Death became them!
After that shocking episode of Succession, we’re taking a look at the TV deaths that left fans reeling… By Keeley Ryan
There are a number of ways things could go when it is time for a character to exit a telly series. Sometimes, they head off into the sunset and get their happily ever after. Other times, things can take a turn and they meet a shocking or just downright grisly fate. This week, we’re taking a look at some of the most unexpected deaths on telly… Succession fans had suspected that Logan wouldn’t make it to the end of the series — but it was still a surprise when the Roy family patriarch died earlier this month, just a few episodes into the final season.
Brian Cox, who played Logan, later told how trying to keep his character’s death quiet was a challenge in itself. He said,“it was hard to keep a secret all that time. It was a long time. “When did I die? God, I think it was last July…. I’m very proud of myself because I’ve never been able to keep secrets, and this is one secret I actually did rather well on.”
Mischa Barton’s Marissa Cooper quickly became a fan favourite when The O.C. first premiered — and after plenty of ups and downs over the years, it seemed like things were looking up for the character.
The pals had just graduated, and her boyfriend Ryan — played by Benjamin Mckenzie — was driving her to the airport so she could spend a year in Greece.
But while en route to the airport, her vengeful ex Kevin started trying to run them off the road, leading their car to flip off the road. Although Ryan got her out of the car before it exploded, Marissa ended up passing away in his arms.
Mischa later told how she felt that the scene was “tragic” and “poetic”.
She said,“i knew they would find a great song to put it to because music was such a huge part of the show and I know her, as a character, she had really battled to keep it together and was unable to do so.
“She was just trying to find herself and she was always put into these very complicated situations from a young age to be a perfect society girl. I felt like it was actually a great ending when I read it.”
The death of M*A*S*H’S Lt. Col. Henry Blake, M.D. was groundbreaking
“she was just trying to find herself...”
away — his fate was confirmed the following season.
Connie Britton’s Rayna Jaymes was Nashville’s reigning Queen of Country — and a firm favourite amongst viewers.
As the drama headed to a new network for the fifth season, it seemed like things could only get better for Rayna from here on out — which made her fate all the more surprising. After surviving an incident with her stalker, she was being brought home by the police, only for a car to crash into them. She ended up passing away from her injuries. From the Red Wedding to the Red Viper’s battle with The Mountain; the explosion at the Sept of Baelor to Jon Snow being betrayed, there was no shortage of shocking moments — and deaths — throughout Game of Thrones’ eight season run. But one of the earliest surprising farewells for folks who hadn’t read the A Song Of Ice And Fire series came in the first season when Ned Stark was beheaded on the orders of Prince Joffrey, marking an end to the seeminglycentral leader of House Stark — and bringing about the sense that nobody in Westeros was ever really safe. Samira Wiley’s Poussey Washington was a firm fan favourite since the 2013 premiere of Orange Is the New Black.
And viewers were heartbroken by the character’s shocking and unexpected death in season four.
Towards the end of the season, the Litchfield inmates held an initially peaceful demonstration calling for Captain Piscatella’s resignation over how he treated them. But additional guards were called in for backup, leading the situation to escalate. Ultimately, Poussey — who had been trying to deescalate the situation — ended up pinned to the ground by one of the correctional officers, who inadvertently suffocated her by pressing his knee pressing into her back.
Downton Abbey fans were left heartbroken at the end of season three when Matthew Crawley met his end — especially as he and his wife, Lady Mary, had just welcomed their son George.
The proud dad, played by Dan Stevens, was driving back to the estate to tell the family about George. Unfortunately, he wasn’t paying his full attention to the road — and ended up swerving at the last second to avoid hitting an oncoming truck.
His car rolled, landing on top of him and killing him.
Dan later said of his exit,“we were always optioned for three years. And when that came up it was a very difficult decision. But it felt like a good time to take stock, to take a moment.”
The Good Wife fans were stunned when they unexpectedly had to say goodbye to Josh Charles’will Gardner.
The fifth season saw the lawyer get shot in the courtroom by his client, Jeffrey Grant. He was later transported to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
The actor — who had received Emmy and Golden Globe nods for his portrayal of the character—had been a part of the drama since the first season.
He later said of his departure,“it’s been one of the greatest gigs for me in my entire career, but at the end of last year, my contract was up and I was just ready to kind of move on.
“I think it was great for the show and also I think was a proper goodbye to the character, so that was special.”
Buffy thevampire Slayer has had its fair share of character deaths — but there was one in particular that hit really hard.
And it didn’t even involve any of the supernatural entities that the titular character would go toe-to-toe with.
The character, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, had her world come crashing down around her in season five when she returned home to discover that her mum Joyce had passed away from an aneurysm.
Jane thevirgin fans had been told — several times over — that Michael Cordero Jr. would love Jane Villanueva until his dying breath.
And it seemed like that day might have arrived in the season two finale when, shortly after they tied the knot, Michael got shot.
But while he ultimately survived the nearfatal attack, the telenovela-inspired series had a heartbreaking twist in store: Michael collapsed just ten episodes into the following season, dying of complications from the gunshot.
Netflix’syou has had many, many, many characters die over the years — some in more gruesome ways than others.
But it seemed like Penn Badgley’s Joe Goldberg might have met his match when Love Quinn was introduced in season two — especially when it was revealed that there was a whole lot more to the character than meets the eye.
And while season three made it clear that the couple weren’t going to go the distance, fans weren’t quite expecting how far Joe would go — or that he’d be the one to kill Love, pin the murders on her, set their home ablaze and then run off to Paris
Jason Dohring’s return forveronica Mars’ fourth season left fans convinced that Logan and Veronica could maybe get their happily ever after following on from all the ups and downs in their relationship — especially as the two got hitched in the season finale.
But it wasn’t meant to be, as shortly after saying ‘I do’, the car Logan was in exploded and he became the final victim of the serial killer.
Series creator Rob Thomas later said of the decision,“kristen and I have talked about making them until it’s Murder She Wrote, and I think for the show to work that way it has to work as a noir detective show, and I think there is a reason that you don’t see many badass TV detectives with their boyfriend, or with their girlfriend.
“There is something romantic about that solitary P.I. figure out in the world and, also, I think there is a reason that shows tend to end when they get their romantic leads together. It’s hard to come up with interesting ways to make the relationship as vital as it was before they were together.” ■