Let's face it, some characters are crafted so horribly, it's impossible not to laugh at their ridiculous lines and actions. Storytellers mess up too and when they do, we get imaginary people who are just that — not real. Even worse, their unconvincing behavior can break the suspension of disbelief and ruin an otherwise totally sound book, TV show, or movie.
Luckily, that's not always the case and every once in a while, we relate to make-believe folks so much, we can even learn from them and grow as human beings. In fact, we can develop such a strong bond with them that their joys and sorrows start affecting us on a personal level. So we at Bored Panda decided to explore these beautiful connections.
Researching the topic, we came across a couple of Reddit threads (one and two) that we think you'd be interested to go through as well. They both essentially ask the same question: which characters' passing away have scarred you the most? And people's answers along with their explanations provide an interesting insight into our relationship with fiction.
#1
Ellie from Up. Up's intro sequence was so beautiful: It told the story of a couple's life together. Real life with all of the difficulty and broken dreams along with it. And it shows the deep and incredible loss Carl felt with her death. This short sequence imbues the film with a deeper sense of meaning, using almost no words at all, and gives Carl a profound gravitas you cannot find in many other films
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#2
Sam(the dog) in, I am legend. Because he was Will smiths friend and he had to put her down.
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#3
Fred Weasley from Harry Potter. The twins may have annoyed some people with their pranks, but their ultimate goal in life was to have fun and bring joy to their friends. They were generous and brave and clever and pure. To kill Fred and permanently tear them apart was the WORST! Especially when George had already been injured! You didn’t think they could be at risk anymore now that one of them had gotten hurt. They weren’t on my radar during the Battle of Hogwarts. I remember the moment I read it the first time. I was inconsolable
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#4
Rue from The Hunger Games. Rue getting speared and having Katniss sing to her. The 12-year-old me couldn’t handle that trauma
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#6
Seymour the dog from Futurama. I normally skip 'Jurassic Bark' as I know I can't handle it. But upon a recent rewatch from beginning to end, I decided to put on a brave face, knew what I was getting into, braced myself, and watched it along with all the other episodes. I had to stop watching because I couldn't see the TV through my tears.
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#7
Dobby. I've read the books before and knew he would die but when i saw him dying in the movie.... it just broke my heart. so i cried my eyes out in the cinema (i was ten)
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#9
Little Foot's mom in The Land Before Time.
When I first saw it as a kid it was the first time that I realized that my parents could die. That thought had never even really occured to me at that point.
Even now as an adult that scene where he thinks he sees her but it's just his shadow and the narrator says, "Then Little Foot knew for certain he was alone." still gets to me.
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#10
That girl from the bridge to terabithia. That hit me so hard as an 8 year old
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#12
Thomas J from My Girl. When Vada is crying at his funeral, screaming about his glasses... that hits different. Gets me every time.
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#13
Hedwig. Idk, hedwig was there from the start. Ken Miles in Ford v. Ferrari. He never got his full recognition. Although, the nod from Enzo was huge.
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#18
Boromir from The Lord of the Rings. First time I ever cried during a movie.
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#19
Loki in Infinity War. Not because of some great affinity for the character but because I was absolutely certain that he was the ONE person who was safe from being offed. Of course, he not only died but he died FIRST.
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#20
Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter. This one gets me more now than when I first saw it. Then, as probably a lot of people do on their first read/watch, I looked at it from the perspective of Harry. His friend died needlessly, and it hurt.
Now, older and a father, I can’t help but look at it from Cedric’s dad’s perspective: proud and supportive of the man his son is growing into. And it’s all taken away in that horrid moment that they Apparate back
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