Seeing our favorite characters pass away tugs at the heartstrings. It doesn’t matter if it’s fantasy and the real-life actor is alive because cinema immerses us enough to suspend our disbelief – and that’s what’s magical about it. But that’s also what makes it hard to get over it when television networks and streamers decide some cast members will be no more. So join our pity party as we think back on the most heart-wrenching deaths to hit our screens.
The Walking Dead’s Carl Grimes
By the time Carl was killed off in The Walking Dead, the show had made a habit of killing off fan-favorite characters. But the fans that stuck with the show up until this point likely had no idea the series would go as far as killing off the main character’s own son. Carl was supposed to survive and show the audience that a brighter future was still possible and that Rick Grimes was working to preserve just that for his son. However, it was not meant to be, and it really shouldn’t have come as a surprise after all of the unceremonious deaths Hollywood pulled off every season with this show.
Game Of Throne’s Ned Stark
Ned Stark’s death in Game of Thrones probably does more to set the tone than any other death in a modern TV series. By the time he was captured and walked in front of the crowd, the series had already shown audiences this was not going to be your typical fantasy series. However, unless you’d read the books, Stark’s death came as a wild surprise for just about everyone watching. It also represented the fact that heroes don’t always survive or go out swinging. The death capped off a pretty exciting first season, but it would be far from the last iconic death scene the series gave fans.
Forrest Gump’s Bubba Blue
The death of Bubba Blue in Forrest Gump is one of the most tragic in a film filled with heartache. Even more so when you consider both he and Forrest and probably a whole lot of other people don’t want to be in a jungle fighting and would rather be back home living their lives. So, it’s really quite heartwarming when Forrest goes back to live life as he imagined Bubba would’ve wanted to live his, becoming a shrimper and opening his own company. Bubba’s death had one of the largest impacts on Forrest’s life, and his final ode to his friend would turn out to make him a pretty wealthy man.
Dexter’s Rita Morgan
Dexter’s wife, Rita Morgan, had a pretty tumultuous life, first as the wife of a deadbeat husband that abused her and then as the wife of a husband who only pretends to live an ordinary life. So, when Dexter finishes off a serial killer after having sent Rita and his son away, it comes as a shock for fans to see Dexter return to find his son lying in blood. The killer had visited them before Dexter caught up to him. The scene also mimics Dexter’s own traumatic experience, adding another layer of tragedy to this story. Rita never really found happiness, and just as it seemed she was on the cusp of it, she is killed off.
The Sopranos’ Christopher Moltisanti
The Sopranos was known for surprising its audience with character deaths. However, hardly anyone saw Christopher Moltisanti’s death coming, at least not in the way it took place. The tragic death made audiences sympathize with a character who’d been viewed as a nuisance up until that point. Moltisanti’s uncle Tony ended up strangling him after he crashed his car while he was high. Fed up of constantly having to bail his nephew out, Tony kills his once protege. The scene is tragic because up until that point, Tony seemed like one of the only characters who took pity on Moltisanti. He raised him and taking his nephew’s life signaled a turning point in Tony’s character.
Lost’s John Locke
Lost treated its fans to some pretty surprising twists and turns throughout its run, not all of which were welcomed by everyone. However, John Locke’s death seemingly came out of nowhere, and his meeting with Ben began as a simple plea to return to the island. It ended in Ben hanging Locke, but for those that have watched the show, this wouldn’t be the last time fans would see Locke on screen. Since we’re on the topic of spoilers, we might as well reveal how one of the most contentious shows in history ended. Basically, it is revealed that the island was a kind of purgatory, and all the characters were sent there to help lead each other into the afterlife. This is why Locke eventually makes a return.
Titanic’s Jack Dawson
In another iconic movie, Jack Dawson’s death at the end of Titanic came as he sacrificed himself to save Rose. After watching the two grow closer and come to understand each other during a marathon drama, the audience was forced to watch as Dawson slowly succumbed to hyperthermia and slipped beneath the waves. It didn’t matter that hundreds of other people were slowly freezing to death around Rose; this one death was where the real heartache came. It was also where the controversy came, with fans lamenting that Dawson could have fit on the same door Rose was on and would never have had to sacrifice himself.
