SUPER, MASSIVE, OMG-DON’T-SAY-I-DIDN’T-WARN-YOU SPOILERS ALERT!
As shows close out for the season, we bid some fond (and not-so-fond) farewells to characters we have gotten to know. Finales see more than their fair share of final farewells, often involving the deaths of key characters.
Mind you, death isn’t always an ending. For some characters, it isn’t even permanent.
What follows is a list of some of the most recent season’s finale fatalities. Some were expected while others were shocking. Some were long overdue. Some have a twist and a few are just twisted.
Whether they left you hanging or gave you closure, all of these departures were emotional even if that emotion wasn’t exactly grief. Looking at you, Marcus Pierce.
Could Just Be Drunk – Mary Kills People
FATALITY: Ben Wesley
STATUS: Definitely unconscious, possibly dead by poisoning
TWIST: How he managed to live THIS long working as a cop astounds me.
In the two short seasons we’ve had of Mary Kills People, undercover police detective Ben Wesley has had sex with the woman he was investigating, tampered with evidence, burned a partner, shot a drug dealer, made several shady tit-for-tat deals, and lost a key witness who was then killed by the woman he was once again sleeping with.
So when the finale makes it pretty clear they want us to think a missing vial of pentobarbital has probably ended up in the liquor bottle he keeps in his less-than-secure trailer and then juxtaposes scenes of him slowly losing consciousness alone under the stars with scenes of an assisted suicide, who are we to dispute it?
Quentin Dies on the Table – Arrow
FATALITY: Quentin Lance
STATUS: Dead
TWIST: Both his daughters have returned from being “really dead” and with multiple Earths to choose from, dead doesn’t necessarily mean we never see Quentin Lance up and about again.
Over his six seasons on Arrow, Quentin Lance went from being Oliver Queen’s adversary and critic to being a reluctant accomplice to being a vital team member. Arguably, he knew Oliver better than anyone on the cast since Oliver had dated (and sort of caused the deaths of) both his daughters.
Oddly enough, both daughters (sort of) were present to hear the news that he didn’t survive the surgery after being shot in the gut by Ricardo Diaz.
Coulson Exits While Fitz Defrosts? – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This was a two-for-one deal
FATALITY: Leopold Fitz
STATUS: Really dead
TWIST: There’s another non-time-traveling version of him floating in orbit in cryo-sleep. It’s always nice to have a spare, I guess.
In some beautiful, heart-wrenching irony, Fitz, the mightiest defender of closed-loop time theory becomes the one to disprove it, saving known casualties Mack and Polly but dying in the act, crushed by building debris.
This was a brilliant move as his mental fragmentation had shown his potential for villainy but he gets to go out a hero and Simmons gets to restart with the non-dissociative version. Of course, she’ll have to marry him again and introduce him to their grandson.
FATALITY: Phil Coulson
STATUS: Dying
TWIST: He’s been actually dead before, killed by Loki in The Avengers, then revived by Project T.A.H.I.T.I. using Kree corpse extract. After hosting the Ghost Rider in the first act of this season, the Kree effect began to fail and his death caught up to him.
Coulson’s exit is a bombshell for the team as they’ve been loyal to him from the beginning despite his various issues with the upper management. It’s a magical farewell, with him and May looking to spend their last days together on the beaches of Tahiti.
There’s even a memorial plaque on the Zephyr which reads “In remembrance of our fearless leader Phillip J. Coulson. He gave us his wisdom, his love, and his life (a couple of times)”
With Mack now in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D., the table is set for a very different team dynamic when the show returns in the fall of 2019.
Bound for Heaven AND Hell – Lucifer
Technically, another two-fer except that Charlotte is killed in the penultimate episode. However, she makes the list because her death drives the action of the finale.
FATALITY: Charlotte Richards
STATUS: Body dead and soul delivered directly to Heaven
TWIST: Charlotte Richards was actually murdered at the beginning of Season 2. Her body housed the Goddess of All Creation (aka the ex-Mrs. God) for the entirety of that season while her soul was trapped in Hell.
Human Charlotte has been a real revelation(!) in that we were able to watch her develop from a confused and troubled woman with a questionable moral compass into a team member (with a questionable moral compass).
While she started out trying to be a better person sheerly out of fear of her Hell loop, she truly got in touch with her inner angel by the time she jumps out in front of Cain’s bullet meant for Amenadiel.
