Saddest TV Deaths Of 2020

With this year being such a colossal clusterfrak, we found ourselves clinging to our favorite characters like never before. So when many of those beloved touchstones were violently ripped away from us, we, well, let's just say we did not take it well. After reviewing the tsunami of obituaries that 2020 left in its wake, we're paying special tribute to the 20 TV character deaths that hit us especially hard the past 12 months.

LAGERTHA, VIKINGS

We wanted to believe that the shield maiden turned mighty queen would defy fate and be with us until the History series' very end. And true to the formidable reputation she honed over the years, Lagertha did, and rather brilliantly, emerge victorious in what would be her final battle, against White Hair. So for her to instead be accidentally slain, that night, by a hallucinating Hvitserk.... Well, the storytelling gods be crazy.

Date of Death: Jan. 8, 2020 

E.B. JONATHAN, PERRY MASON 

John Lithgow was just terrific as Perry's lovably grumpy mentor, so it hit extra hard when a weary E.B., facing financial and professional ruin, took his own life by leaving the gas oven on and breathing in the fumes. His death may have opened the door for Perry to become a full-time attorney, but we'll still miss the old guy.      

Date of Death: July 14, 2020 

HENRY, DC'S STARGIRL

Henry King Jr. endured quite the roller coaster of emotions after discovering that his father was a super villain and that he himself might possess telekinetic powers. But in the end, it was the side of good on which he fought, helping Stargirl, Wild Cat et al escape the JSA's underground lair — though doing so meant landing on his own father's bad side, and being telekinetically crushed to death. But not before offered ex Yolanda one last apology for their stormy past.

Date of Death: July 20, 2020 

CASTIEL, SUPERNATURAL 

The Winchesters and Jack lost a member of their family when Cas let The Empty consume him in order to save Dean from Death. The loss was a significant and heartbreaking one, especially when you consider that the heroic sacrifice came immediately after the angel found true happiness. 

Date of Death: November 5, 2020 

DEAN WINCHESTER, SUPERNATURAL 

The hunter's reaction to being impaled on a piece of metal by a vamp only halfway through the series ender perfectly summed up his unexpected death: "I did not think this would be the day." Watching Dean have his life tragically cut short after finally besting God was painful — but what really did us in was his moving and tear-filled goodbye with his brother Sam.  

Date of Death: November 19, 2020 

BECCA, THE BOYS 

Becca's devastating death was a powerful reminder of what a mother's love means: Even after her own son Ryan accidentally wounded her with his powers, a dying Becca used her final words to defend the good in the young boy. And as much as we felt for Becca in her last moments, our hearts also broke for her husband Butcher, who lost the only remaining link to his humanity. 

Date of Death: October 9, 2020 

MIKE, GENERAL HOSPITAL 

We knew that the end was near for Sonny's Alzheimer's-afflicted father. But that in no way diminished the magnitude of feeling that resulted from the closure he and his son were able afford one another in his last days. Nor did it lessen the tug at our hearts when Mike's late daughter, Courtney, materialized to usher him into the light. 

Date of Death: September 17, 2020 

PRUITT, STATION 19 

He died the way he had lived: as a hero. Knowing that his number would soon be up, anyway, Station 19's cancer-stricken former captain took on a suicide mission to save from a burning building not only the squad that he loved like family but also his actual daughter, Andy. And no, those aren't tears in our eyes, that's... um... smoke. 

Date of Death: April 9, 2020

MARY, THE WALKING DEAD 

Having seen the error of her ways and foresworn Alpha and the Whisperers, the erstwhile Gamma appeared to be on the verge of a new beginning as Adam's doting auntie when... d'oh! Beta sucker-stabbed the traitor in hopes of adding her to his horde of "guardians." At least Alden's skill as an archer was able to spare her from that fate worse than death.   

Date of Death: March 15, 2020 

BISHOP, GREENLEAF 

The OWN drama ripped our hearts out right along with Lady Mae's in the series' penultimate episode. Off her former husband's very public confession of his sins, she announced that she was ready to move up their remarriage date... only to discover that he'd had a stroke. Before slipping away, though, he managed to scrawl two words that made his intentions clear — and, in the process, utterly wrecked us: "I do." 

