The 25 Most Devastating Character Deaths In TV History

Have you sought treatment after the Red Wedding?

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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The thing that distinguishes TV from film has to be character investment. Spend a season or longer following a group of characters—as opposed to two hours—and it's impossible not to get wrapped up in their respective sagas (and if not, the showrunner's doing something wrong). It's that hours upon hours of investment that leads people to lose their shit on social media when a favorite character dies.

Television has pulled the rug out with some pretty shocking deaths over the years, but this isn't about those. No, this list is for the deaths that left you speechless, kept you up at night long after the episode was over, or sent you to message boards and water coolers for group therapy grief counseling. Read on for The 25 Most Devastating Deaths in TV History.

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Written by Frazier Tharpe (@The_SummerMan)

 

25. Chef in South Park

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24. Henrietta "Etta" Bishop in Fringe

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23. Lawrence Kutner in House

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22. Anastasia "Dee" Dualla in Battlestar Galactica

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21. Elena Gilbert in The Vampire Diaries

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20. Lori Grimes in The Walking Dead

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19. Dan Conner in Roseanne

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18. Drew Sharp in Breaking Bad

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17. The Vendrell Family in The Shield

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16. Lane Pryce in Mad Men

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15. Connor Gavin in Rescue Me

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14. Jimmy Darmody in Boardwalk Empire

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13. Teri Bauer in 24

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12. Chloe Carter and Cal Vandeusen in Harper's Island

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11. Jen Lindley in Dawson's Creek

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10. Adriana La Cerva in The Sopranos

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9. Rita Morgan in Dexter

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8. Winifred "Fred" Burkle in Angel

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7. Omar Little in The Wire

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6. Jin-Soo and Sun-Hwa Kwon in Lost

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5. Harry "Opie" Winston in Sons of Anarchy

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4. George O'Malley in Grey's Anatomy

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3. Joyce Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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2. Eddard "Ned" Stark in Game of Thrones

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1. Robb, Catelyn, and Talisa Stark in Game of Thrones

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