Terrible mistakes in killing off a character in a tv show or film

[caj]

What are some examples where they made a terrible mistake in killing off a character in a tv show or film?

[Synestra]

I never watched The 100, but the amount of backlash that show got for killing Lexa is well known even outside of its fandom. It was all over the internet and came up in numerous panels at various Cons.

On that same note, I want to say Tara in Buffy the Vampire Slayer... her death does fit under the "Bury your Gays" trope too, but I understood the reasoning was to culminate Willow's dark story line. The writers also wanted to bring her back, but just couldn't due to the actress not being available.

I'd probably also say Cottonmouth on Luke Cage. I know his death paved the way for Mariah's turn into a villain in Season 2, but Mahershala Ali's performance was just so good.

[Gaastra]

Alien 3--They still get hate from it.

Pacific rim 2-When are studios going to learn killing your main heroes off "between films" only ticks the fans off.

Gijoe 2--Gijoe fans rejected the film refusing to see it after they kill everyone off including duke and bragged about in the trailer. Good job guys. No shock the toys bombed. no kidding. You ticked your fanbase off. What did you think was going to happen?

Not a death but the a-team movie crushed the van and was really dumb and put it in the trailer. Many fans see the van as part of the team and it ticked them off. The movie bombed. Should not have done that.

[caj]

Definitely Bobby Ewing on Dallas.

It was such a bad decision that TPTB decided to wipe out an entire season of the show ("it was all Pam's dream") in order to get the character back on the show.

While the season where he came back was a great one, viewers were insulted by the ridiculous idea and the ratings dropped.

[AndrewCrossett]

Wash in the Serenity movie.

His death really seemed like checking the "main character death" box. Joss Whedon's biggest storytelling flaw is his overuse of the "beloved character snuffs it" trope to establish emotional resonance. There are other ways to do it. I think he himself admitted killing Wash might have been a mistake. Unfortunately it's not the Buffyverse where dead characters can be brought back.

[Synestra]

Wash in the Serenity movie.

His death really seemed like checking the "main character death" box. Joss Whedon's biggest storytelling flaw is his overuse of the "beloved character snuffs it" trope to establish emotional resonance. There are other ways to do it. I think he himself admitted killing Wash might have been a mistake. Unfortunately it's not the Buffyverse where dead characters can be brought back.

Ah, I knew there was one I was forgetting (which is ironic since I mentioned a death from Buffy in my first post in this thread).

Wash's death definitely pissed off a lot of Firefly fans.

[ChrisIII]

Alien 3--They still get hate from it.

Pacific rim 2-When are studios going to learn killing your main heroes off "between films" only ticks the fans off.

Gijoe 2--Gijoe fans rejected the film refusing to see it after they kill everyone off including duke and bragged about in the trailer. Good job guys. No shock the toys bombed. no kidding. You ticked your fanbase off. What did you think was going to happen?

Not a death but the a-team movie crushed the van and was really dumb and put it in the trailer. Many fans see the van as part of the team and it ticked them off. The movie bombed. Should not have done that.

I don't think they killed off the main character from the first Pacific Rim, they just kind of had him vanish (They did however almost kill him off). However they did kill Mako off and made Newton the bad guy...

[titanfan]

I don't think they killed off the main character from the first Pacific Rim, they just kind of had him vanish (They did however almost kill him off). However they did kill Mako off and made Newton the bad guy...

I read the Pacific Rim one and assumed they were talking about Mako lol.

Laurel on Arrow. Even though they eventually created the excellent Black Siren character, I think them killing off Laurel changed the show forever and not for the better.

George on Grey's Anatomy.

With Bobby on Dallas, how did they not write his original death open ended? That was the biggest crime.

In GI Joe 2, they edited out the scene where they show the list of the dead names that included the Season 1 cast, some of them were supposed to be brought back if there was ever a 3rd...

[Frontier]

Laurel on Arrow. Even though they eventually created the excellent Black Siren character, I think them killing off Laurel changed the show forever and not for the better.

Yeah, I think Laurel's death and the fallout turned a lot of people off Arrow.

[TriggerWarning]

Laurel on Arrow. Even though they eventually created the excellent Black Siren character, I think them killing off Laurel changed the show forever and not for the better.

I would disagree with this completely. Laurel was the worst character on Arrow and its not even close. Black Siren is a far more interesting character. I don't think some of the decisions made in the show in regards to her character are buyable, no way does Dinah ever forgive her and I don't see Quentin accepting her as his daughter the way he did, but she is still better than Laurel.

[SpiderClops]

I read the Pacific Rim one and assumed they were talking about Mako lol.

