#FictionalDeathsIWillNeverGetOver Part III

Tags

arthurian legend, doctor who, fictionaldeathsiwillnevergetover, firefly, joss whedon, king Arthur, serenity

Lately, the hashtag #FictionalDeathsIWillNeverGetOver has been trending on Twitter. As soon as I saw that, I immediately thought of characters—whose deaths I will never get over. I could not let it pass and so I must tell you all about the imaginary deaths which shall haunt me forever.

The Tenth Doctor

Though there had been a prophecy given to the Doctor that “your death will knock four times,” I was totally shocked when I realized that he was actually going to die. One of the Doctor’s best qualities is his uncanny ability to get out of “certain death” situations unscathed. I thought for sure that he would be able to thwart fate once again. Though he regenerated as Matt Smith, after seeing the heartbreaking finale, I laid awake late into the night, staring up at the ceiling, feeling devastated, and unable to cry.

Wash

Wash, the ship’s pilot in the series Firefly, is the comic relief for much of the series. Though not much of a fighter himself, his wife Zoe is a real Amazon and her brooding sense of seriousness coupled with his light-hearted outlook made for a cute and dynamic duo. In the spin-off film, Serenity, the crew are being chased by Reavers with their ship badly damaged. Wash does the impossible, landing their ship without engines. Everything had just turned out okay when it wasn’t supposed to, but suddenly, a Reaver harpoon breaks through the windshield and skewers Wash to his seat. What the—?!?!?!?!?!

King Arthur

Yes, yes, yes, I know Arthur dies or goes into (nearly) perpetual sleep in just about every single freaking retelling of the story, but if a book is written right, I still get all sad and depressed at the end. For instance, in Gerald Morris’ The Squire’s Tales, my favorite rehashing of the Arthurian tales, the end was almost too much to take. Though 86% of the good people die, they are all gathered up to go into the Realm of Faerie, but my point is—they DIE. I was very much saddened by their fate, in spite of the ultimately happy outcome, and the death of King Arthur and the other characters of the Arthurian legends will continue to haunt me.

Thus concludes my list of Fictional Deaths I Will Never Get Over. To all these characters who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of plot or a writer’s fancy, I’ll never forget you! 😥

#FictionalDeathsIWillNeverGetOver Part II

Tags

books, greek mythology, Jasper Fforde, lloyd alexander, movies, prydain chronicles, the last dragonsayer

Lately, the hashtag #FictionalDeathsIWillNeverGetOver has been trending on Twitter. As soon as I saw that, I immediately thought of characters—whose deaths I will never get over. I could not let it pass and so I must tell you all about the imaginary deaths which shall haunt me forever.

Prince Hector

As I’ve said before, the 2004 movie Troy is my favorite film of all time. (Again, don’t ask why because I have no idea.) I felt so sad when Hector died because Achilles’ reason for seeking revenge on the Trojan prince really wasn’t Hector’s fault. Achilles’ young cousin, Patroclus, was mad about Achilles refusing to fight the Trojans so he dressed up in Achilles’ armor and led his cousin’s men into battle. Hector killed Patroclus, thinking he was Achilles, but he felt really bad about it when he found out and while he had his brutal moments, he clearly had a more developed conscience than most the other characters. Oh, and he had a wife and infant son, too. He really, really was one of those characters who you wish could have lived. (Yes, I know he dies in the traditional myths, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!)

Quark the Quarkbeast

A friend of mine loaned me Jasper Fforde’s YA debut, The Last Dragonslayer for a road trip and I enjoyed it greatly. The main character, Jennifer Strange, has a pet whose coat is described as “an open knife drawer,” eats tin cans, and has to be careful so as not to dent Volkswagens when he wags his tail. Quark was a semi-sentient creature who was fiercely loyal to his young mistress and ended up dying to save her. I knew he was going to die because once again, that detail was spoiled for me, but I still adored him and was very, very sad to see him meet his demise.

Adaon

One of the great underrated fantasy series of all time is Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles. In the second installment, titled The Black Cauldron, we meet a young and mystical warrior who is equally skilled with a sword as the harp and seeks to make and keep peace amongst his companions. He is betrothed to a beautiful and wise young woman with whom he is deeply in love and was an all-around good guy. But…in a scuffle with the zombie-like warriors sent by the dark lord, he is fatally wounded and dies. Adaon is of the minority of my FDIWNGO in that I didn’t see his death coming. Though that didn’t subtract from the devastation I experienced at the others’ deaths, it certainly was a compounding factor with Adaon.

To be continued…

#FictionalDeathsIWillNeverGetOver Part I

Tags

book, books, catching fire, characters, downton abbey, fictionaldeathsiwillnevergetover, the hunger games, throne of glass

Lately, the hashtag #FictionalDeathsIWillNeverGetOver has been trending on Twitter. As soon as I saw that, I immediately thought of characters—whose deaths I will never get over. I could not let it pass and so I must tell you all about the imaginary deaths which shall haunt me forever. These were the first three who popped into my head and so have the honor of being in the first post.

Matthew Crawley

Okay, if you watch Downton Abbey or live with someone who does, I’m sure you heard of this one. At the season finale, Matthew has just held his newborn son for the first time and is driving home from the hospital when he gets into a car wreck and is killed instantly. There wasn’t even a proper death scene, it was just “WHAM! BOOM! Oops. Sorry, man. You’re dead.” After I saw that, I could hardly believe it. And I’m so mad at the actor for skipping the show and going to Broadway and I’m so mad at Julian Fellows for letting him!

Sam Cortland

This character may not be as widely known as the other two, but I cared deeply about him. Sam was the first love of Celaena Sardothien, the heroine of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (my review). Though he’s already dead a year by the time Throne of Glass takes place, he is present in three of the four prequel novellas and we get to see what a deep and passionate love he and Celaena shared. After I read the final novella, I went into a semi-catatonic state and my family had no idea why I was so upset. When I told my father that the love of the main character had been gruesomely tortured to death, he offered the following fatherly comfort: “Ah, but just wait for the next book when she (Celaena) will get to torture the guy who did it to death.” I’m so upset about what happened, I’ve kind of hoped that will happen. Not nice of me, I know. But I’m EXTREMELY upset about Sam dying!

Finnick Odair

Anyone who has read The Hunger Games Trilogy knows this one. Even though my brother spoiled it and told me that Finnick dies, I was stunned over how it happened. Personally, I think that Suzanne Collins went on a rampage and vented her inner psychopath by murdering as many of her characters as possible. Worst of all, Finnick’s death served absolutely no purpose. What did it add to the story? Nothing. His death was pointless. I say we start a petition to have them change that in the movie. If they do, I promise to take back all those mean things I’ve said about Katniss. Word of Honor.

When I thought about it, I realized that Matthew, Finnick, and Sam have a few things in common: all of them have a significant other with whom they are deeply in love, all of them were young, two of them were warriors, and two of them have sons and wives. That and I knew ahead of time that each of them was going to die, but that clearly didn’t stop me from being devastated afterwards.

What fictional deaths will you never get over?

To be continued…