- 5 months ago
Some television moments haunt us long after the credits roll... Join us as we count down the most emotionally traumatizing character deaths that left viewers devastated. From brutal betrayals to heartbreaking sacrifices, these are the TV deaths that crushed our souls and changed their shows forever. Viewers beware: major spoilers ahead for some of television's most shocking moments!
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00:00Perhaps I've made a terrible mistake.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the 20 most emotionally traumatizing deaths in the history of television.
00:13You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry.
00:17Even years or decades later, these grisly ends still collectively haunt us.
00:23Viewers be warned, there are major spoilers ahead.
00:26Number 20. Victor Aguilar, The Penguin
00:30From the first episode of The Penguin, Victor Aguilar's fate felt written in blood.
00:36In a Chilling of Mice and Men homage, Oz tells Victor to look at the sunrise before attempting to kill his young accomplice.
00:44So listen, the smart player here is to kill you and stuff you in the trunk with stinky over there, be done with the bullies.
00:48Victor manages to talk his way out of peril, and the two grow close.
00:53But in the finale, it becomes clear that Oz never really changed his mind despite their friendship.
00:59The Penguin lures Victor in close, arm around him like a big brother.
01:03But after all the mentorship and crime, Oz can't afford to let anyone close.
01:08Listen, kid, I can't bring you with me this time.
01:18He strangles Victor as they gaze at the Gotham skyline together.
01:22After building Victor up for an entire season, the Penguin crushed our hearts when Oz crushed his windpipe.
01:29Number 19. Howard Hamlin, Better Call Saul
01:32Howard Hamlin wasn't everyone's favorite at first.
01:36As the slick, silver-haired face of HHM, he came across as smug and privileged, the perfect foil for Jimmy McGill.
01:44I don't even know where to begin.
01:47But yes, I believe you.
01:50Your brother is one world-class son of a bitch.
01:52But as the series unfolded, fans realized Howard wasn't the villain.
01:56He was a decent man trapped in the crossfire of other people's schemes.
02:01Jimmy and Kim's cruel campaign to humiliate him left Howard unraveling.
02:06And by the time he stormed into their apartment, he was more wounded than dangerous.
02:11That's when Lalo Salamanca walked through the door.
02:13Howard.
02:15Howard.
02:16Howard, you need to leave.
02:18In one shocking moment, Howard's life was ended with a single bullet to the head.
02:22His body unceremoniously buried with Lalo's.
02:26For audiences, it was a gut punch.
02:28A good man destroyed by proximity to chaos.
02:32Number 18.
02:33Abigail Hobbs.
02:35Hannibal.
02:36Abigail Hobbs first appeared on Hannibal as a victim, daughter of a serial killer groomed to lure in his prey.
02:42Just a second.
02:43Dad?
02:44It's for you.
02:46Who is it?
02:47Call ID said it was blocked.
02:49Saved by Will Graham after her father's attack, she seemed destined for redemption.
02:54Twice the series tricked us with her death, only to reveal she had survived.
02:59There was a fragile hope her soul could be saved.
03:01But Abigail was trapped in the orbit of an apex predator, Hannibal Lecter.
03:06She became his surrogate daughter, bound by fear and manipulation.
03:11Abigail was the show's lone flicker of innocence, a fragile chance that goodness might endure.
03:16But Hannibal won't even spare what he loves.
03:19I didn't know what else to do, so I just did what he told me.
03:23In the season 2 finale, he ends her life before Will's eyes, a death staged as a dark sacrament.
03:30Number 17.
03:32Omar Little.
03:33The Wire.
03:34Omar Little became more than a supporting character.
03:37He was a TV legend.
03:39He was a shotgun-wielding, stick-up man who robbed drug dealers with a coat of honor on The Wire.
03:44He quickly became one of TV's most unforgettable anti-heroes.
03:48But a man who lives by the sword is expected to die by it.
03:52Viewers anticipated Omar going down in a blaze of glory and lead.
03:56I'm out here in these streets every day.
03:58Me and my loser.
04:00Where he at?
04:01Huh?
04:02Instead, The Wire threw audiences a sad, albeit realistic curveball.
04:07In season 5, Omar is gunned down in a corner store by Canard, a young kid.
04:12There were no epic speeches, no last stand.
04:16We'd pack a new part.
04:19Self-pack.
04:20His death was deflating, stripping away myth to reveal the brutal randomness of life and death on Baltimore's streets.
04:27Who got him?
04:28Some young boy.
04:29Who?
