Death isn't always permanent in the world of television... Join us as we examine the most ridiculous instances where shows killed characters only to resurrect them later! From soap opera shower reveals to supernatural resurrections, these TV deaths didn't stick. Which character's return from the grave had you rolling your eyes the hardest?
00:00Come on. This is a celebration, not a funeral.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo. And today, we're looking at the most egregious instances of a TV show killing off a character, only to bring them back anyway.
00:15And no, flash-forwards don't count. Major spoilers to come, of course.
00:20I'm just so happy my kids are close again.
00:24Dexter Morgan. Dexter Resurrection.
00:27At this point, all this serial killer does is fake his death.
00:31The original Dexter had our titular protagonist fake his death to start a new life in one of the most contentious series finales in TV history.
00:50In the sequel, Dexter New Blood, it seemed that Dexter would finally be defeated by his own son.
00:56But, nope. Instead, Dexter is shown to be alive again in another sequel spinoff, appropriately titled Dexter Resurrection, even if it did leave him in a coma for 10 weeks.
01:07Am I dead?
01:09Not yet. But almost being killed by someone you're fond of has its own particular sting.
01:16Perhaps killing off your own main character was too much for this series. But if so, they shouldn't have bothered.
01:22Sayid Jara. Lost.
01:33This Iraq soldier turned engineer was a fan favorite, to be sure.
01:37But as the show went on, his character, like the show's lore, went all over the place.
01:42Thanks to the island, Sayid finds himself in 1977, captured by the Dharma Initiative, shot by the son of Ben Linus.
01:51You were right about me.
01:53Mortally wounded, Sayid then doesn't die.
01:56Instead, the beginning of Season 6 finds Sayid resurrected at the temple by a mysterious man in black.
02:02His resurrection comes at a price, however.
02:13It turns out he has been infected.
02:16Sayid eventually goes against the man in black and takes a bomb meant for the others.
02:21A noble sacrifice, but it does make his first death quite unnecessary.
02:25Sergeant Robert Bob Frazier, Due South.
02:37The death of this character was so unnecessary that the show had him stick around as a ghost.
02:42Due South begins with Benton Frazier coming to Chicago to solve the murder of his father.
02:47From the pilot on, Benton is visited by the ghost of his father, dispensing advice and helping him with his cases.
02:59At first, Bob only appeared and could be seen by Benton.
03:03I thought I heard someone.
03:04No, it's just a wonderful woman, Ellen.
03:06Many said I'd have sheltered in her cabin.
03:08It was long after your mother was gone, son.
03:10Eventually, he gained the ability to appear to other characters and even gnarly ghost powers.
03:15He even gets his own office and has his own ghost friends.
03:19It begs the question, why kill him off to begin with if he might as well be alive?
03:24But you better let the law handle this.
03:27My brother, if he's my brother, who are you talking to?
03:30It's none of your beeswax, Nosy Parker.
03:33Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
03:36Killing off main characters, as we have seen, is a hard decision to make and stick to.
03:41Buffy has died and returned three times in her own series.
03:44Once was in season one, where Buffy dies at the hands of the master based on an ancient prophecy,
03:50only to be saved by Angel and Xander.
03:54Come on.
04:03Buffy.
04:04Her most famous death comes in season five, sacrificing herself to save her sister and the world.
04:10Her friends resurrect her, but with dire consequences.
04:13Buffy finally confesses that they pulled her away from none other than heaven itself.
04:18I live in hell, cause I've been expelled from heaven.
04:25At the end of season six, Buffy dies as a result of a gunshot wound, only for Dark Willow to resurrect her.
04:32Again.
04:33Just let the girl rest already.
04:35Think again.
04:36Fox Mulder, The X-Files.
04:41Ah, Mulder.
04:43This FBI agent is a fervent believer in the supernatural.
04:46So naturally, he has died and returned to life at least once.
04:50We are here to deliver the body of Fox Mulder to its resting place.
04:53We pray to God to deliver his soul and to resolve the deep mysteries Fox Mulder sought so tirelessly to uncover.
05:04After he was abducted by aliens in the season seven finale, Mulder returns dead, only to be found and resurrected by Scully.
05:12Mulder ends up fired by the FBI anyway for investigating several X-Files cases without permission.