FATALITY: Lt. Marcus Pierce (aka Cain, the son of Adam and Eve forced to roam the Earth for eternity for killing his brother Abel)
STATUS: Dead, probably gone to Hell
TWIST: He’s been TRYING to die for millennia. So, yay for him?
Ugh. The whole Cain story arc really annoyed me so it was a huge relief to see him go and, as Lucifer points out, his is the southbound train since accidentally killing Charlotte is a regret which mars his otherwise guilt-free conscience.
That he is killed by a knife wielded by his own hand (but guided by Lucifer’s) is remarkably fitting. So long, dude. Don’t let eternity hit you on the way down.
Putting the Family Back Together – black-ish
FATALITY: Paul Johnson
STATUS: Dead
TWIST: None
Although the death of Bow’s father, Paul Johnson (Beau Bridges), a fairly peripheral character, that occurs off-screen may seem to be an odd thing to include here, it was an essential element to bringing Bow and Dre back from the brink of divorce. Whenever Paul appeared on the show, he was a clear-sighted, calm, and loving father to Bow, a rock of stability. His sudden death has her reaching out to Dre just as the two had begun to hit their stride as separate entities.
With his death as the catalyst, they are able to begin rebuilding their relationship with healthy truths. This rough patch was a hard arc to watch but the reconciliation was respectful of work it takes to keep a marriage (and a family) thriving.
Chase Gets Caught, Brother Gets No Love, Levon is Leavin’ – iZombie
THREE! Count ’em, THREE!
FATALITY: Levon
STATUS: Beheaded dead
TWIST: Not really unexpected. Liv’s boyfriends have a shelf life like Spinal Tap’s drummers.
Chase executes Levon for being a Renegade and planned on executing Liv next. However…
FATALITY: Chase
STATUS: Beheaded dead
TWIST: Major wanted to do it for Liv. Liv does it for herself, thanks very much.
Chase was a walking target from the moment he arrived. The fact that he and Liz hooked up last season notwithstanding, he was Jerk-In-Chief and his offing was pretty satisfying.
FATALITY: Brother Love
STATUS: Slaughtered with other rogue zombies by soldiers lying in wait
TWIST: The slaughter and the government’s subsequent ending of the brain supply pushed Major to forgive Blaine’s debts in exchange for some brain smuggling. Daddy Love’s death served a purpose in the end.
Happily Ever After – Once Upon A Time
FATALITY: Rumpelstiltskin (aka Weaver)
STATUS: Dead and extremely happy in the afterlife
TWIST: By sacrificing his own heart, he not only ended his life but destroyed his Wish Realm self who had planned to trap all the Storybrooke citizens in books with unhappy endings.
It’s interesting to note that the Rumpelstiltskin of folklore did NOT get a happy ending, stomping his way through the castle floor in a fit of rage. An ignoble ending, to be sure.
The redemption of the character in giving up his heart to save Wish Hook, thus cleansing it of darkness and going out a huge hero, was a beautiful tribute to a character who has proven his nobility over the scope of the series.
The Price Paid – Chicago P.D.
FATALITY: Alvin Olinsky
STATUS: Dead from blood loss after being stabbed in prison
TWIST: Al was wrongfully imprisoned for a murder committed by his friend and colleague, Voight.
It’s incredibly painful to see a well-loved character die and when that death is really to punish another character it becomes a true tragedy. Olinsky’s death becomes the catalyst that brings Voight and Woods’ conflict to a head and, eventually, to a conclusion.
Although an argument can be made that the “good guys” come out on top, the truth is that an innocent paid the price.
Alexander Pope and Aldrich – Counterpart
The doppelganger spy drama ended its first season with the proverbial exchange of queens.
FATALITY: Alexander Pope (Prime)
STATUS: Dead (assuming there is no Alpha to take his place)
TWIST: He was the mastermind behind Project Indigo so who steps up now?
FATALITY: Aldrich (Alpha)
STATUS: Dead (ditto on a Prime version)
TWIST: He laid the trap in order to kill both Howard Prime and Baldwin but gets ambushed by Baldwin instead.
These were both big players in this inter-dimensional spy game and probably had accepted a long time ago that they’d never get to retire in the conventional manner. Their deaths are only surprising in that they create some intense power vacuums in both worlds.
Just As the Visions Foretold – Timeless
FATALITY: Rufus Carlin
STATUS: Dead… but wait.
TWIST: He dies. They mourn. Then future Them arrive and say he’s save-able.
Time travel shows are so weird.
