Happy Pancake Tuesday Everyone! Not that pancakes really have anything to do with the post, but still. Today's post is inspired by the Aussie soap opera Neighbours and the absolutely heartbreaking episode that will be airing tonight. It's been coming for weeks and I'm still not prepared, and I want to ball my eyes out just thinking about it. You see, one of the characters is dying in tonight's episode, and it got me thinking about some of the most heartbreaking TV deaths that have left me drowning in a puddle of my own tears. Starting off with, of course, Neighbours is the death that will be taking place tonight - that of Sonya Rebecchi, played by the absolutely fantastic Eve Morey. Last month, Sonya was diagnosed with stage 4 Ovarian Cancer, and over the past few weeks we've seen her battle through chemotherapy, supported by family and friends. Literally every scene has induced tears, especially when her son and sister came back from America. Last night's episode, which set up for the special two-hander episode tonight (an episode focusing just on Sonya and her husband Toadie, with no other characters) broke me, and I just know that tonight I'm going to be left with tears streaming down my blotchy read face with a crying-induced headache. This has been such a powerful storyline and the acting of Eve Morey and Ryan Moloney has been phenomenal, pulling the audience in and making it feel like we are losing one of our best friends or family members. On top of that, the storyline has actually raised so much awareness for Ovarian Cancer. I am so not ready for 6:30pm tonight, despite knowing exactly how the episode is going to play out... Sticking with Neighbours is a death that I didn't think would affect me the way it did. Josh Willis, played by Harley Bonner, was a character that hadn't been anywhere near the top of my list of favourite characters, and he had become so annoying in the last year on the show. So I was actually happy to see the back of him. The character was planning on moving to Queensland to be closer to his baby daughter, and that was that. But the writers apparently weren't happy with that easy exit because they ended up having him die in a hotel explosion, pinned under a pylon with no hope of being saved. He ends up sacrificing himself to save Daniel, his sister's boyfriend, who has a chance of surviving once pulled free. I cried so hard during this episode, ending up an absolute blubbering mess as we watched him say goodbye to his family, even face-timing his ex-girlfriend and daughter. I was actually so surprised at just how much the episode affected me, and it wasn't just an in-the-moment thing - I rewatched the episode about a year later and cried just as hard the second time round. For a character I didn't really care too much about, the writers were able to tap into everyone's emotions and break you. The final Neighbours death that really left me sobbing (although there have been plenty more that are so emotional and beautifully written), is that of Dee Bliss, played by Madeleine West. In 2003, everyone on Ramsay Street gathered for the wedding of Dee and Toadie (yes, that same Toadie that is about to lose another wife). It was a funny and beautiful episode, and it was great to finally have these two together. Then, as they drove off for their honeymoon, Toadie, who was driving, leaned over to kiss Dee, taking his eyes off the road for a second and missing a bend in the road, driving straight into the ocean. As the car sunk, Toadie managed to free himself from the car. But Dee was no where to be found. Everyone eventually gathered on the beach as they watched Search & Rescue search the coast for Dee, with no luck. After the happy and joyous occasion of the wedding, this was such a heartbreaking turn in their love story. What's more, the montage of the happy couple dancing and hugging the guests as their wedding speeches played over the top gets me every single time. I hate that the writers made us sit through their beautiful wedding, only for Dee's body to go missing and Toadie left broken that the love of his life was gone. Toadee is one of my favourite Neighbours couples and my earliest memory of the show, so these episodes have a special place in my heart... A show that also has a special place in my heart is Charmed, and Prue's death still makes me so sad. Now to be honest, I knew that the character of Prue was killed off - I started watching the show near the end of it's run, so when I finally watched the episodes, it wasn't a massive surprise. But, it was still really emotional. The season three finale and season four premiere are still such heartbreaking episodes all these years later. Firstly there's Piper's death - seeing Prue and Leo so heartbroken at Piper's demise is crushing. Then having time reversed and both Prue and Piper's lives left hanging in the balance is such a torturous cliffhanger. Watching the Halliwell's gather at Prue's funeral and breaking down makes me tear up every single time. No matter how many times I watch this episode, I can't not cry. And as great as it was to be introduced to a new sister in Paige and have the show continue for another five