Whedonesque : Comments on 19314 : BtVS Death Makes TV Guide's Most Shocking TV Deaths List.

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March 02 2009

BtVS Death Makes TV Guide's Most Shocking TV Deaths List. TVGuide.com lists 13 shocking TV deaths, and one of the deaths on Buffy makes the list. Spoilers for other shows abound.

BrownCoat_Tabz | BtVS | 20:59 CET | 18 comments total | tags: omg you killed joyce!

Joyce?!? What about Tara? Joyce had been sick for a while. Tara's murder came out of nowhere...

AmnesiaInnocent | March 02, 21:17 CET

I thought this was funny:
"7. Uh, Everyone, Six Feet Under"

jaxn | March 02, 21:32 CET

This list looks ranked, so my 2cents is that the finale of Six Feet Under trumps everything else on that list, it was so beautifully and poignantly realized. Actually, I think The Body could joust with 6FU's finale a bit, but they are both stunning. Rosalind Shays higher up than both of those? Holy crapcakes, Boy Wonder! This is an error of criminal magnitude.

Tonya J | March 02, 21:59 CET

Joyce's death was shocking because it was a natural death. It wasn't the result of vampires or demons. Plus we were led to believe she was getting better and suddenly she dies. Not that Tara's death wasn't shocking, but it did come at the hands of evil in the form of Warren.

I was happy to see Henry Blake's death on the list as M*A*S*H was one of the first shows to 'kill off' a main character. As the writers put it at the time 'This is a show about war and in war, people die.'

Giles'chainsawchick | March 02, 22:26 CET

Doyle was pretty shocking to me.

And, yes, Tara.

Chris inVirginia | March 02, 22:35 CET

Mrs. Landingham and John Connor definitely were tear jerkers for me. And of all the Buffy deaths Joyce was the only one that wasn't from any Big Bad, it just simply was. Which for BtVS was quite shocking.

TiffintheOK | March 02, 22:50 CET

I'll not argue; it's not about one viewer.

DaddyCatALSO | March 02, 23:14 CET

Mrs. Landingham led to the second best episode of TV ever: Two Cathedrals. What a beautiful realization of what TV can do.

Jobo | March 02, 23:31 CET

Well, Joyce is the obvious choise for shocking death over Tara. Because, Taras death lead to Dark Willow, and all the action of the season finale. Joyces death led to an episode of mourning about Joyce, in silence, in something really extraordinary. I do like the evil Willow, but it pales with the power of The Body.

Eerikki | March 02, 23:59 CET

I misread the prepositions so I thought it wasn't a death "on" Buffy but "of" and I spent too much time trying to rationalize which was more likely before the link loaded. Joyce does make sense though. Tara seemed doomed the moment they added her into the credits for no readily apparent reason.

orangewaxlion | March 03, 02:23 CET

Could someone please say what the other shows on the list are? Don't want anything I'm planning on watching spoiled.

The Xan Man | March 03, 04:36 CET

Sure,

Roseanne
The Shield
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Dallas
The Sopranos
thirtysomething
Six Feet Under
Lost
The West Wing
L.A. Law
ER
24
M*A*S*H

Tonya J | March 03, 04:46 CET

Tara seemed doomed the moment they added her into the credits for no readily apparent reason.

I disagree; Tara's demise got me. Usually being added to the opening credits reflects a change in contract status; while, after the fact, it's no secret that Joss wanted to yank the rug out from under everybody by offing a brand-new series regular, without that bit of information it was an abrupt and affecting end to a wholly guiltless character.

LeafOnTheWind | March 03, 07:57 CET

Tara was definitely my "Oh God, noooo!" moment. Yeah, I missed Joyce and it was unexpected, but Tara's death hit me harder. Joyce's death was tragic yes, but it was also natural. There was nothing "natural" about Tara's death (despite what Jos.... er, um, Osiris thinks).

quantumac | March 03, 18:00 CET

Well,s trictly speaking, that was probably one of Osirs's errand boys, albeit expressing what Osiris's rules are. (And he probably doesn't make them but that's another story, specifically "Willow's Quest," :-).

Tara's did hit ahrd; I was spoiled but I was hopign they were playign with us, counter-spoiling etc.

Joss said the credits were a tribute but Amber had a different opinion, shared by Nikki Stafford.

Which isn't to gainsay Joyce's. Basically that cut of Buffy's and Dawn's heads and they still don't seem to really have them back in s-8.

DaddyCatALSO | March 03, 18:57 CET

I'd say Fred's, Lilah's and Lindsey's deaths were just as sudden. Lindsey's death was probably the most out-of-the-blue (even more than Tara's--he didn't get the happy credited lead-up that is a sure warning sign).

Fred's had the same "happiness" warning sign as Tara's.

Lilah's was shocking because it was expected to be Angelus, not evil-Cordy.

Joyce had a whole season of lead-up illness.

[ edited by NileQT87 on 2009-03-03 19:55 ]

NileQT87 | March 03, 19:54 CET

There was nothing "natural" about Tara's death.

Yeah. In real life bullets never kill innocent bystanders.

snot monster from outer space | March 03, 20:01 CET

For me, the most shocking death on BtVS was Jenny Calendar's. By the time we got to Tara's demise, we knew what Joss was capable of. In Season 2 we were innocent victims of his evilness.

witchlover | March 03, 21:59 CET

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