For me, it was always Optimus Prime from The Transformers movie.
Wash’s, in “Serenity”. It was just so unexpected and abrupt, and it served to generate a sense of unease in the viewer; after Wash’s death, no character seemed to be protected by plot armor. Granted, Shepherd Book bit it before Wash did, but the movie seemed to set him up to be separate from the rest of the crew. I loved that Whedon played with this concept of fragility in the ensuing battle, with Kaylee getting darted, Zoe getting sliced up, and Simon getting shot. And then, Mal’s battle with the agent… I thought the misdirect was masterfully done.
I’ve been affected by character deaths before and since, but Wash’s death was the only death I’ve seen in media that has made me worry for the safety of the other characters. It made a lot of sense outside of the movie, too, as “Serenity” was more or less a tribute to some IP that was never going to get resurrected. While watching the movie for the first time, I was left thinking: “what if Whedon just said ‘fuck it’?”
The gut punch was Gina Torres, and Zoe not being allowed to grieve and be with Wash.
I watched Serenity again a couple years ago, and it was just as harsh and abrupt as I remember it. It’s a hard emotional jab at anyone who has ever loved a partner that’s a part of their everyday life.
For a deeper gut punch, remember that in “Heart of Gold”, Zoe tells Wash that she wants to have a baby with him, and she won’t brook any of his lame excuses, like “the universe is too dangerous for kids”. It’s possible that if there was ever a second movie or a continuation of the series, they’d say that Zoe did get pregnant just before all of the shit went down, but with it being abandoned IP, we have to guess. So what do you think? Is there a mini Wash in Zoe’s future?
Jiraiya from Naruto Shippuden. Felt like my own family member passed when they killed him off.
Edit: Also, Sergeant Johnson in Halo 3.
Mordin Solus from Mass Effect.
“Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong”
Sirius Black in Harry Potter. I had to go back and reread the paragraph several times, then put the book down. Seemed just so unfair.
Put in there just as a cheap way to get emotional reactions from the audience, it’s the story telling equivalent of having the dog in the story die.
Technically, Sirius is the dog in the story.
Especially since his death didn’t really do anything. He didnt sacrifice himself or saved anyone and his death wasn’t discussed much after the initial shock. I assume he had to be out of the picture so Harry could go Horcrux hunting, without him interfering
To me it just felt like the unfairness of real life. Sometimes people get a shit hand of cards at life, and their death is just quiet and pointless and has no sense or reason to it.
Yeah, but that’s not so something you usually do in stories, because it is a bad reading experience. At most people sacrifice themselves for something and their sacrifice turns out to be in vain. But authors dont just go killing off a protagonist, because they put a lot of work into them and their death needs to have a certain value
Sure. But perhaps not giving it any value could also be a strong point. The fact that it was so senseless made it all the more painful, to me. I honestly hurt more for that death than any other in the books.
That’s what I mean with dying for something but not achieving that. Just having him die randomly felt very jarring, but not in a good way since it didnt really felt connected to the story
“Dogmeat has died”.
Oh no he fucking has not. Reload.
Cyberpunk 2077 spoiler:
Tap for spoiler
Jackie Wells. Damn that broke me up; the whole buildup in Act1 to that scene was so artfully done. So immersed. Really felt like I lost my anchor and best friend in that fucked up life.
I’ll ride his Arch til the day I can’t. Not a scratch.
I’ll ride his Arch til the day I can’t. Not a scratch.
Riding a vehicle without ever letting it get a scratch in Cyberpunk 2077 is quite impressive. I think I “scratched” Jackie’s bike in under a minute when I got it in my first playthrough.
It’s a metaphor. :) Pretty sure I wrecked it completely within a few minutes lol. But the auto-insurance, what’s it like $50 eddies? covers the not a scratch part.
Jesus, because no one ever shuts up about it
Rob and Catelyn Stark in the Red Wedding. So traumatizing!
Companion cube
I probably haven’t seen The Neverending Story in 25 years, but I still think about Artax from time to time. Fuckin’ Swamp of Sadness…
The 80s were so brutal. We had a kids movie that starts with the main character’s horse dying from sadness.
For real. That moment in that movie is basically telling you that you cannot save your best friend from crippling sadness and depression. The horse and the boy love each other but it doesn’t matter in the end.
I was allowed to watch that movie waaay too young, and I know it’s the same for others my age, but I was pissed when I learned that one of my friends let her 5 year old watch it because she’d seen it when she was 5, and apparently forgot or didn’t care that the horse dies?? Like how can you forget that?? And then the 5 year old heard us talking about the movie and the FIRST thing she says is “Remember the horse?” in this sad little voice. Way to traumatize your kid.
Fun fact: Artax can speak in the novel.
AAAANDD ITS SO MUCH WORSE TOOOOOO 😭
Dangit! Two people now have totally eclipsed what I was gonna add with something that just takes more wind out of my sails!
I definitely need something to cuddle now.
Well, at least your username fits.
First time I saw Wash die in firefly was brutal.
More recently, after watching better call Saul I am heartbroken over Mike’s death. Particularly for Stacey and Kaylee.
Howard’s death hurt me the most out of all of them. Not sure why.
I guess because he was an innocent guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. They just wanted to fuck with the guy just a little but instead they tore him down and destroyed him. It just feels bad.
And for a huge portion of the show he was the only ally they had.
Namaste! They built him well too, but differently. He might be one of those ‘good times, noodle salad’ people. Well intentioned, cosseted, smart in a narrow way and so so naive. The clincher was dumping him in the same hole as Lalo Salamanca. Dirt doesn’t know the difference, but the audience did.
Hedwig and Fred Weasley
Robin Williams as the Bicentennial Man. The movie was okay; his performance was amazing. I’ve struggled with mortality for a while, like I expect a lot of people do, and to see him as a character who started their existence immortal, and to choose mortality. His death in the movie hit me much, much harder than I expected. I haven’t watched the movie again since my first viewing because I’m honestly afraid of going through that again.
Bridge to Terabithia
!Leslie!<
