Television often lives and dies by the strength of its characters. Unlike feature films, long-form storytelling allows viewers to get to know characters for better or for worse. Series such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead have gone on so long that it can feel detrimental and heartbreaking when the worst happens.
These shows also tend to dispatch characters without concern. With such a long timeline, writers have to make the world feel real, and for that to happen, there has to be high stakes. This is a well-known fact, but sometimes, shows don’t exactly stick the landing. There are many series that, while trying to make the events feel gritty and real, end up alienating the audience. Some television deaths are so controversial that they end up hurting the series in the long run.
Carl Grimes Was the Heart of The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead, by design, has a lot of dead characters. During a zombie apocalypse, not even the living have a long shelf life. The series has shown some of the most brutal deaths, with Glenn’s and Abraham’s being the closest that come to mind. But while their deaths were gruesome, they didn’t betray the heart of the series. Both of these deaths occur in the comics and demonstrate how serious Negan is. The death of Carl Grimes, however, is different.
The Walking Dead has always been a story about the Grimes family, and what happens to Carl is senseless. Carl starts from an innocent child to becoming one of the most capable characters in the series. He survives a gunshot wound to the torso and one in the face, only to get killed by a simple walker bite. Carl’s death is used as a plot device to mend the relationship between Rick and Negan. Ultimately, Carl was supposed to take on the mantle of leader from Rick with all the strength he had learned from his father. Instead, he is absent from some of the primary arcs he appeared in the comics, such as The Whisperers. Killing off Carl was a poor way of gathering viewers and made The Walking Dead’s stock plummet significantly.
Tara’s True Blood Death Was Disrespectful
Tara Thornton gets some of the worst treatment in the entirety of True Blood. She endures emotional and physical abuse from her mother and gets tortured relentlessly, and when she finally does find love in her life, she loses it all immediately. Tara had the potential to have a great character arc, only to be killed in a cavalier manner in the last season. When fans first meet Tara, she is lonely, depressed, and prejudiced against vampires. Through her relationship with Sookie, she gets traumatized because of their proximity, only to become a vampire in Season 5. This allows her to come into her own, fight back against people who have wronged her, and fall in love with her Maker, Pam.
Tara ultimately dies to protect her mother, Lettie Mae, who survives to the end of the show. Tara’s death gives her abusive mother more of a satisfying character arc than her and is, incidentally, the only one who seems to care that Tara is gone. Pam reacts very subtly to Tara’s death and Sookie is too hung up on her boyfriend, Alcide’s, recent demise to be of much use to anyone. Tara’s death was a slap in the face to the fans who had seen her grow and change throughout the series.
Bellamy’s Character Was Destroyed in The 100
For the first few seasons, The CW’s The 100 had a clear mission statement in mind. Based on the book by Cass Morgan, the series takes place in a futuristic society after Earth has been decimated by nuclear war. Raised in space on The Ark, 100 juveniles are sent to Earth to test if it is survivable. Inspired by classic sci-fi and survival ventures like Battlestar Galactica and Lord of the Flies, The 100 was all about whether humanity deserved to live on or not. Bellamy Blake, a defacto leader, learns this better than anyone.
When he first gets to the ground, he celebrates the chaos and fights against the status quo. But through his relationship with Clarke Griffin, he learns that he can be the best version of himself. This is all destroyed in the final season, where Clarke unceremoniously shoots him. Bellamy becomes indoctrinated into a fanatical religious sect, and despite everything the two have been through together, Clarke doesn’t think twice about killing him over it. In one of the biggest deaths on The 100, Bellamy isn’t given a hero’s farewell, and even his own sister Octavia (Marie Avgeropoulos) barely has any tears to shed. Bellamy was an integral part of the show and had one of the best character arcs only to be thrown away when it was convenient.
Anya Makes It Through Buffy the Vampire Slayer Until the Final Episode
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anya is one of the worst-treated characters. Entering the series in Season 3, she uses her powers as a vengeance demon to try to get Cordelia to make chaotic wishes. Shortly after, she gets stripped of her powers and falls in love with Xander, which, as it turns out, was the worst decision she could have made. Throughout her time in the series, she is constantly maligned for her former demon days and her difficulty assimilating into human society. This is all made the worse when Xander leaves Anya at the altar, which leads her back into a life of vengeance.
Anya eventually becomes human again and joins Buffy’s gang, but she doesn’t get her happy ending. For 1,000 years, she has suffered at the hands of men and demons alike. She and Xander get over the most painful moment in their relationship, only for her to die during the final battle in the series finale. While many characters die in the epic battle, Anya is one of the few who should have been spared. Characters with less time in the series get to come out alive, while the one who was always disregarded gets the short end of the stick. Anya’s death is used as a last emotional moment for Xander, who is the unequivocal villain of the series.
Sun and Jin Had Too Much to Live For In Lost
The island mystery series Lost was a show that centered on its characters. While many arcs concluded satisfyingly, some were a disappointment. Jin’s and Sun’s dual deaths put a sour note on an intriguing ending to the series. For six seasons, the married couple went further than most. At the beginning of the series, their marriage was fractured. Sun was planning on leaving Jin because he had become an unfeeling soldier of her father’s. Their time on the island healed their problems, and they welcomed a daughter into the world.
