122 Of The Most Important TV Deaths Of 2014

    Even without the Red Wedding, this was one of the bloodiest years for TV in recent memory. Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for just about every television series. (Seriously.)

    by
    Louis Peitzman
    by Louis Peitzman

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    ,
    Jaimie Etkin
    by Jaimie Etkin

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase), Community

    NBC

    Chevy Chase's drama-filled time spent on the beloved NBC comedy ended with his decision to leave the show before what was to be its final season. (Of course, that was before it was resurrected by Yahoo! for a sixth season sans movie.) That also meant an early end for his character, Pierce Hawthorne. It was jarring watching the lighthearted show deal with something as serious as Pierce's death, but Community did so with its signature quirky comedy mixed with some schmaltz, i.e., his Greendale eulogy, which read: "Pierce Hawthorne, 14-year Greendale student, entrepreneur and expert heart attack faker passed away. For real this time. Pierce had been recently banned from campus, but not from our hearts. He's survived by many ex-wives and all of us here at Greendale who called him a friend. If you're listening, Pierce, you were a hell of a D&D player. It's time to level up." (Side note: It was later revealed that Pierce died of "dehydration from filling up all those cylinders" of his sperm that he left his fellow Greendale students.) RIP Piercinald Anastasia Hawthorne, but no thank you for that parting gift.

    2. Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates), American Horror Story: Coven

    FX

    When American Horror Story fans first met Madame Delphine LaLaurie on the anthology series' third season, the 19th-century Louisiana socialite was happily torturing her slaves in the most unimaginable ways possible (like, making them minotaurs, for example). But eventually, she got her due: She was buried alive, unburied and made a slave, and eventually decapitated. And when she arrived in hell, she watched as her rival burned her daughter in the same chambers she tortured her own slaves in decades earlier. Karma really is a bitch, just like LaLaurie.

    3. Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett), American Horror Story: Coven

    FX

    Madame LaLaurie's rival was famed voodoo priestess and owner of the Cornrow City salon Marie Laveau. Her cackle, skin, and magic were flawless, but that wasn't enough to save her. Before she met her own end, LaLaurie managed to attack Laveau, knocking her unconscious. Then, she dissected her body, spreading various parts all around New Orleans. And if that weren't bad enough, Laveau met LaLaurie again in the afterlife, where she was forced to spend eternity torturing LaLaurie's innocent daughters, which wasn't as fulfilling for Laveau as she would've imagined in theory.

    4. Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), American Horror Story: Coven

    FX

    Even the Supreme wasn't safe on Coven. Fiona yearned for eternal life and became particularly desperate for it when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer (which wasn't a surprise considering the woman smoked like a glamorous chimney clad in black designer cocktail frocks). But even after coming up with a master plan — implanting a vision of her fake murder in the brain of the serial killer she was having a love affair with (Danny Huston) — Fiona still met her end the natural way, letting her daughter Cordelia (Sarah Paulson) reign Supreme. In her own personal hell, she was bound to spend eternity in a shack with Huston's Axeman that smelled like fish and cat piss. Oh, and it was made of knotty pine. THE HORROR!

    5. Misty Day (Lily Rabe), American Horror Story: Coven

    FX

    Misty loved nothing more than shawls, smudged eyeliner, and Stevie Nicks — and she hated nothing more than hurting animals. When she partook in the test of the Seven Wonders (pyrokinesis, telekinesis, concilium, descensum, transmutation, divination, and vitalum vitalis) — intended to determine who would succeed Fiona as the next Supreme — she failed to pass descensum (returning from one's own personal hell). Instead, Misty remained, doomed to spend eternity reliving a traumatic childhood science class memory in which she's forced to dissect a frog. She sadly did not live to see the Seven Wonders, but we trust she could've made a path to the rainbow's end.

    6. Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy), American Horror Story: Coven

    FX

    Myrtle Snow was one of the campiest, most fabulous, most quotable characters ever to live in the world of American Horror Story. So it was only fitting that she went out on Coven being burned at the stake (for the second time) in a stunning crimson gown, screaming, "Balenciagaaaaaaaaa!"

    7. Sophie Deveraux (Daniella Pineda), The Originals

    The CW

    Wild child witch Sophie lost her sister Jane-Anne (Malaya Rivera Drew) in the pilot episode of The Originals and she didn't last much longer. Sophie lived to bring Jane-Ann's daughter Monique (Yasmine Al-Bustami) back from the dead, but not long after that happened, Monique killed her for doubting a tradition of witchcraft. Tweens are the worst.

    8. Lamar Wyatt (Powers Boothe), Nashville

    ABC

    Lamar was an asshole and probably a murderer, but he was still Rayna James' (Connie Britton) dad. At least his heart attack — which Rayna's ex-husband Teddy (Eric Close) watched happen, just standing there, in his office — pushed Rayna into Deacon's (Charles Esten) arms for a short while.

    9. Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), House of Cards

    Netflix

    Season 2 of Netflix's salacious series got off to a predictably thrilling start when Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) shoved his once-lover Zoe Barnes in front of a subway train in the first episode. That's what you get for being a moderately competent reporter.

    10. Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly), House of Cards

    Netflix

    All of Doug Stamper's hard work for Underwood couldn't protect him from Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnahan) and a brick to the head. In Rachel's defense, she thought Doug was about to kill her — and he was a total creep to her, anyway. But without Doug at his side, how long can Frank survive as POTUS?

    11. Johnny Crowder (David Meunier), Justified

    FX

    This career criminal might've survived a gunshot to the stomach at the hands of his business partner and uncle Bo (M.C. Gainey), but in Season 5, he wasn't so lucky when his cousin (and Bo's son) Boyd (Walton Goggins) shot him in the head. At least Johnny went out laughing in Boyd's face. Badass 'til the end, that one.

    12. Katherine Pierce (Nina Dobrev), The Vampire Diaries

    The CW

    On the one hand, this isn't a huge loss, since Nina Dobrev is still playing approximately 18 other characters. On the other hand, it kind of seemed like Katherine would live forever. Who knew getting drained by Silas (Paul Wesley) could do irreparable damage?

    13. Mika Samuels (Kyla Kenedy), The Walking Dead

    AMC

    Poor Mika didn't even live to get eaten by zombies: She was brutally slaughtered by her own sister Lizzie (Brighton Sharbino). As it turns out, growing up in the world of The Walking Dead really fucks with your head!

    14. Lizzie Samuels (Brighton Sharbino), The Walking Dead

    AMC

    And then Carol (Melissa McBride) had to put Lizzie down with a shot in the back of the head. Congratulations on finding a new level of darkness, already bleak show.

    15. Allison Argent (Crystal Reed), Teen Wolf

    MTV

    We had a feeling that Allison and Scott (Tyler Posey) probably weren't going to end up together, but nothing could prepare us for Allison's shocking death when she was run through with an Oni's sword. Her death in Scott's arms was brutal. Luckily, even though Allison is dead and gone, her legacy lives on.

    16. Jessica DiLaurentis (Andrea Parker), Pretty Little Liars

    ABC Family

    Pretty Little Liars has featured numerous villains over the course of its lengthy five seasons, but few have been as truly stone-cold and frightening as Jessica DiLaurentis, who allegedly watched her daughter Ali (Sasha Pieterse) get whacked in the head with a shovel and then buried her alive, along with the secret of who tried to kill her. Unfortunately, Mrs. DiLaurentis got whacked in Season 4 herself and the scene in which she was buried was truly hard to shake. Mrs. D, you are sorely missed (except for your pro-ana attitude).

