Entertainment
18 TV Characters We Said Goodbye to This Year... at Least, For Now
It hasn't even started, but already, 2015 is gearing up to be a rough year for TV fans. Beloved shows like Parenthood and Parks and Rec are ending early, with Mad Men soon to follow; the late-night landscape is whiter and male-er than ever; Heroes is coming back; and there's still a whole other year before Two and a Half Men finally airs its last episode.
But if that all sounds dark, 2015 is still set to be a happier year for TV than this one was. Between all those heartbreaking cancellations and disappointing finales, television this past year has been rough, and that's not even mentioning everyone we lost along the way — from Game of Thrones' Joffrey to The Colbert Report's Colbert, here are 18 TV characters we said goodbye to in 2014, whether for good or just for now. Spoilers to follow, of course.
Image: HBO
Joffrey, Ygritte, Lysa, Tywin, Shae, Jojen, Oberyn... and the Hound? ('Game of Thrones')
How They Left Us: Poisoned on his wedding day, shot by an arrow, pushed down a hole… the list goes on and on. Game of Thrones ’ fourth season was a bloodbath.
Do We Miss Them? Most of them (not you, Joffrey), yes; even the conniving Tywin provided solid entertainment for four seasons. Don’t count them all out just yet, though — we didn’t actually see the Hound die, and in TV world, lack of proof is always a sign for hope.
Image: HBO
Fara ('Homeland')
How She Left Us: Stabbed by a terrorist during an embassy takeover.
Do We Miss Her? Absolutely, although it would’ve been nice if Homeland allowed viewers to get to know the CIA analyst a bit better before throwing her off the show.
Image: Showtime
James and Harrison ('Scandal')
How He Left Us: Shot in cold blood by Jake Ballard.
Do We Miss Him? Very much so. James was a great husband to Cyrus, a loving dad, and a welcome voice of reason in TV’s craziest White House.
Image: ABC
Harrison ('Scandal')
How He Left Us: Shot by one of Rowan’s men after discovering who really killed Jerry Grant (another Scandal character who left us — R.I.P.)
Do We Miss Him? Eh. Harrison was a good character, but Columbus Short’s disturbing off-screen drama definitely shortened the mourning period.
Image: ABC
Cristina ('Grey's Anatomy')
How She Left Us: Moving to Zurich to take over Burke’s hospital.
Do We Miss Her? Oh, yes. Cristina (and Sandra Oh) made Grey’s great, and while the show’s managed to move on, we fans still haven’t. Come back, Yang!
Image: ABC
Alcide, Bill, and Tara ('True Blood')
How They Left Us: Alcide was shot, Bill staked himself, and Tara got killed by another vampire. True Blood ’s final season was a messy one.
Do We Miss Them? Yup, but even the most die-hard Blood fans knew it was the show’s time to end.
Image: HBO
Vee ('Orange is the New Black')
How She Left Us: Hit by a car… although it’s unclear if she’s really dead.
Do We Miss Her? Not at all. In car driver Rosa’s wise words: “always so rude, that one!”
Image: Netflix
Basically Everyone ('Sons of Anarchy')
How They Left Us: Oh, let’s see: Jax crashed his bike, Gemma was murdered, Juice was stabbed, and Wayne and Bobby were both shot. Does that cover it?
Do We Miss Them? Yup — and unfortunately, any chance of seeing their flashbacked-selves in a Sons movie isn’t going to happen.
Image: FX
Stephen Colbert ('The Colbert Report')
How He Left Us: Moved on to bigger and better things, aka The Late Show .
Do We Miss Him? It’s mixed. The show was great, but it’ll be exciting to finally meet the real Colbert, whoever he is.
Image: Comedy Central
Bert Cooper ('Mad Men')
How He Left Us: Sang and danced his way out of the show.
Do We Miss Him? A bit — Bert was a great character (and Robert Morse a great actor), but there’s just too much else to focus on in Mad Men’s final season.
Image: AMC
Ann and Chris ('Parks and Recreation')
How They Left Us: Moved to Michigan to raise their child.
Do We Miss Them? Very much — Leslie just isn’t the same without her BFF Ann at her side. Thankfully, both Rashida Jones and Rob Lowe are set to return in Parks’ final season.
Image: NBC
Beth ('The Walking Dead')
How She Left Us: Shot by Dawn in Dead’s mid-season’s finale.
Do We Miss Her? Absolutely, and apparently, so does Emily Kinney.
Image: AMC
Zoe ('House of Cards')
How She Left Us: Pushed in front of a train by Frank.
Do We Miss Her? A bit, but the shocking death helped make Cards the can’t-miss show it is.
Image: Netflix
Will ('The Good Wife')
How He Left Us: Shot in the courtroom by a crazy client.
Do We Miss Him? Um, YES. The Good Wife has been great lately, but it’s just not the same without Josh Charles in every episode.
Image: CBS
Mona ('Pretty Little Liars')
How She Left Us: Attacked in her bedroom.
Do We Miss Her? There’s barely been any time to grieve — Mona’s already come back in (Christmas-y) ghost form.
Image: ABC Family
Katherine ('The Vampire Diaries')
How She Left Us: Had her spirit released, presumably to hell.
Do We Miss Her? Nah — there’s a reason her post-death future isn’t exactly bright.
Image: The CW
The Mother ('How I Met Your Mother')
How She Left Us: Died from an undisclosed illness.
Do We Miss Her? We barely knew her, and for that, we’ll never forgive you, HIMYM .
Image: CBS
