So I’ve been a way for a while, and none of the shows this week particularly moved me (though 30 Rock and Sunny each had their moments). I’ll be filling the time with the first of a series of lists that I’ll be doing to bridge the gap over the holidays. This list will cover the best TV drama character deaths since 2000 (the only period of Drama with which I am very familiar).
SPOILER ALERT – many of these characters had limited runs because they were killed off, details will follow.
#10. Agent Kohn – Sons of Anarchy – The guy was crazy, we hardly knew him, but we knew he was crazy. This was definitely a death more about the killer than the killed. Jax Teller, until then portrayed as a kinder breed of biker, pulled the trigger, committing a (probably just) murder, and shattering any illusion of innocence that he had left with Tara.
#9. Alex – Lost – Another death that wasn’t so much about the person dying. This one focuses on her father, Ben Linus, who attempts to call the bluff of a man with a gun to her head, saying “I stole her from as a baby from an insane woman…she means nothing to me.” He’s lying, and his gamble fails.
#8. Richie Aprile – The Sopranos – Richie Aprile was always a thorn in Tony Soprano’s side, and just when it got to the point where Tony had to whack him and create a giant rift with his sister/Richie’s fiance, Janice gives him a pleasant surprise.
7. Wild Bill Hickock – Deadwood – True, we never really knew Wild Bill very well. And we never even knew his killer, Jack McCall, very well. But Deadwood’s first four episodes set up Wild Bill Hickock to be a major character; an invincible dude who fought for good in the camp. Then they killed him, proving nobody is invincible in Deadwood. Well done.
6. Wallace – The Wire – Wallace was a good kid. He did what he was told by his bosses, and he suffered the consequence of guilt. Then he did what he was told by the police, and had his entire life taken away from him. Then his best friends did this:
Coming soon: #s 5-1 (expect more from The Wire)