Yes, it’s cool that there are lots of loopholes through which you can save your recently dead awesome techie but there’s also a sense that death loses all its gravitas when you can just take a joyride back and bullet-block something that was freakin’ FORETOLD.
Sure, Jiya’s no gypsy woman but her visions are pretty spot-on. Anyhow, Rufus is cool people so we’ll take the win.
Served Cold – Gotham
FATALITY: Butch Gilzean (aka Cyrus Gold/Solomon Grundy)
STATUS: Dead (well, as dead as anyone in Gotham gets)
TWIST: After being brainwashed, decapitated, comatose, and resurrected (twice), the dude deserves a rest.
Gotham folks are super freaky about their revenge.
Poor Butch finally gets back into the swing of things only to end up on Hugo Strange’s table for “restoration” but when he’s all fixed up, Penguin shoots him to pay Tabitha back for killing his mother, what, TWO SEASONS AGO?
Vendetta, thy name is Cobblepot.
Sister Dear – Law and Order: SVU
FATALITY: Pamela Stone
STATUS: Dead
TWIST: Another case of dying because of “who you know” not “what you did”
Pamela Stone falls victim to her brother’s job when she is killed by cartel gunfire. The character, a troubled woman being treated for schizophrenia, appeared in multiple episodes this season for the sole purpose of giving Peter Stone a vulnerability. A cheap emotional ploy but effective nonetheless.
Ladies Bow Out – Empire
FATALITY: Tory Ash
STATUS: Dead
TWIST: She dies off-screen, in hospital. A hard way to send off a spectacular character.
Drawing some inspiration from the late Amy Winehouse, Tory’s death by grande mal seizure after a drug overdose (when she had just got clean) was meant to hit the audience (and Jamal) in a meaningful way and it did. She was a fabulous character and will be missed.
FATALITY: Anika Calhoun
STATUS: Super dead
TWIST: She’s poisoned with her celebratory drink, hallucinating ghosts and taking a deadly fall onto a glass table. A spectacular way to end a hard character.
Anika hadn’t developed any new tricks in the last few seasons, always working against the Lyons no matter who she had to ally with. There might be something one could say about shattering expectations here but I’m not sure I could do it justice.
Secrets to the Grave – The Blacklist
FATALITY: Tom Keen
STATUS: Dead
TWIST: Apparently, Liz sees and talks to his ghost.
Tom was a lot of things to a lot of people throughout The Blacklist and its spin-off The Blacklist: Redemption. His inclusion on this list even though he doesn’t actually die IN the finale is warranted since the major season reveal is made in Liz’s chat with his ghost at his grave.
Keen managed to come back from a lot of things in his life. But since our last sight of him is as a ghost, we can assume he’s well and truly gone now.
Plans for the Weekend – Blue Bloods
FATALITY: Monica Graham
STATUS: Dead
TWIST: No twist. Just sad.
The staging of Monica’s murder by an apparent drive-by was brilliant in its timing and tone.
She and Erin are sharing their plans for the weekend and Monica has just confessed that she’s going on a romantic getaway with her ex-husband.
The old spark is there. She’s giddy. She’s hopeful. And then she’s dead.
Erin’s shock is so believable because we’re right there with her.
Highway to the Phantom Zone – Krypton
FATALITY: Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather and MAIN character of the show
STATUS: Trapped in the Phantom Zone, lost to all known space and time
TWIST: Obviously, people do come back from the Phantom Zone.
In celebrating the fact that one of his plans actually worked, sucking Brainiac into the Phantom Zone portal, our intrepid hero, Seg-El, sort of forgot about Brainiac’s ability to sprout tentacles at will and gets dragged in as well.
Once the portal closes, Dru-Zod smashes the controls to prevent either of them ever coming back and the sigil on future Superman’s cape changes from that of the House of El to that of the House of Zod. Ominous.
The Only Good Guy – Scandal
FATALITY: David Rosen
STATUS: Really dead
TWIST: His was the very last death in a series with an incredibly high body count.
Despite the “white hats” Olivia Pope and Associates purported to sport, off and on, throughout the seven seasons, David was really the only consistent “good guy” on the team.
His moral compass often led him into conflict with Pope & Assoc. and his rare moments of exercising the “means to an end” philosophy cost him his true love.
He spoke truth to power and took pride in being no man’s b*tch but rather the b*tch of the United States of America.
In a dramatic coincidence, the only good guy was poisoned and suffocated by Cyrus Beene, seemingly the only baddie who hadn’t actually killed anyone himself.