    17. James Novak (Dan Bucatinsky), Scandal

    ABC

    Only on a show like Scandal could Jake Ballard (Scott Foley) shoot James dead and still earn our forgiveness. But it was impossible not to mourn James, who left behind his husband Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) and an adorable baby girl. Like House of Cards' Zoe Barnes, let's pour one out for a driven reporter who was sometimes almost good at his job.

    18. Will Gardner (Josh Charles), The Good Wife

    CBS

    Somehow CBS managed not to spoil Josh Charles' midseason exit from The Good Wife, which made Will's dramatic death — he was shot by unbalanced client Jeffrey Grant (Hunter Parrish) — that much more shocking. It was devastating for Will's friends and colleagues (and for Alicia, who never fully patched things up with her one-time lover), not to mention the viewers.

    19. Aiden (Max Carver), Teen Wolf

    MTV

    Like Allison, Aiden succumbed to his wounds from an Oni's sword. Unfortunately, Allison was a tough act to follow, which diminished the impact of Aiden's death a bit. Still really sad for Aiden's twin Ethan (Charlie Carver), but the real tragedy is that most of us never learned how to tell them apart.

    20. Beverly Katz (Hettienne Park), Hannibal

    NBC

    Why didn't you wait for backup, Beverly?! Yes, Beverly was on the right track when she began to suspect Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) of very bad things, but showing up at his home alone — without telling anyone — wasn't a smart move. Nevertheless, Beverly, whose expertly sliced up body was displayed like an art installation, made an exquisite corpse. And Hettienne Park wrote a lovely and insightful blog post on her character's death and the claims of racism and sexism that followed.

    21. Neal Cassidy/Baelfire (Michael Raymond-James), Once Upon a Time

    ABC

    Because Once Upon a Time is firmly steeped in Disney, real death is rarely a part of the equation. But hey, we're living in a post-Into the Woods world now, so chances are things are about to get darker. Neal died last season after forcing his ex Emma to separate him and his father, Rumpelstiltskin. (They had been inhabiting the same body, because magic.) Neal was buried along with any hopes of a happy ending between him and Emma, because sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood. I need a moment.

    22. The Mother/Tracy Mosby (Cristin Milioti), How I Met Your Mother

    CBS

    Not long after HIMYM fans met the eponymous mother they'd waited nine seasons to meet, she died of a terminal illness in the season finale. Apparently, the showrunners believed Tracy's death only deserved a passing scene in a montage with token Future Ted (Bob Saget) voice-over, one that would allow Ted (Josh Radnor) to marry his allegedly true love Robin (Cobie Smulders). It was pretty fucking upsetting. Instead, the alternate ending from the complete series DVD should've been the actual one that aired. Tracy deserved better.

    23. Daryl Crowe Jr. (Michael Rapaport), Justified

    FX

    Daryl was introduced in Season 5 as the head of the swamp-bred, gator-farming Crowe crime family. He positioned himself as the next heroin king of Kentucky, but unfortunately for Daryl, he wasn't smart enough to evade the one and only Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant). After making enemies of pretty much everyone in his life and shooting Chief Deputy Art Mullen (Nick Searcy), Daryl was ultimately killed by his sister Wendy (Alicia Witt), who set him up and then shot him: once in the groin, and once in the throat. As he bled out, Raylan walked in and whispered to him, "Didn't I tell you you were gonna wish I killed you?" Probably!

    24. Aiden Mathis (Barry Sloane), Revenge

    ABC

    Aiden met his end at the hands of Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe), who put something in his tea that paralyzed him and then smothered him with a pillow for good measure. Sure, it was a scene that belonged on a daytime soap, but it did lead to one of the most moving moments ever on Revenge: Later, Aiden's girlfriend Emily (Emily VanCamp) returned home to see him, from behind, sitting on her couch in front of a fire. She started to him about her great day, but as she approached, she realized that, though his eyes were open, Aiden's body was cold (Victoria had him positioned there to torture Emily). It was truly chilling and heartbreaking as Emily shook the love of her life, begging him to wake up.

    25. Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny), Revenge

    ABC

    Conrad's death came at the hands of David Clarke (James Tupper), who turned out not to be dead when he showed up in the Season 3 finale. We were so busy freaking out about David's resurrection that Conrad getting stabbed in the gut barely even registered. Sorry, Conrad. The Season 4 premiere confirmed that he had died, but given that this is Revenge, we can't really rule out anything.

    26. Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), Game of Thrones

    HBO

    If Game of Thrones has taught us anything, it's that weddings are always a bad idea. Almost immediately after marrying Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer), Joffrey was poisoned at the reception. And lo, there was celebration across the land, aside from the one or two people who actually cared about Joffrey. It turned out Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) was responsible, but Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) was imprisoned for the crime. Frankly, the punishment for killing Joffrey should be some sort of parade.

    27. Jerry Grant Jr. (Dylan Minnette), Scandal

    ABC

    Scandal wouldn't kill an innocent kid, would it? (Yes. Yes, it would.) President Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) and First Lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) lost their firstborn when Eli "Rowan" Pope (Joe Morton) had Jerry Grant Jr. infected with a deadly strain of bacterial meningitis. On the plus side, Fitz won the election, and Mellie got to mourn in her own special way.

    28. Emma Hill (Valorie Curry), The Following

    FOX

    Joe Carroll's (James Purefoy) most loyal follower, Emma finally paid the price for her allegiance to a psychotic serial killer when she got a wooden stake through the heart courtesy of Joe's ex-wife Claire Matthews (Natalie Zea). (No, Emma wasn't a vampire. She was just really hard to kill.) It's probably little comfort to Emma now that she's dead, but Joe did seem at least somewhat put off by her death.

    29. Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson), Arrow

    The CW

    Still crying over this one. When Slade Wilson (Manu Bennett) aka Deathstroke, Oliver Queen's (Stephen Amell) ally turned enemy, showed up in Starling City, he wanted nothing more than to make Oliver suffer. So he kidnapped Oliver's mother Moira and sister Thea (Willa Holland) and gave Oliver an ultimatum: One of them had to die. But self-sacrificing Moira didn't want her son to have to make such a painful decision, so she volunteered herself, saying, "There’s only one way this night can end." Viewers could hear Oliver and Thea crying and begging her not to do it offscreen, but Moira was right. :(

    30. Alejandro Rubio (Matt Cedeño), Devious Maids

    Lifetime

    Poor Alejandro Rubio, the hunky, closeted singer, was shot in a robbery gone wrong at his engagement party. He died in his would-be beard Carmen's (Roselyn Sanchez) arms. RIP Alejandro. RIP those abs.

    31. Professor Proton/Dr. Arthur Jeffries (Bob Newhart), The Big Bang Theory

    CBS

    Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) grew up watching Dr. Jeffries on a children's science show, Professor Proton, thus planting the seed to their futures as physicists. When they learned that their childhood idol was a down-on-his-luck now-83-year-old who did private science shows, they hired him to do some experiments in Apt. 4A. Eventually, after Sheldon and Leonard both had the opportunity to read one of his papers, Dr. Jeffries passed away, though he still appeared in Sheldon's dreams as his Obi Wan, giving him advice like, Always have a prenup, Appreciate those around you, and Don't waste your life watching the same movies over and over again (*cough* the Star Wars franchise *cough*).

    32. King Horik (Donal Logue), Vikings

    History Channel

    In Vikings' Red Wedding of sorts (sans wedding) at the end of Season 2, King of Denmark Horik and much of his royal family were killed by Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), who went from farmer to Earl of Kattegat to — thanks to stabbing and headbutting Horik and obtaining his sword — King of Denmark.

