Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Saddest Fictional Character Deaths Of All-Time

Make us preferred on Google

A good story—whether it's a book, movie, manga or TV show—can really draw us in.

We can get invested in the story to the point we begin to have real feelings about the characters.

That's why having a favorite character die can cause real grief.


Redditor Iridescent126 asked:

"What was the saddest fictional character death for you?"

Spock

"Spock, in Wrath of Khan."

- Lisa_Anns_Ass

"'I have been, and always shall be, your friend'.”

- MadMacs77

"'Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human'."

- bozoconnors

Star Trek GIF Giphy

Stoick the Vast

​"Stoick the Vast How to train your dragon"

"Dude literally just reunited with his wife after over 15 years of being gone and spends a total of about 15 minutes with her. Cause of death: basically took a bullet in the chest to protect his son."

- 24Nitro-gamer

"I saw it in theatres and a bunch of kids started to cry. Not like sniffing but out loud wailing. It added to the atmosphere."

- ThePurpleMister

"I cried, 20-something y.o. dude just ugly crying"

- leotushex

The Iron Giant

"​The Iron Giant will ALWAYS have me ugly crying when he goes up to stop the missle"

- muhfckinuhhh

Iron Giant GIF Giphy

Where The Red Fern Grows

"The dogs in 'Where the Red Fern Grows'."

- johnny*mseed

"Came here to say this. This book destroyed me in grade five but also really demonstrated grief in such a profound way."

- such_sweet_nothing

Bubba

"Bubba in Forrest Gump. That whole scene had me wrecked."

"From Bubba's weak, 'I wanna go home,' to Forrest's narration saying he died by that river in Vietnam while showing him holding Bubba....."

"God damn, I'm crying just thinking about it."

- ChuckZombie

Forrest Gump GIF Giphy

Saving Private Ryan

"Saving Private Ryan has two of the saddest, most brutally gut wrenching deaths I’ve ever seen on screen in Wade and Mellish."

"Wade trying to talk the guys through his injury that goes from panic and terror to acceptance of his own death as he cries out for his mother and says 'I want to go home'? Jesus Christ."

"Mellish is brutal for all the more uncomfortable and raw reasons you’d imagine. War is horrific. Young men are sent off to die, and their lives are cut short for no reason."

"It’s tragic and heartbreaking, and this is one of the only movies to really nail that feeling"

- Tuna-No-Crust

Ellie From Up

"Ellie from 'UP' gets me everytime"

- MaterialScientist420

"Sometimes I wonder how movies ever took off when the first ones were short with no sound."

"Then I remember the time a 10 minute animation with no dialogue absolutely wrecked me. It's a god-damned masterpiece and I hate it."

- cycloptian_tit

Up GIF Giphy

​M*A*S*H Had A Few

​"Henry Blake. MAS*H. The scene in the operating room. The actors weren’t told about it, just called back for one last scene shoot and Radar walks in and tells them. The silence is amplified by the sounds of instruments still working. Haunting"

- Salami_sub

"Piggy backing off this, the guy they tried to keep alive so his kids wouldn't remember Christmas as the day their dad died. That one gets me just thinking about it."

- GaussfaceKilla

"I just saw that one like a month ago! That was totally heartbreaking. Hawkeye spins the clock forward to twelve o five December twenty sixth and they all conspire to forge his death certificate"

- The_Dynasty_Group

​My Girl

"'He can’t see without his glasses'"

- peesherman42

"What made this especially shocking/sad is that the entire movie was a huge bait-and-switch, but in a really effective way."

"At the time, 11-year old me thought -- based on the trailers and the marketing -- that I was about to watch a lighthearted coming-of-age movie."

"And while it does have some of that, boy did it have a macabre edge to it."

- Geekboxing

​Littlefoot's Mom

"​Littlefoot’s mother’s death"

- 2-DMan

"My son fell in love with this movie when he was 3 or 4, and every time that part would come on I would have to leave the room because no matter what age I am, I will always get emotional. Something about the music and the overall vibe that really just punches me in the gut."

- isurfnude4foods

"The music plus the quote 'Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely'. It's so beautiful and tragic."

- fiofo

Land Before Time GIF Giphy

The sign of a great story is how it can touch our hearts and sometimes break it.

So what was the saddest character death for you?

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Pete Hegseth
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Pete Hegseth's Past Comments About Hygiene Resurface After He's Caught On Video Running His Snotty Hands Through His Hair

Remarks about not having washed his hands "in 10 years" resurfaced after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was caught on video wiping his nose with his hands before immediately running those same hands through his hair.

Hegseth was seen doing just that while listening to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent deliver remarks. Footage went viral after it was shared by progressive journalist Aaron Rupar.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshot of Darline Graham
NewsNation

Lindsey Graham's Sister Hit With Hilariously Brutal Factcheck After Claiming She's 'Not Being Handed' His Senate Seat

Darline Graham, the sister of late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, was swiftly fact-checked after claiming that she's "not being handed" her brother's seat even though she quite literally was named to temporarily fill it.

Senator Graham died on the evening of July 11 after returning from an official visit to Ukraine. According to a preliminary finding from the medical examiner, shared by his office, Graham died after suffering an aortic dissection—a tear in the inner wall of the aorta—linked to hardening of the arteries.

Keep Reading Show less
John Hinckley Jr. (left) shares a new message for Jodie Foster (right) 45 years after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
The Mark Joseph Show/YouTube; Gary Gershoff/WireImage

John Hinckley Jr. Shares New Message For Jodie Foster 45 Years After Shooting Ronald Reagan To Impress Her

Some Hollywood stories fade with time. The disturbing history connecting Jodie Foster and John Hinckley Jr. is not one of them. For those who don’t know, on March 30, 1981, Hinckley waited outside the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., where President Ronald Reagan had just addressed 5,000 members of the AFL-CIO.

As Reagan emerged from the hotel, Hinckley fired six shots from a revolver. One bullet ricocheted off Reagan’s limousine and struck him beneath his arm. White House Press Secretary James Brady, police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were also wounded.

Keep Reading Show less
Donald Trump; Scott MacFarlane
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images; CNN

Journalist Reveals Just How Much Money Has Been Diverted From National Parks For Trump's Vanity Projects—And People Are Livid

In a series of articles for MacFarlane News and MeidasTouch, videos, and an appearance on CNN, Chief Washington Correspondent for MeidasTouch Scott MacFarlane blew the whistle on MAGA Republican President Donald Trump’s raiding of National Park Service (NPS) funds. Aided by his Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Trump diverted NPS money to pay for all of his White House and Washington D.C. vanity projects.

Trump’s hand-selected, mostly unwanted and unnecessary White House grounds and National Mall projects—things like a botched reflecting pool resurfacing, golden decor, a helipad, a ballroom, gilded statues, and giant flagpoles—alone took $423 million from major national parks across the country.

Keep Reading Show less
Woman using hair tie
aire images/Getty Images

Engaged Woman Sparks Theories After Finding Strange Hair Tie Near Her And Fiancé's Home Entryway

Finding out that your partner is cheating doesn't always have to involve accidentally seeing a nefarious text message or walking in on the act. But sometimes, signs of what could be cheating might have a far stranger explanation.

Posting in the "Girl Dinner Diaries" subReddit, Redditor Jack-of-not posted a photo of an open-faced sandwich and explained what she'd discovered:

Keep Reading Show less