They might be fictional, but I’ve been through more with these guys than some of my close friends.

Walter White- Breaking Bad

Walt had his moments. From watching Jane die to poisoning Brock, it’s safe to say he scraped the barrel of morality a few times. In the end, there was only one way things could work out for Walt and the final ever episode of the show did not disappoint. Personally, I was glad to see Walt go out as Heisenberg (and finally admit that he’d done everything for himself and himself alone). A fitting end to a character I loved and loathed in equal measure. Walt, you will be missed.

Granddad - Only Fools and Horses

Before Uncle Albert (R.I.P) came on the scene, Granddad was tasked with keeping the young Trotter brothers in line. It’s safe to say, he failed miserably. Still, it made for great entertainment until actor Lennard Pearce’s death in 1984, when Buster Merryfield was brought in as Albert. Only Fools and Horses was a great show because of the way it combined real, emotional drama with its comedic elements, however the saddest (yet simultaneously most hilarious) moment has to be Granddad’s funeral.

Jimmy Darmody - Boardwalk Empire

I’m not religious but I still can’t say the name ‘Jimmy Darmody’ without crossing myself. What a guy. Handsome and with fantastic hair. He was also as merciless as he was stylish. Of course, Jimmy’s fate was sealed the moment he went up against Nucky. After his wife was killed by Manny Horvitz things started to unravel for Jimmy. Pals like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano began to write him off and it was only the ever-loyal Richard Harrow who stood by him. Knowing the end was near, Jimmy went off to face the consequences of his actions like a true soldier.

Marissa Cooper - The O.C.

A tragic death, set to one of the most haunting songs of all time (Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah), the death of Marissa Cooper haunted me as a teenager. Back then, The O.C. was huge and Ryan and Marissa were our Ross and Rachael. Their will they/won’t they relationship was finally answered when she died in Ryan’s arms. If you ask me, The O.C was nothing without her.

Ned Stark - Game of Thrones

Ned was about to blow the whole Lannister incest story wide open and bring justice ton King’s Landing once and for all when that little c*nt Joffrey went back on his promise and ordered Ned’s head to be separated from his neck. What’s great about Game of Thrones, though is how comprehensive a world George R.R. Martin has created. Ned’s death is but a ripple among the continual conflicts of Westeros. Still, it’d be nice if Sean Bean was still knocking about, but Ned’s dead, baby.

More… 

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Donald Hoobler - Band of Brothers

All Hoob wanted was to get his hands on a luger for his kid brother. When he finally did, the gun went off in his pocket and the bullet severed an artery in Hoob’s thigh, leaving him to bleed out over the snowy ground of the Ardennes. A pointless, meaningless death.

Stringer Bell - The Wire

String quickly outgrew the hood. All he wanted was to go legit and move into the world of big business, but all the evening classes in Baltimore couldn’t save String from Omar and Brother Mouzone after he tried to get them to take each other out. As McNulty tells him, ‘String, I had such hopes for us.’

Dale - The Walking Dead

All Dale wanted was to help the group and teach them how to run his camper van. Things went south when Carl the Kid went off on an angsty wander and inadvertently freed a walker who later tore out Dale’s guts in one of the show’s most horrifying deaths. The show’s undoubtedly better without him - his death was needed for the show to move forward- but his passing has left its mark on Walking Dead fans.

Captain Edmund Blackadder- Blackadder Goes Forth

Blackadder Goes Forth was perhaps the first series where the viewer began to feel a bit sorry for Blackadder. Previously, we had rooted for him, but sort of guiltily, as he was mainly preoccupied with being a massive shit, especially to Baldrick. In the fourth series, history became the focus and the absurdity of WW1 took over. The ending to the final episode of the series, Goodbyeee is a heart-wrenching commentary on the hypocritical bureaucratic nonsense that kept the war running. The poppies over the closing credits added a fantastic sense of weight to what was one of our most important comedy shows.

Hector Salamanca - Breaking Bad

This one was more of a victorious death than a tearful one, as Hector finally got his revenge on long-term adversary Gus Fring. In his younger days, Hector was a force to be reckoned with; he was the right hand man of Don Eladio, uncle to twins Marco and Leonel and a feared and respected figure in the Mexican underworld. By the end, Hector pretty much hated everyone, (Hank, the D.E.A, Walt, Gus) but his hatred for the founder of Los Pollos Hermanos outshone and led him to team up with Walt to carry out the spectacular Casa Tranquilla explosion which saw off Gus Fring.

Buffy- Buffy The Vampire Slayer

First of all, how good is the Buffy theme music? Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about Buffy’s death. Being a tough old bird, Buffy’s actually died twice, but here I’m concerned with her first ‘death’ at the hands of The Master in season one. Back then, Buffy was only just becoming the badass she would later be and The Master (a more traditional, Dracula-esque vampire) was a real, and terrifying threat. As such, Buffy’s death was a major moment and had it not been for Xander bringing her back (and probably the popularity of the show) it might have all been over for Sunnydale right there and then.