This could have easily turned into a "thanks for NOTHING* Joss Whedon" post, but I tried to mix it up a little.
And I'm not sure I have to say this, but ... do be aware that there are spoilers below.
Five Fandom Deaths I’m Still Upset About
5 | Chewbacca, Vector Prime
Although his death has basically been erased with the de-canonizing of the former Star Wars extended universe, I will never be able to erase the image of Chewbacca standing on the surface of the planet while the Millennium Falcon flies away from my mind. Sure, he stayed so that Anakin (Han and Leia's youngest son) could survive, but still.
(If you've never read Vector Prime, you might not have known that Chewbacca died. For this terrible shock to your system, I'm sorry.)
4 | Fred Weasley, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
There are a lot of deaths in Harry Potter that tugged at my heartstrings, but the most unexpected and shocking was the death of Fred. The Weasley twins were a pair—where one went, the other did too. As an only child, I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to lose a sibling, but the fact that he was a twin, and the two were so very close, makes it that much worse.
3 | Ianto Jones, Torchwood: Children of Earth
I never would have known, at the start of Torchwood (where he's basically a glorified errand boy), how much I would grow to love Ianto. As he worked his way toward being a larger part of the team, he became more and more a vital part of the show for me. And then we found out about his absolutely adorable relationship with Jack Harkness, and I was totally sold. On Torchwood, Jack was a different, more serious character than he was on Doctor Who, but his relationship with Ianto brought some of that lightness back. And then, sadly, it was gone.
2 | Data, Star Trek: Nemesis
Most of the other deaths on this list served some sort of purpose. Either the person was saving someone or their death was the impetus for someone else to go do great things. Data's death in the last feature film with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation felt, to me, like none of the above. (OK. Yes, he saved Picard. BUT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN ANOTHER WAY.) It felt like a gut punch, and a sort of useless one at that, considering that he'd transferred some of himself into B-4 before dying. I could look at this in a positive light, since something of Data remains, but I'd rather continue to be bitter about it.
1 | Hoban Washburne, Serenity
Thanks for nothing, Joss Whedon.
*Nothing = his penchant for killing characters, not the rest of his body of work. Because I certainly do thank him for that.
Learn more about 5 Fandom Friday and check out the prompts for September.
