Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Saddest Fictional Character Deaths Of All-Time

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 GIFGiphy

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 GIFGiphy

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 GIFGiphy

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 GIFGiphy

​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 GIFGiphy

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

Screenshots from Dove's ad featuring transgender women
Dove

'One Million Moms' Calls For Dove Boycott Over Hair Care Ad Featuring Trans Woman

The vehemently transphobic conservative group One Million Moms (OMM)—an arm of the Christian fundamentalist nonprofit American Family Association (AFA)—called for a boycott of Dove products after the company featured a transgender woman in an advertisement for their Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Conditioner.

The ad garnered attention after it was shared by the social media account Libs of TikTok—run by the anti-LGBTQ+ conservative Chaya Raichik—which described the ad as an example of "another woke company trying to erase women."

Keep ReadingShow less
Alyssa Milano; Julian McMahon
Michael Kovac/Elton John AIDS Foundation/Getty Images; Marcus Ingram/The Surfer/Getty Images

Alyssa Milano Shares Poignant Tribute To 'TV Husband' Julian McMahon After His Death At 56

Actor Julian McMahon lost his battle with cancer at the age of 56 earlier this week, and to say that the Charmed, Nip/Tuck, and Fantastic Four actor touched many lives would be an understatement.

When the news of McMahon's passing went public, his Charmed costar and "TV wife" Alyssa Milano came forward and expressed her sadness and condolences on Instagram. The pair were a favorite couple on Charmed, and it was clear from her post that their care for each other extended beyond the screen.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Who Slept With Their Best Friend Describe The Aftermath

When two people have a deep and meaningful friendship, the question might eventually come up of whether or not they could be more. Agreeing that their friendship might deserve more, they might try to date or at least explore physical intimacy.

But crossing that line carries with it consequences, and it's only once the pair crosses that line that they'll find out if crossing it was good or bad.

Keep ReadingShow less
child writing on chalkboard
Leonardo Toshiro Okubo on Unsplash

Bilingual People Explain Which Words They're Surprised Don't Exist In English

According to one report, approximately 3.3 billion people worldwide—43 % of the population—are multilingual, meaning they speak at least two languages. According to the last Census, 21.6% of people in the United States speak more than one language, while in the United Kingdom, the number is 36%.

More multilingual people speak English as a second language than English speakers who have learned another language besides English. Worldwide, people who learned English as a first language rate among the lowest in multilingual rates.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Garfield at the 2025 Glastonbury Festival
Harry Durrant/Getty Images

Andrew Garfield meets fan with wild tweet!

American actor Andrew Garfield had a funny yet awkward reunion with a fan from a viral “Thirst Tweet” featured on Buzzfeed Celeb.

The Thirst Tweet compilation shows celebrities reading a collection of scandalous tweets from fans commenting on their looks, attractiveness, and sex appeal. Blushing stars include James McAvoy, Renee Rapp, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Mackie, and more recently, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem, as they promote F1 the Movie that was released in theaters last week.

Keep ReadingShow less