Over the
years, TV shows have learnt how to boost viewership, create a major talking
point and change up the game by simply killing off – or even just writing out –
a character. Sometimes it’s because the actors who play them want out or simply
because the writers are bored and they want to mix things up a little.
If you’re
anything like me, you’re not sure what to do after one of your favourite
characters are no longer a part of your favourite TV shows. And it sucks! But
not to worry! Here is a list to remind you of some of the most game-changing
losses to some of the most popular TV shows… Enjoy!
[It's fair to say that there are SPOILERS ahead for the following shows:
Community
Game Of Thrones
Family Guy
Homeland
Breaking Bad
The Walking Dead
Arrow
Proceed at your own risk! You have been warned.]
Troy Barnes – Community
 |
| A lovely snap of the young man! |
At the start
of this year, the beloved cult sitcom that was been cancelled before its time, lost
one of its greatest characters in the form of Troy Barnes. The other half of Troy & Abed in the Morning, Troy
came as a big loss to the show. Troy was written out by the fifth episode of
season 5 because Donald Glover wanted to focus on his rapping career among
other reasons. His absence from the show made a huge difference to the dynamic
of the group, much more than that of Chevy Chase’s Pierce Hawthorne, who left
earlier in the same season.
This truly
is the darkest timeline… BUT, maybe it’s not too bad as the online service
Yahoo, keen to get their TV programming off the ground in a similar Netflix
fashion, have decided to renew the show on their network for a sixth season!
You can’t
have #SixSeasonsAndAMovie
without a sixth season now, can you Community fans?
Hershel Greene – The
Walking Dead
 |
| Try not to lose your head on this loss... |
Personally,
season four of The Walking Dead was
one of the best in terms of a climactic shift of themes and intriguing character
development. Among the changes made in season four was the loss of humanity,
hope, wisdom, and the voice of reason. That’s right. Hershel was killed.
Now, it
would not be a season of The Walking Dead
without at least a major character death and, (with many to choose from in this
season) Hershel stands out as the most devastating. What he represented was
humanity and reason and by the gruesome way his life was ended – he was
decapitated for god’s sake – brutality and animosity ensued… You need evidence?
Well Rick ripped a guy’s throat out with his teeth. Yeah. That really happened.
Brian Griffin – Family
Guy
 |
| Cheers Brian! |
Despite this
being no more than about a five episode story arc, with some saying it was a
stunt to boost viewership, the beloved alcoholic-cynic canine Brian Griffin
was, really rather brutally killed off for, what fans suspected was for good!
The show
practically dedicated an entire episode to the family dog and the internet
erupted with hatred for Seth MacFarlane and the writers of Family Guy for about a month. It was fair to say that the loyal fan
base of the hit animation did not want to – or even expect – see their
politically engaged pup to go. But thank god he's ok, am I right?!
Moira Queen – Arrow
 |
| You will be missed Mrs Queen! |
Despite
being a rather suspicious character throughout the first two seasons of the hit
superhero show Arrow, Moira Queen was
not hard to like. You respected her for her admiration – despite her being kind
of responsible for the death of about 500 people, but we can look pass that – her wisdom, her loyalty and devotion to her children, Oliver and Thea.
Yet she was
brutally killed by the almost unstoppable juggernaut, Slade Wilson. As a
promise he kept to Oliver back on the island 6 years prior to his arrival in
the present day, Slade killed his mother in front of him (and Thea) in a
similar fashion to the way he lost Shado.
The scene
was heart-wrenching and the aftermath of her death is still evident in the
character development of the Queen children. It’s safe to say that Season three
of Arrow won’t feel the same without
her.
The Red Wedding – Game
of Thrones
 |
| "The Lannisters send their regards" |
Possibly one
of the most shocking scenes in recent television history (if you obviously
haven’t read the Song of Ice & Fire
books) and one of the most heart-wrenching and disturbing scenes too.
The Red
Wedding, as it has been dubbed, saw the brutal end of the king of the North,
Robb Stark, his wife, his unborn child, his dire wolf Greywind, his entire army
and his loveable mother, Catelyn Stark. Some wedding, huh?
Because it
was so unexpected (for the non-readers, of course) and with the Starks seen as
“the good guys” and being really the
family to support in the twisted world of Westeros, it is still regarded as one
of the most shocking scenes of the series. And with so many characters being
killed off in one scene… well, it is definitely worth a mention.
Charlie Harper – Two &
a Half Men
 |
| Raise you hand if you've ever gone to rehab... |
The eighth
season of Two & a Half Men was
cut short while Charlie Sheen began another stint in rehab, only to be fired
from the show after making unflattering remarks about the series creator Chuck
Lorre. His absence from the ninth season was explained in the premiere, when it
was revealed that his character, Charlie Harper, was unceremoniously pushed in
front of a train.
Enter Ashton
Kutcher. After the show really pushed Sheen’s character under the bus (or
train) with a one episode funeral send-off, he was quickly replaced with
pretty-boy Ashton Kutcher… And since his arrival, the show has gone downhill in
quality after really just one okay season with Kutcher as the front man.
It’s fair to
say, that with Charlie Harper’s demise, it also saw the demise of Two & a Half Men.
That’s it
for this list! Any of your heartfelt losses here? Check out some notable
mentions below:
 |
| This was a pretty big shock too... |
-
Ned
Stark – Game Of Thrones
-
Dean – Supernatural
-
Hank
Schrader – Breaking Bad
-
Any
other character killed off… – The Walking
Dead
-
Maude
Flanders – The Simpsons
-
Nicholas
Brody – Homeland
Find me on
twitter @Miarls for more updates and happenings to the blog.
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