    33. Abaddon (Alaina Huffman), Supernatural

    The CW

    First introduced in Season 8, Abaddon was originally on the hunt for the key of the Order of Letters — which Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester got — but she abandoned her search and instead began a crusade to take over hell and become its queen. But the Winchesters were a threat to her quest for power, and eventually that fear proved valid: She was killed by Dean, who stabbed her in the stomach with the First Blade. Then, he stabbed her dead body repeatedly because he was really fucking pissed (or because of the Mark of Cain, whatever).

    34. Meera Malik (Parminder Nagra), The Blacklist

    NBC

    CIA Agent Malik was killed in the field in the finale of The Blacklist's debut season. The episode saw a prisoner transport plane mysteriously crash, causing authorities to put New York on lockdown and leaving the feds on a massive search for all of the criminal escapees. While investigating the crash at a Russian club, Malik's throat was slit by an enforcer of Milos Kirchoff (Peter Stormare), No. 8 on the titular blacklist, leaving fans gasping at the swift and surprising murder.

    35. Tessa (Lindsey McKeon), Supernatural

    The CW

    In a show that revolves around the afterlife, it's hard to say anyone's ever gone for good. But Tessa the Reaper — who served as Death's righthand woman, taking souls where they needed to go — returned in Season 9's penultimate episode to find that heaven was closed up, leaving souls stuck and tortured in the in-between and Tessa out of the job. Hearing the cries of suffering souls in limbo and unable to do anything about it led Tessa to the darkest place: She decided to take her own life by impaling herself on Dean's First Blade. Poor Tessa.

    36. Diego (Eka Darville), The Originals

    The CW

    Vampire Diego was one of the closest allies of Marcel (Charles Michael David), the self-appointed king of New Orleans vampires. Diego also had quite the shitty history with werewolves. His family was attacked by the creatures when he was younger — he watched his sister die as a result in front of him. Luckily for Diego, Marcel saved him (by turning him into a vampire) before he could die from the werewolf venom. But Diego couldn't escape his fate: Years later, he was mortally injured by a family of werewolves, and the recently resurrected vampire Mikael (Sebastian Roché), a vampire who hunts vampires (let's call him a vannibal), then fed on Diego and the other weakened and wounded vamps, allowing the werewolf venom to kill them faster.

    37. Genevieve (Elyse Levesque), The Originals

    The CW

    Witch Genevieve was brought back to life nearly 100 years after her original time on Earth, thanks to her unfinished business with Rebekah (Claire Holt) and Marcel, who had used her to contact Mikael. The former elder of the New Orleans coven regained her title when she was resurrected, but eventually, Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) fatally stabbed her after she attempted to sacrifice Hayley's daughter as an offering to the witch ancestors. Such is the plight of an on-screen redhead in a supernatural and/or sci-fi series.

    38. Monique Deveraux (Yasmine Al-Bustami), The Originals

    The CW

    Monique was one of Genevieve's two accomplices trying to sacrifice Hayley's daughter Hope (LOL), but before she could succeed, Marcel killed her using the Devil's Star, a cursed object that, once embedded in someone, causes a thousand cuts all over their body. And to answer your question, no — no one on this show is still alive.

    39. Isabel Rochev/Ravager (Summer Glau), Arrow

    The CW

    The eventual CEO of Queen Consolidated did not go down without a fight. After Slade's assault on Starling City, Isabel transformed into her supervillainess alter-ego Ravager and though she expected a confrontation with Oliver (aka Arrow) and Sara Lance (aka Canary played by Caity Lotz), she wound up also facing the League of Assassins, led by Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law), who snapped Isabel's neck.

    40. King Henry II (Alan Van Sprang), Reign

    The CW

    We kind of knew King Henry was going to die, because a) foreshadowing, and b) actual history. But what else was Francis (Toby Regbo) supposed to do? His dad was going Targaryen crazy. And it's not like Francis is totally responsible: He merely injured the king in a jousting "accident." It was the ensuing infection that killed Henry.

    41. Sheldon Jin (Archie Kao), Chicago P.D.

    NBC

    The first season finale of Chicago P.D. ended with the department's tech and surveillance expert dead in a parking lot. Viewers had to wait four painful months to find out who was responsible, but in the Season 2 premiere, all was resolved: Jin was a mole working for Internal Affairs since Sgt. Stillwell (Ian Bohen) was blackmailing him over his father's gambling debts. Luckily, Voight (Jason Beghe) had recordings of Stillwell threatening Jin's life multiple times, leading to his arrest. So much for a lead Asian-American character.

    42. Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse), Mad Men

    AMC

    It's hard to imagine a more perfect death than Bert Cooper's. He lived to see the Apollo 11 moon landing, uttering a triumphant "Bravo!" shortly before passing away peacefully. And he appeared again to Don Draper (Jon Hamm) with a gorgeous final musical number that reinforced one of Mad Men's most essential themes: The best things in life are free.

    43. Dr. Aldous Leekie (Matt Frewer), Orphan Black

    BBC America

    Scientist Leekie was the head of the Dyad Institute, hardly the most legal or ethical research center. He assigned Donnie Hendrix (Kristian Bruun) to monitor clone Alison (Tatiana Maslany), whom Donnie eventually married. But when he discovered Leekie's malicious intentions, Donnie lured Leekie into his car with a gun in hand. After they argued, Donnie angrily screamed, "I quit," slamming the steering wheel, accidentally pulling the trigger, causing a bullet to fly directly into the scientist's head. This is what happens when you call someone a "turnip" and/or a "footnote," people.

    44. Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal), Game of Thrones

    HBO

    And the award for grossest death goes to... Oberyn Martell appeared in Season 4 and quickly became a fan favorite character. He was handsome, honorable, and gloriously bisexual. Oberyn fought on Tyrion's behalf, challenging the aptly named Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson). Oberyn wanted revenge for his sister Elia's murder — and he did manage to seriously wound and poison The Mountain — but then he got his eyes gouged out and his head smushed into oblivion. Bonus points if you were able to watch without looking away.

    45. Ygritte (Rose Leslie), Game of Thrones

    HBO

    The love story between the wildling Ygritte and double agent Jon Snow (Kit Harington) was never going to end well. In the attack on the Wall, Ygritte resolved to prove herself by killing Jon, despite her love for him, but she was felled by Olly's (Brenock O'Connor) arrow to the chest. She died in the arms of Jon Snow, who incidentally still knows nothing.

    46. Shana Fring (Aeriél Miranda), Pretty Little Liars

    ABC Family

    Of all the Liars, Aria (Lucy Hale) seemed the least capable of murder. But in the world of Pretty Little Liars, the stakes are high and the shit is almost always hitting the fan. Shana arrived with a gun to kill Ali, and Aria only hit her in self-defense. Shana falling off the stage to her death was merely an accident. (A happy accident, if we're being honest.)

    47. Linda Nygaard (Susan Park), Fargo

    FX

    Of all the horrible things Lester did on Fargo, sending his naively loyal wife Linda to her death was one of the worst. (Of course, he also killed his first wife. It's not a competition.) Knowing Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) was lying in wait, Lester had Linda don his heavy jacket, ensuring Malvo would shoot her by mistake. And he did. And it was awful.

    48. Jojen Reed (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), Game of Thrones

    HBO

    Is there anything worse than a condescending Song of Ice and Fire fan who gleefully spoils the upcoming deaths on Game of Thrones? Yes, we should all just read the damn books, but not everyone is cut out for epic fantasy, OK? I digress. The point is, Jojen's death in the Season 4 finale — he was stabbed by a wight, put out of his misery by his sister Meera (Ellie Kendrick), and finally obliterated by a fireball — took everyone by surprise, because he's still alive in the books! (Though, uh, probably not for long.)

