9 TV Character Deaths That Ruined Their Shows
Character deaths are bound to upset fans. Sometimes we even mourn the characters we love to hate. And on TV, some demises aren’t just devastating but deleterious to the show.
We’re talking about downfalls that are a disservice to a character’s growth, dismissive of fans’ trust, or — in one notable case — gratuitously disgusting. Sometimes writers end shows with frustrating deaths; other times, they frustratingly don’t end shows after a character passes away. Below, check out examples of all of the above, and you should know spoilers abound.
Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead
As a show about a zombie, er, “walker” apocalypse, The Walking Dead turns the gore up to 11. But the show crossed a line when Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) killed Glenn (Steven Yeun) with a barbed-wired baseball bat. No one needed to see Glenn struggling to stay alive for Maggie (Lauren Cohan) with his face bashed in, and many viewers tuned out.
Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones
Of all the crimes of Game of Thrones’ final season, the character assassination of Dany (Emilia Clarke) has to rank among the worst. She goes from a benevolent ruler determined to break the wheel of Westerosi oppression to a mad tyrant incinerating innocents in blasts of dragon fire. Jon (Kit Harington) fatally stabs his beloved, by that point, she wasn’t even recognizable.
Abbie Mills, Sleepy Hollow
Nicole Beharie once noted that “everyone of color” on Sleepy Hollow “was seen as expendable and eventually let go.” That included her character, Abbie, who sacrificed her soul to defeat Pandora (Shannyn Sossamon), much to fans’ outrage. Abbie’s chemistry with Ichabod (Tom Mison) carried the supernatural series, which only limped on one more season without her.
Bellamy Blake, The 100
The 100 angered fans with the accidental death of Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) in Season 3, but the demise of Bellamy (Bob Morley) was unjust to the character and the fans. Clarke (Eliza Taylor) shot and killed Bellamy after he betrayed himself, his friends, and years worth of characterization after just a short time in the Disciples cult.
Finn Hudson, Glee
We take issue not with Finn’s death on Glee — actor Cory Monteith’s death necessitated the plot point — but with the show continuing afterward. Glee was already going downhill, but after that real-life tragedy, the show was no longer a joy to watch. We would have stopped the music after Season 4, perhaps with a TV movie — dedicated to Monteith’s memory — to wrap up the storylines.
Adriana La Cerva, The Sopranos
OK, so maybe the death of Adriana (Drea de Matteo) didn’t ruin The Sopranos — one more Emmy-nominated season aired afterward — but perhaps it’s no coincidence the show’s critical acclaim started fading after Tony (James Gandolfini) had Silvio (Steven Van Zandt) shoot her in the woods. Adriana, by that point an FBI mole, still had a lot of dramatic potential.
Villanelle, Killing Eve
In the end, Killing Eve was about killing Villanelle (Jodie Comer) and not Eve (Sandra Oh), since the former died under sniper fire in the finale’s last moments. And so Killing Eve resorted to an abrupt, violent, and cliché ending — and another example of the pernicious “bury your gays” trope — instead of something more interesting for the show’s two main characters.
Tracy McConnell, How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother might as well have been called How I Met Robin, considering how the sitcom’s final season — and its finale, in particular — suggested that Tracy (Cristin Milioti) was just a detour Ted’s (Josh Radnor) romantic journey with Robin (Cobie Smulders). Tracy dies of an undisclosed illness, and Ted reunites with the now-endgame Robin in show’s final scene.
Logan Echolls, Veronica Mars
A long time ago, we used to be friends… with Veronica Mars, until the Hulu revival of the show ended with Logan (Jason Dohring), the title character’s bad boy-turned-good husband, dying in a car bombing. Apparently a badass detective like Veronica (Kristen Bell) can’t have a man back home? Worse, Hulu opted not to renew Veronica Mars for another season, there’ll be no redemption for the storyline.
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G
Definitely ruined it for me with Glenn's death on Walking Dead. To me, he was a glue that held it together. Felt betrayed. Did not trust who else may go. I was done.
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O
Couldn’t handle Glens death and that was the last episode I watched
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F
Glenn's death didn't ruin TWD for me. Their refusal to kill Negan did.
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L
It was not The Mother's death in HIMYM that ruined it, imo. From the beginning, I kind of thought Ted was telling the story to his kids at their Mother's funeral. And her death was foreshadowed many times throughout the show. What ruined HIMYM was the Robin-centric ending, especially since the final season was all about her wedding to one of Ted's friends. Had the ending been the camera pulling away from Ted, his friends, and all of their kids at Tracey's grave, and Ted saying something about no matter how short the time he had with her, it was worth it, as all of the gang hugged and walked away with their kids, it would have been much better. Lily could have made a comment about Ted still being welcome on the porch as a widow. But the whole "It was Robin all along" ending was just bad and disrespectful to Ted's journey.
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G
The series began with Ted saying "kids, I'm gonna tell you how I met your mother." One of them answers "are we being punished?" Not something you should say about your dead mother. And certainly not something to be used as a punch line.
And how many times was Ted "FINALLY over Robin, once and for all"?
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