The Green Mile’s John Coffey
The Green Mile is a movie that follows the story of inmate John Coffey and his guard Paul Edgecomb. Coffey is jailed and sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit, and Edgecomb soon discovers that despite Coffey’s huge stature, he couldn’t hurt a fly. In fact, it’s revealed later that Coffey was just trying to heal the children he was accused of murdering. The story is a great example of what Hollywood can deliver when it’s not trying to kill off every other character in a story. Actors Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan are also excellent in this film, which ultimately explores the themes of compassion and understanding. Coffey’s death hits all the harder when his character is given time to develop and is explored in front of the audience.
A Walk to Remember’s Jamie Sullivan
Like The Notebook, this movie was originally written by author Nicholas Sparks. However, Jamie Sullivan’s character was based on Spark’s own younger sister, who passed away in 2000. A Walk To Remember follows Sullivan as she falls in love. However, she is diagnosed with terminal cancer and realizes she only has one more summer to spend with her newfound boyfriend named Landon. Landon quickly proposes, and the audience watches as the two spend their last days together. Yes, it’s another teen tearjerker about love and death, but it also asks the audience how they would choose to spend their last days if they were in a similar situation.
The Wire’s Omar Little
Who doesn’t love a Robin Hood figure? The Wire’s Omar Little was just that throughout the series’ run. He robbed Baltimore’s wicked and kept a moral code in a place that is thriving with crime and poverty. It made the audience sympathetic to Little’s character and hoping he would make it out alive, even though we all probably knew deep down inside the odds of that were pretty low. However, he certainly deserved a better way to go out than being shot in the back of the head by some random kid trying to find notoriety. But maybe this was just a commentary on the fragility of life, and the dangers of a life lived like Little’s.
Little Women’s Beth March
Perhaps one of the most iconic deaths in cinema history, Beth March is one of many sisters in Little Women. When younger, she develops scarlet fever and never fully recovers throughout the book or film. The story revolves around the sisters and their ups and downs throughout life. However, they always have each other to rely on, which makes Beth’s death all the more heartwrenching. The scarlet fever she develops eventually catches up to her, sending the purest and most innocent sister to her deathbed. Her death signifies that she was too good for this world.
Sons Of Anarchy’s Opie Winston
While Sons of Anarchy wasn’t shy in letting the audience know this was going to be a brutal drama involving a lot of death and deceit, Opie Winston’s demise still hit pretty hard. It was also extraordinarily brutal. After landing in prison, Opie and a couple of other main characters must submit to a rival, who makes them choose who among them will die. The fact that Opie then steps up on his own accord showed the audience his true character and made his death all the more tragic. The TV series basically centered around another character named Jax and his family’s biker gang. However, Jax and Opie were best friends, which had audiences expecting that Opie would make at least a couple of more seasons.
Game of Throne’s Red Wedding
Referred to as The Red Wedding by characters in the show, this event not only shook fans but reminded them that Game of Thrones would not be pulling any punches during its run. The audience had already experienced the death of Ned Stark and a couple of other important characters up to this point, but the death of other Stark family members, such as his oldest son and wife, came when everything seemed to be turning around.Robb Stark’s quest to revenge his father’s death was picking up steam, and we were just introduced to a likable new character. Even better, the two had fallen in love. What could go wrong at this point? Apparently, a lot.
Game Of Throne’s Margaery and High Sparrow
The fact that these two characters met their demise wasn’t all that surprising in a series full of deaths. However, the abrupt and brutal way Cersei Lannister suddenly turned the tables on her two rivals after being humiliated time and time again shocked just about everyone. It showed that she would do just about anything to stay in power at this point, even if that meant blowing up one of the oldest places in Westeros and taking out a princess in the process.And while the High Sparrow’s death might not have been worth shedding a tear over at this point, Margaery was quickly becoming a fan favorite. But, by this point, audiences were probably aware that those didn’t do very well on this show.
