Wash's, in "Serenity". It was just so unexpected and abrupt, and it served to generate a sense of unease in the viewer; after Wash's death, no character seemed to be protected by plot armor. Granted, Shepherd Book bit it before Wash did, but the movie seemed to set him up to be separate from the rest of the crew. I loved that Whedon played with this concept of fragility in the ensuing battle, with Kaylee getting darted, Zoe getting sliced up, and Simon getting shot. And then, Mal's battle with the agent... I thought the misdirect was masterfully done.

I've been affected by character deaths before and since, but Wash's death was the only death I've seen in media that has made me worry for the safety of the other characters. It made a lot of sense outside of the movie, too, as "Serenity" was more or less a tribute to some IP that was never going to get resurrected. While watching the movie for the first time, I was left thinking: "what if Whedon just said 'fuck it'?"

I probably haven't seen The Neverending Story in 25 years, but I still think about Artax from time to time. Fuckin' Swamp of Sadness…

Companion cube

First time I saw Wash die in firefly was brutal.

More recently, after watching better call Saul I am heartbroken over Mike's death. Particularly for Stacey and Kaylee.

"Dogmeat has died".

Oh no he fucking has not. Reload.

Mordin Solus from Mass Effect.

"Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong"

Robin Williams as the Bicentennial Man. The movie was okay; his performance was amazing. I've struggled with mortality for a while, like I expect a lot of people do, and to see him as a character who started their existence immortal, and to choose mortality. His death in the movie hit me much, much harder than I expected. I haven't watched the movie again since my first viewing because I'm honestly afraid of going through that again.

Aerith. Do I need to say more?

Joyce Summers. That episode of Buffy was a masterpiece.

Artax from The Neverending Story

Mufasa would be the most popular answer for us oldies.

Jesus, because no one ever shuts up about it

Cowboy Bebop spoilers

Sirius Black in Harry Potter. I had to go back and reread the paragraph several times, then put the book down. Seemed just so unfair.

Bambi's mother.

Runner-ups:

• Carl's wife from Up
• The mother in Violet Evergarden
• Ghost and Roach from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Hazel from Watership Down.

NOT a children's movie, mum!

Maes Hughes

Made me cry:

Gotta be Schindler's List. That movie was so goddamn sad, and I just started sobbing when I saw that splash of red color. You know when. Ooof. A masterpiece I will never watch again.

For a more recent example, I watched the second season of Arcane. Lots of sad scenes, but anyone else who has watched it knows the most heart-wrenching one:

Left me disturbed:

Another Spielberg movie, Saving Private Ryan. Didn't cry when the Nazi soldier sloooooowly stabbed Mellish to death. But afterwards, I had nightmares about it for months. Cripes, what a brutal death scene.

It’s been 25 years since I first read it and I’m still not ok with the fact that Old Dan and Little Ann didn’t make it.

Big dan and little anne from where the red fern grows. Fucked me up at like age 10

Dumbledore

Arthur Morgan's death scene in RDR2 really got to me. But perhaps even more so, when my horse was killed right before. I remember pausing the game for a moment because I had had that horse for so long and somehow it felt like a major deal that happened so quickly.

Never had a game affect me like that before.

This is all spoilers, spoiler tagging doesn't really work so proceed with caution

Several from the Misborn series really hurt. I think Vin's death most affected me, but Kelsier was a hard one to swallow as well.

I think the biggest impact though is probably from Swan Song? Sister Creep hit me so hard. I read the book young and I'd never read anything so bittersweet and hopeful but so painful. It really stamped some new emotions in me I think.

Or, gosh, almost anyone in Bly Manor, but especially Dani.

The second death of Jake Chambers in Stephen King’s ”The Dark Tower” comes quite quickly to mind…

Breaking bad spoilers

Hedwig and Fred Weasley

Bloodwing

BT in titanfall 2, one of the only scenes that made my shed a tear

John Marston. There are a lot of character deaths that really hit me hard. Hank from Breaking Bad comes to mind.

But man, John's death just hits so deeply. I played RDR a good 4 or so years after its release, so I knew it was coming. Even then, it barely felt real. And you better believe I was frantically trying to mark all those Pinkertons to help John get through it.

Charlie from all dogs go to heaven.

Marley from Marley and Me

A lot of people hate on Sword Art Online, but in the second season...

The dragon from Dragonheart. It was my first time being sad from a movie.

The Tali/Legion decision is brutal if you made mistakes in ME2 and 3.

Carter from Person of Interest.

Charlie in Lost sticks with me

And for my Stormlight fans >!Teft's death still hurts. He had grown so much...😭!<

I started reading Dragonlance novels around 10 years old. When I got my hands on the third main one (IIRC), one of the main characters who's a knight died and that impacted me for quite some time.

Artax

Optimus Prime was a real shock for sure. For me it’s any animal death.

• Artax from The Neverending Story
• The dogs from Where the Red Fern Grows
• There’s a scene in the Sci-fi novel Armor where a puppy falls in a well and its owner, a child, unable to rescue it ,has to kill it by dropping stones on it to spare it drowning. I read that a long time ago, probably in the 80s, and it still haunts me.