    49. Shae (Sibel Kekilli), Game of Thrones

    HBO

    Shae's death, on the other hand, was something readers knew was coming. And yet, it was far sadder on the series, which had developed Shae into a far more sympathetic (and less conniving) character. Forgiving Tyrion for strangling her won't be easy — but this is Game of Thrones, and all of our favorite characters do very bad things.

    50. Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), Game of Thrones

    HBO

    Besides, Tyrion followed up strangling Shae with shooting his father Tywin with a crossbow, which was totally warranted and pretty badass. It's also worth noting that Tywin was on the toilet when Tyrion confronted him. In the end, Tyrion got his father to admit that he always wanted his dwarf son dead — and he proved himself to be a true Lannister by shooting Tywin in the heart.

    51. Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), Fargo

    FX

    Contract killer Malvo spent the entirety of the Fargo miniseries murdering people (as per his line of work), in turtlenecks (as per his fashion choices). There was shooting, there was throat-slitting, and there was strangling. Ultimately, though, Malvo got what was coming to him: his leg caught in a bear trap, courtesy of Lester, and three fatal gunshots in the chest and another in the face for good measure, courtesy of good guy Gus (Colin Hanks). Aces! (::Wink::)

    52. Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman), Fargo

    FX

    Weeks after Malvo's death, life-insurance-salesman-turned-wife-murderer Lester was riding a snowmobile in the mountains when he saw a shit ton of cops waiting for him. Then, he rode off in the other direction, lost control of his snowmobile, started running onto a frozen lake, and fell through the ice. And heck if fans of the Coen brothers film upon which the Fargo miniseries is loosely based didn't recognize Lester's death as a callback to the legendary wood-chipper scene from the movie.

    53. Barry Frost (Lee Thompson Young), Rizzoli & Isles

    TNT

    After actor Lee Thompson Young unexpectedly died in August 2013 at the age of 29 — he suffered from bipolar disorder and depression and sadly committed suicide — the cast and crew of Rizzoli & Isles decided to pay homage to him through his character Det. Barry Frost. In the show's fifth season premiere, Frost, Jane Rizzoli's (Angie Harmon) partner, was killed in a car accident. In the follow-up episode, Rizzoli mourned the loss of both Frost and Young with a beautiful speech and a slideshow of photos of both the character and some behind-the-scenes candid shots of the actor who played him. "We shouldn't be here today. Barry Frost was too young and too good for us to be here today. But yet, here we are," Harmon's Rizzoli said at his memorial service. "Barry was so many things to so many people. A son. A cop. A friend. ... He always wanted to try new things and push himself. I admired the passion he brought to his work. I will miss him as my partner. I will miss him as my friend."

    54. Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), True Blood

    HBO

    There is no greater indignity than an offscreen death, especially for a regular character. Tara deserved better than to get reduced to a pile of blood and goo by a hep V-infected vampire. Then she had to return as a ghost that her mother Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) could only see when she was high as fuck. The less said about Tara in Season 7, the better.

    55. Brona Croft (Billie Piper), Penny Dreadful

    Showtime

    Poor Brona spent the first season of Penny Dreadful dying of consumption. At least she got to fuck Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) along the way. And she'll be back by way of Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), who will be giving Caliban (Rory Kinnear) the bride he requested. It would be nice to think Season 2 will be kinder to newly reanimated Brona, but things aren't looking great.

    56. Mina Murray (Olivia Llewellyn), Penny Dreadful

    Showtime

    Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) and Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) spend an entire season looking for Malcolm's daughter Mina — only to discover that she's already been turned into a vampire. Probably should have seen that coming. Shockingly, Malcolm chose Vanessa over his biological daughter and shoots Mina dead. Hey, at least he found her.

    57. Linda Esquivel (Natalie Martinez), Under the Dome

    CBS

    On a show with an entirely incompetent police force, deputy-turned-sheriff Linda was still impressively bad at her job. In the Season 2 premiere, she got her chance at redemption by saving Barbie (Mike Vogel), only to get crushed by Big Jim's (Dean Norris) car. The Dome giveth and the Dome taketh away.

    58. Angie McAlister (Britt Robertson), Under the Dome

    CBS

    Angie made it a lot further on Under the Dome than she did in the Stephen King novel on which the show is based. But she couldn't outrun death forever, especially in a season where the series was really clearing house. Angie was brutally murdered by a man who turned out to be Sam Verdreaux (Eddie Cahill), who — in his defense — was pretty sure killing a teenage girl was the right thing to do.

    59. Maxine Fortenberry (Dale Raoul), True Blood

    HBO

    God, Maxine was a pain in the ass, and that's before True Blood's final season, during which she became armed and dangerous. That's why it wasn't a tremendous loss when Violet (Karolina Wydra) unceremoniously ripped Maxine's heart out. Silver lining: It brought Hoyt (Jim Parrack) back to Bon Temps and into Jessica's (Deborah Ann Woll) loving arms.

    60. Alcide Herveaux (Joe Manganiello), True Blood

    HBO

    Once a time jump finally shoved Sookie (Anna Paquin) into Alcide's arms, it was clear the werewolf had to die. Even Joe Manganiello realized that. Still, it was shocking to see Alcide shot dead at the end of the third episode. At least he got an actual death scene. (Cough, Tara, cough.)

    61. Dr. Norman Godfrey (Dougray Scott), Hemlock Grove

    Netflix

    After Norman (Dougray Scott) found out his sister-in-law-cum-lover Olivia (Famke Janssen) was an upir (a vampire-like species) who killed his wife Marie (Laurie Fortier), the two faced off in one of the most shocking scene of the Netflix horror series' second season finale. Though Norman intended to kill Olivia, instead, she ripped his heart out with her bare hands. "It took me 20 years to realize how much I wanted your heart. Now it's mine," she said. (GET IT?!)

    62. Audrey Boudreau (Kim Raver), 24: Live Another Day

    FOX

    Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) might have saved the lives of then-Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane) and his daughter Audrey, with whom Jack fell in love, earlier on in 24's original run, but that had its consequences: Audrey's estranged husband died; Jack had to fake his own death, but was kidnapped; Audrey then tried to rescue him, but was held hostage as well; Audrey was eventually freed after falling into a catatonic state; and Audrey did recover, but remarried someone that was not Jack. Then came this year's 24 continuation, Live Another Day, set four years later with Jack in London attempting to stop an assassination attempt on now-President Heller. In a meeting during her trip, Audrey, who was also part of her father's administration, evaded one sniper, but was eventually shot dead by another, who worked for the very man who abducted Jack. Time of death: 10:32. Time of tears: 10:32:01.

    63. Angelo Sorrento (Gilles Marini), Switched at Birth

    ABC Family

    On an ABC Family family drama — unlike its more supernatural series like Pretty Little Liars — audiences aren't expecting a knock on heaven's door, which made the death of the beautiful Angelo Sorrento all the more shocking. Well, really, the shock came an episode earlier in Season 3 when the biological father of Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano) — and the essentially adoptive father of Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc) — had a brain aneurism while driving, leading him to crash into a tree. Eventually, his brain completely stopped functioning and Bay found his final will, in which Angelo stated that he didn't want to be kept on life support. And so, they pulled the plug and viewers' hearts broke into a million pieces. He wasn't always the best dad or husband, but Angelo had been making such an effort to be better at both in recent episodes, which made his death all the more tragic.

