Coffee Talk #477: Powerful Deaths in Movies and TV

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Justin Bieber hanging out with Triple H, your least favorite vegetable, or missing your second home, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Two days ago, a few of you were teasing RPadholic smartguy on Google+ Messenger with faux spoilers right before he saw The Avengers. He was warned about the deaths of Apollo Creed, Albus Dumbledore, Tupac Shakur, etc. The whole thing got me thinking about big deaths in movies and television. Since we’ve already discussed memorable deaths in videogames, let’s use today’s column to talk about deaths in movies and TV that moved you.

As for me, I’m going with Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It was immensely shocking at the time. I had no idea that good guys in movies could die. In retrospect, the death scene wasn’t the best; a collapsing brown cloak isn’t the most dramatic or visceral way to become one with the Force. That said, my concept of life and death wasn’t developed yet. Even with fiction, my mind hadn’t been tainted by the many rebirths of many Marvel superheroes. Seeing Obi Wan Kenobi die just rocked me.

Now it’s your turn! What movie and TV deaths are you going with? Will you pick one of the many deaths of Sean Bean? Were you moved by a noble sacrifice or hyper-violent annihilation? Please leave your favorite deaths in the comments section!

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

31 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #477: Powerful Deaths in Movies and TV”

  1. Optimus Prime in the animated movie. Totally did not expect it and was pissed because Ultra Magnus looked stupid as the replacement. I was even more pissed when the leader became a motor home.

    1. Yeah, the Hot Rod to Rodimus Prime upgrade…kinda sucked. Optimus' death was a pretty big deal for me too. Of course he was brought back, which made his sacrifice in the movie less powerful. At least Hot Rod got his looks back.

      3. Lol. I think it had a spoiler as well.Sent from a device with horrible AT&T service.

      4. I love you guys for knowing about that.

        First off, no dude, no spoiler on Rodimus.

        Disagree on the hot rod to rodimus prime switch too, Ray. Stan Bush rules. Actually, whenever i hear the songs, "the touch" or "dare", it always gets me

        BOOM!..right in the childhood.

        The other part where you hear "the touch" when Optimus comes in off the ship and runs down half the decepticon army…goosebumps every time…and im 33 years old. :)

        #dork

      5. as far as this thread goes, i cannot comment, as i feel that smartguy has already given the definitive answer.

      8. No. Rodimus Prime did not have a spoiler on the trailer, but he did still have the yellow spoiler on the front "cab" part of the vehicle. It was less of a "spoiler" and more of a decorative piece.

        … but yeah, the matrix seemed to morph Hot Rod into some kind of monstrosity that was completely out of place as a vehicle.

        Then again, you can't really say for certain, as it is supposed to depict vehicles from the future so for all we know, in the future that trailer with the flames could be really stylish by … er… 2005.

        -M

  2. When the dad died in The Man From Snowy River. I don't know anyone else (outside of my family) who has seen that one though, but that death has always been the most memorable.

  3. Old Yeller… (duh).

    I have to give honorable mention to the T-800 at the end of T2. It was just done really well.

    As for TV.. I don't recall any powerful death scenes on TV from when I was a kid (outside of soap operas), so I'm gonna have to go with the guy in the red shirt on Star Trek.

    1. I dunno man, there was an episode of Bones where a guy's body parts came up through the pipes into some little girls toilet while she potty training. That's pretty effing memorable. That little girl is scarred for life my friend. She'll be wearing diapers to the prom. Just sayin.

    2. Thumbs up for the T-800. When I saw that movie, I was around the same age as John Connor (Eddy Furlong) so that made the movie more relatable to me (than the first one). That ending was just amazing.

      For Star Trek, I'm surprised you didn't go with the death of Tasha Yar. It was completely unexpected to off a main character (although she did wear a gold-colored uniform that was the equivalent to "red-shirts" from the original series) especially as the series was just getting started. Her death was a real turning-point in the series. I think that the only reason it wasn't more memorable is because we really didn't get enough time to be emotionally invested in her since she died in the first season.

      -M

  4. Gweneth Palthrow's character's head ending up in a box in Se7en. I totally did not see that coming at the end. Kevin Spacey was fantastic in that. Still gives me the creeps.

  5. One of the best/worst deaths I remember from any movie was in Saving Private Ryan. The pacifist chaplain guy watches his friend slowly being stabbed in the chest while the attacker whispers to him in German.

    Surprising death: the nerdy doctor chick from Eureka just got killed off.

  6. Mufasa being murdered by a gang of savage animals and being back stabbed by his brother was some powerful stuff to the 4th grade me. I laughed then got sad lol.

    1. Wait… wh- Lion King? Fourth grade? Damn, you're making me feel old as hell. I saw that movie when I was in high school the first week it came out in the theaters.

      Huh. All this time, I thought you were at least as old as me. From now on, I'm calling you "Little Boy Blak" … even though I probably have to physically look up to you if I were to ever talk to you in person.

      -M

      1. Yeah man it was a half day lol, I'm 26 now, hardly a little boy, I haven't been little since I was 6 haha.

    2. About a month ago, I heard my daughter crying from the other room. I go in and say "Baby, what's the matter?" She can't even talk, she just points to the TV and I see that the Lion King is on and Mufasa had just died.

      So… you're not alone.

      1. I had that moment with my son about 2 months ago. It was actually the 2nd time he'd watched the movie, but he must have gotten up to go to the bathroom at just the right time the first time around, because he completely missed it. But the second time was a very similar experience to what you just described.

  7. Well, for anyone who has seen the movie "Pay it Forward"… you'll know what I'm talking about. I saw it back when I was in college and it really hit you right in the guts (also, tear ducts) because you don't see it coming and the last scene of the movie is enough to reduce any UFC-type, manly macho-man to start bawling like a six-year-old school girl after she learns her parents really hate her and there is no Santa.

    -M

    1. yeah, horrible ending….

      I submit Charlotte's Web. I might still cry if i watch that, lol.

  9. Let's see, Rue's death in Hunger Games was pretty sudden, shocking and sad. However, there's are two other shocking deaths in really good books I've read recently, and I won't talk about one of them because it's a MAJOR spoiler. Anyway, the death of the main character's family in If I Stay and (possibly) the main character herself happens at the beginning, but it's so sudden that it hits you really hard. You get to meet her family, including both parents and her adorable kid brother, everything's going well and then BAM! Everyone dies. You have to read it to understand, but it's more powerful than any other movie/tv death I've ever seen.

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