26 Of The Saddest Character Departures In TV History

Why must the good ones go?

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what they thought was the saddest TV character departure ever. They definitely rose to the occasion and made me very emotional in the process. Here are the best responses.

🚨SPOILERS AHEAD, PEOPLE!🚨

1. Alex Karev from Grey's Anatomy

ABC / Via youtube.com

"From the first episode to his last, Alex has always been my favorite. No matter what storyline he was involved in, I supported him nonetheless. He was the best character on the show. I really loved Jo and Alex and was a great fan of Meredith and Alex's friendship. It sucks the way he was written out, but I understand Justin Chambers didn't give the writers much time to come up with a full storyline that would make more sense for his departure. But the ending still made me sad. I still miss his character so much."

—s4bb472acb

2. Grogu from The Mandalorian

Disney+ / Via youtube.com

"I cried my eyes out while watching the season finale and was inconsolable all night and several days after. I don’t know why it hit me so hard, but watching Mando and his goodbye absolutely wrecked me."

—haleyw4ae66dcb9

3. Michael Scott from The Office

NBC / Via youtube.com

"Michael Scott really made The Office, and I didn't appreciate him enough until he was gone. His goodbye episode always makes me cry."

—nymeria_waters

4. Wes Gibbons from How to Get Away with Murder

ABC / Via youtube.com

"His departure absolutely crushed me. And he had JUST found happiness."

—natalieh45f732f4c

5. Finn Hudson from Glee

Fox / Via youtube.com youtube.com

"He was the male lead and was so crucial to the glee club. Pretty much the entirety of 'The Quarterback' episode makes me cry. It will be doubly painful on rewatches of the show with Santana/Naya singing 'If I Die Young.'"

—serquackington

6. Toni Childs from Girlfriends

UPN/ The CW / Via youtube.com

"When she left the show, it was never the same. While I continued to watch until the end, something was always missing. I loved the other three ladies, but they worked so well as a foursome, and the pace of the show reflected that."

—deannah4d2cdb4a9

7. Fred Andrews from Riverdale

The CW / Via youtube.com

"I don’t watch the show anymore, but Luke Perry seemed like such a lovely person, and Archie’s dad having to die because Luke died made it so much worse. That episode made me cry so much because he was taken away from his children far too soon, and you could just imagine the pain that the actors were feeling while acting."

—rachelsg1210

8. Adriana La Cerva from The Sopranos

HBO / Via youtube.com

"She was by Christopher’s side through everything, and in the end, he chose Tony over her. I cried."

—louumoney

9. Troy Barnes from Community

Yahoo! Screen / Via youtube.com

"His final episode broke me, and seeing Abed lose his closest friend hurt a lot. The episodes following his departure weren’t the same without him!"

—purolandprincess

10. Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan from Grey's Anatomy

ABC / Via youtube.com

"They were meant to be."

—victoriacullotta

11. Nairobi from Money Heist

Netflix / Via youtube.com

"I still can't get over it."

—willbill847

12. Sammy Lieberman from Dance Academy

ABC1 / ABC3 / Via youtube.com

"It was so unexpected and ripped my heart out. Just watching his friends and especially Abagail find out what happened made me ugly cry through that episode and the next one."

—annaparis16

13. Elliot Stabler from Law and Order: SVU

NBC / Via youtube.com

"I need his short temper back! Plus, he and Olivia were the perfect partners."

—egc26

14. Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner from Criminal Minds

CBS / Via youtube.com

"Hotch not coming back to the BAU after Mr. Scratch was killed made absolutely zero sense and pretty much ruined the show for me. His wife was killed in front of him by a serial killer that was literally hunting him, and he still went back to work."

—s1kintop

15. Jack Pearson from This Is Us

NBC / Via youtube.com

"Even though we knew it was going to happen, it still made me so emotional."

—virgochic909

16. Eric Forman from That '70s Show

Fox / Via youtube.com

"It got unwatchable after that."

—kjorn

17. Poussey Washington from Orange is the New Black

Netflix / Via youtube.com

"I've never had such a visceral reaction to a character's death before, and I've yet to watch the scene again after the first time I watched that season. She had just gotten her head straight and set herself on the right track, and then she's gone. It makes me sad to even think about it."

—deandeanbeanbean

18. Castiel from Supernatural

The CW / Via youtube.com

"For a show that constantly brought people back, I was so disappointed we didn't get to see him for one more moment. Him sacrificing himself to the Empty after confessing his love to Dean and knowing that in all the other timelines no other Castiel rebelled against Heaven and showed free will made it even harder to lose Cas."

—maggienewsh7

19. Steve Burns from Blue's Clues

Nickelodeon / Via youtube.com

"My son didn’t cry but I did."

—christyb15

20. Issac Lahey form Teen Wolf

MTV / Via youtube.com

I loved his character and how much he grew throughout the [show]. He was there and then [he was] gone the next season after Allison dies, with no explanation.

—breeofficial

21. Campbell Saunders from Degrassi: The Next Generation

Teennick / Via youtube.com

"He was so sweet and was going through so much. They did such a good job showing how anyone can suffer from mental illness, even popular hockey players. It broke my heart how it all went down."

—annab41e90280f

22. Mike Delfino from Desperate Housewives

ABC / Via youtube.com

"His funeral always turns me into a sobbing wreck. It’s so emotional and sad. I can’t watch it again."

—alittlebitanji

23. Lance Sweets from Bones

Fox / Via youtube.com

"I will rewatch every episode but that one. It still hurts."

—yankgirl013

24. Allison Argent from Teen Wolf

MTV / Via youtube.com

"Her death literally was something I never saw coming, and when she left the show, it was never the same. I mourned the loss of a fictional character for days."

—aaronweeks101

25. Otis from Chicago Fire

NBC / Via youtube.com

"I know all the Chicago shows have killed off a lot of main characters over the years, but Otis' by far hit me the hardest. He was one of my favorite characters on the show from the beginning because he was funny, sweet, and an all-around good guy. His friendship with Cruz was also so pure and IMO one of the best parts of the show. Watching Cruz say goodbye to him at the hospital was absolutely heartbreaking. I still love the show, but it’ll always feel like there’s a piece missing since he died."

—strawberrylumps22

26. And finally, Charlie Pace from Lost

ABC / Via youtube.com

"His whole story on the show is one of the best in TV history."

—zachurated

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.