    64. Victor Beauchamp (Joel Gretsch), Witches of East End

    Lifetime

    Absentee father Victor returned in Season 1 to help his daughters with their newfound powers, but he didn't truly prove his worth as a dad until he sacrificed himself so that Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) could live. Of course, at that point he was dead, so.

    65. Gladys (Marceline Hugot), The Leftovers

    HBO

    As bleak as The Leftovers was, the murder of Gladys took viewers by surprise with its relentless brutality. For the "crime" of being a member of the Guilty Remnants, Gladys was tied to a tree and stoned to death, a process that played out in horrifying detail. Despite her vow of silence, she uttered a final plea for mercy before she was killed. Just awful.

    66. Violet Mazurski (Karolina Wydra), True Blood

    HBO

    Yes, Violet met the true death in Season 7, but she also got to live an exceptionally long life and keep Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) as a sex slave. Before Hoyt shot her in the heart with a wooden bullet, Violet outlined some truly sick torture plans, so it's probably for the best that she bit it when she did.

    67. Patti Levin (Ann Dowd), The Leftovers

    HBO

    Guilty Remnant leader Patti was a woman of incredibly strong convictions. She wanted Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) to kill her, and when he wouldn't do it, she took a shard of glass and slit her own throat. There's something admirable about that kind of drive, and Patti's particular brand of crazy.

    68. Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), True Blood

    HBO

    Despite having a cure for hep V, Bill decided that he wanted to end his life and spare Sookie a lot of suffering. He did so by having Sookie help him stake himself — something he could obviously have done on his own — because he wanted to give her some serious trauma to remember him by, presumably? As for those who were on Team Bill or Team Eric, Sookie ended up with neither vampire. Sorry 'bout it.

    69. Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish), Pretty Little Liars

    ABC Family

    Who killed Mona? This is Pretty Little Liars, so we probably won't know for another season — and even then it's likely to be a red herring. In fact, Mona's offscreen death seemed like a fake until we saw her dead body in the trunk of someone's car. In this year's Christmas special, she returned to Ali as a not-so-friendly ghost, so let's hope we haven't seen the last of her and her absurdly over-the-top spectral makeup.

    70. Jim Kent (Sean Astin), The Strain

    FX

    Goonies never say die, but on The Strain, they do. On the debut season of the Guillermo del Toro series, Sean Astin played CDC administrator Jim Kent who was shot in the head by exterminator Vasiliy Fet (Kevin Durand) after begging for mercy when he was infected by the parasites that rapidly turn their hosts into vampires. Poor Sean Astin: Always the CDC administrator, never the exterminator.

    71. Marvin Gaye Washington (Octavius J. Johnson), Ray Donovan

    Showtime

    Marvin and Bridget (Kerris Dorsey) had hit some bumps, but in Season 2, the couple really seemed to have found their groove. Naturally, that came to an abrupt end when Marvin was gunned down by Cookie Brown (Omar J. Dorsey) with Bridget as a helpless witness in the backseat. Marvin's murder propelled the action of the final few episodes, as Bridget struggled with whether or not to talk, and Ray (Liev Schreiber) did his best to protect his daughter.

    72. Phil Bushey (Nicholas Strong), Under the Dome

    CBS

    Phil was pretty unstable when he tried jumping through the portal out of the dome. Maybe that's why he didn't notice the portal had closed, leaving him to get impaled instead. Sorry, Phil.

    73. Elam Ferguson (Common), Hell on Wheels

    AMC

    Elam appeared to die after being attacked by a bear in Season 3, so his return in Season 4 was something of a surprise. Sadly, he didn't stick around for long. When Elam returned, he was a changed man — scarred both physically and mentally by the bear attack and his subsequent recuperation among the Comanche people. By the time Cullen (Anson Mount) killed him, it was an obvious act of mercy.

    74. Lyle Chumley (Dwight Yoakam), Under the Dome

    CBS

    After a season of being creepy and weird, Lyle stabbed Pauline (Sherry Stringfield) and then asked Big Jim to stab him so he and Pauline could be together in heaven. It was — you guessed it — creepy and weird, made that much worse because Lyle died with a bloody smile on his face. Shudder.

    75. Pauline Rennie (Sherry Stringfield), Under the Dome

    CBS

    Oh, and Pauline died from the wounds inflicted by Lyle. To be fair, her husband Big Jim and son Junior (Alexander Koch) already thought she was dead, so she actually lived a lot longer than expected! Unfortunately, her death sent Jim on a violent rage spiral, in which he killed some more people because Under the Dome just had too many characters, damn it.

    76. Rebecca Pine (Karla Crome), Under the Dome

    CBS

    Bang bang, Big Jim's silver hammer came down upon her head. (I'm sorry. It was actually really violent and upsetting. But Under the Dome is a ridiculous show with a high body count, and how often do you get to paraphrase Beatles lyrics so perfectly? I'm sure Rebecca is in a better place now. Like anywhere not under a dome.)

    77. Andrea Grinnell (Dale Raoul), Under the Dome

    CBS

    The second Dale Raoul character to die over the summer, Andrea was shot in the head by Big Jim for no particular reason. He even admitted he had no specific beef with her. Dale Raoul's resolution for 2015: Appear on a TV series without getting killed off.

    78. Christopher Ewing (Jesse Metcalfe), Dallas

    TNT

    No Dallas death could possibly compare to that of the legendary J.R. Ewing after his decades-long portrayer Larry Hagman died in real life. Though it was not more heartbreaking, there was certainly a more shocking death on the TNT revamp of the beloved '80s primetime soap in the last episode of Season 3, which wound up being Dallas' series finale. When the reboot began, Christopher — the adopted son of Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) — picked up where J.R. and Bobby left off with J.R.'s son John Ross (Josh Henderson). The two butted heads over everything from women to alternative energy sources versus good ol' oil. But in the drama's last-ever episode, Christopher was blown to bits in his car outside a convenient store. The scene was so shocking, many didn't think Christopher could have possibly been inside the burning vehicle — but sadly, all of the Dallas characters are dead for now.

    79. Leslie Shay (Lauren German), Chicago Fire

    NBC

    Before the Callies and Arizonas, and the Pousseys and Big Boos of the TV world, there was an unspoken rule in Hollywood: The lesbian character always died. Sadly, Chicago Fire unburied the tired and offensive bury-the-gay trope by killing off paramedic Shay in Season 3. Shay experienced brain damage after an explosion in the Chicago Fire Season 2 finale, and then the showrunners had fans wait months for the Season 3 premiere, just to watch the beloved character die in the first few minutes. Firehouse 51 was never the same, and quite frankly, neither were fans.

    80. Harrison Wright (Columbus Short), Scandal

    ABC

    Harrison's fate was left ambiguous at the end of Scandal's third season. Once his legal and drug problems ensured his exit from the show, it became clear there was an offscreen death on the horizon. And yes, in the Season 4 premiere, Harrison was confirmed dead, shot by Tom Larsen (Brian Letscher) at Rowan's command. It was a sad end for the character, but at least Harrison got a nice funeral that paid homage to his work for Olivia Pope & Associates.

    81. Dr. Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley), Bones

    FOX

    After seeing Dr. Lance Sweets go from a recent recipient of a psychology doctorate in Season 3 to an actual FBI psychologist, actor John Francis Daley (aka Sam from Freaks & Geeks) decided to move on from Bones to pursue a career writing and directing. And thus, Sweets was gunned down in a parking lot by a member of the conspiracy Booth (David Boreanaz), Brennan (Emily Deschanel), and co. were trying to uncover in the Season 10 premiere. Parting was seriously Sweets sorrow.

