Fangirlish 2021 End of Year Lists: 10 TV Deaths We Wish We Could Take Back

Sometimes TV breaks your heart. And sometimes, it surprises you and then …breaks your heart. That seems to be what we sign up for when we decide to fall in love with a show. Except, of course, some shows on this list are repeat offenders, while some have just taken a character from us for the very first time.

Either way, losing characters on TV is often as hard as losing real loved ones. It might feel silly, but we identify with fictional characters to the point they feel like our friends. And when they’re taken from us, well …it hurts. Here are ten fictional characters that left us in 2021 that we wish we could have back.

Andrew DeLuca, Grey’s Anatomy

At this point Grey’s Anatomy shouldn’t be able to hit us this hard. They’ve killed so many characters they can do an entire show on heaven! And yet Andrew DeLuca’s death, and especially the way it happened, was heartbreaking. Then, of course, there’s also the fact that these characters have already gone through so much loss that every new thing just feels even more gut-wrenching than normal.

Gordo and Tracy, For All Mankind

The heroism of the thing doesn’t make it better, in fact, it might even make it worse. Gordo and Tracy saved everyone, and they went out together, as they always were in life, but, but …their story was one of the most compelling parts of For All Mankind, and it’s hard to imagine the show without them.

Charles, 9-1-1: Lone Star

Charles’ death on 9-1-1: Lone Star was completely unexpected and absolutely heartbreaking. We only knew Charles for a short time, but we already loved him. He was a wonderful father to two adorable kids and a loving, caring husband to Tommy. He loved Tommy more than anything, and she felt the same way about him. We’re not sure why the writers decided to go this route, but we’re not happy about it, and we’re not sure we’ll ever get over it. Tommy deserved to have her husband alive and well. But instead she’ll spend the rest of her life grieving her husband.

Pubba, Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth came from the throat right away, and the didn’t let up. The death of Pubba pretty much sets up the entire journey of the show, and as such it’s easy to see coming, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. We’re not sure how the show would even work – or of it could – if Pubba had survived, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want it.

Tokyo, Money Heist

Tokyo dying on Money Heist makes no sense and we will not accept it, especially with so many episodes left. She’s been the driving force behind this show, even though there were plenty of moments she frustrated us. And to have to watch her die was cruel. It’s made even worse that her family was so close to making it to her and getting her out.

Classic Loki, Loki

So many Loki’s, so little time. And if there was one we thought we maybe wouldn’t miss if we had to say goodbye to him, it was Classic Loki. And then he had his own little mini-arc in the episode, which culminated with the sacrifice that allowed our Loki to get to He Who Remains, and we just … we want more than the Classic Loki action figures, okay? We want more.

Jackson, The Rookie

Jackson’s death in The Rookie still feels like a stake through the heart, and it hurts like hell. It was all too fast, too unfair, just… too much. Jackson was a young man who still had a lot to live for and a lot teach us. And for his death to come after a fantastic storyline that highlighted the consequences of racism in the police force… we needed to see what his next steps were. We needed to see so many things…but that will never happen anymore.

Hari Seldon, Foundation

In the vein of mentors dying to set up the younger generation’s storyline, it wasn’t exactly shocking to see Hari Seldon die. Though the way he did was indeed something we didn’t see coming. Not to mention there’s the way he returned. Yes, we said return. Sci-fi is complicated like that. But, ultimately, we’d want the original Hari back, okay? Even if the story would suffer for it.

Nic, The Resident

This might be the one that hurts the most. Sometimes the decisions of the actors affect the fate of the characters, and though we respect and support Emily VanCamp, our heart is still broken for Nic Nevin. And for the husband, and the baby she leaves behind. For the happy ending she didn’t get – that we didn’t get. That will never not hurt.

Liz, The Blacklist

Killing the main character isn’t a thing shows do often, and though it’d been a few seasons we’d truly felt for Liz, it was still incredibly shocking to see her die in Red’s arms. And then we also go the Red reveal, which was …a lot to take in. And yes, the show continues without her, and no, we didn’t even love the character that much at the end, but we’ll miss the possibilities. We really will.

Agree? Disagree? Which TV death from 2021 would you take back? Share with us in the comments below!

Lissete Lanuza Sáenz

Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Eternal optimist. Fangirl since the dawn of time. Hates the color yellow, olives and cigarettes. Has a recurring nightmare where she’s forced to choose between sports and books. Falls in love with fictional characters.