Laurel on Arrow. Even though they eventually created the excellent Black Siren character, I think them killing off Laurel changed the show forever and not for the better.

George on Grey's Anatomy.

With Bobby on Dallas, how did they not write his original death open ended? That was the biggest crime.

In GI Joe 2, they edited out the scene where they show the list of the dead names that included the Season 1 cast, some of them were supposed to be brought back if there was ever a 3rd...

That made me quit the show. It was then that I knew this show is just pointlessly overdramatic. There was no reason whatsoever to kill George. He had a perfect departure storyline.

[luprki]

Gijoe 2--Gijoe fans rejected the film refusing to see it after they kill everyone off including duke and bragged about in the trailer. Good job guys. No shock the toys bombed. no kidding. You ticked your fanbase off. What did you think was going to happen?

I agree, killing off the first GI Joe cast was utterly stupid. What made it worst was they made an inferior second movie with Dwayne Johnson (the most overrated actor in Hollywood) and Bruce Willis (who was way past his prime). I don’t know what Paramount was thinking.

[Immortal Weapon]

Cottonmouth in Luke Cage. The quality of the second half of season one took a dive after his death. Diamondback made for a lousy main villain and was too over the top for my liking.

[ZeroBG82]

The big one that comes to mind for me is Laurel on Arrow. That was the moment the show lost me. Quite literally, actually. That was the last episode I watched until the final season. And it's not like Laurel was some great, well realized character. The writing had been shoddy and scattered, and they could never quite decide whether they wanted the character to be tough, a damsel, or just a dick. But it felt like they were finally getting a handle on what they wanted to do with her once they put her in the Canary outfit for good. Plus, the manner of her death was extremely, extremely lame and disrespectful to the character.

Plus, even the creatives behind the show ultimately agreed it was a mistake, because they brought the actress back to play a slightly different version of the same character. In this case, their early mistake ends up being a boon, as they are able to shed some of the baggage that weighed down Laurel and give her some more bite with the Black Siren role.

The other big, big one is Cordelia on Angel. Which they actually did twice, more or less. And for crap reasons both times. It didn't hurt the show as much as it could have, because season 5 pivoted so heavily on the amazing chemistry between Boreanaz and Marsters, and those two absolutely killed it. But you could feel the gaping absence almost any time they turned to another character to fill the same kind of role in the stories.

Cottonmouth in Luke Cage. The quality of the second half of season one took a dive after his death. Diamondback made for a lousy main villain and was too over the top for my liking.

While I agree completely with your assessment of the back half of season 1, it's not like the creatives really had a choice on this one. They had Ali for the episodes he was in, but that was all he was available for. So either the character gets killed off or leaves, not to be seen again until a potential S2 where they MIGHT get the actor back. It's hard to blame the show for real world scheduling issues, even if they mishandled Diamondback.

[TriggerWarning]

I never watched The 100, but the amount of backlash that show got for killing Lexa is well known even outside of its fandom. It was all over the internet and came up in numerous panels at various Cons.

I do watch The 100, its a much better show than one would expect given it was adapated from YA books. The whole thing over Lexa was so ridiculous. Lexa's role on The 100 was only a recurring character that only appeared on a handful of episodes each year. The actress, Alicia Debnam-Carey, had just landed one of the lead roles on Fear the Walking Dead which was a huge step up for her pay and profile wise. They tried to make it work with her being on both shows and were able to for season 1 of FtWD as it was short and filmed at a different time than The 100. But season 2 of FtWD and whatever season it was of The 100 at the time (three or four I think) were going to be filmed at the same time. The shows are filmed several thousands miles apart and in different countries so it became increasingly impossible for Debnam-Carey to be in both shows and of course she is going to choose FtWD since its such a bigger show with an obviously better paycheck and higher profile for her. Which left The 100 in a bind as the nature of her role and character isn't one where they could write her out by having her go visit a distant family member or put her in a coma. It was death or recast her character. The FtWD dead show runners were actually extremely gracious in re-arranging their shooting schedules to allow Debnam-Carey to be available long enough to give Lexa a proper sendoff and then to later return during the season finale in a special appearance as a ghost vision in Clarke's head (Clarke was Lexa's girlfriend). Meanwhile Fear the Walking Dead is still going and Debnam-Carey is one of only two characters still left from season one and as such is one of the two main characters on the show so I'd say she made the right career choice.

Furthermore, this was hardly the only gay relationship on The 100. There is a front and center gay male relationship and Clarke has had flings with other girls since Lexa so they aren't hiding any sort of LGBT stuff.