    82. Kate McPherson (Vinessa Shaw), Ray Donovan

    Showtime

    Yet another reporter with questionable ethics — she was sleeping with Ray Donovan while also trying to get to the bottom of Sully's (James Woods) murder — Kate knew too much. In the Season 2 finale, Avi (Steven Bauer) put an end to her sleuthing by shooting Kate dead in her apartment.

    83. Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky (Jackie Mason), The Simpsons

    FOX

    When The Simpsons announced plans to kill off a major character, speculation erupted as to who the victim would be, with many guessing that Krusty the Clown was not long for this world. In fact, it was Krusty's father who shuffled off this mortal coil in the Season 26 premiere. Yes, Hyman Krustofsky, a character no one outside of Krusty actually cared about, died suddenly of old age. OK.

    84. Sally Wheet (Patricia Arquette), Boardwalk Empire

    HBO

    Brought in during the penultimate season, Sally was one of Boardwalk Empire's strongest female characters and a wonderful counterpart to Nucky. Given the body count during the series' final season, however, it's not surprising that she didn't make it out alive. Sally was shot to death by Cuban police while trying to bribe them at a checkpoint.

    85. Danny Solano (Nikolas Filipovic), Gracepoint

    FOX

    Danny's death wasn't a shock: The mystery of his murder is, you know, the entire plot of Gracepoint. But as with Rosie Larsen on the first two seasons of The Killing, Danny was a major presence even in death. The series was as much about the people Danny left behind as it was about solving his case.

    86. Sandy Bachman (Corey Stoll), Homeland

    Showtime

    Corey Stoll is great in everything, so it was wonderful to hear that he'd been added to the Homeland cast. And then he was beaten to death by angry mob in the Season 4 premiere. While it was kind of a "fuck you" to the audience, Sandy Bachman's death set the stage for the best (and most stressful!) season of Homeland since the first. It's a pity Stoll couldn't stick around for longer, but he served a noble purpose.

    87. Frederick Beauchamp (Christian Cooke), Witches of East End

    Lifetime

    Frederick, long-lost brother to Ingrid (Rachel Boston) and Freya, turned up in Season 2 with a murky agenda. Was he actually there to reconnect with and help his family, or was he still under the thrall of his grandfather King Nikolaus (Steven Berkoff)? As it turned out, a little of both! Frederick ultimately fell on the side of good — so naturally his journey was cut short by a knife from an unknown assailant who then wrote, "DEATH TO ALL WITCHES" in blood. Too bad that cliffhanger will never be resolved.

    88. Wendy Beauchamp (Mädchen Amick), Witches of East End

    Lifetime

    But the worst thing about Witches of East End getting canceled? THEY LEFT WENDY IN THE UNDERWORLD. Yes, the show probably would have found a way to bring Wendy back from the dead — she sacrificed herself to save Tommy (Ignacio Serricchio) — but she ended the series with all her lives used up. The final scene showed Wendy reuniting with her other sister Helena, who would presumably have been a major part of Season 3. But there will never be a Season 3. Sigh.

    89. Nora Allen (Michelle Harrison), The Flash

    The CW

    Along with Nos. 33, 37, 45, and 55, Nora was another redhead on another sci-fi series who had to go. But this time, it was to set a huge part of The Flash's debut season into motion. In a flashback, we saw the day a bullied Barry Allen (aka The Flash, played by Grant Gustin as an adult) came home from school and was nurtured by his reassuring mother. Later that night, a tornado-like blur came into the Allen's home and murdered Nora as Barry and his father Henry (John Wesley Shipp) could only look on. But her death was pinned on Henry, who was charged and jailed for the crime.

    90. Sara Lance/The Canary (Caity Lotz), Arrow

    The CW

    Sara was believed to be dead for about seven years before she turned out to be a living, breathing fighting machine in the form of The Canary. But sadly, Sara bit the bullet for real when Thea shot her with three arrows while under the mind control of Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer (John Barrowman), causing Sara to fall into an alley where she met her end. Oliver took the fall for Thea and Sara's sister Laurel (Katie Cassidy) decided that she wanted to be the new Canary in her sister's honor. Sibling bonds run deep on Arrow.

    91. Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon), Boardwalk Empire

    HBO

    Van Alden had one of the strangest arcs on Boardwalk Empire: Prohibition agent turned murderer turned salesman turned gangster, all while being deeply religious and scary intense. It's fitting that his death was so random and sudden — he was shot in the head by Mike D'Angelo (Louis Cancelmi) after attacking Al Capone (Stephen Graham).

    92. Chalky White (Michael K. Williams), Boardwalk Empire

    HBO

    Chalky was doomed from the moment he made a deal with Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright) to save Daughter Maitland (Margot Bingham), but he probably wouldn't have done anything differently even if he'd known the outcome. By the time Chalky found himself facing Narcisse's men, he smiled and thought of Daughter, accepting his death right before he was gunned down offscreen.

    93. Mickey Doyle (Paul Sparks), Boardwalk Empire

    HBO

    Most gangsters meet an untimely end, but Mickey's sense of humor and his shrewd business sense got him far. He almost made it to the end of Boardwalk Empire, but in the penultimate episode, he was shot in the throat by Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza). Ah, well. He still had a good run.

    94. Dr. Valentin Narcisse (Jeffrey Wright), Boardwalk Empire

    HBO

    Of course Narcisse would have to pay for his crimes: It's a miracle he got to Season 5 untouched. It wasn't until the series finale, in fact, that he was killed by Bugsy Siegel (Michael Zegen) on Luciano's orders. Dr. Narcisse did a lot of terrible things to countless people, but having Chalky killed was the one that really hurt. His death offered some much needed closure.

    95. Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), Boardwalk Empire

    HBO

    One of the big questions throughout the final season of Boardwalk Empire was whether or not the show's morally complicated protagonist Nucky Thompson would survive. As it turned out, not so much. In a brilliant twist, Nucky was shot repeatedly by Tommy Darmody (Travis Tope), the teenage son of Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt), whom Nucky murdered at the end of Season 2. But Tommy was also getting revenge for his grandmother Gillian (Gretchen Mol), the woman whom Nucky inadvertently doomed by forcing her into the corrupting arms of the Commodore (Dabney Coleman) when she was still a young girl.

    96. Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), The Walking Dead

    AMC

    The former army medic (and part of The Walking Dead's answer to its white patriarchy problem) joined the show in Season 4. But at the start of Season 5, it apparently wasn't working out: Bob was bitten by a walker ("I'm tainted meat!"), had his leg amputated and eaten, and then, was put down by Tyreese (Chad Coleman) with his girlfriend Sasha's (Sonequa Martin-Green) blessing. She gave Tyreese a dagger and said, "If he stops breathing, then put it in his temple — that's what Bob would want." And that Tyreese did.

    97. Twisty (‎John Carroll Lynch), American Horror Story: Freak Show

    FX

    All clowns are terrifying, but Twisty went above and beyond by wearing a horrifying mask to hide the lower jaw he shot off. And, you know, murdering people. He seemed to be the primary antagonist for Freak Show, which is why it was surprising to see him dispatched so quickly. He was stabbed by the spirit of Edward Mordrake (Wes Bentley), and the two are presumably still palling around as ghosts. Good for them.

    98. Danny Pink (Samuel Anderson), Doctor Who

    BBC

    Danny Pink's death on Doctor Who gave clout to the whole when-the-body-dies-the-soul-lives-on school of thought. While talking to his colleague (and the Doctor's companion) Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), Danny accidentally walked into oncoming traffic, sending his body through the windshield of a car. But before he could die die, the Nethersphere intercepted Danny's consciousness, stored it, revived his body via cyber-conversion, and reuploaded his mind into his newly upgraded cyber-converted vessel. Though he basically came back from the dead, Danny rejected his new faux life, fearing what it could mean for the future.

