Wednesday, June 3, 2015

So Not Over It: Character Deaths That Still Aren't Okay


WARNING: There are copious spoilers in this post for Last of the Mohicans, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Faith, The Walking Dead, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Lost. Our spoilers are hidden, but proceed with caution! Highlight to read spoilers.

Mirriam Neal

I have a cemetery. In this cemetery are many, many headstones marking the names of characters who have died unjustly. These are graves I plan on avenging, but for now I can only mourn them – daily. Honestly, some of them just aren’t fair, and here are three of my biggest ‘still not over it’ deaths.

Last of the Mohicans

Uncas (+ Alice)
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I’m not talking about the book here (although I thoroughly enjoy the novel) - I’m talking about the 90’s movie version. In this movie we have a gloriously beautiful Eric Schweig playing the Mohican in love with Alice, Colonel Monroe’s youngest daughter. In fact, he’s so in love with her that when Magua, the villain whom I despise and loathe, drags Alice away, Uncas goes after her. This is one of those deaths that is both painful and frustrating to watch every time, because Uncas’s friends and family are literally ten seconds too late. Uncas is killed in his attempt to save Alice, and Alice, distraught at the thought of living the rest of her life with the man who murdered Uncas, jumps off the cliff after him. This death. This scene. This movie. It’s beautiful and tragic and is a favorite, because Uncas is sheer perfection and I’ll never be over his death. Not ever.


Avengers: Age of Ultron

Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver
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Okay. You probably saw this coming (I’m sorry. I’m so sorry) but how could I not mention it? Quicksilver’s death was so unexpected and not okay that I can barely formulate straight thoughts about it. First of all, who didn’t love Pietro? Lovable, wise-cracking, loyal, and awesome, he stole the everyone’s hearts – including those who had never heard of him before. (Personally, I’ve been a Quicksilver lover for quite some time.) Quicksilver’s death was shocking, tragic and beautiful (not that I’m forgiving Whedon). Shocking, because we got faked out when that first bullet grazed him. Tragic, because we all loved him and he was a perfect addition to the MCU. Beautiful, because he sacrificed his life to save Hawkeye – the person with whom he’d had a…uh, strained relationship with the whole movie – and a child. Greater love hath no man. Pietro’s death will never be okay.

Faith

Jang-Bin
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Shocking, I know. Me? Including someone from Faith? There are at least three character deaths in this drama that really chap my khakis, but this is probably the biggest. Jang-Bin is entirely lovable and completely kicks gluteus-maximus. He’s the Royal Doctor but also a warrior in his own right, and he basically spends the drama saving lives, fighting defensively, and getting dragged into playing middle-man when the king and queen argue. The biggest gyp? We don’t even get to see his death. We’re told he’s dead and given an item he was protecting from those who killed him, but we never even see the body. I understand that Philip Lee had to leave the show for eye surgery, but couldn’t they at least have filmed a five-second glimpse? It felt so…unresolved. Plus, he was an amazing character and he will always be missed. RIP, Jang-Bin. You are mourned.

Sky Destrian

Sky here. Like Mirriam, I also have a fictional character graveyard. It's honestly hard to pick which three to feature here, but these are the ones that have bugged me the most...

The Walking Dead

Hershel Greene
(image)

It stands to reason I'll be upset about any character death in The Walking Dead, but this one hit me like a punch to the gut. Hershel was one of the best characters, and in fact one of the most good. He was their moral compass. He didn't deserve to go out like that. If Hershel had lived, the show as it is now would have been so different. I especially feel bad for Scott Wilson, who played Hershel, since he wasn't really ready to leave the show. It would have been great to have Hershel for another season or two (or forever). I still miss you, my friend. Please, rest in peace -- you deserve that much.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Antoine Triplett

(image)

To quote Pietro Maximoff (and Mirriam in this article), I didn't see this coming. I don't know what's worse--the fact that Tripp died, or the fact that his storyline was nonexistent in all of season 2. It's especially sad the way he died--sacrificing his life for Skye. If there's one time I hope someone can be resurrected, this is it. Come back to us, Tripp! As we say on Twitter, #TrippLives. 

Lost

Sayid Jarrah
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There are plenty of deaths to be upset over on Lost, but Sayid's was particularly upsetting to me. I found his character development in season six to be pretty much nonexistent, and then his death was barely spoken about. It wasn't a fitting end for one of the most caring, deep characters on the series, and one of my personal favorites.

Agree with our choices? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!

4 comments:

  1. *furiously clicks to view spoilers* I'm not getting anything... Perhaps it's a coding issue? However, there's only one candidate I can actually think of Age of Ultron and if it is who I think it is then ME NEITHER.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heather: Thanks for stopping by! You're right, it was a coding issue. So sorry about that! It should be fixed now. Thanks for letting us know.

      (Right?!? It's still not okay.)

      Delete
  2. Age of Ultron: MY BABY. come back to me please. I WASN'T EXPECTING TO BE SO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN HIM I WASN'T PREPARED FOR THIS.

    Lost: I CAN'T. I LOVED HIM SO MUCH. *cries copious amounts of tears* And that whole last season was weird. Parts were good, parts were bad, but it was undeniably weird and didn't make a lot of sense.

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  3. TRIPP I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM EVER. EVEN IF THEY BRING HIM BACK. He was so stinking cool being all descendant of one of the howling commandos with his cool gadget box. NO.

    Also not happy at all with a certain speedsters death. :( But I don't think I could handle it if Hawkeye had died either. How about NOBODY DIES EVER?

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