TV characters' deaths that really hurt

Although the premise set in 'Game of Thrones' has made surprising deaths an art, the truth is that killing off a main character in a series is always controversial. In some cases, it brings on deep sorrow due to the connection established with the viewers. We are going to review some character deaths that hurt more than losing some of our own family members.

Photo: Netflix

Needless to say, from here on, there are a handful of spoilers, so reading on means taking responsibility for knowing that these characters don't make it to the season finale.

Of course, we know that the death of one of the series' most lovable characters came about because Dan Stevens was not going to renew his contract. He had to be killed and they did it in a cruel way, in a car accident, after surviving a World War. Matthew Crowley, always in our hearts.

The writers of 'Killing Eve'were truly cruel to us. Season four was going to end on a high, with a happy ending, with Eve (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) together, but suddenly a gunshot ruins everything. Yes, she was an insatiable villain, but she was our villain.

'Not Penny's Boat'. A phrase that will go down in history. Unexpected, epic, historic and awe-inspiring. Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan) left at the end of season three - drowned and carrying a message that changed the entire plot of the series.

A series starring a serial killer in which, his wife and mother of his child are murdered by another serial killer. It was Trinity (John Lithgow, pictured right) who killed Rita Bennet (Julie Benz), severing her femoral artery and leaving her to bleed to death in the bathtub in season four.

Hershel dies in The Walking Dead season 4, at the hands of the Governor after his bloody return, Heartbreaking and shocking.

She was the audience's favourite, a free soul who always brought a smile to viewers' faces, which is why nobody understood the brutal death of Nairobi (Alba Flores) at the hands of the ruthless Gandía (José Manuel Poga). A point-blank shot to the head and the world fell silent, shocked by the scene.

Photo: Netflix

Throughout the series, Nell (Victoria Pedretti) is stalked by a woman with a broken neck. When the plot reveals that this woman is herself, after committing suicide, the series takes on a new dimension - but that doesn't take away from the cruelty pain a much loved character goes through.

Poor Maggie (Lauren Cohan) saw her father and partner die in the most traumatic ways possible. In the case of Glenn (Steven Yeun), it was Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Lucille at the end of season six who ended his journey... although it wasn't until the beginning of season seven that the world learned who had died. And it has the world on edge.

Lexie (Chyler Leigh) not only dies after a plane crash, but she does so while Mark (Erik Dane) confesses his love for her. Double stab in the heart for fans.

It took four seasons for Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) to find happiness with Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) but at the altar, he is killed by a bomb planted by Penn Epner (Patton Oswalt). Was it really necessary?

Shocking, undeserved and cruel. The death of Poussey (Samira Wiley) was the death of a ray of light that the series had. Not content with killing her, they did it in a choking scene that was a real agony for the audience.

The complicated thing about Jack's (Milo Ventimiglia) death is that it was already known and, despite everything, it was as painful as losing a parent in real life. He died after saving his family from a fire, from inhaling the smoke. A hero in one of the saddest series ever broadcast.

Yes, Jane (Krysten Ritter) was a bad influence on Jesse (Aaron Paul) but the audience loved her. This was compounded by her hard-fought death, drowned in her own vomit and with Walter (Bryan Cranston) looking on, able to save her, but not lifting a finger. The character's cruelest act in the entire series.

Bob (Sean Astin) was much more than Bob. He was Sam Sagacious and he was Mikey and he was a nice boyfriend to Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) but he died, almost comically, after being attacked by several demogorgon dogs, while saving his own. It was brief but intense.

Photo: Netflix

Kevin Williamson returned to the series for its season finale to take stock of the characters the world had loved. All in order until it was Jen's turn (Michelle Williams, pictured left, with Katie Holmes) to tell us that she is a single mother and is going to die of an illness. Why so much hate, Kevin?

McDreamy was the confessable dream of millions of people. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) left the show after 11 seasons as a hero after saving a family in a car accident. The reality is that the actor was unbearable behind the scenes and Shonda Rhimes decided to nip it in the bud.

Completely heart-wrenching. The CW's series kept some loathsome characters alive but killed off one who, with so much potential, she could have even had a spinoff. The death of Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) was uncalled for!

Eight seasons of waiting for Mike (James Denton) and Susan (Teri Hatcher) to get together... and when they finally do, Mike is shot dead. It was clear that happiness had no place on Wisteria Lane.

The proposal was on the table: Stannis (Stephen Dillane) would be powerful if he burned his daughter, Shireen (Kerry Ingram), at the request of Melisandre (Carice Van Houten). The question was whether he would. Indeed he did. The girl's screams still echo in the heads of the show's fans.

Anthony Edwards had already been killed off in epic fashion in 'Top Gun' but no one expected Mark Greene, his character in the series, to meet the same fate. It was all at the end of the eighth season - cancer - and with 'Over the Rainbow' in the background. The world cried a lot that day and nothing was ever the same again, despite seven more seasons of the series.

Over time the viewers have realised that the absurd death of a spectacular character like Cordelia was due to the bad relationship between Charisma Carpenter and Joss Whedon, (because of the latter's behaviour towards the actress). Unfortunately, in its day it resulted in the death of the character and the dismissal of the performer.

Beyond his death, the story leading up to it was a masterpiece. The viewer had 10 seconds to assimilate the origin of Hodor's (Kristian Nairn) name and realise that he was going to die. It was a tough ending for a character who was pure goodness.

She was a character as hated as she was key to the plot in the series, and that was made clear by the void she left behind after she died. The tricky part was the way it was done, as Carl (Chandler Riggs) had to shoot Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) in the head, to make sure she didn't turn into a zombie. Pictured with Andrew Lincoln, Rick Grimes in the series.

Wallace (Michael B. Jordan) paid dearly for his alliance with the police. One of the characters who wanted to change his life paid for those dream with his life. And he did so at the hands of his friends, sent by the insatiable Stringer Bell (Idris Elba). In the photo, Michael B. Jordan with Michael K. Williams (left) and Andre Royo (right).

Mischa Barton was leaving the show and the writers decided to do it in style: in an accident caused by Kevin (Cam Gigandet) and in the arms of Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie, pictured). The audience would have burned down the set where the series was being filmed if they could have.

Corey Monteith died in real life and, obviously, the show's script had to be changed to give Finn Hudson a finale in the middle of the fifth season. It was doubly traumatic. Pictured here with Lea Michele.

Five seasons in to the show when Hank discovers Heisenberg (Bryan Cranston) is his brother-in-law, and he ends up being executed by Jack (Michael Bowen). A cruel and harsh fate for a Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) who, while a bit of a pain to be honest, was still the law.

He was the series' lead character, the Lord of Winterfell and the new Hand of the King, but in the first season, Ned Stark (Sean Bean) was executed by order of Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), to the surprise and roar of the audience. On that day, the world realised what a bombshell George R. R. Martin's saga was (pictured, right, with Sean Bean).