door”; the episode in which a comatose Bobby is pursued through the chapters of his life by a Reaper, as the two brothers patiently wait by his bedside in the hope that he’ll recover. He doesn’t. In a season with plenty of ups and downs, this episode is a definite highlight and, for those who have been with the show since the beginning, it’s hard not to feel your heart break as Bobby loses his final fight against the supernatural forces of the Earth.
A great end for a great character; one whom I very much still miss on the show.
As I have written about The Body at least 3 different times on these boards, I will go with something different (but really guys, The Body. It’s so sad)
Angel (so, not too different )
The Death of Winifred Burkle (From “A Hole in the World” S5E15)
There may not be a more lovable character in the Joss Whedon canon than Fred. She’s the warm, beautiful, charming heart of Angel Investigations. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s probably not a more tortured character than Wesley. Over the course of five seasons of Angel (and one of Buffy), Wes goes from an arrogant ponce to a hardened, isolated loner. By season 5 he’s finally back in the fold, and he’s finally gotten the girl. “A Hole in the World” starts off with Fred and Wesley so deliriously happy that you know, in a Joss Whedon show, it cannot last long. Most of the deaths in the Whedonverse are sudden and unexpected (Wash, Ms. Calender, etc.). What makes Fred’s so much worse is that it’s long and drawn out. Over the course of the episode, Amy Acker acts the hell out of a character that is gradually being destroyed from the inside out. To the end, it feels like they’re going to find a way, like Fred’s boys, who go about their task with such resolve, are going to save her after all. Instead, she dies in Wesley’s arms, but that’s not even the cruelest bit. No, the cruelest touch of genius is that Fred is replaced by a demon god that has her face, which is just an evil, evil thing to do to your characters.
It’s a gut-wrenching death, and I both love and hate Joss Whedon for it. (sidenote: I may find this death more powerful because I am totally in love with Amy Acker)
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