WARNING: SPOILERS. SPOILERS. MANY, MANY SPOILERS.
We may not know them. They may not even… well, exist. But when you’re blubbering in the darkness of your loungeroom because your favourite TV character has died, the fact that he/she is fictional seems entirely irrelevant.
The hurt is real, people. The hurt is real. And that’s all that counts.
Brace yourself for the feels, as we relive (for some twisted reason) the most devastating TV character deaths in recent memory.
Claire McLeod – McLeod’s Daughters.
The show: After the death of their father, estranged sisters, Claire (Lisa Chappell) and Tess McLeod (Bridie Carter), have to put aside their differences and come together to run rural family property, Drover’s Run.
The death: Season 3. Claire is driving her baby, Charlotte, and Tess back from a trip into town when her ute strikes a pothole. It veers off the road and ends up dangling, bonnet first, off the side of a cliff. With some careful maneuvering, Tess manages to get herself and her baby niece out safely, but Claire... well, her leg was stuck and then the rope in the boot wasn't long enough to reach and tree and... and... *Shudder*.
Her final words were, "Look after Charlotte. I love you."
Jesus.
Logan Echolls - Veronica Mars.
The show: A Californian single dad lets his teenage daughter, Veronica (Kristen Bell), have an after-school side-hustle solving crimes through his private detective agency. Look, sure, it sounds like irresponsible parenting, but it's fine because she's really good at it. (She only nearly dies a few times. Honest.)
The death: Season 4. Ooooo. This made people maaaad. Just when Veronica finally marries reformed bad boy Logan (Jason Dohring), her on-again-off-again lover, he dies when a bomb explodes in her car during the season finale. It was extra crushing, because the device was planted by 'the Neptune Bomber' — a case Veronica thought she'd just closed.
Patrick Reid - Offspring.
The show: Obstetrician Nina Proudman (Asher Keddie) is awkward, but she has a really nice flat and even goes to work sometimes.
The death: Season 4. This was just cruel. Despite being pretty rubbish at adulting, Nina bagged herself a lovely (and very, very pretty) bloke in colleague Dr. Patrick Reid (Matt Le Nevez). Then, he goes and gets hit by a car. It seems like he just has a scraped elbow and a bit of dizziness, but Nina drives him to the hospital anyway, and on the way, his speech slurs and he passes out. And never. Wakes. Up.
Oh, and Nina is pregnant with their baby. So there's that.
This death was felt deeply by viewers. US punk band, The Offspring, even had to wrangle fans who mistakenly inundated them with angry, grief-fuelled messages on Twitter.
Poussey Washington - Orange Is The New Black.
The show: Woman smuggles drugs, ends up in prison. (Which seems only marginally more terrifying than the outside world.) There's racism, politics, love, addiction... just with less open space.
The death: Season 4. During a peaceful protest against a particular prison guard's treatment of the inmates, Suzanne (Uzo Aduba), a prisoner with mental illness, becomes distressed. Her friend Poussey (Samira Wiley) comes to her aid but is tackled to the ground by guard CO Bayley. He pins her down, his knee in her back, leaving her unable to breathe. She dies. Right there on the floor, as the inmates watch on. Helpless.
The shot of Poussey's friend Taystee (Danielle Brooks) sobbing over her body... ugh.
Such was the impact of her death, that the show's creators started a fundraiser in her name — The Poussey Washington Fund — to benefit US charities focused on criminal justice reform, immigrant's rights and those helping people affected by mass incarceration.
Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd - Grey's Anatomy.
The show: Surgeons in a Seattle hospital sleep/fall in love with each other in between cutting people open.
The death: It was a love story that spanned 11 seasons. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), the promising-but-neurotic young doctor, and "McDreamy" (Patrick Dempsey), the hotshot senior surgeon. But fans were left sobbing when, after helping at the scene of a car accident, Derek climbs back into his Porsche only to be wiped out by a truck.
Rushed to hospital, machines keep him alive until Meredith can say her final goodbye. She whispers, "It's OK, you go. I'll be fine." And he breathes out one last time. That really sad Snow Patrol song is playing in the background, and frankly, it's all too much.
What TV character's death hit you the most? Tell us in the comments below.
Top Comments
Joyce Summers on Buffy. The whole episode 'The Body' is just heartbreaking, especially the part where Anya (who used to be a demon and has never had to deal with mortality, especially in someone she knew and liked) is trying to understand why people die. Also the Abysinnia, Henry episode of MASH. My husband won't watch it, he has to leave the room when it comes on. Same with Fry's dog on Futurama.
Well, this is a cheerful way to start the day, isn't it!