The Character Deaths that Hurt Me The Most (And How I'd Fix Them)

 The Character Deaths that Hurt Me The Most (And How I'd Fix Them)

It's no secret that lesbian and bisexual characters die and die often. It's hard not to be affected by the deaths of these characters, especially when they happen so often. Sometimes I feel that television is saying that people like me don't deserve happy endings. It has gotten to the point now where I hesitate before starting a show with queer characters. Am I going to lose these girls too? There are times when I feel it's best not to get attached. But I LOVE television, so eventually, I give in.

Some deaths hurt more than others. There are some characters I'll hold in my heart with me forever. When anyone messes with them - including their writers - well, I am not a happy woman. Here's a list of the characters whose deaths affected me most deeply.

I want her leather jacket collection

I've written a little bit about Tamsin before. She was this beautiful, complex character (when the writers didn't forget how to write her) who never caught a break. She fell head over heels for a woman who didn't love her back in the same way (I think we all can sympathize). Lost Girl's final season was awful, disjointed and badly written for many reasons, but the worst of them was Tamsin's fate. She was raped, impregnated, imprisoned, and then died in childbirth. Then the show tried to convince us we should be happy about Tamsin's death, that she was "rising" to a better place. It was a big ol' pile of bullshit.

If I had my way, Tamsin the whole rape plot would have gone out the window. Tamsin would have found someone who loved her for who she is, and continued to be best buds with the happy sunshine gang. She also would have had a bigger role in the final fight, not being hindered by the whole giving birth thing.

two guns is better than one

Oh Root, my sweet murderous child. I've talked before about my disappointment in Person of Interest, but I don't think I've said enough about my love for Root. Look, I'm contractually obligated to fall in love with any character played by Amy Acker, but Root is so much more. Seldom have I seen a character with as much development as her. She goes from thinking that humans are just bad code, to protecting them at the behest of her God. Root even finds it within herself to love a human, Shaw. And what a love that is. It's a four-alarm fire in an oil refinery, and I love to watch it burn. Person of Interest was a show where anyone could die. I understood that, mentally. But I think what hurt me is that Root died to make Harold make a decision he should have already made in the first place - to set the machine free. She didn't need to die for his man-pain.

In my alternate universe, Harold Finch dies, and Root sets the machine free. It seems more fitting - out with the old guard, in with the new. 

"Accent à droite, bitch"

I used to love Orange is the New Black.The first season was witty, funny, and intensely gay. But as the seasons went on, it seemed to lose something. In season 3, we lost Poussey in the worst way possible. I love Poussey. She was one of the sweetest inmates (and one of the better people in the prison). Her relationship with Soso was adorable. It wasn't just that she died, but the WAY she died that hurt me so much. It seemed like the show was trying to make a statement about Black Lives Matter, but they clearly also wanted us to sympathize with the guard who asphyxiated Poussey. It sent... mixed messages. Also can't you send a message about Black Lives Matter without killing a character?

In my alternate universe, Poussey is alive and happy. She eventually gets out of prison, and so does Soso. They are never reincarcerated.