Dr. McDreamy
I have never seen an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Yet, somehow, even without knowing the name of a single character or any major plot points, last week I became well aware of the fact that Patrick Dempsey’s character, Derek Shepherd, had died.
A car hit Dr. Shepherd — it came out of nowhere, and no one was expecting it — and poor McDreamy was conscious but unable to act as he realized the doctors working to help him would ultimately be unsuccessful in saving his life. I can attribute my fairly in-depth knowledge about this event to the fact that people go crazy over television character deaths. If someone dies on a popular TV show, you’re going to hear about it, whether or not you watch the series.
With that in mind, here are four other television deaths that have plagued our screens and our hearts.
If you’re someone who hates prematurely hearing about plot twists and has an overflowing Netflix queue, then consider this your warning that things are about to be majorly spoiled.
Tracy Mosby: How I Met Your Mother
The death of Tracy Mosby, Ted Mosby’s wife and THE mother (the one referred to in the title, How I Met Your Mother, yes THAT mother) is an event that every fan predicted yet no one actually believed would occur.
Throughout the series, fans waited patiently to find out who the mother could be. Through scores of girlfriends and fiancees, it didn’t seem as though Ted Mosby would ever find the right gal or that this television show would ever end. Finally, it was almost as though everything had worked out for Ted. He would have the happy life he always wanted, and we would see exactly how he met this woman, whose story was nine years in the making.
We had known dear Tracy for such a short time, and right before our eyes in a split second of a sad little montage, she was ripped from our lives.
Violet Harmon: American Horror Story: Murder House
Violet Harmon doesn’t realize she’s dead for quite some time, which makes her death — or rather, her realization of the fact that she is dead — fairly traumatizing. It doesn’t help that when she sees her long-dead body, it’s covered in a small army of flies.
Living in a terrifying house that’s basically a day care center for horrifically twisted souls, Violet’s chances of survival didn’t necessarily look great from the get-go.
Violet’s death was one of the ways in which the American Horror Story writers proved they weren’t afraid to toy with viewers’ minds. Her death created confusion for anyone watching, and from then on, there was no way of knowing whether anyone “living” in the “murder house” was dead or alive.
Ned Stark: Game Of Thrones
Poor Ned Stark. Perfectly able-bodied and strong one minute, headless the next.
Ned Stark’s death is so sudden and surprising that there isn’t really much one can say about it. As one of the show’s central characters at the time of his demise, his death was Game of Thrones’ way of reminding viewers that regardless of importance and screen time, any character could be gone in the blink of an eye.
Also, his death proves that Joffrey is the absolute worst.
Kenny McCormick: South Park
To round out this list, here is a character whose deaths are both frequent and unsurprising.
Especially throughout South Park’s first five seasons, Kenny cannot catch a break. With nothing but an orange parka to protect him from the terrors of his cartoon world, Kenny dies quite often.
Luckily, just as the phrase “You killed Kenny!” is always screamed at the moment of his death, Kenny is always sure to reappear — with little to no explanation, of course.
