While some deaths are warranted, these beloved horrifying deaths in sci-fi movies and TV shows stand out because of how unfair they are. The respective characters are often in a good place, are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or are so adored by audiences that it creates a huge response.
There are also weird deaths in sci-fi movies and TV shows, and when a popular character’s demise occurs under unusual circumstances, it makes it even more memorable. Regardless of why they die, or how it happens, these sci-fi characters absolutely didn’t deserve to be killed.
10 Han Solo
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Han Solo’s demise in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens is a sci-fi movie death we’ll never get over. Harrison Ford’s return to the Star Wars universe following a three-decade absence from the franchise is a fantastic moment, but it doesn’t last long, and Han Solo is heartbreakingly stabbed with a lightsaber by Kylo Ren.
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It’s shocking, especially considering Ren is Solo’s son, and the Star Wars icon is simply trying to make him see what his actions are doing to those around him. There’s no doubt that Han Solo’s death is an attention-grabber, but it’s also an incredibly risky move for Star Wars to kill off one of their biggest personalities in such a way.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
- Release Date
- December 18, 2015
- Runtime
- 136 minutes
WHERE TO WATCH
The scene itself is incredibly powerful and emotional, and I can still hear Chewbacca’s screeching in the back of my mind. Even though Harrison Ford pushed for Han Solo to die, the actor’s influence still doesn’t justify Star Wars’ decision to kill him.
9 Charlie Pace
Lost (2004-2010)
The image of Charlie Pace drowning in Lost is one that will forever be burned into my mind. Dominic Monaghan’s Charlie dies in Lost in a truly heroic way, but it doesn’t mean it is deserved. In season 3’s finale, Charlie tries to help Desmond a nearby boat.
What’s even more saddening, however, is that Charlie accepts his fate, and it’s weirdly harder to see him act like this rather than panic.
But as the Looking Glass station starts to flood, Charlie sacrifices himself, and seals himself inside to save Desmond. His final moments involve writing on his hand to warn Desmond that Penny isn’t on the boat, and even when Charlie knows he’s about to face death, he’s still concerned about Desmond.
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Lost is a mystery drama series created for TV that follows a group of survivors of a plane crash and tells its story between the past, present, and future via flashbacks. When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashes and lands on a mysterious island in the pacific ocean, the castaways discover their new temporary home may have a mind of its own, as strange supernatural events keep them locked to the island. From an unknown black smoke creature to dangerous islanders, the engers must work together to survive the island's seemingly deadly intentions.
- Cast
- Ken Leung, Elizabeth Mitchell, Yunjin Kim
- Directors
- Jack Bender, Stephen Williams
- Seasons
- 6
Charlie’s character development in Lost is one of the best throughout the show, which makes his death that much more disappointing. By the time Charlie dies, he has grown and found a purpose. What’s even more saddening, however, is that Charlie accepts his fate, and it’s weirdly harder to see him act like this rather than panic.
8 Ianto Jones
Torchwood (2006-2011)
There are many undeserved deaths in the sci-fi genre, but in my opinion, there is no other more tragic than Ianto Jones in Torchwood. Following the already unfair deaths of Tosh and Owen in the season 2 finale, Children of Earth kicks off with only three of the titular organization left. Ianto is a fantastic character in his own right, and Children of Earth messes with audiences by showing more of his life outside of work, particularly his relationship with his sister, niece, and nephew.
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- Showrunner
- Andy Goddard
Ianto and Jack’s relationship in the Doctor Who TV spinoff is also in a more comfortable place. This makes the image of Jack cradling Ianto’s body outside of the 456’s tank, in a room full of poisonous gas, even more soul-destroying. Torchwood Three couldn’t cope without Ianto, so it’s no surprise that Torchwood loses its identity as a show after his death.
7 Spock
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Decades later, audiences are still struggling to get over Spock’s death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Even though Spock is later resurrected in Star Trek III, his sacrifice will never be forgotten. Spock volunteers himself to step into the radiation-filled engine room to repair the damaged warp drive, and he even stops McCoy from trying to prevent him from entering. Although this is a difficult situation, and would be near-impossible to find any other solution, it’s still an unfair death.
