While 2017 is far from over, the year has already been stacked with surprising on-screen
deaths.
From fan favorites to characters who some wish had been given the ax ages ago, here
are some of the most surprising small screen killings of the year so far.
And as always, beware the huge spoilers ahead.
Jane the Virgin
At the end of Jane the Virgin's second season, Michael Cordero, Jr. was shockingly shot in
his hallway, but the beginning of Season 3 offered fans a collective sigh of relief when
they learned he'd managed to survive his injuries.
But... halfway through the season he died of a related heart condition anyway.
Michael's death itself wasn't too much of a shock, since the narrator told viewers he
would love Jane "until he drew his dying breath," but when he survived the shooting, it seemed
like he'd at least stick around for the rest of the season.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
During Season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Dr. Radcliffe spent much of his time escaping the pain of real life within the virtual reality
Framework he created.
The episode "Self Control" finally gave fans a good look inside his realm of computerized
consciousness, but when evil android Aida learns that his intentions for the Framework
might not be what she thought, she slashes his wrists, forcing him to stay there.
"This is the way the world ends.
Not with a bang but a ... "
Will he come back from death, Coulson-style?
Maybe.
But few fans saw this abrupt twist coming.
The Vampire Diaries
Fans of The Vampire Diaries were foaming at the mouth when Enzo St. John's heart was unceremoniously
ripped out near the end of the show's final season.
Sure, his murderer, Stefan Salvatore, was in Ripper mode and wasn't his whole self again
until after Bonnie injected him with the cure, but killing a gal's forever love when things
were just starting to get good between them was especially raw.
Stefan ultimately made up for it by sacrificing himself so another couple, Damon and Elena,
could have their happily ever after.
But the only thing that made this even remotely bearable was the fact that Enzo got to come
back in ghost form and hang out with Bonnie even after his untimely passing.
Big Little Lies
Readers of Liane Moriarty's novel of the same name might not have been surprised by Perry
Wright's brutal end in Big Little Lies, but for those who watched HBO's adaptation of
the story, his passing was a shocker.
In the very first episode of the show, a death was teased, but it wasn't until the end that
fans found out who would meet their maker.
Perry was abusive to his wife, was in the process of passing on his most terrible tendencies
to his son, and committed sexual violence against town newcomer Jane some years before,
so he definitely deserved what was coming to him, but still.
Yowza.
The Walking Dead
There's no shortage of death on The Walking Dead, but the show's seventh season was filled
with some especially shocking deaths.
But thanks to the magic of the Internet and awareness of the comics upon which the show
is based, the brutal demises of Abraham and Glenn weren't altogether unforeseeable.
However, when Sasha decided to take a suicide pill while stuffed in a coffin before Negan's
dramatic showdown, he was quite surprised to find her emerge from the box as an infected
walker who wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of his bat-wielding arm.
"Sash.
You're not gonna believe this crap… holy god damn!"
That sacrifice proved to be of little use to the survivors, since it was one of Negan's
lackeys who took the brunt of her brutality, but still.
Brave girl.
Homeland
Peter Quinn endured a lot of life-threatening things on Homeland, including a stroke, getting
gassed, and a struggle with alcoholism.
Ultimately, however, he gave up his life for his country, putting himself in the line of
fire to save President-elect Keane and get her to the White House.
Now, fans might have to learn to love a new assassin-turned-hero.
The Leftovers
HBO's always fascinating The Leftovers started its third and final season with a literal
bang when Meg Abbott blew the Guilty Remnant to smithereens, taking young convert Evie
Murphy with her.
Since viewers had already believed Evie was dead once before, her death didn't come as
much of a shock as Meg's; many fans figured she'd last through the end of the series.
Maybe it's most shocking that the Guilty Remnant are gone—and Meg was the cause.
"Well, that's not gonna work."
Prison Break: Resurrection
The revival of Prison Break, appropriately titled Prison Break: Resurrection revived
the show with much of the original cast intact—only to kill off one fan favorite in the fourth
episode.
Though Paul Kellerman was thought to be dead in Season 2, viewers later learned it was
a cover-up; when the show returned, Kellerman was a changed man who'd hung up his gun and
was living a righteous life.
Unfortunately, you can't put your past behind you—which was a lesson driven home when
Kellerman was killed by an assassin.
Arrow
Over the course of five seasons of Archer, Malcolm Merlyn the Magician was alternately
a force of pain and justice, and his end came in the form of noble sacrifice.
On the run from Adrian Chase on Lian Yu, Thea stepped on a landmine, and Malcolm, who'd
come to the island to protect his daughter, took her place on top of the mine, allowing
her to run to safety.
Left to confront Chase's minions, Malcolm took his foot off the landmine, wiping them
out—and giving up his own life in the process.
Empire
The members of the Lyon family often act irrationally and destructively, which is what provides
the soap opera theatrics that make Empire so fun.
Perhaps there's nobody in the series quite as unhinged as Leah.
She's also never been fond of Tariq, the illegitimate child of the family.
Tariq was just about to tell his half-brother Lucious about a kidnapping plot, but Leah
put a stop to that with a fatal stab to the neck.
It's a death that was surprising, bloody, and sad because Lucious and Tariq were just
beginning to treat each other like brothers.
Fargo
To many viewers of the third season of FX's Midwestern crime anthology, it seemed like
Nikki Swango would be the last person standing when all was said and done.
After all, the petty criminal pulled the strings from the beginning, orchestrating the plot
to extort money from her parole officer fiancé's wealthy twin brother…and then always rolling
with the punches, staying a step or two ahead of both the police and the bad guys when plans
went sour.
But even though the crafty Nikki survived countless brushes with death, she still somehow
met an unceremonious end when she was shot by a police officer during a roadside standoff.
All these devastating demises just go to show that when it comes to small screen drama,
no one's safe from an early exit.
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