11 Most Shocking On-Screen Deaths of 2018

By Meghan O'Keefe @megsokay

Published Dec. 20, 2018, 9:00 a.m. ET

Spider-man, Roseanne, and Carl — SPOILER ALERT! These are the death scenes that shocked us, devastated us, and left us shook in 2018... Proceed at your own risk. Photos: Marvel, ABC, and AMC

Alison in The Affair — **Alison on *The Affair*:** *The Affair* is one of the most spellbinding dramas on television, thanks in huge part to actress Ruth Wilson's award-winning performance. Ever since the show's first season, the story has been focused on the illicit affair between Noah (Dominic West) and Alison (Wilson), and the emotional fallout thereafter. So it was truly shocking when Alison tragically drowned herself before the Season 4 finale. However, the biggest twist came off-screen when Ruth Wilson teased that she had left for secret, gossip-y reasons. [Where to Stream *The Affair*]Photo: Everett

Peter Parker in Avengers: Infinity War — Spider-man in *Avengers: Infinity War:* Marvel fans knew that some of their favorite heroes were doomed to perish at Thanos's hand in Avengers: Infinity War, but no one was prepared for young Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to be one of the losses. It wasn't just that Spider-man was supposed to be in an upcoming standalone film, but Peter seemed too young, too pure, too kind to die. Marvel milked the moment, letting Spider-man sense his oncoming doom. The moment where Peter collapses into Tony Stark's arms, begging "I don't want to go," is a jaw-dropper. [Where to Stream *Avengers: Infinity War*]Photo: Marvel

Bill in Killing Eve — **Bill on *Killing Eve*:** *Killing Eve* is full of grisly murders, but one took us completely off-guard. In Episode 3, Eve (Sandra Oh) and her work BFF Bill (David Haig) head to Germany on the hunt for a mysterious assassin (the audience knows as Jodie Comer's "Villanelle"). While there, Bill spots Villanelle and pursues her, completely unaware that she's on to him. After slipping into a nightclub, Villanelle dissolves into the crowd, and when Bill follows her in, she stabs him right in the middle of the packed dancefloor. He stays alive just long enough to be seen by Eve, which might be the most devastating part. [Where to Stream *Killing Eve*]Photo: Everett Collection

Roseanne in Roseanne — Roseanne on *Roseanne:* *Roseanne* was the problematic hit of 2018. The revival smashed viewing records even as its leading lady fanned the flames of controversy. The thought was that ABC was willing to put up with Roseanne's antics so long as the show was a hit. However, in the middle of the summer, Roseanne went too far, and found herself fired from her own namesake show. The final twist? The remaining castmembers rallied to reboot the show as *The Conners*. The show is all about Roseanne's family is coping in the aftermath of Roseanne's stunning death from a painkiller overdose. [Where to Stream *Roseanne*]Photo: ABC/Disney

Furguson's obit on New Girl — **Furguson on *New Girl*:** There are few shows as delightfully kind as *New Girl*, so it was shocking to see Season 7, Episode 4 open on the gang convening for a funeral. The stunning twist? They were there to mourn Furguson, Winston's beloved cat. The death was shocking on a number of levels, but mostly because HOW DARE THEY KILL OFF FURGUSON!?!?! [Where to Stream *New Girl*]Photo: FOX

Juliet in Bodyguard — **Juliet on Bodyguard**: Netflix's Bodyguard is built around one basic premise: elite security officer David Budd (Richard Madden) is tasked with protecting the life of Conservative Home Secretary Juliet Montague (Keeley Hawes). The tension is supposed to come from the fact that the liberal Budd has to serve a woman whose policies ruined his life, all while the two fall in lust with each other. However, that comes to a screeching halt at the end of Episode 3, when Juliet is injured in a bomb's blast. Later, we're told she died, and that's when *Bodyguard* becomes about a bigger conspiracy... [Where to Stream *Bodyguard*]Photo: Netflix