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
- Release Date
- June 4, 1982
- Runtime
- 112 Minutes
WHERE TO WATCH
It’s hard to argue with Spock’s Vulcan logic, but even if he had to die, it’s still arguable that how it happens is undeserved. It’s harrowing to see Spock and Kirk on either side of the glass, especially as they are both fully aware of what will happen next. The unusual glimpse of Spock showing emotion makes this moment even more painful, and considering his promotion to captain at the beginning of the film, it’s awful to see the Vulcan struck down in the prime of his life.
6 Bob Newby
Stranger Things (2016-Present)
There are several Stranger Things characters who are killed too soon, but Bob Newby stands out from the bunch. Despite only being a part of Stranger Things for one season, Bob quickly becomes one of the most beloved figures in the show. Joyce seems truly happy with Bob, which makes it even more devastating when he is brutally killed by a group of Demodogs. Up until his final moments, Bob is nothing short of a great guy.
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Stranger Things
- Release Date
- 2016 - 2025-00-00
- Showrunner
- Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
WHERE TO WATCH
Inspired by 80s pop-culture and elements of Stephen King's works, Stranger Things is a supernatural action-drama TV series set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.
When a young boy goes missing, his group of friends stumbles upon a young girl with telekinetic powers who recently escaped from a mysterious facility. They soon realize that she may be their only chance at stopping an impending doom that threatens to engulf Hawkins whole.
- Cast
- Noah Schnapp
- Directors
- Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
- Seasons
- 5
He prioritizes getting Joyce and the others out of the lab first, and he is so close to safety when the pack of strange animals tackle him. Bob is so ive of those around him, too, and he really doesn’t deserve to die. He pictures a future with Joyce very quickly, is a great to the kids, and despite his childhood trauma, Bob is an overall wholesome person. Bob is killed off early in Stranger Things, and it’s sad to think of all the potential moments viewers missed out on because of his untimely demise.
5 Lexa
The 100 (2014-2020)
I will never not be angry about The 100 leaning into the the saddest deaths in The 100.
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The 100 is a sci-fi post-apocalyptic TV series set ninety-seven years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization. When a spaceship housing humanity's lone survivors send one hundred juvenile delinquents back to Earth in hopes of possibly re-populating the planet, they discover that Earth is still inhabited. Now constantly in a state of power flux with warring clans, cannibals, and mountain-dwellers, the juveniles must attempt to survive while re-establishing with the Ark.
- Cast
- Devon Bostick, Christopher Larkin, Marie Avgeropoulos, Sachin Sahel, Richard Harmon, Chelsey Reist, Henry Ian Cusick, Bob Morley, Jarod Joseph, Paige Turco, Adina Porter, Ricky Whittle, Eliza Taylor, Isaiah Washington, Lindsey Morgan, Tasya Teles
- Seasons
- 7
Lexa betrays Clarke in season 2 during the Mount Weather attack, for instance. However, she later redeems herself, and her relationship with Clarke is one of the driving forces of The 100. It’s a shame that the show spends so much time developing Lexa’s character, and her romance with Clarke, only to brutally kill her. Unfortunately, the showrunner’s apologies to fans still isn’t enough to keep them from continuously feeling bitter about Lexa’s death.
4 Jadzia Dax
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
While Star Trek: Deep Space Nine recasting Jadzia brings the character back in the form of a new host, it’s not really her, and it doesn’t make her demise any less infuriating or unfair. Jadzia dies during the season 6 finale, “Tears of the Prophets,” when she is senselessly murdered by Gul Dukat with his newfound powers.
It’s unclear why Jadzia’s death happened (in regards to the show’s canon), especially as there doesn’t seem to be a reason why she needed to stay behind during the attack on Cardassia. Deep Space Nine spends several seasons developing Jadzia’s character, and it’s terrible that she dies right at the peak of a heartwarming storyline.
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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Release Date
- 1993 - 1999-00-00
- Network
- CBS
WHERE TO WATCH
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
- Cast
- Michael Dorn, Nicole de Boer
- Seasons
- 7
Jadzia and Worf’s attempts to conceive are thrown away, and the fact she is praying to the Prophets about this just before she is killed makes it even worse. Not only is Jadzia’s death unfair on the character, but also on Worf, too, whose grief is largely focused on in Deep Space Nine’s final season.
