5 Fandom Friday: Fandom Deaths I Just Can’t Even

Posted by tspofnutmeg on September 4, 2015 in Anime/Manga, Blogs, Books, Opinion, Sci-Fi, TV | 1 Comment

By: Meg Humphrey

Intense emotional investment in fictional characters is nothing new for those deep in fandom. A little piece of us goes with every character that was important to us and we mourn them as we would a flesh and blood friend. These are the deaths that my heart will never heal from.

Dr. Janet Fraiser (Stargate SG-1)

In the aptly titled two parter, “Heroes,” good ol Doc Fraiser is killed in the field on an offworld planet. It’s not that we weren’t used to death (how many times has Daniel died by that point?), but the death of someone who devoted their lives to healing and saving others always hits hard. My dad still texts me with a sad face emoticon whenever he ends up watching those episodes. Janet was so sweet, so caring, and so devoted to her charges. We all thought she’d watch over SG-1 forever and it was too sad to see her go.

Ton Phanan (Star Wars: X-Wing book series)

We didn’t get much time to be with Phanan, the snarky medic for Wraith Squadron. His friendship with Garik “Face” Loran was brief, but beautiful. Both man had scars and felt the difficulty of overcoming their past trauma. Phanan’s last moments had me crying non stop in a pancake cafe in Tokyo. When we later learn about Ton’s last wishes for Face, it rubbed salt in wounds that were not even near healed.

Dr. Carson Beckett (Stargate Atlantis)

The medics in the Stargate franchise always seem to have it tough! Carson is tied for first place for my favorite characters (with Ronnon). He’s sassy, smart, brilliant, and like Dr. Fraiser, wholly devoted to doing good. The extra burn with Carson’s death is that they brought him back (through a clone), only to have him taken away again. Once was enough for my heart, thank you.

Asuma Sarutobi (Naruto Shippuden)

Asuma is my favorite team leader and his star pupil, Shikamaru, just happens to be my favorite character on Naruto. Naruto fighting arcs usually end with the good guy being on the absolutely brink of defeat and then somehow managing to overcome and beat the enemy. It wasn’t the case for Asuma’s battle with Hidan. Newly a father, Asuma does his best to defeat an immortal enemy, but in the end was not able to win. To make matters worse, the fansubbed episode subtitle was something along the lines of “Asuma Dies?! An episode of despair and desperation.” Spoiler alert, much?

Fred Weasley (Harry Potter)

As sad as I am about Sirius and Lupin, I think Fred’s passing will always be the worst. It’s so sad to think about the other half he left behind. My sentimentality to this may be from reading too many head canons (like George not having a best man at his wedding because it would have been Fred), but it still hits me right where I live. I thought his death was pointless and while I understand that deaths, especially in war, are to be expected, I never thought that Fred would be one of them.

What about you, dear readers? What fictional character’s untimely demise has you in tears?