For me, it was always Optimus Prime from The Transformers movie.
The Tali/Legion decision is brutal if you made mistakes in ME2 and 3.
Carter from Person of Interest.
The Paragon interrupt not being enough to save anyone if you side with Legion just makes it hurt more.
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.
Robin Williams as the Bicentennial Man. The movie was okay; his performance was amazing.
+1.
Underappreciated great movie; and the book is good too. (The Positronic Mang)
Artax from The Neverending Story
I started reading Dragonlance novels around 10 years old. When I got my hands on the third main one (IIRC), one of the main characters who’s a knight died and that impacted me for quite some time.
Sturm Brightblade, in the second book _Dragons of Winter Night _
I was specifically avoiding the name to leave some ambiguity in case someone might want to read it, though probably overkill. But, yep, him
When the older character in the first(?) book dies, it hit me like a ton of bricks the first time around.
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’?”
There’s something people always leave out in all this. The crash right before wash dies really feels as if serenity could be totaled. So first that crash… Then all of that
“I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.” are some damn fine final words.
You can’t take the sky from me.
Ooof! I was gonna add something from my own childhood, but then I read this and now I gotta take a knee and go cuddle something soft.
Noooo, I refuse to believe that the movie is canon 😭
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?
Mufasa would be the most popular answer for us oldies.
Since 9 Sep especially, it’s been a rough scene to watch. It hits so, so much harder now.
Maes Hughes
Lot’s wife from the Bible. They did my girl wrong.
I remember feeling salty over that one.
LOL actual.
It’s been 25 years since I first read it and I’m still not ok with the fact that Old Dan and Little Ann didn’t make it.
I buried Little Ann by the side of Old Dan. I knew that was where she wanted to be. I also buried a part of my life along with my dog.
Gurren Lagan Spoilers
Kamina
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…
Thank you! This traumatized me as a child, my dad used to have to fast forward that part because it was so upsetting for me.
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.
The 80s were so brutal. We had a kids movie that starts with the main character’s horse dying from sadness.
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.
It was so traumatizing, death by depression. But, overall, as a little fruity kid about the same age as Bastian when it came out, TNS was the closest thing to affirmation of my own little fruity existence I could find. We easily traumatized fruity kids don’t usually get represented well in action films.
Fun fact: Artax can speak in the novel.
AAAANDD ITS SO MUCH WORSE TOOOOOO 😭
The last one i remember is the Going Merry from One Piece
Mordin Solus from Mass Effect.
“Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong”
I was going to post Shephard, but no, Mordin was the worst.
I haven’t the constitution to play “evil”, so saught out the evil equivalent as video… also heartbreaking.
“Too many. Lost shields. Sorry, Shepard. Tell them… I held the line.”
And I had to reload an old save.
Aerith. Do I need to say more?
My reaction was “good, now they won’t force me to keep this useless redundant healer in my party anymore”. I suffered through the loss of Tellah in ff4, who was actually useful in battle, so I was hardened by the time 7 came out
The FF7 remake is going to make it hurt more.
Geez, that hasn’t come out yet, has it? I’m a bit out of the loop, but you’re telling me we got a game about Yuffie, but Aereth didn’t die yet?
Things do happen in part 2 that has been out for nearly a year but we only got one part of what we expected, everyone got mad that the big scene was “stolen from us”, and we expect the other shoe to drop in the upcoming part 3. The writers did it on purpose, and they might plan to make it worse for us.
This was spoiled for me since I didn’t play it until the PS2 era, and it still hit me hard and unexpectedly.
Dumbledore
I was pissed that Snape was the stupidly obvious traitor all along. Weak, bad writing, angry at childish plot “twist”.
Well…
Snape is the best part of the latter books. He’s well rounded, motivated, and a fully fleshed out character.
The rest of the world and half the people in it feel like cardboard shuddering in the breeze by that point.
The plot twist was that Snape wasn’t a traitor, and killed the dying Dumbledore to save Draco Malfoy from becoming a murderer.
Oh yeah, he was totally my favourite character by the end.
… And prevent the fancy wand choosing Draco.
I used to be able to read during car rides. While going on holidays, I read the half blood prince to my family. The whole car was in tears and I had to take a break. Dad was driving; no clue how much his vision was impaired…
Personally, I felt more sad over Dobby’s death.
Of all the deaths in the series, I thought Fred’s hurt the most.
Aragog gets no love