seasons, Prue's death was the end of an era for the show and it's hard not to be a little sad during these episodes. A show that certainly knows how to kill off a character and make the audience ball like a baby is Grey's Anatomy. Shonda Rhimes really shows no mercy and we've all learnt the hard way not to get attached to any of the characters. The first major death that I'm still not over and hate Shonda for is George O'Malley. One of the OG interns, George was one of the most lovable characters on the show. He was all set to leave to serve his country, then Shonda had him hit by a bus and treated by his friends. The moment Meredith found out that their John Doe was George - 007 - still gives me chills. And don't even get me started on that elevator scene with Izzy, who's also dying - talk about filling an episode with every emotion possible - where you just know that he's the one dying and this is the goodbye. George didn't deserve that in the end, and it still gets me every time I rewatch that episode. One of the most iconic moments in Greys is the plane crash - did Christina ever find her other shoe? Just the crash itself was emotional enough, but then Shonda had to throw in some death, just to top it all off. Watching Lexie die as Mark told her he loved her and talked about the future they could have had together, just left so absolutely broken. Lexie and Mark were one of my favourite couples, and Lexie herself one of my favourite characters, and I just couldn't believe we had to say goodbye. If that wasn't sad enough, we then find out in the next season that Mark also died as as result of his injuries. And as glad as I am that Mark and Lexie were reunited in death, it was just too much to handle. Like Lexie, Mark was one of my favourite characters, and it was sad to see his time on the show come to an end also. McSteamy and Little Grey will forever be one of my favourite eras of the show. (I stopped watching Grey's around season 10, so I've not seen Derek's death, but you can bet it'd be on this list if I had seen it...) One of the saddest death episodes I've ever watched, and one that I've not been able to bring myself to watch again is Finn's death in Glee. When I heard that Corey Monteith had died, I was so sad. I'd loved him in Glee and couldn't wait to see what else the future would bring, plus couldn't wait for him and Lea Michele to get married. 'The Quarterback' episode of Glee, in which we learn that Finn has died, is one of the most heartbreaking episodes ever. Had Finn just been killed off for the sake of a storyline, it would have been emotional, but the fact it was also because the actor had passed away made the tears flow so much harder. Watching the cast come together to mourn and remember their friend was difficult to watch, knowing that all the tears were real and this was their way of saying goodbye. I actually commend the cast and crew for being able to film this episode. Even now, writing this and remembering the episode is heartbreaking, hence why I've not been able to watch the episode since. In fact, I kind of fell away from watching Glee after Cory died (although his death wasn't the only reason). It was such an emotionally-charged episode that gave fans the chance to say goodbye to Cory, and it was done beautifully. Finally, returning to Aussie drama is Claire McLeod's death in McLeod's Daughters. When I first watched this as a child, I actually had nightmares (although, it wasn't just this episode that gave me nightmares, but it certainly triggered them to begin with - apparently I mentioned something about people burning to my mother...). ANYWAY, this episode affected me so much as a kid that I couldn't continuing watching the show. Fast forward to my teen years, I rewatched the show and was still really affected by Claire's death, but this time it was just being left crying and heartbroken. As one of the two main lead characters on the show - the reason it's called McLeod's Daughters - watching Claire's vehicle hanging on the edge of a cliff with her knowing that this is the end still gets me. On top of that is the shot of her boyfriend Alex placing an engagement ring on her pillow while Claire and sister Tess are in peril. Watching Claire die was hard enough, we didn't need to see Alex getting ready to propose! It's one of the saddest deaths in Aussie TV history, and although the show was able to continue for five years with some amazing leading ladies, I did miss seeing Claire riding around Drover's Run. So now I'm sitting here crying, wondering why the hell I thought this was a good blog post idea... Regardless, these deaths have been some of the finest moments in television, and showcased some exceptional acting from all those involved. It really does say a lot about a writing and production team who are able to pull off all the emotion involved in death and make the audience feel as though they too are losing a friend or family member. These certainly aren't the only TV deaths that have broken me, and they certainly won't be the last. Let me know which TV deaths have affected you the most. See You Soon! Victoria :) |
Categories
All
Affiliates
See DISCLAIMER.
|