Captain Kirk - of course

SPOILERS, dude.

I still think about Aeries/Arith from FF7. Such a senseless death. It makes no sense. Literally was done just to elicit a response from the player. This segment alone is why I am upset that the second game in the Rebirth series isn't on PC; I really want to know if that scene is going to be altered due to the weird storyline branches that come from the time-travel/alternate reality shenanigans that so far as I've seen from the first game, only Arith knows about.

The only other one I really think about randomly is your own character in Fallout 3. Fuck you Fawkes! I don't believe in fate. Now get your green ass in there so nobody has to die!

Chewbacca

The last one i remember is the Going Merry from One Piece

I've kept this vague, but still, SPOILERS ahead for The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie. SPOILERS. I'll see if I can get the damn spoiler tag working, but SPOILERS.

EDIT: No dice, I can't seem to get the spoiler tag working on Interstellar.

Cyberpunk 2077 spoiler:

Richard Harrow in Boardwalk Empire. The episode was amazing and the send-off was beautifully written but, boy, was it sad.

Kanan from Star Wars Rebels.

Life is strange - Kate's Suicide

I honestly think you got robbed if you managed to save her on your first play through

Grave of fireflies. Just... Yeah.

Nagisa Furukawa. Messed me right up.

Jiraiya from Naruto Shippuden. Felt like my own family member passed when they killed him off.

Edit: Also, Sergeant Johnson in Halo 3.

Rita Morgan.

That episode was NOT OK.

I was not ok for about a week.

The 10th Doctor.

I don't want to go...

Lot’s wife from the Bible. They did my girl wrong.

Rob and Catelyn Stark in the Red Wedding. So traumatizing!

Not my most, but also not already in the thread:

Duella's in BSG.

I really resonated with the character and how everything is others peoples fault and he rarely bothered to sort his own life out. Feels just like me! 😆 So their death in this film really struck a chord with me and I was in floods of tears.

Dexter: when his wife gets killed and they pan over to that shot of her in the bathtub i literally threw my mouse against the wall.

Rose from Please Like Me. Probably partly because my mum also has bipolar.

Turns out that he didn't die after all so none.

I'm watching Outlander for the first time, just finished the first season and I can't fucking wait for Jonathan Randall to die (if he does). I haven't hated a character this much since Joffrey in GoT, and I feel even he wasn't as bad as Jonathan Randall. Tobias Menzies is seriously great at playing psychotic, disgusting and pathetic characters.

Terminator 2, when Arnold goes down in the magma

Tinkerbell and all of her friends dying in Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast.

If you know, you know. If you don't, it's an 'unconventional' explanation.

As a kid the biggest one I can remember was Wolf, from the book The Talisman (King/Straub). Hurts to this day.

Marley and Me

ok so this is a spoiler for the movie enemy mine and supernatural but its when

Ka'Dargo in "Farscape Peacekeeper War". They were on their way for Moya to pick them up. The worst of the fighting was over and BAM.

At least he went out as a warrior.

Poussey Washington hurt.

............. which time? he's died in like, 3 of them now

The Land Before Time - Littlefoot’s mother

The character who died in Sea of Stars made me and my kid cry. Not saying more.

Ofelia

Dors Venabili

Kamina and Yang Wen-li

The protagonist in Farewell My Concubine. And then again when he suicided in real life

I think, due to lack of diagnosis and medication, plus age - I was barely double digits - Aeris/Aerith in FF7.

I had no spoilers. And it wasn't so much the death itself, it was the fact that I had fucking FARMED shit for her. She's healer coded? I already had a history with RPGs, and healers are worth their weight in gold.

I think all that time and effort invested really solidified it.

Also, I had phoenix downs. WTF?

Oh boy, I've cried a lot for Guido from La vita è bella, Setsuko+Seita from Hotaru no Haka, Chrono from Chrono Trigger, Ace from One Piece and after a time I just started thinking and talking with some friends or my sister about those movies/game/series.

Maggie from Million Dollar Baby. I wept for a while after that. Still can't watch it without weeping.

Bridge to Terabithia

!Leslie!<

Saetan SaDiablo & Jaenelle Angelline from The Black Jewels Series. They both had me ugly crying in front of people.

Richard Gere in Hachi.

Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

It’s a constant stream but most recently it was Swindler from Akudama Drive because she didn’t deserve anything that happened to her.

Lessons in Chemistry.

Athelstan from Vikings.

Alzire Maheu in Germinal. Thinking on it now maybe that's one of the reasons I'm pro union

Just like Jesus, He didn't even really die. He went away for a few days and on the third day he rose again so that all may follow him and enjoy everlasting life.

John Cofey in The Green Mile.

When they killed Yoda in Episode II.

Mrs. Madrigal, Tales Of The City

!Sayori in Doki Doki Literature Club!<. Hot Dam did that hit like a brick wall

Storm light archive has a tough one.

In a totally different vein, Grey's anatomy has the worst one

Recency bias, but John Grady Cole

In Omori ::: spoiler Title Mari's death and how it happened - I still feel pressure on my chest whenever I think about it. Since a missclick lead me accidentally to the alternative ending at first, it was even worse... :::