04:30Ain't heard a name, don't even know if there was a Y.
04:32Number 16.
04:34Nell Crane.
04:35The Haunting of Hill House.
04:37Nell Crane's death didn't merely shock audiences.
04:40It haunted them for years.
04:41One of the youngest of the Crane's siblings, Eleanor was plagued by sleep paralysis.
04:47Since she was a little girl, her sleep was sometimes disturbed by a phantom she called the Bent Neck Lady.
04:53For much of the series, viewers saw Nell as a victim doomed to collapse under Hill House's shadow.
05:08Then came the shocking reveal.
05:11The specter stalking her life was Nell herself, looping endlessly through time.
05:15The Bent Neck Lady wasn't a monster at all, but her own body in its death throes.
05:21I feel like I've been here before.
05:23We have.
05:26All of us have.
05:29So many times and we didn't know it.
05:33All of us.
05:34When Nell hangs inside Hill House, her fate is the show's cruelest twist of all.
05:39She has lived her entire life haunted by her own future ghost.
05:42Number 15, Joel Miller, The Last of Us.
05:46When TV adaptations set up audiences for heartbreak, fans of the original gleefully wait for newcomers' shock and sadness.
05:54It was true with Game of Thrones, and it was true with The Last of Us.
05:57Let's go.
05:59Okay.
06:00The HBO series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, a hardened survivor who finds purpose again as Ellie's protector.
06:08After losing his own daughter, he becomes her surrogate father in a broken world.
06:12Viewers adored the tenderness of their unlikely bond, but fans of the games knew the sorrow they had in store.
06:19In season two, Joel and Ellie are ambushed by a vengeful group led by Abby.
06:24Joel is beaten to death while Ellie is forced to watch.
06:27You.
06:30Stupid.
06:33Old man.
06:34The brutality is unforgettable, sparking Ellie's descent into obsession and revenge.
06:40Number 14, Poussey Washington, Orange is the New Black.
06:45Poussey Washington was one of the most beloved characters in Orange is the New Black.
06:50Despite the bleakness of her world, she was bright, funny, and full of hope for life after prison.
06:55We should probably worry about finding an apartment first.
07:00I'm gonna need jobs.
07:02We'll just search jobs for former inmates on the interweb.
07:07You know, piece of cake.
07:08I'll just shovel shit and you'll dig graves.
07:10Why don't you tell me more about these fish, yeah?
07:17That made her murder even more devastating.
07:20During a peaceful protest, Poussey is pinned to the ground by a guard who kneels on her back until she suffocates.
07:26The scene was written to echo countless real-world incidents of police brutality.
07:32In hindsight, it became tragically prophetic.
07:35When George Floyd was murdered in 2020 in almost the same way, the parallel was not lost on audiences.
07:42On screen, her death shattered the prison community, sparking riots and grief.
07:48I keep thinking she gonna come around that corner any minute now and be all, hey, party people.
07:55That goofy smile.
07:59It still ain't real, you know?
08:01Off screen, it left viewers reeling, a reminder that Poussey's story was depressingly common.
08:07In a show full of horrors, the crash of Flight 37 is one of the most pivotal and horrifying moments in The Boys.
08:18At first, it looks like the standard superhero fare.
08:22Homelander and Queen Maeve swoop in to save the day.
08:24All right, everyone, it's all over.
08:27It's all safe.
08:29You're all gonna be fine.
08:30But when Homelander realizes he can't land the plane without exposing his limits,
08:34he makes a chilling choice.
08:36Instead of rescuing even a handful, he abandons them all to their deaths.
08:41Maeve can't hide from their terrified screams echoing as the plane plummets.
08:45Flight 37 loomed over Homelander for years, a ghost that could bring him down if revealed.
08:51Yet by the time he casually murders a protester in public and is celebrated, he's finally free.
09:01The monster is embraced by his fans.
09:04The world of House of Cards existed in shades of gray.
09:12Zoe Barnes, intrepid young reporter, was no exception.
09:15This is the Washington Herald, Zoe.
09:17It's not TMZ.
09:19Do you know how many people watch TMZ?
09:20I couldn't care less.
09:21Which is why print journalism is dying.
09:23Ambitious and relentless, she traded journalistic integrity for access to Frank's inner circle.
09:28The gamble paid off, at first.
09:31Zoe's scoops netted her fame and influence.
09:34She also bound herself to a man who viewed people as either tools or obstacles.
09:39By season two, she was piecing together Frank's web of corruption.
