Which TV character's death moved you the most?

[Timewalker]

The Tenth Doctor, "I dont want to go." Just killed me.

Me, too. I hadn't cried during regeneration scenes since Tom Baker and Peter Davison.

I tear up when some soap characters die - especially Edward Quartermaine (actor John Ingle had died).

A couple of other human character deaths that get to me every time are Blackfeather from The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, and Angelo Martelli from Fame.

And all those dogs from the various Disney and other children's movies I watched so long ago... Old Yeller and Lassie Come Home and Where the Red Fern Grows and Call of the Wild...

 

[Caretaker]

Marvin Eriksen on How I Met Your Mother
Jason Segal's scene, from my understanding, was like the Henry Blake scene from M*A*S*H - he had no idea what was coming and was told to react to what Alyson Hannigan told him.

Spoiler: NCIS

Jackie Vance and Eli David on NCIS
Cote de Pablo's cry of "Abba!" still breaks my heart, as does the grief that Rocky Carroll shows in the final minute of the episode.

 

[Saga]

Dee's death in Battlestar Galactica. Seeing her happy and telling Felix she just wanted to savor the feeling, then, when he leaves, she takes out the gun and shoots herself.

Dinobot's death in Beast Wars was really well done. He went out like a badass, got one last quip at Rattrap, and a Hamlet quote to boot!

both of these. especially Dee.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Jason Segal's scene, from my understanding, was like the Henry Blake scene from M*A*S*H - he had no idea what was coming and was told to react to what Alyson Hannigan told him.

The thing about the Henry Blake scene is just a myth. The whole cast of M*A*S*H knew what was in the scene before it was shot, and on top of that the take in the episode is actually the second take. That's confirmed by both cast and crew, as documented in the snopes.com article I linked to upthread. From that article:

Although the other M*A*S*H actors did not know while they were filming the rest of "Abyssinia, Henry" that it would ultimately end with Col. Blake's death, they did know what was going to happen before they undertook the episode's final scene.

 

[shivkala]

The Tenth Doctor, "I dont want to go." Just killed me.

Ugh. I loved the Tenth Doctor. But by that point in the episode he'd done so much arm-folding, and leaning, and watching, and sighing, and goodbye-ing that I was like, "Just die already."

For me, ever since, his "Time Lord" Victorious speech, I was ready for him to go. The execrable "The End of Time" did not help, at all. By the end of it, I was ready for Moffatt and Smith to take over.

Now, "Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!" Now that was moving!

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa3NM9Jhkn0[/yt]
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[thestrangequark]

Now, "Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I!" Now that was moving!

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa3NM9Jhkn0[/yt]
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

YES! Less really is more, and that is how you do a regeneration! SO MANY TEARS.

 

[Orac Zen]

Pretty much every death on Six Feet Under and Lost. No, I'm not going to choose just one.

Kosh, Sheridan and the station, Babylon 5.

D'Argo, Farscape.

Even though I'd seen spoilers, there was a death on this past season of The Good Wife that managed to hit me between the eyes.

I'm sure there are others.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Pretty much every death on Six Feet Under and Lost. No, I'm not going to choose just one.

Kosh, Sheridan and the station, Babylon 5.

D'Argo, Farscape.

Even though I'd seen spoilers, there was a death on this past season of The Good Wife that managed to hit me between the eyes.

I'm sure there are others.

Kosh and Sheridan were memorable, for sure. The final scene between Sheridan and Delenn is incredible.

My wife was devastated by Christopher Reeve's death in 'Somewhere in Time'

From MASH, the finale when the Chinese musicians are killed after leaving the 4077th and Charles can't bear to listen to the music they'd finally learned to play and smashed the album is heartrending and beautifully played.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

In the middle of a silly season of a silly show, True Blood managed to deliver one of the most powerful and moving death scenes I've ever watched with the death of Godric, and it wasn't even of a significant character on the show.

My favorite episode of that show, utterly gripping. I completely agree. Alexander Skarsgard's acting as Godric's progeny was huge, through him you felt all the pain of the loss of this minor character. It stays with you for the rest of the show in Eric.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

For Six Feet Under I'd vote for Nate's wife for the most moving death, just in the way the episode unfolded where she just disappeared and it gradually becomes harder and harder to deny she's dead.

That was absolutely excruciating to watch. The way the time went on and on and on and they heard nothing.. and the show kept going with episodes and it was never ending and not tidy and I could not sleep because we did not know what happened to her.

