Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster as we dive into the most heart-wrenching moments in television history. From unexpected deaths to gut-wrenching goodbyes, these scenes will have you reaching for the tissues and remembering why these shows touched our hearts so deeply.
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00:00Welcome to MissMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most devastating TV
00:09scenes we still haven't gotten over.
00:11Fair warning, this list is riddled with spoilers.
00:1620.
00:18Paul's Death – 8 Simple Rules
00:28A character's death can be a really hard plot development to get right.
00:31The makers of 8 Simple Rules didn't really have a choice.
00:34When original star John Ritter passed away in the middle of the sitcom's second season,
00:38his character, columnist Paul Hennessy, followed suit.
00:42His wife, played by Katie Seagal, received the news that changes their lives forever.
00:55The show's subsequent handling of Paul's death became a tragic mirror for what his
00:59on-screen family and fans were feeling in the aftermath of Ritter's passing.
01:03The family's usual laugh-a-minute jokes are replaced by a somber tone and constant reminders
01:09of Paul's absence.
01:1519.
01:27Sarah Lynn's Death – BoJack Horseman In an alternate version of Hollywood filled
01:31with humans and anthropomorphized animals, washed-up former TV star BoJack Horseman is
01:36constantly screwing up.
01:37One of his lowest points is when he goes on a bender with former Child star Sarah Lynn.
01:56The two end up at Griffith Observatory, where Sarah passes away tragically as a result of
02:01their hard partying.
02:02The screen goes black, with BoJack helplessly repeating her name to no avail.
02:06Just yet another reminder that this show, animated though it may be, does not play around
02:11when it comes to sensitive subjects and real-life tragedy.
02:1718.
02:21Fleabag Leaves – Fleabag Wait, did we just get broken up with?
02:25Bittersweet is the word here.
02:27Yes, Fleabag will probably get over her agonizing, all-encompassing crush on the priest, but
02:32more importantly, she's gotten over us.
02:45Fleabag has spent two seasons using the camera as her personal confessional, where she spills
02:49some vulnerable secrets but is always stepping out of her own life.
02:53The moment the series ends, there's a sense that she's finally learned to stay present
02:57in her own life.
02:58To do it, she has to say goodbye to us.
03:00It's a pitch-perfect ending to a show that always surprised us.
03:1117.
03:18If I Die Young – Glee The quarterback will go down in history as
03:22one of the single saddest episodes of television ever produced.
03:25Glee star Cory Monteith's premature death was truly shocking.
03:29This Season 5 episode dedicated to his character, football player Finn Hudson, is a wall-to-wall
03:34tearjerker.
03:51Most shockingly painful is the moment when cheerleader Santana Lopez sings the band Perry's
03:57If I Die Young to pay tribute to Monteith's character.
04:17Actress Naya Rivera's chill-inducing cover ends with the performer in tears.
04:21Many fans find it even more heartbreaking in retrospect, as Rivera would pass away
04:26just a few years later.
04:4516.
04:46Poussey's Death – Orange Is the New Black Near the end of Season 4, a group of guards
04:50disrupt a peaceful protest in the cafeteria, and things take a turn for the deadly.
04:54Poussey Washington, a beloved inmate, is subdued and ultimately suffocated to death
04:59in a show of excessive force.
05:02Her death is a chilling reflection of real-world brutality.
05:06Watching her friend's reaction to losing her, and the inevitable havoc it brings to the
05:10prison, closes out the fourth season in an uncharacteristically bleak way.
05:14The denizens of Litchfield Penitentiary could sometimes fool us into thinking, things aren't
05:19so bad inside.
05:20Unfortunately, Poussey's fate is an example of just how desperate their circumstances
05:24can get.
05:2715.
05:29Denny's Death – Grey's Anatomy Every single storyline of the barn-burning
05:45second season of the Shonda Rhimes medical drama comes to a head in its harrowing season
05:51Love is alive at Seattle Grace Hospital, while it hosts an impromptu senior prom for Dr.
05:56Webber's ill niece.
05:57Amid all the tinsel and magic, the love story between Dr. Izzy Stevens and heart transplant
06:02recipient Denny Duquette comes to an abrupt end.
06:05The scene where her fellow doctors find Izzy lying in the deceased patient's arms is overwhelming
06:28to say the least.
06:29Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars fades in on the soundtrack, and Alex Karev carries the weeping
06:35Izzy away in his arms.
06:36It became a defining moment of the show.
06:4514.
06:53Hodor's Fate – Game of Thrones He was a man of few words.
