TV Meme: Day 30 - Saddest Character Death.

Warning: If you have not watched Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3 of 24, or Season 3 of LOST, and you intend to, DO NOT READ THIS POST.

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We reached it, people! Day 30--the final day of the TV Meme. And today we're discussing the saddest character death. Of the three choices I came up with, my actual answer is the second of the three. So let me explain the others first.

My first thought, of course, was Charlie Pace from LOST. Sure, his character started to get a bit annoying in Season 2, but then he begins redeeming himself in Season 3. And right when you start to love him? He dies. Sacrificing himself within the Looking Glass Station, Charlie saves Desmond by locking himself in a flooding room. Then comes the iconic moment when he places his hand on the glass with a note declaring "Not Pennys Boat," Desmond putting his hand to the other side. And then he dies. The full scene can be seen here:

The final one I came up with is one I'm surprised actually took me that long, considering it's the most recent one of the three I've seen. The death I'm talking about here is, of course, Ryan Chappelle from 24. Chappelle was a very hateable character. Almost not even in a love-to-hate him kinda way. You just disliked this guy. But then comes the moment when Jack is told that he needs to kill him. Ryan is immediately flustered, showing he's not the tough a-hole he appears to be on the outside. The majority of the episode is dedicated to them trying to find the terrorist, but they end up in the wrong location, and time runs out. Jack takes Ryan to the designated train yard. They have their final talk. Ryan tries to dignify it by killing himself, but he can't go through with it. Jack then takes the gun and does it himself. I have to say, this episode had amazing writing. To take a character you hate and, in less than an hour, make you care for him so much to where you're nearly in tears by the time he's dead... wow. But it's not the best one (or saddest), in my opinion.

The winner, if you haven't guessed it by now from the warning at the top of this post, is Joyce Summers in Season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Previously Joyce having thought she was over her brain tumor, it suddenly resurfaces and kills her. The episode begins as Buffy walks into the living room and sees her mother dead on the couch. The rest of the episode is how everybody deals with the death (which also leads in to Willow and Tara's first on-screen kiss). I think what helps the sadness in this episode is the fact that there is no music playing throughout the entire episode. It's just this uncomfortable stillness and silence. Most movies or TV shows always accompany their major death scenes with dramatic music. This episode shows you how to make a highly effective death scene without it. Here is a short video of clips from the episode set to "Mad World":



And that's my saddest character death.

Thanks to everybody who made it through this last 30 days with me! It's been fun (and challenging) to come up with answers for every day, with some days where I just felt too lazy to do it. But I did it anyway! Below is a list of all the days over the past month and my answers:


Day 01 - An Unfairly Canceled Show (Dead Like Me)
Day 02 - A Show Needing More Viewers (Greek)
Day 03 - Favorite New Show From This Past Season (Glee)
Day 04 - Favorite Show of All Time (Boy Meets World)
Day 05 - A Show I Hate (Dancing With The Stars)
Day 06 - Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show ("And Then There Was Shawn")
Day 07 - Least Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show ("On The Fence")
Day 08 - A Show Everyone Should Watch (Glee)
Day 09 - Best Scene Ever ("Bohemian Rhapsody" - Glee)
Day 10 - A Show I Thought I'd Hate But Ended Up Loving (Battlestar Galactica)
Day 11 - A Show That Disappointed Me (Leverage)
Day 12 - An Episode I’ve Watched More Than 5 Times ("Road to Rhode Island" - Family Guy)
Day 13 - Favorite Childhood Show (Power Rangers)
Day 14 - Favorite Male Character (Eric/Cappie/Lafayette/Spike/Dexter)
Day 15 - Favorite Female Character (Sue Sylvester)
Day 16 - My Guilty Pleasure Show (iCarly)
Day 17 - Favorite Mini-Series (Harper's Island)
Day 18 - Favorite Title Sequence (Jack of all Trades)
Day 19 - Best TV Show Cast (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Day 20 - Favorite Kiss (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Day 21 - Favorite Relationship (from Gilmore Girls)
Day 22 - Favorite Series Finale (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Day 23 - Most Annoying Character (from Dexter)
Day 24 - Best Quote (from Greek)
Day 25 - A Show I Plan on Re-Watching (Dexter)
Day 26 - Biggest Season Finale Shocker (from Dexter)
Day 27 - Best Pilot Episode (Glee)
Day 28 - First Show Obsession (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Day 29 - Current Show Obsession (True Blood)
Day 30 - Saddest Character Death (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed it!