Date of Death: August 4, 2020 

BEN, OZARK

Netflix's rural thriller is overstuffed with deplorable characters, which is why the death of Ben — one of the show's few decent humans — felt especially cruel. And the fact that it was his obnoxious, power-hungry sister Wendy who ordered the hit only added insult to injury. We're grateful the show cushioned the blow somewhat by skipping past Ben's death scene and going straight to the crematorium (pictured).

Date of Death: March 27, 2020

MAX, HOMELAND 

Considering it was the Showtime drama's final season, we knew there was no escaping at least one significant casualty. But, dammit, did it have to be Max?! Watching Carrie's beloved tech guru — who had been a fixture since the pilot — get kidnapped, tortured and ultimately executed, was pure hell.   
 
Date of Death: March 29, 2020

MURTAGH, OUTLANDER 

The Murtagh Fitzgibbons of Starz's historical drama had been living on borrowed time for a while (the character died at the Battle of Culloden in Diana Gabaldon's books), but still: watching Jamie's godfather succumb to a bullet — from one of Jamie's own men! — at the Battle of Alamance was like taking a sgian-dubh to the heart. 

Date of Death: March 29, 2020

READE, BLINDSPOT

We knew at least one FBI agent would likely perish in that drone strike explosion, but we still weren't ready to say goodbye to Reade, who had been a constant on the NBC drama since the pilot. His goodbye to love interest Zapata — with whom he'd just rekindled a romance — was gut-wrenching, as was Reade's decision to sacrifice himself for Zapata so she could escape the falling debris.

Date of Death: May 7, 2020

BONNIE, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER

No one endured more trauma during Murder's six-season run than Bonnie Winterbottom, which made her untimely death in the drama's series finale even more depressing. Bonnie had overcome incredible pain, and she had a promising future as a lawyer... all of which got cut short when she was shot (while trying to help Frank, no less!).

Date of Death: May 14, 2020

KENNY, KILLING EVE

The BBC America drama has never been afraid to kill off beloved characters; no, we are still not over Bill's Season 1 death, thank you for asking. But our heartbreak reached new heights — quite literally — when Carolyn's son, Kenny, fell to his death from a building rooftop in the Season 3 premiere. Even worse, Kenny and Carolyn's final conversation was an argument, and it was devastating to watch as Carolyn mourned the son with whom she'd never get full closure. 

Date of Death: April 12, 2020

BEN, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

We're bending the rules a bit with this one, seeing as Ben was technically already dead. But after hanging around for years as a ghost only Klaus could see, Ben sacrificed himself to save Vanya (and the world), crossing over into the afterlife for good. "Can you hug me as I go? It's been a long time," Ben asked Vanya before departing — and as Ben broke into a million pieces, so did we.

Date of Death: July 31, 2020

JUSTIN, 13 REASONS WHY 

Justin Foley's initial AIDS diagnosis in the Netflix drama's series finale was a gut punch to viewers who spent four seasons rooting for the perennial underdog, and Brandon Flynn's haunting performance in his character's devastating final scene felt far too real for comfort. We never expected that a line like "Will you hold my hand, bro?" could make us ugly cry, but 13 Reasons Why is nothing if not full of surprises.

Date of Death: June 5, 2020

BELLAMY, THE 100

This one hurt for a few reasons. Not only were we crushed to lose one of the few characters that had been with the show since Day 1, but because of the circumstances surrounding Bellamy's death — including that his pivot from hero to villain was sudden enough to induce whiplash — this shocking tragedy felt even more senseless. Never mind the fact that it was Clarke who pulled the trigger.

Date of Death: August 5, 2020

DIYOZA, THE 100

The world of The 100 is full of martyrs, but there's something about watching a mother sacrifice her life to save one of her children that always hits harder. Such was the case with Charmaine Diyoza, a reformed terrorist with a heart of gold, when she gave up her life so that Hope and her friends might escape Bardo. Actress Ivana Milicevic spent the better part of The CW drama's final season crafting a complicated, authentic relationship with her newly introduced adult daughter, making their goodbye all the more painful to watch.

Date of Death: September 9, 2020