10.Most Moving Death

Clara Oswald "Doctor Who"

The biggest tearjerker death scene of 2015 involved an alien tattoo and a bird. Rigsy (Joivan Wade) asked the Doctor (Peter Capaldi]) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) to help him get rid of a mysterious number tattoo that was counting down the moments until he would be killed. They discovered that their old nemesis Ashildr (Maisie Williams), who was now going by the name Mayor Me, was responsible. Since the Mayor had promised the Doctor that Clara would be safe, she transferred the tattoo to her body.

Unfortunately, Clara's actions cancelled her protection, so she was doomed. Clara, aware that her minutes were numbered, said farewell to the Doctor, telling him not to blame himself for her recklessness telling him, "I’m giving you an order. You will not insult my memory. There will be no revenge. I will die and no one else here or anywhere will suffer.” After her brave, moving speech a raven killed her while the Doctor, and millions of fans, watched helplessly.


09. Death That Was the Biggest Game-Changer

Tom Connolly "The Blacklist"

When "The Blacklist" began, Liz Keene (Megan Boone) was the yin to Red Reddington's (James Spader) yang. She was the FBI agent. He was on the FBI's most-wanted list. She was naive. Red was all-knowing. A single bullet upended every single aspect of Liz's life.

The Season 2 finale began with Liz on the run because she was being framed for the murder of a senator by a secret government organization, the Cabal. When she found herself face-to-face with Tom Connolly (Reed Birney), the newly appointed Attorney General and a Cabal member, she shot him in the chest.

Not only was Liz now actually guilty of murdering a government official, firing the gun triggered her repressed childhood memories. She realized that she also shot her father, a Russian spy. Tom's death landed Liz on the FBI's Most Wanted list, just like Red. It made her into a far more interesting character and transformed the show from a formulaic procedural into a more serialized drama.

A side benefit of Tom Connolly's demise is that there are no longer two characters named Tom on the show.


08.Most Realistic Death on a Supernatural Show

Liz Forbes "The Vampire Diaries"

A multitude of characters have died on "The Vampire Diaries." Vampires have killed humans. Humans have staked vampires. Many of those characters have been resurrected by various supernatural methods including spells, opening the barrier to the "other side," and magic rings. The supernatural could not defeat the scariest villain of all: cancer.

Sheriff Liz Forbes (Marguerite MacIntyre)had the difficult task of covering up all of the vampire-related deaths in the town of Mystic Falls. She and her daughter Caroline (Candice Accola) had the only functional parent-child relationship on the show. When she was diagnosed with brain cancer, Caroline was heartbroken. She went against her mother's wishes to attempt a supernatural cure that ended up making Liz sicker.

Liz's final conscious scene was with her frenemy Damon (Ian Somerhalder), whom she asked to deliver her eulogy right before she lapsed into a coma. When Liz passed away, surrounded by everyone who cared about her, it was a five hanky affair.


07. Most Inevitable Death

Zeek Braverman "Parenthood"

Zeek Braverman's (Craig T. Nelson) heart problems were a major storyline in the final season of "Parenthood," so many viewers expected the Braverman family patriarch would die with the show. The only questions were when and how he would pass away.

Television's biggest tearjerker managed to out-poignant itself in the series finale. Zeek got to help out most of his family. He persuaded Crosby (Dax Shepard) that he had what it took to run his own business. He invited his granddaughter Amber (Mae Whitman) and her newborn baby to move in with him. He walked his daughter Sarah (Lauren Graham) down the aisle at her wedding.

Several days later, his wife Camille (Bonnie Bedelia) discovered that he passed away peacefully in his favorite chair. Cue the waterworks.


06. Most Upsetting Death That Turned Out to Be a Hoax

Glenn Rhee "The Walking Dead"

"The Walking Dead" loves to kill off major characters. Fans have mourned Tyrese (Chad L. Coleman), Beth (Emily Kinney), and numerous others. But Glenn (Steven Yeun) has been a part of the show since the pilot. He's half of one of the show's few couples. He's funny. He's cute. He manages to maintain a positive attitude during a zombie apocalypse.

That's why his death was not just sad, it was disappointing. Glenn's friend Nicholas (Michael Traynor) decided the best way to handle a horde of approaching Walkers was to commit suicide. When he shot himself, he landed on Glenn, knocking him onto the ground. The Walkers promptly devoured Glenn.