Carson Beckett's death in Stargate shocked me, I did not see that coming. His resurrection so to speak shocked me too! Wouldn't say it "moved me" like 6 feet under or Godric though.

Buffy's mom also shocked me, hell of an episode.

 

[AgentCoop]

Why am I not surprised that a sizable chunk of this thread has been brought to you by Joss Whedon?

Spoiler: ...Season 5 of "Angel".

But I am surprised that no one has mentioned the Angel episode "A Hole In The World". Fred's last words ("Why..can't I...stay?") reduce me to tears every time.

Henry's death on M*A*S*H is a big one for me, too. Seen it a million times and it never loses it's power. Gary Burghoff's finest performance, IMO. Alan Alda is good in that scene as well. Even though he says nothing and most of his face is covered by a surgical mask, he has such a devastated, haunted look in his eyes. I notice it every time.

More recently, I just caught up on Dr. Who enough to see Eleven's last hurrah...

Spoiler: ...Eleven's last hurrah.

Overall, I thought the episode was pretty "meh", but his last scene (when Clara comes into the TARDIS to find him looking young again after we've just watched him age 900 years) is amazing. His line (in what we already know will be his last speech) "I will always remember when the Doctor was me." is incredibly moving. But the part that reduced me to a blubbering mess was when he hallucinated that Amy was there.

 

[CorporalClegg]

"Two Cathedrals" is one of the greatest television episodes ever.

Yes.

"Two Cathedrals" and "The Body" were the two episodes that immediately came to mind.

The other episode that comes to mind is Smallville's "Reckoning." I doubt there's another episode in TV history that had two main character deaths handled so well and so poorly at the same time. Reset buttons: never a good idea.

Also, I think Monk handled Kamel's passing with tons of class. Dr. Kroger "died" off-screen, but the episode was still very touching.

Lastly, I found Marshall's dad on HIMYM to be surprisingly moving. Especially compared to the other character death on the show.

 

[Claudia]

Recently:
Carter in Person of Interest
Brody in Homeland

Spoiler: recent event

Audrey in 24 - Heller's reaction really had me bawling my eyes out

then:
that last conversation between Sheridan and Delenn in Sleeping in Light
Leo's death in West Wing

not really counting, I suppose, as they ended up being resurrected or "not dead": Sherlock in Reichenbach Fall and Spock in WoK/TSfS (love that last scene).

 

[shivkala]

Why am I not surprised that a

More recently, I just caught up on Dr. Who enough to see Eleven's last hurrah...

Spoiler: ...Eleven's last hurrah.

Overall, I thought the episode was pretty "meh", but his last scene (when Clara comes into the TARDIS to find him looking young again after we've just watched him age 900 years) is amazing. His line (in what we already know will be his last speech) "I will always remember when the Doctor was me." is incredibly moving. But the part that reduced me to a blubbering mess was when he hallucinated that Amy was there.

As I said earlier, Ten's death didn't move me, but Nine and, as you point out, Eleven's definitely did!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Green Shirt]

I have a vague memory of being upset when Nichols (James Garner) was killed off on his own show.

 

[DonIago]

I'll add two Stargate-related ones:

While it's not a death per se, the episode of SG-1 where they betray Fifth and activate the time-dilation field. Yes, Fifth will be back, but the look on his face and the final shot of the episode with the human-form replicators frozen gets me every time.

The Atlantis episode where the replicator who may or may not be Weir leaves Atlantis with her compatriots. I was entirely unprepared for what happened next.

 

[Random_Spock]

Most of the deaths on Lost (Charlie, Jin and Sun, Locke, etc.)

Henry Blake on MASH, which works because even the actors were surprised, and thus the scene is amazingly authentic.

Downtown Abbey's deaths so effected my wife that she will no longer watch that show.

Definitely. It was a really sad death.

Lenny Briscoe's death hit me hard . Such a good character who'll be forever missed.

 

[sojourner]

Nope, the most moving death from Stargate SG-1 was Dr. Janet Frasier's death. The way they played it out to the end of the episode leading you to believe that some other tragedy happened, then you find out it's really her death they're all depressed about.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I tear up when some soap characters die - especially Edward Quartermaine (actor John Ingle had died).

It's so rare they kill a soap character. Even when you really think they died, back they come.

In this case, I think it was out of respect for the actor and the fact they showed the character getting weaker.

 

[auntiehill]

Nope, the most moving death from Stargate SG-1 was Dr. Janet Frasier's death. The way they played it out to the end of the episode leading you to believe that some other tragedy happened, then you find out it's really her death they're all depressed about.

That was sad, and very unexpected.