14 Times A Show Revealed A Character Was Actually Alive And We Were Like “GO BACK TO YOUR GRAVE”

Sometimes, characters should really just stay dead.

When characters die on TV, it can have a huge emotional impact on you as a viewer. Whether that's despair or joy entirely depends on the character, but either way, if it turns out they're not actually dead, it can feel really hollow and manipulative.

FX

Here are just some of the TV characters that really should have stayed dead...

1. Hopper on Stranger Things

Netflix

Okay, hear me out: I love Hopper as much as the next Stranger Things fan. I didn't want him to die. And yet, having him not actually be dead really robbed the narrative of a lot of emotional weight, and his actions of their meaning. Also...his storyline was the real weak point of last season, and we could have done without it. 

2. Big John on Outer Banks

Netflix

Big John was already dead (or so we thought) before Outer Banks began, and his absence was a driving force for John B, making it a huge shadow hanging over him and the show. When it was finally revealed that Big John was alive and he actually became part of the plot, it sucked a lot more than it should have. It turned out Big John was just as terrible as almost every other father in the Outer Banks world, and his presence totally threw off the group dynamics we actually want to see. 

3. Ali on Pretty Little Liars

Freeform

Ali was an iconic villain on Pretty Little Liars, and her being alive was a huge (if not entirely unexpected by fan theorists) plot twist. The problem was the show then tried to redeem her character for some reason, and made her a weak, boring hero who didn't remotely resemble the evil Ali we all loved to hate. 

4. Sara on Prison Break

Fox

Sara was straight up DECAPITATED in Season 3, so it felt all the more cheap when it turned out she was still alive — apparently, the head in the box was someone else. Way too convenient, and the start of a downhill slide for the quality of the show. 

5. Michael on Prison Break

Fox

One good thing about the end of the original Prison Break was the rather cathartic plot point of Michael dying. Then, the revival totally reversed that. Apparently, he totally faked his death! Like Sara's resurrection, it felt too convenient and boring. 

6. Michael on Jane the Virgin

CW

Although it's all very telenovela, it was frustrating to see Michael come back from the dead in Jane the Virgin. We had already mourned him alongside Jane and became invested in her renewed relationship with Rafael. Having Michael back in the picture not only complicated her connection with Rafael, it also undermined her original relationship with Michael. It was lose/lose. 

7. Glenn on The Walking Dead

AMC

Glenn's "death" seemed a sure thing after a zombie attack, but when it turned out viewers had been fooled by deliberately misleading camerawork — that was another guy's intestine's being devoured! — it was particularly maddening. When he was actually killed off later, it just added insult to injury. 

8. Ray on True Detective

HBO

When Ray appeared to die in the second episode of the season, it was truly a jaw-dropping TV moment — the kind viewers originally turned to True Detective for. Killing off the lead so soon felt like a huge and brave choice. 

Unfortunately, it was a total fakeout, squandering the narrative opportunity Ray's death would have given the show — and providing something very subpar in its place. 

9. Rumple on Once Upon a Time

ABC

Rumplestiltskin was a villain on Once Upon a Time that the show tried to redeem, but honestly, he was just the worst! He seemed to die in Season 3 when he'd already overstayed his welcome, but alas, he was resurrected, and continued to be the worst right through to the end. 

10. Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Warner Bros

Spike is one villain whose redemption arc was incredibly strong — he soon became a fan favorite, and for good reason. When he sacrifices himself in the series finale, it felt like a fitting culmination of his story. The fact he then showed up in Angel — another show entirely — really watered down his original arc in a disappointing way.

11. Bart on Gossip Girl

CW

Bart Bass faking his own death was a Gossip Girl plot twist no one asked for. The subsequent journey of Chuck and the way his father's return — and ultimate actual death — impacted his relationship with Blair was just dissatisfying to fans of the ship (which was, like, everyone who watched the show at the time). 

12. Bobby on Dallas

CBS

Bobby comes back from the dead in perhaps the most boring trope in history: His death — and everything that followed — turned out to be a dream. Like, a whole season's worth of story. It's probably one of the most frustrating moments in TV history. 

13. The Mountain on Game of Thrones

HBO

For awhile, Game of Thrones wasn't afraid to let its characters stay dead — even if they were pretty significant. But toward the end of the show, characters kept coming back to life with increasing frequency. Some of these were more exciting than others, and your mileage may vary on the most famous one of all — Jon Snow — but one that felt really pointless was The Mountain. He was the most cartoonish villain in Westeros, and became even more so undead. 

14. The entire crew on Red Dwarf

BBC

The whole premise of Red Dwarf was that it was a small band of misfits stranded in space, with everyone else on their ship dead. It set up the main tension of the plot, and a lot of the comedy. So, when the rest of the crew were miraculously revived in Season 8, it totally changed the premise of the show, not to mention the character dynamics we tuned in for — and not for the better. It became one of the worst seasons in the show's decades-long run. 

What fakeout character death frustrated you the most? Let us know in the comments!