Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share Which Fictional Character's Death They Can't Get Over

People Share Which Fictional Character's Death They Can't Get Over
Michael Marais on Unsplash

I swear there are some fictional deaths I've sobbed over more than ones in real life.

And I know I'm not alone in that.

I'm an avid soap opera fan and there are deaths that have left me bereft and triggered.

There is just something about the connection we make to great characters and stories that leave an impression for life.

We're finding these characters in the greatest and worst moments of their lives and we bond.

It's intimate, we see ourselves in them.

So when they die, it becomes a wound that never heals. Because it's a story we can't change.


Redditor rendice_1011wanted to have a deep chat and discuss fiction's most heartbreaking endings by asking:

"Who is that one character whose death you just can't get over?"

This goes all the way back to Bambi's mom.

Way to screw us for life Disney.

They're gifted at that.

On the Water

"Wilson from Cast Away. I know it's not really a death but Chuck having to choose between his raft (and his own safety) and saving Wilson traumatized me as a kid." ~ GirlWhoReads90

Giphy

"Ben"

"Ben from Scrubs holds the world record for the quickest-set sympathy for any character ever." ~ NerdismOfficial

"It’s because Brandon Fraser is quite possibly the most lovable person on earth and an incredible actor." ~ brandee95

"This is an episode I wish I could go back and see for the first time again. Everything up to that moment… the same picture at each of his tourist spots… the wanting a posed picture when he was so against them… everything about that episode was perfect." ~ brain89

Made of Steel

"Shelby in Steel Magnolias. I will forever be a mess no matter how many times I watch. Sally Fields did such an amazing job in that scene, it gets me every time." ~ Sylverpsyche

"This was my favorite need a good cry movie (the funeral scene kills me) and I haven't watched it since my baby sister was diagnosed with Type 1 at age 9. I just can't do it." ~ szg5057

Can't Watch

"Piggy from Lord of the Flies. He didn’t deserve that." ~ RehabValedictorian

"When I read that in HS, we watched the movie after. My teacher replayed the scene like 10 times because he thought the effects made it hilarious." ~ Much_Improvement_987

Baby Tears

"The Iron Giant, no matter how many times I watch it even though I know he actually survived I bawl like a baby at Superman..." ~ Singewulf

Giphy

Cast Away and Steel Magnolias?

Don't get me started.

Not without vodka.

Down

"The wife from UP." ~ smorgasfjord

"I sobbed through the first fifteen minutes of that movie, wept quietly through the next 80, and then sobbed again at the end. Pixar will f**k you up." ~ billionairespicerice

disney love GIFGiphy

Poor Mouse

"The freaking mouse from Flowers For Algernon." ~ Aware_Style_7445

"What got me was the ending. The guy slowly losing cognitive functions, yet not regaining his previous naiveness."

"He knows now that everyone uses him and laughs at him. I'm never reading that book again." ~ lumiere02

Brutal

"Old Dan and Little Ann. I was a sick, snot covered mess of a sixth grader on my first read through of Where the Red Fern Grows." ~ fadedblossom

"I recently picked up a copy of Where the Red Fern Grows from a little free library and reread it. I remembered the broad strokes of the story and that the dogs die, but not all the details."

"I am in my forties. I was a sick, snot covered mess of a human when I finished it. The end of that book is brutal." ~ Glaggies

Bye Mom

"Littlefoot's mom. 5 year old me was all choked up at the theater." ~ Taladrac

"Wanna know something even more f**ked up? She didn't need to die to continue the plot."

"She could have just been separated like Littlefoot's grandparents and everything in the film could have happened the exact same. They killed Littlefoot's mom to traumatize an entire generation." ~ ubertraquer

The Original

"Charlotte, in the original version of Charlotte's Web." ~ MasakoChance

"Damn you, I buried that memory long ago." ~ Cosmic_Prisoner

Spider Web Halloween GIFGiphy

Charlotte... another OG death.

This list makes me sad.

But what great writing and storytelling.


Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Melissa Calhoun
WKMG News 6 ClickOrlando/YouTube

Community Outraged After Florida Teacher Loses Job For Calling Student By Preferred Name

A Florida community is outraged after a veteran high school teacher was fired for calling a student by their preferred name rather than their legal name.

Melissa Calhoun had worked at Brevard County arts magnet school Satellite High School since 2019 and in the district for 12 years, but has been told her contract will not be renewed after the student's parent complained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Todd Lyons
Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston/Getty Images

ICE Director Says He Wants To Run Deportations Like Amazon Prime, 'But With Human Beings'

While his boss at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, came hot off the heels of cosplaying again and demonstrating how not to hold a gun, the acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was modeling their human rights violations after online shopping.

Republican President Donald Trump's unconfirmed—nor congressionally vetted—acting Director of ICE, Todd Lyons, shared his dreams for the agency during the 2025 Border Security Expo, where private companies explored opportunities to profit from Trump’s mass deportations and rub elbows with Noem and Lyons.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Vanessa Horabuena painting her Donald Trump portrait

Resurfaced Video Of MAGA Christian 'Worship Artist' Painting Portrait Of Trump Is Giving Major Cult Vibes

People are cringing after a video of MAGA artist Vanessa Horabuena speed-painting a portrait of President Donald Trump at the post-inauguration Liberty Ball resurfaced, highlighting the unsettling nature of what political scientists and casual observers have long described as Trump's cult of personality.

Horabuena raised more than $20,000 "to help cover the expenses of my team to attend this once in a lifetime event, the Liberty Ball just after the Inauguration where I will be painting live, 'Prayers For Our President,' to the song, 'The Blessing,' by Kari Jobe."

Keep ReadingShow less
Linda McMahon; A1 Steak Sauce
Win McNamee/Getty Images; Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Trump's Education Secretary Just Referred To 'AI' As 'A1'—And The Steak Sauce Seized The Moment

Education Secretary Linda McMahon was undoubtedly mistaken when she referred to artificial intelligence as "A1"—as in A1 Steak Sauce—while answering a question about the use of AI in schools, prompting the company to seize the moment with a trolling post.

McMahon slipped up during her appearance at the ASU+GSV Summit on Tuesday. While discussing the state of modern education, she brought up the role of AI in today's classrooms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man holding a finger against his lips in a 'Shh!' gesture
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash

People Anonymously Divulge The Secrets They Plan To Take To The Grave

As much as we might not want to, most of us have some secrets that we'd rather not tell.

But there are two kinds of people when it comes to long-term secrets: those who intend to take those secrets to the grave, no exceptions, and those who'd rather say, "Well, cat's outta the bag!"

Keep ReadingShow less