Warning: spoilers ahead for several TV shows, including The Last of Us season 2 episode 2.
Sometimes, a fictional character’s death on a TV show is so gut-wrenchingly crushing, that it stays with you for many, many years.
One of the prime examples of this is Ned Stark (Sean Bean) in Game of Thrones, when the lead character was brutally killed off at the end of the first season.
Now, The Last of Us season 2 episode 2 has revealed one of the most heartbreaking TV deaths in recent years at a crucial turning point in the story of smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his surrogate daughter Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
Some viewers have said they’re ‘never going to recover’ from the lead character being killed off… and honestly, as fans ourselves, we agree, even if video games knew that it was coming.
Spoilers ahead for TV shows including Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and The Walking Dead, as we look back on some of the most devastating deaths in TV history. You have been warned.
Ned Stark, Game of Thrones
Obviously, we couldn’t start this list without going to Ned Stark first. Even though people who’ve read George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books already knew the head of House Stark was going to perish, it didn’t soften the blow to his neck whatsoever.
In the penultimate episode of season one, Ned’s head is chopped off in front of the crowds at King’s Landing after King Joffrey Barathon (Jack Gleeson) demands: ‘Bring me his head!’, an order that’s executed by Ser Ilyn Payne (Wilko Johnson).
The number of times Sean, 66, has died on screen has become a running joke in his career, with another memorable death scene taking place in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, when he’s taken down by three arrows.
Even now, fans are still shaken by how massively Ned’s death changed the trajectory of Game of Thrones, with Rodin-V writing on Reddit: ‘It suddenly became evident how high the stakes were and that nobody was safe.’
Oberyn Martell, Game of Thrones
The minute that Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) made his grand entrance on Game of Thrones, boasting both swagger and lethal cunning, he immediately became a fan-favourite.
But that made his brutal death even more distressing, especially when it appeared as though he was winning his fight.
Oberyn arrives in season four, vowing to achieve revenge against the Mountain, Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) for raping and murdering his sister, and killing her children.
The Dornish prince finally has his chance to go up against the Mountain in a trial by combat, but rather than strike the killing blow when he has the chance, he makes the fatal mistake of taking his time… and ends up having his skull crushed by his gravely wounded opponent. That bloody death will always be seared on our minds.
Joel Miller, The Last of Us
Sorry The Last of Us fans, it’s true – Joel has met his end in season two episode two at the hands of newcomer Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). Even though video game fans knew that it was coming, it still isn’t any less shocking.
At the end of season one, Joel brutally murders members of the Firefly militia group after he discovers that while using Ellie to try and find a cure to the Cordyceps infection, she would die in the process. One of the people he shoots and kills is an unarmed doctor, who turns out to be Abby’s father.
After five years of waiting, Abby finally gets her revenge on Joel by beating him to a pulp and then stabbing him in the neck with a broken golf club, with a distraught Ellie forced to watch her surrogate father take his final breaths.
Fans have said that they ‘won’t ever recover emotionally’ from this moment, while others have said this was one of the ‘best episodes of TV’ they’ve ever seen. If this is only episode two, who knows how much more painful season two is going to become as it unfolds.
Marissa Cooper, The OC
In 2003, teen drama The O.C. premiered, introducing the world to several lead characters including Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton).
In a moment that shook fans’ to their core, in the final episode of season three, Marissa dies in a car accident, with Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) pulling Marissa from the burning wreckage, only to watch her die in his arms.
One fan called Mental-Idea9525 wrote on Reddit: ‘It was literally so shocking to this day I don’t believe it actually happened. I was 17. I must have been in such disbelief I don’t even have a real recollection of watching the next season. It was awful – I hated that they did that.’
‘I’m rewatching it now. I was 12 when it started. I bawled my eyes out when she died,’ said __No__Control, while ladysavagethe21st added in a comment posted two months ago: ‘I can’t get over it.’
Poussey Washington, Orange Is The New Black
Four seasons into Netflix prison drama Orange Is The New Black, one of the most beloved characters, Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley) is killed in a scene that’s utterly heartbreaking.
During a peaceful protest in the prison’s cafeteria, Poussey is restrained forcefully on the ground by a police officer, and she tries to tell him that she ‘can’t breathe’. But by the time he gets off her, it’s too late, and she’s been suffocated to death.
The episode echoed the death of Eric Garner, a man who was killed in 2014 after he was put in a chokehold by a police officer, and who said ‘I can’t breathe’ 11 times before he died.
‘There are people who are watching television who might not have a personal relationship with Black Lives Matter, but they know Poussey,’ Samira said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. ‘What I’ve been reading online from people is just this profound sadness, something that they can’t shake away.’
Glenn Rhee, The Walking Dead
It should come as no surprise given the show’s title that there is a lot of death in The Walking Dead. But some deaths hit harder than others – and Glenn’s was definitely one of those instances.
Glenn Rhee (Steven Reun) was in the show from the start, a man who helps Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) survive a horde of walkers and then is a key part of his group.
In the opening episode of season seven, antagonist Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) beats Glenn in the head with Lucille, a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire.
While some fans of The Walking Dead have argued that Glenn’s death should have never happened, others believe it was necessary, with one called Kilatypus writing on Reddit: ‘Glenn’s death was necessary. Downright to all the gory details. The Walking Dead has never been a show for the faint of heart, no reason to pull punches at the comic’s most important death.’
George O’Malley, Grey’s Anatomy
In the season five finale of Grey’s Anatomy, which aired in May 2009, a man is being treated in the hospital after jumping in front of a bus to save a woman.
While initially the doctors don’t know the identity of the John Doe due to the severity of his injuries, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) realises that the patient is actually their colleague and friend George O’Malley (TR Knight).
The doctors try desperately to save George’s life, but it’s confirmed in the first episode of season six that he died.
‘It’s been 12 years, and I’m still not over George’s death 😭😭😭,’ one fan called @piupiusibebecutzu commented on YouTube four years ago, while @miastevans7392 added: ‘George was the first major character to die. We didn’t expect it. We didn’t think that they would actually kill off one of the most beloved characters. This was the worst death, cause no one saw it coming.’
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.
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