After viewers got over their shock, they started to pick apart the scene and found numerous signs that he survived. For nearly a month, the show did not address Glenn's fate, though Yuen's name was removed from the opening credits. Finally, the November 22 episode revealed that Glenn had escaped the Walkers by hiding under a dumpster. The producers' had pulled off an elaborate hoax to rile up the show's fans.

On one hand, it was cruel to manipulate the audience's emotions. On the other, Glenn is alive!


05. Best Cliffhanger Death

Rebecca "How To Get Away With Murder"

The first season of "How To Get Away With Murder" was centered around the murder of Lila Stangard, a sorority girl who was having an affair with the main character, Annalise Keating's, (Viola Davis) husband. Lila's wild life included buying drugs from Rebecca (Katie Findlay), a cliched rebel complete with heavy black eyeliner, who became a suspect. Law student Wes (Alfred Enoch) fell in love with her, and made a series of bad decisions to protect her, putting all of the other characters in jeopardy.

When Annalise's associate, Frank, (Charlie Weber) was revealed to be Lila's killer in the Season 1 finale, it seemed like the show had exhausted its premise. The main characters had, in fact, gotten away with the murders of both Lila and Annalise's cheating husband.

Then Rebecca's corpse turned up in Annalise's basement. In one fell swoop, the show got rid of its most irritating character and gave people a reason to tune in to Season 2.


04. Most Noble Death

Eddie Thawne "The Flash"

"The Flash" proves that TV series based on comic books can have as much emotional depth as a prestige drama. Good guy cop Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett) was thrown for a loop when he was kidnapped by his evil time-traveling ancestor, Eobard (Tom Cavanagh). The villain from the future informed Eddie that his girlfriend would one day marry his friend Barry — AKA The Flash — and that Eddie's life would be uneventful and forgettable.

During the Season 1 finale, Eobard was about to kill Barry. Eddie shot himself in the chest, knowing that his death would mean that Eobard would be erased from existence. His sacrifice ensured that Barry would live, and that he would always be remembered.


03. Death That Made Fans Happiest

Katrina Crane "Sleepy Hollow"

Most "Sleepy Hollow" fans are rooting for an Ichabod (Tom Mison) and Abbie (Nicole Beharie) romance. The time-traveling colonial gentleman and the modern deputy belong together, even if they haven't realized it yet. The biggest obstacle to their living happily ever after was Ichabod's wife Katrina (Katia Winter). She possessed a variety of traits that made the bulk of the audience despise her. She was removed from the central narrative because she was stuck in the 1700s. She was a perpetual victim, though she was an allegedly powerful witch. She repeatedly deceived the extraordinarily ethical Ichabod but did not own her villainy.

Toward the end of Season 2 she finally made it to present times and promptly aligned herself with her evil son. When she tried to murder Abbie, Ichabod fatally stabbed her. The fans rejoiced. Bye, witch.


02. Cruelest Death

Derek Shepherd "Grey's Anatomy"

In an uncertain world, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) was a comforting certainty. For 10 seasons, fans knew that every week they could watch the world's most handsome brain surgeon save lives. His romance with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) progressed from one-night stand to, "Pick me, choose me" to Post-It wedding to parenthood. Millions of Mer-Der fans fell in love with their dual career, overachiever version of the fairytale romance. It all came to a crashing halt last April when Derek was hit by a truck after he pulled over on a highway to save a couple of car crash victims. The paramedics took him to a podunk emergency room where the doctors misdiagnosed him while he was unconscious.


01. Most Shocking Death

Jon Snow "Game of Thrones"

"Game of Thrones" proved that no characters were safe way back in the Season 1 finale when Ned Stark (Sean Bean) died. But Jon Snow seemed like an exception. He was so important to the story and so beloved by fans that it seemed certain that he would be a part of Westeros for as long as the series was on the air.

Alas, in the Season 5 finale, Jon was ambushed by his fellow Night's Watch members. They all stabbed him, with his steward Olly serving as the Brutus to his Caesar. The scene ended with Jon's bloody body lying in the snow.

Fortunately, there are numerous reasons to believe that Jon will be resurrected in Season 6, from the lack of head wounds to the fact that "Game of Thrones" book author George R.R. Martin told fans not to take Jon's death as "gospel," to Kit Harington being spotted near the show's set. We have our fingers crossed that reports of Jon's death were greatly exaggerated.