Within thefantasygenre, there are plenty of TV shows that don’t shy away from killing off main characters and shocking the audience while they do so. Death isn’t uncommon within speculative fiction, assupernatural elements typically go hand-in-hand with aspects of horroror action. While conflict and violence can be exciting to watch onscreen, it’s always devastating when a character you’ve come to love dies. Though there might be a way for them to come back within these magical worlds, some stay gone forever.
These shows feature manybeloved fantasy characters who shouldn’t have been killed off. They fall victim to the perils of their stories and are often sacrificed for the greater good of the plot. However, the reason these TV shows are so quick to let their main characters die is that this makes for such compelling and emotionally impactful television. When a secondary character or villain dies, it can be sad or leave a hole in the fabric of the series, but it doesn’t hit as hard as losing a protagonist.
The Vampire Diariesis an iconic supernatural teen drama that might have aired on network TV, but that didn’t stop it from pushing boundaries. Full of violence, sex, and shocking twists,The Vampire Diarieskept audiences guessing until the very end, playing with the balance of life and death many times over.The protagonist, Elena (Nina Dobrev), was well known for her plot armor and ability to survive any situation, but she was far from the only main character in the series.
One of the series' first casualties, Vicky (Kayla Ewell), gives the audience a sense of the toneand vulnerability of the human characters inThe Vampire Diaries. However, even the supernatural creatures aren’t safe, as vampires, werewolves, and witches all fall victim to the villains and antagonists of the series. There are a few characters who die and pass on to limbo or another world, only to be brought back through magic and loopholes in the cause of their death, but many individuals aren’t lucky enough to come home.
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The Boysbegins with the death of Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) girlfriend,which spurs him into action and inserts him into the violent and unforgettable world ofThe Boys. What Hughie and the other characters have in common inThe Boysis that they’ve all lost someone, and this is fueling their hatred for the supes and their desire to bring down The Seven. However, in this bloody quest for vengeance, the characters have to sacrifice a lot to meet their goals, and there are plenty of great characters who have been lost along the way.
Known for being a darkly comic and gory series,The Boyshasn’t discriminated between the heroes and villains in the kill count, as most characters are a little bit of both.
Known for being a darkly comic and gory series,The Boyshasn’t discriminated between the heroes and villains in the kill count, as most characters are a little bit of both. From the early death of Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue) to the tragic loss of Hughie’s father,The Boyshasn’t pulled any punches. AsThe Boysseason 5approaches, it will be interesting to see who makes it out of the series alive and who pays the ultimate price in the show.
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It’s fair to say thatAttack on Titanis afantasy TV show with no bad seasons, as the iconic anime series is considered one of the best in recent memory. However, audiences need to have a strong stomach to grapple with the terror, gore, and violence that permeate every episode ofAttack on Titan.The show does a good job of setting the viewer up to expect a heart-wrenching story,as the young protagonist, Eren, witnesses his mother die at the hands of a monstrous titan.
This sets Eren on a path of destruction, eventually culminating in a near-world-ending event in the final episodes ofAttack on Titan. However, it never gets easier watching beloved characters fall inAttack on Titan, especially sincethe series is adept at making the audience understand and empathize with characters who are on opposite sidesof the conflict.Attack on Titanexplores the lengths people will go to change the world after they’ve lost everything.
Attack on Titan (2013–2023)
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ThoughThe Umbrella Academyhad its issues throughout its run, the characters and their impact on the audience were never a problem for the series. It was easy to care about the individuals onscreen, especially since they go through so much trauma throughout the show. Based on the comic book series of the same name,The Umbrella Academyis a stylish and atmospheric show, incorporating plenty of excitement into every gory and violent moment of the story, of which there are many.
Death is typical inThe Umbrella Academy, but it doesn’t touch too many of the main characters until the final season.
Death is typical inThe Umbrella Academy, but it doesn’t touch too many of the main characters until the final season.The Umbrella Academyseason 4 kills off almost all of the main characters, with only a few of them getting the closure and satisfaction they need. The end of the world happens many times throughoutThe Umbrella Academy, so as sad as it is, it makes sense that the siblings would finally have to pay up and properly give their lives to save the universe.
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The iconic mystery TV showLostbegins with plenty of death, destruction, and mayhem,eventually following the experience of the survivors of a plane crash. Flashing between the characters' backstories and the present timeline,Lostslowly makes the audience care about each member of the large ensemble. This makes it even more emotionally catastrophic when they begin to die, andLostdemonstrates it’s not afraid to break your heart. Boon (Ian Somerhalder) is the first major character to die, but he’s far from the last.
Though it soon comes to pass that almost all of the characters in the series have passed on at different points in the story, revealed in the contentious series finale, this doesn’t lessen the drama of the earlier deaths.Lostbuilt a reputation for shocking the viewerand incorporating plot lines that were impossible to guess, and this carried over into the lives of the characters. It’s difficult to pick which death onLosthit the hardest, as they all were unforgettable sacrifices.
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The Magiciansis an interesting case, asthe series kills off its main characters quickly and with little warning, but there’s often a hidden loopholeor way out of this fate. Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) dies fighting the Beast (Charles Mesure), but Quentin (Jason Ralph) then stops at nothing to return her to Earth and restore her humanity. Additionally, Penny (Arjun Gupta) faces death many times but becomes employed in the eternal Library and is replaced in the main cast by a version of himself from an alternate reality.
There are other more permanent deaths throughout the episodes and plenty of horrible losses, butfew of these compare to the devastation of losing Quentin at the end of season 4.Even thoughThe Magiciansis an ensemble, Quentin is the centerpiece of the story and the group dynamic. His death marked a major shift in the series. ThoughThe Magiciansnovels are afantasy book series that isn’t as good as you remember, the TV show expands upon the original premise and gives the audience even more emotional ups and downs.
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One of the most notorious TV shows of all time, fantasy or not,for killing off beloved characters at the drop of a hat,Game of Throneshas retained its reputation. Though most of the main characters inGame of Thronesare morally ambiguous, bordering on outright evil, it’s still a shock when the series axed yet another protagonist. It doesn’t take long for the audience to realize that no one is safe in the story and that the series isn’t afraid to stray from George R.R. Martin’s equally violent books.
There were some fan-favorite characters who managed to make it to the end ofGame of Thronesalive, if not unscathed. However, these survivals didn’t lessen the impact of the major protagonists' deaths. There were deaths throughout season 1, but the vulnerability of the characters was cemented by the execution of Ned Stark (Sean Bean) in the season 1 finale. From there, audiences could be sure thatGame of Throneswas not afantasyTV show to trifle with and that there was lots of heartbreak ahead.
Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
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