05:18He ends up reuniting with Scully and their newborn son, William, making fans and audiences wonder what the point of his brief death was.
05:26How's everybody doing?
05:33We're doing just fine.
05:35Of course, his actor, David Duchovny, left the show for a period, making this unnecessary plot point necessary.
05:42Anybody miss me?
05:44Tony Almeida, 24.
05:49Character deaths and resurrections don't get as nonsensical as this.
05:54An antagonist turned close friend of Jack Bauer, Tony almost died in an explosion that claimed his wife's life.
06:01You can't kill him.
06:02He's got information we need.
06:03You killed my wife.
06:04After recovery, Tony eventually learned the explosion was caused by Christopher Henderson.
06:09While trying to kill Henderson via syringe, the latter foils him and injects Tony with the dosage instead, killing him.
06:17Or so we thought?
06:25Season 7 reveals Henderson missed Tony's heart on purpose and revived him with his own team.
06:31Very convenient.
06:33It doesn't make much sense.
06:34And the series never explains why Tony had to not die to begin with.
06:45Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy
06:47Some shows kill off their main characters and stick to it.
06:51Grey's Anatomy is not one of them.
06:53Meredith Grey almost came to a grisly end as early as Season 3, where she nearly drowned in a ferryboat incident.
07:00Miracles do happen in medicine.
07:02They happen every day.
07:06Her partner and future husband Derek finds and saves her.
07:11They rush her to the hospital, where Meredith exists in limbo.
07:14She even flatlines.
07:16How do they bring her back to life?
07:18She just does.
07:19After a meeting with her mother in an alternative universe.
07:22Just keep going.
07:25Don't be a damn.
07:26Medical miracles are real, but this plot point is less miraculous than puzzling.
07:37Sign of Spready.
07:38We got a heartbeat?
07:44We got it.
07:45Bobby Ewing, Dallas.
07:46Of course, no list like this would be complete without that shower scene.
07:51Patrick Duffy's exit from Dallas led to the show's subsequent killing off the youngest Ewing member, Bobby.
07:57In Season 8, Bobby is hit by a car in an attempt to protect Pam.
08:02His multiple injuries amount to his grisly death.
08:04Season 9 deals with the ramifications of his death, as Pam mourns Bobby while getting into a relationship with and even marrying Mark.
08:18Except she doesn't.
08:20In one of TV's biggest twists, it turns out the whole season, including Bobby's car accident, was Pam's dream.
08:27Bobby shows up alive and well in the season finale.
08:30What a twist indeed.
08:31Phil Coulson, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
08:40This character has been dead and alive more times than we can count.
08:49Stabbed in the chest by Loki in The Avengers, Coulson recovers thanks to Nick Fury and Project Tahiti.
08:55But his death and resurrections don't stop there.
08:58Throughout the series, Coulson dies and comes back to life.
09:02Why bring me back in the first place?
09:04Clearly, I didn't think it was the best idea.
09:06I warned you about people losing their minds.
09:08In the most consequential death, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team has to decide whether to use the Centipede serum to save Coulson or to defeat Talbot.
09:17Heroically, Coulson refuses the serum and instead gives it to Daisy.
09:22Coulson then spends his last days in Tahiti.
09:25Finally.
09:26Anything else on your bucket list?
09:28Just one thing.
09:33Pear of salmon?
09:35Yeah, pear of salmon.
09:37Always wanted to try that.
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09:52Brian Griffin, Family Guy.
09:56Now, this death was below the belt.
09:59Anthropomorphic dog and voice of reason Brian dies in a car crash.
10:04The Griffins eventually replace him with a new dog, Vinny.
10:07Naturally, Family Guy fans everywhere could not accept this unceremonious departure.
10:12A couple of episodes later, Stewie goes back in time via a time machine to save Brian from his own death.
10:26Those fan petitions didn't hurt.
10:31Brian, look out!
10:35What the hell?
10:37You're alive, my friend!
10:38Creator Seth MacFarlane, however, alleges the dog's death was never intended to be permanent in the first place.
10:45Either way, it's clear Brian shouldn't have died at all.
10:48So I came back from the future to save your life.
10:51Wait a minute, what are you talking about?
10:52I saw you destroy your time machine.
10:54Which other TV characters died only to come back to life?
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