3 Grace O'Brien
Doctor Who (1963-Present)
While Ryan’s grandmother and Graham's wife, Grace, makes several other appearances in Doctor Who after her death, it only proves that she didn’t deserve to die in the first place. Grace immediately throws herself into the Doctor’s world after meeting her in Chris Chibnall’s Doctor Who episode, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” and quickly proves herself to be a head-strong woman who isn’t afraid to take on a challenge.
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An alien from the planet Gallifrey travels through time and space to explore, solve problems and fight injustice while also making friends with human beings. His spaceship, called TARDIS, resembles a police box, but it is much more than it appears to be.
- Cast
- Jodie Whittaker, Christopher Eccleston, John Barrowman, Tosin Cole, Arthur Darvill
- Directors
- Graeme Harper, Euros Lyn, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Magnus Stone, Charles Palmer, Rachel Talalay, Joe Ahearne, James Strong, Jamie Childs, Saul Metzstein, Toby Haynes, Wayne Che Yip, Nick Hurran, Richard Clark, James Hawes, Daniel Nettheim, Colin Teague, Keith Boak, Azhur Saleem, Adam Smith, Andrew Gunn, Nida Manzoor, Lawrence Gough, Paul Murphy
Grace sacrifices a lot throughout her life, from taking in her grandson and raising him from a young age, to falling in love with a cancer patient as a nurse and later marrying him. Despite this, Grace never complains, and sees the beauty and goodness in everything around her. What’s heartbreaking, however, is that she is essentially a mere casualty in the Doctor’s fight against Tzim-Sha, and her death is easily avoidable. Grace is set up to be a full-time character, but her dying unfairly reduces her to a one-off companion in Doctor Who instead.
2 Hoban "Wash" Washburne
Serenity (2005)
The reason why Alan Tudyk’s Wash is killed off in Serenity is due to the actor’s struggle to commit to potential sequels, but I’m still annoyed about it. The fantastic follow-up movie to Firefly brings back several characters audiences know and love, and Wash is a huge fan-favorite, which makes his death even more impactful.
What makes this moment even more heartbreaking, however, is that the later Firefly comics establish that Zoë is pregnant at the time of her husband’s death, and Wash never finds out.
After crash-landing the titular ship near the broadcast tower, the pilot appears to have escaped death, but moments later, he’s brutally impaled by a Reaver spear. For many viewers, it’s near impossible to come up with a reason to justify Wash’s demise. Wash is a great character who loves traveling, works hard, and is loyal to his fellow crew aboard Serenity.
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Directed by Joss Whedon, Serenity is a science fiction film that follows the renegade crew of the spaceship Serenity. Starring Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, the crew must protect a telepathic girl with powerful secrets from a totalitarian regime while navigating through space against hostile forces. The film blends action and adventure, expanding on the universe established in the television series Firefly.
- Cast
- Jewel Staite, Sean Maher
- Director
- Joss Whedon
What makes this moment even more heartbreaking, however, is that the later Firefly comics establish that Zoë is pregnant at the time of her husband’s death, and Wash never finds out. To this day, I can’t understand why Wash couldn’t have been given a non-fatal exit instead.
1 Alisha Daniels
Misfits (2009-2013)
Although it can be argued that Simon traveling back in time in Misfits only happens because Alisha dies, she still doesn’t deserve her fate. Alisha has the best character development in Misfits, and her relationship with Simon changes her for the better.
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She starts as an ungrateful and rude person who judges everyone around her, but by the end of season 3, Alisha is a much more caring figure. Alisha’s death is unbelievably abrupt. She steps out of the locker room, completely fine, and suddenly, she has a slit throat and is bleeding out all over the floor.
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Misfits is a British comedy-drama sci-fi series that blends science fiction with dark comedy. It is centered around five young offenders who gain supernatural abilities after a bizarre electrical storm. Set during their community service, the show explores how each character deals with their newfound powers, shining a light on the darker sides of having special abilities.
- Cast
- Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Joseph Gilgun, Iwan Rheon, Lauren Socha, Antonia Thomas, Karla Crome, Nathan McMullen, Robert Sheehan, Matt Stokoe, Natasha O'Keeffe
- Directors
- Howard Overman, Tom Green, Jonathan van Tulleken, Tom Harper, Wayne Yip
- Seasons
- 5
There are other ways Misfits could provide Simon a reason to go back in time to save a past Alisha. If anything, Simon’s need to keep the timeline in place, leaving a heartbroken Alisha behind who’s fully aware of what will happen, is more profound than killing her off instead.
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