06:57However, the reason for his one word becomes so painfully clear in the season 6 episode
07:03aptly named The Door.
07:05This whole time, Hodor was actually saying,
07:07Hold the door.
07:08We learn that Bran Stark's disruption of time and space traumatized the young Hodor, giving
07:13him an image of his death.
07:25The consequences of this come to pass in The Door.
07:28Hodor's name takes on a deeply disturbing meaning as he holds the door to the hideout
07:32closed while White Walkers invade.
07:44The Red Wedding gets an honorable mention for the shock factor, but Hodor's loyalty
07:49earns Game of Thrones a spot on this list.
07:5213.
07:53Mr. Feeney's Goodbye – Boy Meets World For years, teacher George Feeney was watched
07:57with equal parts irritation and amusement as Corey and Eric Matthews and their friends
08:01have gotten into one adolescent's mess after another.
08:04In the series finale, his students enter adulthood, and their time together finally comes to an
08:09end.
08:11doing good.
08:33The moment brings out a lot of uncharacteristic sentiment from the veteran teacher.
08:38He manages to withstand their hugs and tears.
08:40Of course, he waits until they're out of the room to tell them he loves them.
08:44He is a professional until the end.
08:5112.
08:57Finn's Funeral – Scrubs Don't let the comedy fool you.
09:08When Scrubs really dug into the hospital setting, it could be as sad as any medical drama.
09:13When Dr. Cox loses it, it's kind of like watching your dad cry.
09:17One fan-favorite episode that sees him lose three transplant patients was rough.
09:37But in this legendary Season 3 episode, the usually stoic Dr. Cox is concerned with his
09:43beloved brother-in-law Ben's chronic illness.
09:45However, in the last scene, we realize Cox's conversations with Ben have been imaginary,
09:51and he's actually at his funeral.
09:53Ben passed away during the events of the episode.
10:0411.
10:12My Baby's Gone – The Golden Girls
10:14The most heartbreaking moments are usually the ones when characters we think of as strong
10:18are overcome with emotion.
10:20Sophia Petrillo doesn't show her emotions very often, but she adores her children.
10:24One of the wisecracking Sicilian Mothers Running jokes involved comments on her unseen son
10:30Phil's love of dressing in traditionally feminine clothing.
10:34But when Phil dies offscreen in Season 6, she's forced to confront her confusion about
10:49his love of cross-dressing.
10:50She directs her pain towards Phil's widow before ultimately breaking down, and finally
10:54allowing herself to grieve.
11:03For a character who wasn't seen, Phil's death was a true tear-jerker.
11:0610.
11:07Chidi Exits – The Good Place
11:09This afterlife sitcom managed to find new ways to reinvent itself as its characters
11:26achieved new levels of higher consciousness.
11:29But they're still human, after all.
11:31The characters must prove themselves ready to end their time in the universe one by one,
11:35but the hardest transition occurs when Chidi and Eleanor spend their last night together.
11:58He's struggled for so long with indecision.
12:00To see him make the ultimate choice with confidence and certainty is a beautiful thing.
12:05The complete serenity of the moment makes it all the more affecting.
12:28Eleanor makes her peace with Chidi's leaving, but we are not okay.
12:329.
12:33Michael Scott's Last Day – The Office
12:35According to a lot of fans, Dunder Mifflin should have shuttered for good when its longstanding,
12:40lovably awkward regional manager left in Season 7.
12:56Michael Scott started out as the kind of boss that you love to hate.
13:00By the time he leaves for Colorado with his new wife, he's endeared himself to everyone
13:04in the office, including receptionist Pam Halpert.
13:07Missing his goodbye at work, Pam chases him down at the airport.
13:11The two share a very personal goodbye.
13:13In fact, it's one of the show's few truly private conversations.
13:31Many viewers and critics wondered why the episode wasn't the series finale.
13:35Considering how appropriate a send-off it is, it's a valid question.
13:398.
13:40Buffy's Mom Dies – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
13:43Watching Buffy Summers come home to find her mother's body is a scene that would be horrifying
13:47in any context.
14:05Buffy's discovery of her death and her attempts to save her play out in real time.
14:09In seconds, the mighty slayer is reduced to a scared child.
14:12Her conversation with the 911 operator is chilling.
14:33Buffy realizes there's nothing anyone can do to make this better.
14:36The entire episode is designed to throw us off kilter.
14:48With all the undead creatures, portal openings, and freak accidents that populate the Buffyverse,
14:53a death by natural causes almost feels supernatural in itself.
14:577.
14:58Henry Blake's Death – M.A.S.H.
