‘Young Sheldon,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ & More Shows Where Characters Died Just Before Series Finales
Young Sheldon took a turn for the dramatic one week before its series finale when CBS’ Big Bang Theory spinoff said goodbye to George Cooper Sr. (Lance Barber).
Big Bang fans knew that Sheldon (played by Iain Armitage as a teen and Jim Parsons as an adult) lost his dad at age 14. But it sure did smart to see George’s family members find out that he had suffered a fatal heart attack in that May 9 episode.
Turns out, it’s actually not uncommon for TV characters to die just before the series finale. Read on for more details on the deaths of George Sr. and other TV characters who almost made it to their shows’ final moments. (Spoilers abound!)
George Cooper Sr. on Young Sheldon
George died of a heart attack in “New Home and a Traditional Texas Torture,” the episode before Young Sheldon’s May 16 two-part series finale. “The history that Big Bang had established is that George dies when Sheldon is 14. And now, he’s 14,” Barber explained to us. “I have nothing but gratitude [to this show]. I did have the luxury of knowing from the beginning to be emotionally prepared.”
Levi Delgado on La Brea
Nicholas Gonzalez’s Air Force pilot character died not a turncoat working for Maya (Claudia Ware) but a double-agent hero when he took a bullet to save Gavin (Eoin Macken) and Izzy (Zyra Gorecki) in “The Road Home, Part 1,” La Brea’s penultimate episode. “I guess it had always been the plan for Levi to die, probably because I was playing the character because all my characters die for some reason,” Gonzalez later told us.
Felipe Reyes in Mayans M.C.
Felipe (Edward James Olmos), father of EZ (JD Pardo) and Angel (Clayton Cardenas) on Mayans M.C., met his maker in “I Must Go in Now for the Fog Is Rising” after the old man defended himself and his grandson from a hostile Sons of Anarchy group hunting for Angel. That episode left off with Felipe’s fate uncertain, but a week later, the series finale began with the character’s funeral.
Rebecca Pearson in This Is Us
The Pearson matriarch (Mandy Moore) died a peaceful death, surrounded by loved ones both alive and departed, in “The Train,” the penultimate This Is Us installment. “It felt important to me to go out making the show about how the human condition and the human spirit kind of endures and moves forward, rather than just a moment that would have everybody hysterically crying because somebody passes at the end,” creator Dan Fogelman told Variety.
Bellamy Blake on The 100
Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor) shot former best friend Bellamy (Bob Morley) to death in “Blood Giant” — three episodes before The 100’s series finale — after he threatened to turn over sketches by her daughter, Madi (Lola Flanery), to his new Disciple comrades. “We knew Bellamy’s death had to go to the heart of what the show was all about: survival,” showrunner Jason Rothenberg explained on X at the time. “Who you’re willing to protect. And who you’re willing to sacrifice.”
Cersei and Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones
Both Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj-Coster Waldau) were crushed to death in the crumbling Red Keep as Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) exacted fiery revenge on King’s Landing in Game of Thrones’ second-to-last episode, “The Bells.” Other casualties of that episode include Varys (Conleth Hill), Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk), and Sandor (Rory McCann) and Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
Charlie Skinner on The Newsroom
Charlie (Sam Waterston) succumbed to a heart attack in “Oh Shenandoah” — a single episode before The Newsroom’s series finale — after getting into an editorial argument with the new network owner. “I knew the show was coming to an end, and I thought it was great for him to go down with all guns blazing, fighting the good fight,” Waterston later said in an HBO interview.
Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad
DEA agent Hank (Dean Norris) finally pegged Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as Heisenberg in Breaking Bad’s final season, but he didn’t make it to the end of the series alive. In “Ozymandias,” the third-to-last episode of the series, neo-Nazi gang leader Jack Walker (Michael Bowen) fatally shot Hank following a firefight, despite Walt’s pleas on his brother-in-law’s behalf.
Sayid Jarrah and Sun and Jin Kwon on Lost
In “The Candidate,” three episodes before the end of Lost, Sayid (Naveen Andrews) sacrificed himself aboard a submarine to save other Oceanic 815 survivors from a bomb planted by the Man in Black (Terry O’Quinn). Sayid ran with the bomb to the back of the sub, where it exploded, killing him but sparing most of the others. Sun Kwon (Yunjin Kim), was pinned in the sinking sub, however, and husband Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) chose to die with her. “I won’t leave you,” he said in Korean. “I will never leave you again.”
Omar Little on The Wire
Michael K. Williams’ fan-favorite stick-up man died two episodes before The Wire’s finale, felled in a convenience store by a bullet from pre-teen drug dealer Kenard (Thuliso Dingwall), whom Omar stuck up earlier in the season. “The young nation, that’s how they do,” Williams later told MTV, reflecting on his character’s death. “Life is real cheap right now.”
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