The big twist in “The Last of Us” this week wasn’t the first to completely upend a TV show and its fandom. Here’s a look at some other notable exits.
[This article contains major spoilers for Season 2, Episode 2 of “The Last of Us” and for 10 older shows dating back to 1975.]
Shocking TV viewers these days is harder for a variety of reasons, and that is true of even major character deaths. Audiences may be tipped off by internet leaks and rumors — or, in this I.P.-driven age, by source material. Millions of “Game of Thrones” watchers were floored when the Red Wedding episode aired on HBO in 2013; millions of George R.R. Martin readers were not.
But for the many viewers of the HBO series “The Last of Us” who haven’t played the video games, Sunday’s episode most likely came as an immense shock. (The episode, the second of Season 2, is drawn from events in the video game sequel The Last of Us Part II, from 2020.) As when Rosalind (Diana Muldaur) fell down the elevator shaft in “L.A. Law,” or when Omar (Michael K. Williams) was murdered by a child in “The Wire,” the death of Joel (Pedro Pascal) was jaw-dropping. It felt in some ways like a throwback.
It remains to be seen how Joel’s death will change the complexion of the show, but it will be fundamentally different without him. As we ponder how that might take shape, we look back at some shocking character deaths that changed everything.
‘M*A*S*H’
Season 3, Episode 24 (Airdate: March 18, 1975)
In retrospect, it shouldn’t be that shocking for someone in the Army to die during wartime. But audiences in 1975 were unprepared for news that the former commanding officer of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital didn’t make it home alive. Sure, it had been announced that McLean Stevenson (who played Lt. Colonel Henry Blake) was leaving the series, but the expectation was that his character would be simply discharged, given some fond farewells, and that would be that. But then suddenly, in the last scene of the third season finale, Radar (Gary Burghoff) announced that Blake’s plane had been shot down: “There were no survivors,” he said. With that, the mood of the show shifted from sitcom to dramedy.
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Source: Television - nytimes.com