09:43Zoe thought she could confront him, maybe even outmaneuver him.
09:47She was wrong.
09:48I'm trying to protect us both.
09:50These are questions anyone could ask.
09:52But no one is, except you.
09:54I can't imagine what you're after.
09:57Meeting her under the guise of conversation, Frank shoved her into the path of an oncoming train.
10:02The brutal swiftness of Zoe's death set the tone for season two.
10:06In Frank's world, no one was untouchable.
10:09Number 11, Opie Winston, Sons of Anarchy
10:12Opie Winston started as Sam Crowe's gentle giant.
10:16Look man, if you need money, then we'll borrow one and earn.
10:23Family's just got to adjust to you being around again.
10:26Kids have got to get used to how ugly their dad is.
10:29He was Jax Teller's affable best friend and a good dad and husband to boot.
10:34But Opie got the rawest deal of anyone on Sons.
10:37Manipulated by ATF agent June Stahl, Opie was set up as a rat,
10:42a move that led to his wife's murder.
10:44From then on, the fun-loving family man hardened into a brutal enforcer.
10:49Still, his love and loyalty to Jax never wavered,
10:52and audiences adored him for it.
10:55In season five, that loyalty cost him everything.
10:58In prison, Damon Pope demanded a sacrifice.
11:01Jax prepared to take the fall, but Opie stepped in,
11:04beaten to death with pipes as his brothers watched.
11:08I got this.
11:11The show's warmest soul was extinguished in the coldest way.
11:15Number 10. Chrissy Cunningham. Stranger Things.
11:19Chrissy, wake up! I don't like this! Chrissy, wake up!
11:24We thought demogorgons were the height of terror until we met Vecna.
11:29This telekinetic monster preys on his victims' worst fears,
11:33before killing them in horrific fashion.
11:35Sadly, Chrissy was one of them.
11:37She seemed like the perfect high school cheerleader,
11:40but underneath, Chrissy was a troubled teen,
11:43grappling with an abusive mother and an eating disorder.
11:46She was deeply relatable,
11:48and her unexpected bond with Eddie made us hope she'd stick around.
11:51But Vecna showed no mercy.
11:53Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey, hey, hey!
12:08Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.
12:11Her end started slowly.
12:13An eerie chime of a clock,
12:15her mother's horrifying voice taunting her.
12:17When her time came, her limbs were broken,
12:20eyes gouged out,
12:21and worst of all,
12:23she didn't get the chance to fight back.
12:25Was any of it her fault?
12:32Number 9.
12:33Nicholas Brody.
12:34Homeland.
12:35Can you just stay here?
12:38Just for a few more seconds.
12:42Throughout his time on this espionage thriller,
12:52Nicholas Brody never caught a break.
12:54First a pawn for a terrorist group,
12:56then a tool for the CIA.
12:58His life was a never-ending cycle of torture,
13:01betrayal, and turmoil.
13:03Sure, he did some awful things,
13:05but over time, he grew on us.
13:07But what did we get?
13:07Right when we thought he could be saved,
13:10the CIA betrayed and abandoned him.
13:13Brody, run!
13:14Get down now!
13:17Lie flat.
13:19Hands behind your head.
13:20Branded a traitor,
13:22he was publicly hanged
13:23while a devastated Carrie watched,
13:25unable to stop it.
13:27Yeah, Brody was no saint,
13:29but his end felt too grim for someone
13:31who was also a victim of circumstance.
13:33The show moved on,
13:34but for some fans,
13:35it was never the same.
13:37Number 8.
13:47Laura Palmer.
13:48Twin Peaks.
13:50It's just me now.
13:53Is there a fate more tragic
13:55than this small-town beauties?
13:57In the show,
13:58Agent Dale Cooper
13:59digs into Laura Palmer's death,
14:01slowly unraveling
14:02the mysterious nature of her life.
14:04But it's the prequel film,
14:06Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me,
14:08that truly exposes the ugliness
14:10of Laura's reality.
14:18Repeatedly abused
14:19and trapped in a nightmare,
14:21her life was a true horror show.
14:23Living day after day
14:25with an abusive demon-possessed father,
14:27that's not a life anyone deserves.
14:29Instead of escape
14:30or even the slightest bit of respite,
14:32she's violently murdered
14:34by the very beast
14:35who tormented her for years.
14:37Dark doesn't even cut it.
14:39Her entire existence
14:40was a gut-wrenching,
14:41messed-up nightmare.
14:43It's the kind of tragedy
14:44that sticks with you.
