*Spoilers for Walking Dead Seasons 6 & 7 and Fault in Our Stars*

Have you ever felt attached or personally connected to a character in a movie or TV series? Did you long for that character to live forever? The one thing we don’t want is for that character to be killed off.  But, a lot of the times, our wishes aren’t granted, as that character meets an untimely death, and breaks our hearts.  So, why do producers take away the characters we love?

When a character is killed off, it creates a sense of sadness, drama and emotion. And if we didn’t have that, the show would be pretty dull. If the main characters of the story couldn’t die, you might not want to keep watching. You might just say, “Okay, I know those people are going to live forever, and this movie will end happily ever after.  Why should I watch this junk?” But by killing off major characters, it keeps the show interesting. And it gets people talking. When people talk about the show, new viewers are enticed to watch it.  And we all know about advertisements and Netflix fees.  The bigger the audience, cha-ching!

The Walking Dead is one of the most talked-about shows in the nation – partly because they recently killed off a beloved character. People are shocked that the producers decided to knock him off. Many people think that the writers went too far… was it a huge mistake?  Perhaps they did it to spread word about the show and create some buzz. In Season 6, Glenn caused a huge commotion for the audience when he was supposedly eaten by the ‘walkers.’ This caused drama, drama, drama… and brought in money, money, money.  While this might have been heartbreaking for the fans, the producers loved it.  Fans started jumped on social media to tell everyone what they thought about the show, and more people started watching The Walking Dead.  Everyone tuned in to see if he was alive or not. With the cliffhanger at the end of Season 6, people were anxious to see who would kick the bucket, and 17 million people watched the new episode due to the suspense that had been created by the previous season.  This publicity was amazing for the producers; more viewers meant more money. As I said, cha-ching!

In The Fault in Our Stars, Augustus Waters, a fan favorite and main character, dies to cancer.  During his 17-year battle with cancer, we watched and experienced his suffering, and as the audience, we hoped that he would overcome his illness.  When Augustus succumbs to cancer, viewers sobbed, which actually made the story more popular.  You’ve seen the Disney ending a million times — where everyone lived happily ever after — but stories that have sad endings are unique. The Fault in Our Stars mournful ending changed the norm and made the movie as successful as it was.  It won 20 different awards!  Yes, 20!  I guess main characters should die more often.

Most importantly, the death of a beloved character evokes strong emotions and relatability for the movie or TV series.  Television transports viewers into a different world, and viewers feel a character’s emotions.  When a fictitious parent dies, you imagine your parent dying.  When the main character’s best friend dies, you imagine your best friend dying.  Even when a pet dies, we imagine our pets dying.  How tragic!  This is why people cry so much during movies, even ones as silly as Finding Nemo and Lion King.  Movie deaths tug at your heartstrings, and make your eyes water, creating a movie hit.

RIP, character.  Although you may not like your favorite characters kick the bucket, most movies depend on their deaths.  When someone perishes, the cash may start rolling in, and the movie or show can become a sensation.  It might even win a Grammy or Oscar.  So the next time someone you adore dies and you cry into your pillow, cheer yourself up by thinking “It happened for a reason.”