That is what makes their demise so bitter. In one of the final episodes of Season 6, Sun becomes trapped in a flooded submarine. She urges Jin to escape, but he opts to drown alongside her, unable to leave her. This event seems romantic at first until viewers remember they have a daughter at home who has never met her father. Choosing to die together is a selfish decision made even more frustrating by the lack of time the two characters have had together. Lost separates Sun and Jin almost every season. They seem to spend more time apart than they do together. Jin living on and raising their daughter would have been a bittersweet ending, but instead, she has to grow up in a world where her parents chose to leave her behind.
Colby’s Death in Yellowstone Was a Bridge Too Far
The Duttons are a take-no-prisoners type of family when it comes to their ranching empire. They have spent five seasons murdering their way to hold on to some semblance of the American dream. That is what makes Colby’s almost innocuous death in Yellowstone Season 5 so shocking. Colby doesn’t die because of some plot but because of a freak accident when a horse kicks him in the chest. While this comes with the territory for a working cowboy, it takes away the small sliver of light that the show had.
Yellowstone is bleak at times, with even the romantic elements complicated with violence and angst. Colby’s relationship with fellow ranch hand Teeter was sweet and enduring. They were a couple to root for in the series marked with death and destruction. Colby’s death follows John Dutton’s so closely that it almost makes the series too dark to watch.
Jaime’s Final Moments Were Controversial For Game of Thrones Fans
Many elements contributed to the disappointing end of HBO’s most popular fantasy series. While fans should rethink some events of the Game of Thrones finale, Jaime’s arc is not one of them. The Knight of the Kingsguard had one of the best character trajectories in Game of Thrones until the final episode threw everyone for a loop. After Jaime’s years of realizing the error of his ways and confronting his toxic family, he throws it all away when he returns to his twin sister Cersei in the final episode.
Jaime has brief happiness with Brienne, only to leave her behind and die with Cersei, who may or may not have been pregnant. As Daenerys lays waste to King’s Landing, Jaime and Cersei die by being crushed to death in the rubble. This is an entirely unheroic end for a character that has come so far from his self-possessed beginnings. Rejoining Cersei in an incestuous relationship is not what fans had been rooting for and comes directly out of left field.
The OC Was Not the Same After Marissa Died
Millennials everywhere have still not recovered from Marissa’s heartbreaking death in the Season 3 finale of The O.C. Behind-the-scenes issues had caused Barton to leave the series, but her departure from the show hurt the series in the long run. There were better ways to write off the character, and there was even a plan that would have allowed Marissa to sail off into the sunset.
Season 3 covers Marissa’s struggles following the shooting of Ryan’s brother, Trey. Marissa did it to protect Ryan, but she faces consequences for her entire life afterward. Ultimately, Marissa decides to forgo college and join her father on his boat crew far away from Orange County. If Barton had to leave the show, this was a way to allow Marissa to escape a community that did nothing but mistreat her and have somewhat of a happy ending. Instead, Marissa dies in the finale after a fatal car accident in Ryan’s arms. While this is bookended with the first episode of the series, as Ryan carries her away from the wreck, it devastates the entire cast of characters. It also makes Marissa a truly tragic character when she deserves to find a way out of The O.C.
Mike Was Too Smart For His Breaking Bad Death
For some, Mike Ehrmantraut’s death was inevitable. Mike joins the cast of Breaking Bad in Season 3 as a go-between for Walt and Gus Fring. The former police officer is a fixer of sorts, detesting his work with Walt the entire time. Technically, he is a villain as he works with some of the most reprehensible characters, and his death had to come about somehow. But the way Mike dies is a disappointing ending for the fan-favorite character.
In Season 3, Mike has a famous speech about never taking half-measures. But that is exactly what he does in his final season. He doesn’t pull the proverbial trigger in taking care of Walt despite the danger the former chemistry teacher poses. Eventually, this comes to a head when Walt has him cornered at gunpoint in Season 5. Mike could have gotten out of the situation but instead yells at Walt, who is already in a fragile mental state. Walt fatally shoots him, putting a dour note on an amazing character. Mike knows how to play the game better than anyone, and dying by Walt’s hand is a black mark on his pristine record. While he was perhaps on the road to death at some point, he deserved better than an impulsive shooting at the hands of Walter White.
Deb’s Death Ruined Her and Dexter’s Character
Fans can all agree that Showtime’s Dexter soured in the later years. The once brilliant series went on for too long, which led to dramatic swings in the narrative that didn’t connect with audiences. Deb falling in love with her foster brother, Dexter, was a controversial move made even worse when she died in the final episode. After being shot by Oliver Saxon, she dies from complications in surgery. This disrespectful decision leads to Dexter blaming himself for the event.
Dexter abandons his son even though he could have run off with Hannah and lived a peaceful co-existence. Deb’s death was a decision made to isolate Dexter, but many fans were disappointed when they saw his final moments as a lumberjack. The finale of Dexter missed the mark and killed off a beloved character in vain.