14:45Number 7.
14:46Rita Morgan.
14:48Dexter.
14:48Dexter dedicated his life
15:02to hunting those
15:03who preyed on the innocent,
15:04yet he couldn't save
15:06the one person
15:06who meant the most to him.
15:08Rita was a loving mother
15:09and a symbol of normalcy
15:11in Dexter's life.
15:13Someone as sweet as Rita
15:14didn't deserve to die
15:15at the hands of a sadistic killer,
15:17but that's exactly what she got.
15:19I promise that I always will be true.
15:23I'll give her all the love I have to give
15:26as long as we both shall live.
15:30After capturing the Trinity killer,
15:32Dexter returns home
15:33to the horrifying sight
15:34of Rita's lifeless body,
15:36her child wailing
15:37in that crimson pool.
15:39That image alone
15:40is haunting enough.
15:41Worse still,
15:42it echoes Dexter's
15:43own childhood trauma.
15:45It's a cruel twist
15:46that doesn't only rob
15:47his life of warmth,
15:48but casts a dark shadow
15:50over the entire series.
15:52Number six,
15:53Anatoly Ranskohov,
15:55Daredevil.
15:56Was that him?
15:58Hmm.
16:01He'd like to have a word with you.
16:05Хорошо.
16:05Wilson Fisk isn't a man
16:12you want to cross
16:12and Anatoly learned that
16:14the hard way.
16:15Desperate to speak with Fisk,
16:17he makes the fatal mistake
16:18of interrupting his date.
16:20Furious,
16:21the crime lord
16:22cuts the evening short
16:23and shows Anatoly
16:24how much he doesn't like
16:26being embarrassed.
16:26What is this?
16:29We need to go.
16:30Now.
16:31I'm sorry.
16:32We want to tell you
16:33my brother and I
16:33we gratefully accept.
16:34Wesley will take care of you.
16:37Put him in a car.
16:38Understood.
16:40Unaware of what's coming,
16:41a shocked Anatoly
16:42is yanked out of a car
16:44and thrown into
16:45a violent brawl.
16:46He fights back,
16:47but he's no match for Fisk.
16:49It ends with him
16:49pleading for help
16:50as his head
16:51is repeatedly bashed.
16:53Brutal.
16:53When you factor in
16:54the hell Anatoly
16:55already endured
16:57in prison,
16:58you'd realize
16:58how badly
16:59his life sucked.
17:00He may have been bad,
17:02but it doesn't make
17:02his death
17:03any less jarring.
17:04I'll need a new suit.
17:11What about this?
17:14Take what's left of him
17:15and send it to his brother.
17:17Number 5.
17:19Adriana LaServa
17:20The Sopranos
17:21Why are you crying?
17:22He's going to be fine.
17:28There's no doubt about it.
17:30Adriana is one of the saddest
17:32souls in The Sopranos.
17:34Her biggest flaw
17:34was loving Christopher
17:35too much.
17:37Had he loved her
17:37with the same intensity,
17:39perhaps she might have
17:40made it out alive.
17:41Instead,
17:42when she tearfully
17:43confesses to her
17:44so-called lover
17:44that she's an FBI informant,
17:46he nearly chokes her out.
17:48But now,
17:49there was a murder
17:50of Christopher
17:50and they know about it
17:52at the club.
17:55Matush
17:56and some other guy.
17:58I tried.
17:59As if that isn't
18:00wicked enough,
18:01he sells her out
18:02to his boss,
18:03sealing her fate.
18:04Under the impression
18:05she's meeting Christopher,
18:07Adriana's driven
18:07to her doom.
18:09By the time she realizes
18:10what's happening,
18:11it's too late.
18:12Despite her desperate
18:13pleas for mercy,
18:14she's coldly executed.
18:16What a heartbreaking end
18:18for a woman
18:18whose only sin
18:19was loving the wrong man.
18:21No!
18:23No!
18:25Number 4.
18:26Colonel Henry Blake.
18:28MASH.
18:29If that's my discharge,
18:30give it to me straight.
18:30I can take it.
18:32I have a message.
18:35Is this medical series
18:37a sitcom
18:37or a heavy war drama?
18:39Sometimes,
18:40it's hard to tell.
18:41Well,
18:41to remind fans
18:42about its serious undertones,
18:44the creator chose
18:45to kill off
18:46a beloved character,
18:47none other than
18:48Henry Blake.
18:49Though we understand
18:50it was because
18:51McLean Stevenson
18:52was leaving the show,
18:54it didn't make his death
18:54any less jolting.