    99. Aayan Ibrahim (Suraj Sharma), Homeland

    Showtime

    Innocent Pakistani medical student Aayan was a pawn for Carrie (Clarie Danes), who turned him into her informant and then seduced him in one of the creepiest plotlines Homeland has given us. Aayan was shot in the head by his own uncle Haissam Haqqani (Numan Acar), who realized that the CIA had their claws in his nephew. An enraged Carrie nearly took Haqqani out — which would have also killed Saul (Mandy Patinkin) — but was thankfully talked out of it.

    100. Bobby Munson (Mark Boone Junior), Sons of Anarchy

    FX

    The former vice president of the Sons of Anarchy Charming Chapter had been a rare even-tempered member of the club since Season 1, but with just four episodes left in the FX biker gang series, Bobby said his good-bye: He was kidnapped and tortured by August Marks' (Billy Brown) crew, losing an eye, four fingers, and suffering from a broken jaw in the very graphic process. And if that weren't enough, Marks eventually shot Bobby in the head as Jax (Charlie Hunnam) looked on in horror. Bobby's death set into motion the bloodbath that was the final few episodes of Sons of Anarchy: SAMCRO got some revenge by gouging out Marks' enforcer Moses' (Mathew St. Patrick) right eye, cutting off his fingers, and shooting him in the head. And in his final act as avenger, Jax killed Marks. An eye for an eye, a finger for a finger, and a gunshot for a gunshot (or three).

    101. Jack Reinhold (Nick Nolte), Gracepoint

    FOX

    Jack was never the serial pedophile the people around him suspected him to be. It turned out that his past was far more complicated than anyone could understand. But the damage was done: Once Jack got outed and persecuted relentlessly, he took his own life. It was sad — but not surprising to anyone who watched the far superior Broadchurch first.

    102. Wo Fat (Mark Dacascos), Hawaii Five-0

    CBS

    Wo Fat was the villain of CBS's revival of the '70s hit Hawaii Five-0 and the nemesis of Steve McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin), the head of Hawaii's state police force. After spending years as a self-aggrandizing international super-criminal, the 100th episode (called "Ina Paha," which means "if perhaps") saw Wo Fat die twice: once in reality and another time in an alternate reality. Each time, however, it was thanks to Steve, who was actually his brother — and not, like, in the Desmond Hume way. Steve's mother Doris (Christine Lahti) had rescued a homeless Wo Fat and raised him for a while before she was forced to abandon him. Apparently, brothers don't shake hands; brothers shoot each other!

    103. Scotty Lockhart (Colin Donnell), The Affair

    Showtime

    It is hard to say much about Scotty Lockhart's murder SINCE THIS BLASTED SERIES NEVER SHOWED IT AND BARELY SHOWED HIM. (::Breathes::) But here's what we do know: Midway through The Affair's at-first-promising-but-ultimately-painful debut season, it was revealed that the interrogations sandwiching each episode were in regard to the death of the middle Lockhart brother Scotty. You see, Scotty fell for and knocked up Whitney (Julia Goldani Telles), the underage daughter of Noah (Dominic West), who was having an affair with Alison (Ruth Wilson), the wife of Scotty's brother Cole (Joshua Jackson). Clearly, Noah was not pleased: He beat up Scotty (or at least, on one side of the story he did), and after he tried to pay off a mechanic who had fixed his car, he was arrested for Scotty's murder in his New York apartment with Alison some time in the future. We still don't know exactly when, where, or how Scotty died, but if you are a masochist, watch Season 2 to (maybe?) find out.

    104. Ruth Cole (Kasha Kropinski), Hell on Wheels

    AMC

    Ruth's death by hanging was gut-wrenching to watch on so many levels. First, her murder of Sydney Snow (Jonathan Scarfe) was totally justified — he was responsible for the death of her adopted son Ezra (Tayden Marks)! Second, she had every chance to save herself. She was given the option of being pardoned, and Cullen strongly encouraged her to take it. Third, the death itself was shot from Ruth's perspective: We heard her heavy, panicked breathing as the hood was placed over her head. Brilliantly effective but almost unbearable to sit through.

    105. Ansel (Lloyd Owen), The Originals

    The CW

    Since before The Originals spun off from its parent series, The Vampire Diaries, we've known Klaus (Joseph Morgan) was different from his siblings: He was a vampire-werewolf hybrid, the product of his mother's affair with a werewolf. But The Originals' sophomore season was the first time viewers and Klaus came face-to-face with his biological werewolf father Ansel. Klaus' father Mikael killed Ansel hundreds of years earlier, but he was brought back from The Other Side courtesy of Klaus' mom Esther (Alice Evans). (Parents, amirite?) But it was too little too late for Klaus, who told him, "I think I would've liked to have been your son, but a different path was chosen for me and I have, for the past 1,000 years, been son of Mikael, paranoid, vengeful, and powerful enough to protect my daughter ... You waited too long, before you came to rescue me." Then, he sliced him across the chest as tears fell down his cheeks. Ansel, we hardly knew ye.

    106. Ma Petite (Jyoti Amge), American Horror Story: Freak Show

    FX

    How could you kill Ma Petite? Maggie (Emma Roberts) couldn't do the deed, sparing Ma Petite's life. But Dell (Michael Chiklis) is made of stronger stuff. He gave Ma Petite a tight hug — like, really tight — eventually snapping her neck. It was pretty upsetting. She is currently hanging out, albeit in pickled form, at the American Morbidity Museum.

    107. Sam Keating (Tom Verica), How to Get Away With Murder

    ABC

    Who killed Sam? That was important enough to merit a hashtag, so you knew the reveal was going to be a big deal. At first, it seemed as though Sam died accidentally — well, Michaela (Aja Naomi King) sort of pushed him over the railing, but only because he was being super aggro. It's irrelevant, anyway: Wes (Alfred Enoch) did the deed, smashing Sam's head in with Annalise's (Viola Davis) trophy. But did Sam kill Lila Stangard (Megan West)? Tune in next year to find out!

    108. Beth Greene (Emily Kinney), The Walking Dead

    AMC

    Oh, Beth. What the hell were you thinking? She was almost in the clear when she had to go and stab Dawn (Christine Woods). And sure, Dawn was pretty terrible, but this is The Walking Dead, remember? Chances are she would've been torn apart by zombies in five minutes anyway. It's still unclear if Dawn meant to shoot Beth in the head, or if firing her gun was just a reaction to getting stabbed. Either way, Daryl (Norman Reedus) carrying Beth's body out of the hospital was heartbreaking.

    109. Dawn Lerner (Christine Woods), The Walking Dead

    AMC

    And then Daryl shot Dawn in the head. Dawn was a fascinating, complicated character, and it would have been nice to see her develop, especially outside of the confines of the hospital she lorded over. But you don't kill a fan-favorite character like Beth and live to tell about it.

    110. Tom Hale (Mark Hildreth), Resurrection

    ABC

    Minister Tom Hale was a town leader in Arcadia, Missouri, but despite being a man of the lord, he initially didn't believe in the miracle that was 8-year-old Jacob (Landon Gimenez), with whom he was best friends more than 30 years years prior, returning from the dead at the age he left the world. Then, Tom's former fiancée Rachael (Kathleen Munroe) returned as well, eventually leading Tom and his wife Janine (Lori Beth Sikes) to separate. After struggling to conceive with Janine, Tom was finally going to be a dad: Rachael, who had committed suicide years earlier, was pregnant with Tom's son. But sadly, Tom would never have that opportunity. When he opened a church as a safe haven for The Returned (as the formerly dead are called on the series), many in Arcadia weren't pleased — someone so much so that they threw a tear gas canister through a church window. Tom escaped through the back, but Dep. Carl Enders (Christopher Berry) ran Tom down in his pickup truck, killing him.

