As I posted on another thread, Jack’s death in Titanic seems to me to be needless. The guy had a plan for every situation, and tried to the last to survive, which he should have.
Any other deaths in the movies that seemed unnecessary?
City of Angels. A literal truck ending that was just to be poetically ironic.
Caveat: 30 degree F water will do a total number on your muscles & nerves. Consider yourself lucky if you can move at all.
But, if I were him, I simply start pushing her and the thing towards the nearest life raft.
Capt. James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations. They couldn’t have given him a more heroic death than having a bridge collapse on him? At least [del]William Shatner[/del] Judith and Gar Reeves-Stevens found a way to bring him back in some of the novels.
Henry Blake’s death in MASH* was needless. But that was the point, wasn’t it?
If Rose had stayed in the lifeboat, then Jack could have climbed up on the debris and they’d have both lived. That’s what always struck me as needless about it.
Three that come to mind:
Wages of Fear (1953) – The classic in the rare adventure film sub-genre of Truck Movies; nevertheless the final death is entirely needless resulting in a facile irony that mildly taints an otherwise awesome flick.
The Black Scorpion (1957) – The army lures the last remaining giant scorpion into a sports stadium where they plan to shoot an electrode into it and electrocute it. The first shot goes awry and an army dude pulls the electrode back in…but the juice was never turned off, so the instant he touches it, he dies (somewhat hilariously).
The Mist (2007) – I list this not for the needless deaths at the end, but owing to the needless death of the Toby Jones character, who it seems, must die because he saved the lead’s son by clipping a clearly insane character who wanted to sacrifice him. Movie morality at its worst.
Tasha Yar’s death in ST:TNG. But they even admitted that later.
I always thought there was room on that table/door thing for 2. Dumb movie, dumb ending.
Glen on The Walking dead.
Old Yeller.
Did the raft begin to capsize when Jack tried to climb aboard it?
However, one of the few episodes in that show that caused me to feel something.
I’m not enough of a fanboy to know why they did this, I always assumed it was because the actress wanted out of the commitment of a weekly show.
So here’s another one, for the same reason: Cait’s murder in NCIS. I thought Sasha Alexander was very good in that part, and I couldn’t stand her replacement. And all because the show was too much work (if I remember correctly). Then she ended up on another weekly cop-type show. I don’t get it.
“He’s DEAD, Jim!”
Ode to the Redshirts.
J.R. Ewing…
Oh wait, that was a dream or something, wasn’t it? Jeez, that was a long time ago. Criminy!
Almost forty years, if my memory is correct. Your post also reminds me of a humorous moment in another Dallas episode: As JR’s brother Bobby Ewing was about to die, JR blurts out “Don’t do this to me, Bobby!”. On it’s own, it’s not much of a line…but Larry Hagman delivered it in such an over-the-top, rapid fire fashion that it made me laugh like crazy when he uttered the words.
I’m also trying to remember…was it JR who had the dream or Bobby? Ah, how memories fade.
JR was shot, but didn’t die.
Bobby died, only it was all a dream.
Lesser known film, but fresh in my head,as I just watched it.
High Road to China. The film starts out with this older gentlemen who was dispatched to Istanbul to find wacky heiress Eve Tozer and her father. While looking like a retired banker, the gentleman shows hidden skills as he dispatches with cool efficiency a person sent to kill him.
Later, additional killers attack him and Eve on the street, and this time, instead of skillfully avoiding the killers, he walks into a knife without so much as a by-your-leave.
There was no reason in the plot he had to die. Lots of people showed up to drive the plot and were never heard from again in the film. It isn’t like his death inspired Eve to scream NOOOOO and wreak vengeance upon the killers. Nope, poor guy was forgotten 1 minute later.
Wash and Shepherd Book in Serenity.
This was the first thing I thought of.
BUT, whereas I would agree about Wash, I think Book’s death is important for the storyline. Book’s death, and Mal determining that it was the Alliance and not the Reavers, is key to pushing Mal to take on the Alliance (and blow the lid off the paxil/Reaver cover-up).
One could argue that Wash’s death was similarly “necessary” to turn Zoe into a human terminator to take on the Reavers, but it would seem mere survival would be enough motivation for that.
Would Ensign Peter Preston’s death in ST:TWoK be considered needless? Of all the trainees on the Enterprise, it appears only one person died in the ensuing chase and battles with Khan. No one ever cried so hard for a red shirt before. What did it add?
Yes, I know he was Scotty’s nephew, but that fact wasn’t in the theatrical version. And I can’t help but wonder if he could have been saved had Scotty taken him to sickbay rather than the bridge.
Kumar (I know that’s not the actor or character’s name) suddenly committing suicide on House. It’s never explained. (IRL, it’s because the actor suddenly quit the show to work for Obama)