TV Character Deaths Fans Never Forgave

Some TV exits land like a plot twist that keeps echoing long after the credits. Production decisions, actor contracts, and source material can all lead to a character’s last episode, and the way it happens becomes a permanent part of the show’s history. The entries below focus on what was shown on screen and what the creators said or did around each moment.

Each section notes the episode and circumstances, plus key context such as showrunners, timing, and platform. Networks and streamers are mentioned only to situate when and where these stories aired so readers can place each moment in its original run.

Glenn Rhee in ‘The Walking Dead’ (2010)

Glenn dies in the season seven premiere ‘The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be’ after Negan executes him with the bat known as Lucille during a lineup scene that adapts the same moment from the comic’s landmark Issue 100. The episode presents Glenn’s final words to Maggie and shows the group’s immediate capture and submission as Rick is forced to witness the killings.

The writers had already staged a mistaken death in season six when Glenn fell into a horde and later emerged alive, which set up uncertainty before the premiere resolved his fate. Showrunner Scott M. Gimple and producer Gale Anne Hurd discussed keeping the comic’s outcome, and the episode aired on AMC during a period when the series was among the most watched shows on cable.

Derek Shepherd in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (2005)

Derek suffers a car crash in ‘How to Save a Life’ and is taken to a hospital that cannot perform the necessary brain surgery in time. Meredith authorizes the end of life support after doctors document irreversible brain damage, and the episode closes the character’s long surgical arc.

Patrick Dempsey’s departure aligned with a creative reset that shifted focus to other surgeons at Grey Sloan Memorial. The episode sits late in season eleven and originally aired on ABC, where the show’s long run has continued to roll out new losses and arrivals around the central hospital.

Lexa in ‘The 100’ (2014)

Lexa is killed by a stray bullet in ‘Thirteen’ when Titus’s attempt to shoot Clarke goes wrong, striking the Commander moments after a private reconciliation scene. The episode also lays out the mythology of the Flame and the transfer of leadership, which becomes a driver for the remainder of the season.

Alycia Debnam Carey’s availability was limited by work on another series, and the timing shaped how the writers scripted the exit. The episode premiered on The CW and prompted statements from showrunner Jason Rothenberg about the choice and its execution within the show’s culture and politics.

Tara Maclay in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1997)

Tara is shot by Warren in ‘Seeing Red’ shortly after reconciling with Willow, and she dies immediately from a single gunshot wound. The event triggers Willow’s turn toward dark magic in the episodes that follow and becomes the emotional hinge for the remainder of season six.

Season six aired on UPN after the series moved from its original home, and creator Joss Whedon’s team used the final arc to connect human violence to the season’s larger themes. Amber Benson later returned for appearances that clarified Tara’s absence within the show’s rules of magic and resurrection.

Poussey Washington in ‘Orange Is the New Black’ (2013)

Poussey dies in ‘Toast Can’t Never Be Bread Again’ during a nonviolent protest when a correctional officer restrains her on the cafeteria floor and she is unable to breathe. The scene is filmed with attention to the officer’s panic and the camera holds on Poussey’s friends as they realize she has not survived.

Creator Jenji Kohan and the writers connected the storyline to real world conversations about carceral policy and restraint practices and then used the finale to depict staff reactions and institutional fallout. The episode debuted on Netflix and became a turning point for how the show treated systemwide accountability in later seasons.

Hodor in ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011)

Hodor’s death occurs in ‘The Door’ when he holds a collapsing exit against a charge of wights while Meera drags Bran to safety. Bran’s vision links Wylis’s past to the present accident, and the command to hold the door fractures his mind into the single word he repeats for the rest of his life.

The showrunners credited George R. R. Martin for giving them that specific origin and endpoint for the character’s name and fate. Directed by Jack Bender, the episode premiered on HBO and integrated time travel rules into the series more directly than any episode up to that point.

Charlie Pace in ‘Lost’ (2004)

Charlie dies in ‘Through the Looking Glass’ after flooding the underwater station to disable the jamming signal so the survivors can attempt contact. He writes Not Penny’s Boat on his hand against the glass to warn Desmond about the true nature of the offshore freighter.

The writers had foreshadowed Charlie’s death across the season through Desmond’s visions of different outcomes. Dominic Monaghan returned in later episodes through visions and flash sideways storytelling devices, and the series aired on ABC, where the finale seasons leaned into the show’s expanding mythology.

Will Gardner in ‘The Good Wife’ (2009)

Will is shot in ‘Dramatics, Your Honor’ when a young client opens fire in the courtroom during a tense trial. Hospital scenes confirm his death and the episode follows the immediate intake of evidence and statements as Alicia learns what happened.

Josh Charles’s exit was coordinated in secrecy to preserve the surprise across the production schedule, and the Kings structured the back half of the season around legal and political aftermath. The episode aired on CBS and led directly into narrative changes that set up the final seasons and the later spinoff on streaming.

Opie Winston in ‘Sons of Anarchy’ (2008)

Opie dies in ‘Laying Pipe’ after choosing to enter a prison fight to the death to protect his friends from a forced execution. The camera stays on Jax as guards lock the group inside the pit and Opie is beaten by rival inmates.

Kurt Sutter explained that the choice was meant to confront Jax with a loss that would shape every decision that followed through the season. The episode aired on FX and the character’s funeral sequence was used to transition club leadership while addressing the retaliation arc that closed the year.

Eddie Munson in ‘Stranger Things’ (2016)

Eddie dies in ‘Chapter Nine The Piggyback’ after luring a swarm of demobats away with an electrified guitar performance so his friends can execute their plan inside the Creel house. He is wounded during the fight and later succumbs in Dustin’s arms, closing the Hawkins storyline for the season.

The Duffers wrote Eddie as the leader of the Hellfire Club and framed his exit as part of the multi front finale strategy that cut between the Upside Down and the surface. The episode premiered on Netflix and the character was memorialized in the following season’s opening as the town struggled with the broader consequences.

Share the moments you remember most and tell us in the comments which TV character death you still think about whenever the show comes up.