For me, it was always Optimus Prime from The Transformers movie.
Bambi’s mother.
Runner-ups:
- Carl’s wife from Up
- The mother in Violet Evergarden
- Ghost and Roach from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Ellie’s death is impressive because it works despite the viewer only having known her for ten minutes with no spoken words.
Up wrecks me as an adult
Not my most, but also not already in the thread:
Duella’s in BSG.
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?
“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.
Noooo, I refuse to believe that the movie is canon 😭
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.
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
!Sayori in Doki Doki Literature Club!<. Hot Dam did that hit like a brick wall
“Dogmeat has died”.
Oh no he fucking has not. Reload.
A lot of people hate on Sword Art Online, but in the second season…
Tap for spoiler
When Yukio dies, and the last thing she sees is the all the players flying overhead in tribute to her… I was already crying, but that left me ugly crying. It hit real hard, way harder than I expected.
It wouldn’t be so hateable if there weren’t so many good things about it!
Lessons in Chemistry.
… which time? he’s died in like, 3 of them now
Marley from Marley and Me
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…
Fun fact: Artax can speak in the novel.
AAAANDD ITS SO MUCH WORSE TOOOOOO 😭
The 80s were so brutal. We had a kids movie that starts with the main character’s horse dying from 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.
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.
The last one i remember is the Going Merry from One Piece
Artax
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
I still think about Aeries/Arith from FF7. Such a senseless death. It makes no sense. Literally was done just to elicit a response from the player. This segment alone is why I am upset that the second game in the Rebirth series isn’t on PC; I really want to know if that scene is going to be altered due to the weird storyline branches that come from the time-travel/alternate reality shenanigans that so far as I’ve seen from the first game, only Arith knows about.
The only other one I really think about randomly is your own character in Fallout 3. Fuck you Fawkes! I don’t believe in fate. Now get your green ass in there so nobody has to die!
At least Rebirth will be on PC in just a couple weeks, on January 23. No Epic exclusivity this time either.
The character who died in Sea of Stars made me and my kid cry. Not saying more.