15:00Although M.A.S.H. had serious moments in its early days, it tackled more and more dramatic
15:05subject matter as it progressed.
15:07One example is when co-lead McClane Stevenson left the show in Season 3.
15:23His character, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake, has been discharged and is on his way home
15:28when the surgeons receive the news that his helicopter was shot down by the enemy.
15:32They take a moment to digest the information before going back to the surgery they're performing.
15:36It's a sobering moment that left millions of viewers shocked.
15:47Yes, it's a war show, but this moment really brought home just how much was at stake for
16:05the characters.
16:066.
16:07Final Montage – Six Feet Under
16:09HBO's celebrated drama about the Fishers, a family who owns and operates a
16:18funeral home, is a show that's predictably preoccupied with death.
16:21But even after five seasons of characters dying, the final moments of the series is
16:25an awe-inspiring montage of the major characters' future demise.
16:29As Claire Fisher drives off to her new life in New York, we are shown each member of the
16:33family at the moment of their death.
16:48Like the series, their deaths are not as tragic as they are contemplative and inevitable,
16:53but that doesn't make them any less painful.
16:55These final glimpses into the future are breathtaking in their scope and power, cementing the show
17:00as an all-time classic.
17:055.
17:08Will's Dad Leaves Again – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
17:12Will Smith's leading character was a generally goofy, fun-loving teenager.
17:16When his absent father came back into his life, Will's aunt and uncle were skeptical
17:19about his commitment, and they had every right to be.
17:22When Will's dad once again breezes out of his life, it's the final straw.
17:32Left alone with Uncle Phil, Will tries to hide his hurt with humor and rage.
17:43In the end, all he can do is weep over the father who doesn't want him.
17:58The scene is so powerful that it renders the studio audience pin-drop silent.
18:22The episode doesn't give us a chance to breathe, foregoing the standard blooper reel
18:26at the end of many episodes.
18:284.
18:29Marshall's Dad Dies – How I Met Your Mother
18:32A TV death that comes out of nowhere can turn fans against a show.
18:36But when it's done properly, a character's sudden death can mirror real life.
18:40Marshall and Lily are struggling to conceive a child.
18:54Later in the same episode, Marshall receives good news from the fertility specialist, only
18:58for Lily to arrive and tell him his father suffered a fatal heart attack.
19:20The episode ends as the two sob in each other's arms.
19:23To ensure a genuinely shocked reaction, this twist ending was kept from actor Jason Segel
19:28until the cameras were rolling.
19:313.
19:32Bill & Frank's Last Days – The Last of Us
19:37In a largely standalone episode of the post-apocalyptic HBO series, a survivalist named Bill is found
19:43by a traveler, Frank.
19:44Over time, the two fall in love and live out their days in relative happiness, despite
19:48all of the zombies.
20:05Frank experiences a deteriorating quality of life due to a degenerative disease, and
20:10Bill, unwilling to go on without the man he loves, arranges for their deaths.
20:32They spend a last day together, one final meal, and go to bed together one final time.
20:37Their final moments are the climax to an unbearably moving hour of TV.
20:422.
20:43Mr. Hooper's Death – Sesame Street
20:45Since 1969, the citizens of Sesame Street have been teaching kids how to be citizens
20:50of the world.
20:51Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch existed alongside human characters like Mr. Hooper, the generous
20:56owner of the general store.
20:58But when performer Will Lee passed away in 1982, Sesame Street decided to use the moment
21:03as a very real lesson on the death of a loved one.
21:18As informative as it is heartbreaking, the scene where the human characters explain Mr.
21:22Hooper's death to Big Bird may have been the first time many children learned about death.
21:28Big Bird's childlike naivete is just as hard to watch decades later.
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21:591.
22:01The Fate of Seymour – Futurama
22:03This animated sitcom follows Fry, a 20th century pizza delivery boy who is frozen in time and
22:08awakes a thousand years in the future.
22:11He finds the fossilized remains of his dog Seymour in a museum and plans to revive him
22:16using DNA cloning.
22:17Fry abandons the plan, thinking Seymour probably forgot about him.
22:21But in the most cursed, traumatizing and tear-inducing flashback in the history of TV, we learn that
22:28isn't the case.
22:41Seymour obeyed Fry's last command to stay and wait for him to come back until the end
22:46of his life.
22:47Now imagine how happy he would have been to wake up and see Fry after all that time.
22:51Weeping over Seymour is the one thing that can unify a broken world.
23:11Did our list give you all the feels?
23:13Tell us in the comments!
23:27Do you agree with our picks?
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