Fitz on Agents of SHIELD — Fitz on *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* Other than the fact that the show has now been renewed for two seasons, the fifth season finale of *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.* could have been the series closer. It brought together threads from the show, arguably finished up Phil Coulson's (Clark Gregg) story, and was a sweet, sad, ending all around. Except they killed off Fitz (Iain De Castecker) in a final twist of the knife to viewers who love the fan-favorite pairing Fitzsimmons. The team managed to save the world, save a bunch of people... Only to look back and find Fitz lying dead. The good news is (get ready for it), there's a version of Fitz floating around in the universe in cryo-sleep. But in an episode that teased the death of every major character except Fitz, it was a shocking turn that hampered any good feelings you might have left the season with. [Where to stream *Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*]Photo: ABC/Disney

Oscar and June in Forever — June and Oscar on *Forever:* *Forever* was hyped as a wacky look at the lives of married couple June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar (Fred Armisen), and that's certainly what the first episode was all about. Then, in the final moments, Oscar kills himself careening into a tree during a ski trip. The next twist comes at the end of Episode 2, when June, finally free of her grief, chokes on a macadamia nut and perishes. As it turns out, *Forever* is a wacky look at June and Oscar's relationship, but in the afterlife. [Where to Stream *Forever*]Photo: Prime Video

Carl in The Walking Dead — Carl on *The Walking Dead* If there's one thing Walking Dead fans know for certain, it's that Carl (Chandler Riggs) is the future of the series. Long after Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is gone, Carl will be anchoring the show and... Oh, what's that? He died??? In a series known for its shocking deaths, the reveal that Carl had been bitten on his soft little tum-tum by a zombie episodes earlier, and only revealed the deadly bite after he ushered all the residents of the community of Alexandria to safety was jaw-dropping (even if it had been rumored for months). The ostensible reason was to inspire Rick to put aside his deadly war with Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and think about the future. But in terms of the show, it was a signal that whatever plot armor characters had around them was gone. [Where to stream *The Walking Dead.*]Photo: AMC

Madison in Fear the Walking Dead — Madison on *Fear the Walking Dead* As *Fear* slowly moved a new cast to center stage, they shockingly shuffled off the Clark/Manawa family that had been central to the show for the first three seasons. First Travis (Cliff Curtis) fell out of a helicopter. Later, Nick (Frank Dillane) was killed by a tween with a gun. But the most shocking, anger-inducing death was the surprise exit of series star Kim Dickens, who played Madison Clark. Once their stadium home was overrun by zombies, she led the herd back inside and blew the whole thing up to save her children. A fair way to go on the surface, but there were multiple ways out of the situation, and Madison was arguably the most capable character in the entire Walking Dead franchise. To see her go out for essentially no reason was infuriating, shocking, and a clear attempt to recenter the show on new characters instead of giving her the goodbye she deserved. Dickens deserved better, and so did the fans. [Where to stream *Fear The Walking Dead.*]Photo: AMC

Alan Pangborn in Castle Rock — Alan Pangborn on *Castle Rock:* Castle Rock is full of crazy twists and upsetting turns, but the most devastating one came in the form of Alan Pangborn's death. Pangborn (Scott Glen) is a celebrated character in the Stephen King canon, so it was a shock to see someone who wasn't Stephen King kill him. Not only that, but Pangborn is murdered by his very own true love, Ruth Deaver (Sissy Spacek). She mistakes him for the Kid in one of her episodes and kills him in what she believes is self-defense. [Where to Stream *Castle Rock*]Photo: Hulu

Where to Stream:

Killing Eve

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As this fetid year crawls to a close, it’s time to toast all the great, good, and bad things that happened in 2018. Which means it’s time to talk about death. Not real death, of course. That would be far too macabre. I speak of fictional deaths. The shocking demises that took us by surprise, ripped our hearts out, and forever altered the direction of a beloved show.

2018 was indeed a big year for onscreen death. Shows about assassins took over the airwaves, Avengers faced the doom of mighty Thanos’s snap, and several series did the unthinkable and murdered off their leads. But which were the death scenes that made us gasp more than the rest? Which were the killings that left us truly slain? We went back through the year and remembered the 11* deaths that destroyed us the most. Some of these struck fan favorite characters we thought were safe, while others were timed in such a way that we never saw the slayings coming. Then there was one that took over the news all summer since it forever altered the direction of a beloved sitcom.

Word to the wise: there are BIG SPOILERS above, so if you haven’t gotten all the way through Killing Eve or Bodyguard yet, you might want to skip some of the slides.

*It’s technically 12, but we think the double deaths in Prime Video’s Forever should count as one for thematic reasons.