18:56Believe yourself
18:57or I'm gonna come back
18:57and kick your butt.
19:05Just as he was bound
19:07for home,
19:08almost free
19:08from the horrors of war,
19:10his plane gets shot down.
19:12That's cruel.
19:13His death
19:14wasn't even shown,
19:15yet mere news of it
19:16shattered both fans
19:18and characters.
19:19Some mourned,
19:20others complained heavily,
19:22and in the end,
19:23it darkened the series
19:24in a way that lingered.
19:26MASH was no longer
19:27just comedy.
19:29Lieutenant Colonel
19:30Henry Blake's plane
19:32was shot down
19:36over the sea of Japan.
19:41It spun in.
19:46There were no survivors.
19:49Number three,
19:50Jane Margolis,
19:52Breaking Bad.
19:53Sober for months,
19:54Jane was on the road
19:55to recovery
19:56when Jesse Pinkman
19:57entered her life.
19:58Brushing him off at first,
19:59she eventually fell for him
20:01and that changed her fate
20:03for the worse.
20:04Soon,
20:04she's back to old habits
20:05and becomes too involved
20:07in Walter
20:08and Jesse's beef.
20:10Then the moment
20:10of her undoing arrives.
20:12After securing Jesse's cut
20:14from Gustavo's deal,
20:15the lovers decide
20:16to run away,
20:17but not before
20:18one last heroin hit.
20:20Unfortunately for them,
20:21Walter finds them
20:22unconscious.
20:23As he tries to wake Jesse,
20:25Jane rolls onto her back
20:26and begins choking.
20:28Driven by his own
20:29twisted agenda,
20:30Walter lets her die.
20:32Just like that,
20:33Jane's promising life
20:34is cut short.
20:42Number two,
20:44Glenn and Abraham,
20:45The Walking Dead.
20:46Anybody moves,
20:48anybody says anything,
20:49cut the boy's other eye out,
20:50feed it to his father,
20:51and then we'll start.
20:53You can breathe.
20:55At the start of season seven,
20:57the creators of this zombie thriller
20:58delivered a gut punch
20:59that left many fans reeling.
21:02After Rick's group
21:02is captured by Negan,
21:04he asserts dominance
21:05by hacking down Abraham,
21:07arguably the toughest
21:08in the group.
21:09But he doesn't stop there.
21:11To shock us even more,
21:12he doubles down on brutality
21:14by smashing Glenn's head
21:16with a club.
21:17So,
21:18back to it.
21:23The same Glenn
21:24who was set to be a father.
21:25How utterly unbearable.
21:28Some fans abandoned the show
21:30after these soul-crushing,
21:31visceral deaths,
21:32and it's totally understandable.
21:35Even for a show known
21:36for its relentless violence,
21:37this moment felt like
21:38it crossed a line.
21:40It was hard to forgive
21:41and even harder to forget.
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22:06Number 1.
22:09The Starks
22:10Game of Thrones
22:11I've given you meat
22:13and wine
22:14and music,
22:15but I haven't
22:16shown you
22:17the hospitality
22:18you deserve.
22:21Losing one person
22:23is painful,
22:24but nearly an entire
22:25family getting slaughtered?
22:26That's another level
22:28of savagery.
22:29But it's Game of Thrones,
22:30where we're always
22:31hit by the unexpected.
22:33Just like we were stunned
22:34by Oberyn's death
22:35when we thought
22:35victory was his.
22:37Still,
22:37the Starks had it worse
22:38than other houses.
22:40After Ned's execution,
22:41Arya was displaced.
22:43Sansa was traumatized
22:44and Winterfell
22:45was captured.
22:46Then came the massacre.
22:48To gain
22:49Walder Frey's support,
22:50Robb Stark agreed
22:51to a marriage pact,
22:52one he failed to honor.
22:54Unfortunately,
22:55Walder wasn't
22:56the forgiving type.
22:57Returning to Walder's hall,
22:59the Starks walked
22:59straight into an ambush.
23:01Despite Catelyn
23:02pleading for mercy,
23:03none was given,
23:05not even to Robb's
23:06unborn child,
23:07a horrifying price
23:09to pay for a broken deal.
23:11Don't you want to teach
23:12little Ned Stark
23:13how to ride horses?
23:15I do.
23:17Have we left you
23:18with a sense of devastation
23:19and loss
23:20by not including
23:20a TV death
23:21that left you in tears?
23:22Let us know
23:23in the comments.
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