Boardwalk Empire’s Jimmy Darmody
Boardwalk Empire was another gangster-oriented show that of course wasn’t afraid to kill off characters in the same vein as The Sopranos or The Wire. However, killing off Jimmy Darmody in the second season proved what can go wrong when producers decide to ax one of their leading stars a bit too early. Darmody ends up meeting his end after being talked into killing his surrogate father, Nucky Thompson.Of course, the killing doesn’t go as planned and Nucky comes back for vengeance, putting a bullet in Darmody’s head after settling all of his debts. However, the show got a bit stale after the charismatic Darmody was put down.
The Notebook’s Allie Hamilton And Noah Calhoun
Of course, a love story would have a both heartwarming and tear-inducing ending. The movie starts with the older versions of Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton talking about their own story and the way they met. Calhoun is telling the story of their lives to his wife, who now has dementia. The audience is then brought in and we witness it from beginning to end. That ending comes when we see that the two bodies of the husband and wife have been found. The two die in their sleep, but they die together while holding hands.
Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring
Gus Fring’s death in Breaking Bad was definitely expected. We mean, Fring was basically the biggest and baddest villain in the southwest. He was a meth kingpin, while Walt and Jesse were just a couple of upstarts. The two groups were bound to clash in a dramatic fashion. Still, you know you don’t want to mess with a particular villain when their key feature is to sit there with a blank look on their face. Gus Fring’s death in Breaking Bad was definitely expected. We mean, Fring was basically the biggest and baddest villain in the southwest. He was a meth kingpin, while Walt and Jesse were just a couple of upstarts. The two groups were bound to clash in a dramatic fashion. Still, you know you don’t want to mess with a particular villain when their key feature is to sit there with a blank look on their face.
The Sopranos’ Adriana La Cerva
Adriana La Cerva’s death in The Sopranos is really more of a tragedy than a surprise. By this time, the audience is well aware that the show’s producers have no qualms about suddenly and ruthlessly killing off important characters. And the audience can feel the tension building as soon as the police begin to put pressure on La Cerva. The fact that she tries to convince her boyfriend to join her in witness protection and live a peaceful life only makes it all the sadder. After Tony learns of the police trying to put pressure on La Cerva, he has Silvio Dante drive her out to the woods. Halfway there she realizes what is happening and tries to escape, only to end up with a bullet hole in the head.
The Avenger’s Tony Stark
A lot of people think that had actor Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man not been as successful as it was, then we might not have gotten the MCU. While that’s kind of hard to say for certain, what isn’t is that the actor fits the role of Iron Man perfectly. The snarky, confident Tony Stark we learn about and come to understand after multiple films eventually meets his end at the hands of Thanos in The Avengers: Endgame. The fact that audiences spent so much time with the character and saw him develop makes his demise all the more heartbreaking. However, in true superhero fashion, he goes out saving the universe.
Game of Throne’s Lyanna Mormont
It’s no secret that Game of Thrones never let us catch a break. The creators and directors were ruthless in the way they killed off fan favorites like a sport – but that’s probably part of what made the hit series so epic. Yet that didn’t make the death of little Lyanna Mormont any less hurtful. The young character was initially supposed to appear in only one scene, but it wasn’t long before audiences fell in love, and they kept her on. The talented actress and fierce character graced our screens for three seasons before producers killed her off during the Battle for the Dawn at Winterfell.
The Tudors’ Anne Boleyn
The Tudors is a series that depicts royal life under the infamous Henry VIII of England. It’s not so much a surprise then that audiences would eventually witness one of the most shocking deaths in history be played out in the series. However, after two seasons of getting to know Henry’s wife, Anne Boleyn fans were understandably upset when the cunning queen became the next of Henry’s wives to lose her head. Audiences also noted how her absence seemed to bring down the entire show, which was never really the same without her charisma and charm. However, she does return briefly as a ghost in the series finale.
Romeo And Juliet
Of course, we had to include one of the most famous death scenes in history. Romeo and Juliet were reimagined for Hollywood in 1996, though the original story could probably be considered one of the first teen dramas in English literature. It follows the tale of two teenagers who meet and fall in love. However, because two’s families despise one, another tragedy is sure to follow. It does follow, and Juliet takes a poison that makes it appear as if she is dead. However, Romeo doesn’t know of her plan to fake her own death and takes his own life when he finds her body. Juliet awakes and then does the same.