    111. Frank Irving (Orlando Jones), Sleepy Hollow

    FOX

    Sure, we have Sleepy Hollow to thank for introducing the world to the beautiful and talented Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie. But the real gift the show gave us was showing Orlando Jones was so much more than the 7 Up guy. As the sheriff of the Westchester County Police Department, Jones' character Frank was a hero, and the way he went out couldn't have been more fitting (or devastating): After being sidelined in the Tarrytown psych ward for the majority of Season 2, he volunteered to take down the Horseman of War in the midseason finale. Yes, he did successfully slay a handful of the horsemen, but he was also killed in the process. He will be sorely missed, but the most important question here is: WILL JONES STILL LIVE-TWEET?!

    112. Juice Ortiz (Theo Rossi), Sons of Anarchy

    FX

    After betraying SAMCRO, Juice eventually made amends with Jax in Sons of Anarchy's seventh and final season. But, though he was offered the chance to kill Aryan Brotherhood member Ron Tully (Marilyn Manson) — a neo-Nazi he'd been raped by in prison — for the Chinese in exchange for protection, Juice had a different plan: Knowing Tully's death would negatively affect SAMCRO, he told Tully everything, gave him a scalpel, and said, "Just let me finish my pie." Then, Tully's men started a riot to distract the guards, while he stabbed Juice in the neck. Poor Juice.

    113. Wayne Unser (Dayton Callie), Sons of Anarchy

    FX

    Two-thirds of these final 10 deaths are Sons of Anarchy characters because fucking no one survived the show's final season (except Marilyn Manson). Unser, the corrupt former chief of the Charming Police Department, rejoined law enforcement as a private investigator. He was assigned to the case of Jax's wife Tara's (Maggie Siff) murder, and when all signs pointed to Gemma (Katey Sagal) — the woman Unser loved unrequitedly — he tried to arrest her for the crime. But when Jax barged in and Unser refused to stand down, Jax shot him in the chest. That, however, that was only the beginning.

    114. Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal), Sons of Anarchy

    FX

    Unser's death was overshadowed by a far more important one in Sons of Anarchy's penultimate episode ever: Gemma's. After Jax tracked her down and killed Unser, Gemma confessed to killing Tara and said, "I know there's no apology that can touch what you're feeling, Jackson." And as soon as she turned to walk away from him, Jax pointed his gun at her, fighting back tears and struggling to pull the trigger. Feeling the barrel on the back of her head, she said, "I love you, Jackson, from the deepest, purest part of my heart. You have to do this. It's who we are, sweetheart. It’s OK, my baby boy. It’s time. I’m ready.” And with that, she closed her eyes, and he sent a bullet through her head. Yes, Gemma got what was coming to her, but that doesn't mean we didn't cry watching her get it.

    115. Ethel Darling (Kathy Bates), American Horror Story: Freak Show

    FX

    Things we will miss: Kathy Bates on Freak Show. Things we will not miss: Kathy Bates' accent on Freak Show. I mean, truly worse than John Travolta's in Hairspray, and that's saying something. But back to Ethel: She was one of the only seemingly good people on the show this season, so of course she got killed with a knife thrown by Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange). And if Jimmy's (Evan Peters) psyche continues conjuring his dear-departed mother, we'll be seeing more of Bates before the season is over.

    116. Gloria Mott (Frances Conroy), American Horror Story: Freak Show

    FX

    Was Gloria a bad mother? On the one hand, she raised Dandy (Finn Wittrock), so yes. On the other hand, he was probably pretty crazy to begin with. Whether by nature or nurture, Dandy turned out to be a psycho killer and shot his own mother in the head. He wanted to put her out of her misery, so points there, but now he's operating her like a fucked up human puppet, which is less admirable.

    117. Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston), The Newsroom

    HBO

    The much beleaguered Aaron Sorkin drama came to an end this year with its third season, but not before saying good-bye to the head of the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) network at the heart of the series, Charlie Skinner, in the otherwise terrible penultimate episode. He had a heart attack and died in the final minutes of "Oh Shenandoah," as the titular song played in the background. The series finale focused on the rest of folks at ACN dealing with the loss of the only decent character on the series. Sure, life and work would go on without Charlie, but luckily, we don't have to watch it.

    118. Fara Sherazi (Nazanin Boniadi), Homeland

    Showtime

    Fara worked as an analyst for the CIA, and despite what her killer Haqqani challenged, she was able to reconcile her work with her Muslim beliefs. It looked like Fara was going to make it out alive from the tense hostage situation that cost the lives of several of her co-workers. But Haqqani ultimately decided to stab her to death even after his demands had been met. File under: Do not negotiate with terrorists.

    119. Daniel Grayson (Josh Bowman), Revenge

    ABC

    Of course Revenge would show Daniel's transition from smug prick to genuine good person and then immediately kill him. Thanks a lot, show. But it's nice that Daniel got some serious redemption in Season 4, even semi-reconciling with his ex-wife Emily (Emily Van Camp) — you know, the one he shot. While Emily survived a couple bullets last season, Daniel wasn't so lucky. After getting shot repeatedly by Kate Taylor (Courtney Ford), Daniel died in Emily's arms. At least he got her to admit that she did love him at one point, even if he was always part of her plans.

    120. Antoine "Trip" Triplett (B.J. Britt), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

    ABC

    S.H.I.E.L.D. field operative Trip survived one brush with death in Season 2, but in the midseason finale, he wasn't so lucky. He helped install explosives around the alien city in order to destroy its temple. But when he learned that Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Skye (Chloe Bennet) had entered the temple, Trip rushed to disarm the explosives. After he entered the temple to rescue Skye, Trip was impaled by the shrapnel from the Diviner, which contained a Terrigen crystal that can alter inhuman biology. As a result, mere mortal Trip slowly petrified, died, and then crumbled into dust when the temple collapsed. On the upside, though we may never see him again on S.H.I.E.L.D., Britt returns to TV on BET's Being Mary Jane when its second season launches in February.

    121. Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), Sons of Anarchy

    FX

    After the deaths of Bobby, Juice, Unser, and Gemma, it seemed there was only one person left to meet their maker in the series finale of Sons of Anarchy: the one and only Jax Teller. The first 110 minutes of the episode were spent watching Jax tie up all the loose ends in his life (including finally going to Tara's grave) and then, when a California Highway Patrol officer found him, Jax shot at the cop and took off, leading near two dozen officers to join in on the chase. But, as they gained on him, Jax let go of his motorcycle's handlebars, veered onto the other side of the road, and rode his bike head-on into a Mack truck.

    Then, the Shakespearean text, spoken by Polonius in Hamlet, appeared on the screen: "Doubt thou the stars are fire. Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar. But never doubt I love."

    That was one wild #FinalRide.

    122. Frank Mathison (James Rebhorn), Homeland

    Showtime

    Homeland had to address the death of actor James Rebhorn, who died from melanoma earlier this year and, in a truly bittersweet twist, wrote his own obituary. Frank ended up dying offscreen, of course, news of which was relayed to Carrie by her sister Maggie (Amy Hargreaves). The finale included a heartbreaking funeral for Frank — as well as the return of Carrie and Maggie's absentee mother Ellen (Victoria Clark).