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7 Heartbreaking Characters We Lost To The Undead Apocalypse

During South Africa’s lockdown period that is seeming like it’s lasting forever, I’ve played a lot of games and watched a lot of movies revolving around the undead. And like in many games and films, some of the characters we grow attached to have lost their lives to these unexplained things. So with all of this still fresh in my mind here is a list of some of the saddest goodbyes I feel we’ve had to face during a zombie apocalypse. 

Lee – Walking Dead Season 1 (Telltale Games)

This is probably one of the most memorable deaths I’ll remember in video game history. We first meet Lee as he is on his way to be locked away. On his way to prison, the transport vehicle he is in hits something crossing the road, sending the car rolling off a cliff. Soon Lee is on the run to try and stay alive. He is given a second chance when the 8 year old Clementine saves his life.
The two soon form a father-daughter relationship that will stay with the players for such a long time.
Lee risked his life countless times to ensure the little girl was safe and tried to help her get back to her loved ones. However, like any great story, we need to have a dramatic ending. Throughout the story we fall in love with Clementine, we protect her, feed her, and ensure we are warm for the winter. So it’s only natural that we do everything in our power to get her back when she is kidnapped by a madman looking for revenge. 

As Lee tries to find Clem he gets surprised and almost overpowered by a zombie who sinks his rotting teeth into Lee’s arm. With Lee’s life at risk and time running short his number one priority still says the same. The two are later reunited but with Lee at the point of turning into a zombie, he asks Clem to do something for him. He asks the now 9 year old girl to shoot him before he turns.
At this point, I was crying my eyes out! Lee will always be remembered for his bravery, leadership, and care and compassion for others, especially Clemintine.

Samantha – I Am Legend

This movie was something my sister and I watched over and over again during our school holidays. It was the plot of the movie that made it so interesting and entertaining to watch.
Sam is first introduced to us as a small puppy, who became a part of Robert Neville’s family after being adopted. Sam’s life changed on Christmas Eve when a deadly virus broke out. After watching as two of her family members departed in a chopper Sam is left behind with Robert. As they both watched the chopper leave the two new partners in crime would have never expected the dangers that would come.

Three years later Sam is now a full-grown four-legged lady and the only companion Robert has. She is truly what we call “Man’s best friend”. Throughout the movie, Sam is shown as a loyal companion to her owner as she stands with him and refuses to leave his side when he is captured and trapped by the infected. Sam refused to leave her master’s side and when infected dogs were set loose to deal with the pair of them she helped fend them off. Sadly she was bitten by one of the infected dogs. After they won the battle she gets rushed home, as Robert hopes to save his companion’s life by giving her an antidote.
With tears in my eyes at this point, we see her lose more and more hair as she begins to turn and tries to take a bite out of Robert. My heart genuinely broke as he grabbed her in a chokehold, smothering his companion so she wouldn’t have to suffer the pain of being infected. As an animal lover, this was incredibly hard on my heart and probably one of the saddest deaths I’ll remember for an animal. 

Tess – The Last of Us

With the release of The Last of Us Part 2 coming very soon I recall Tess and her sacrifice. She made sure Joel kept his promise by getting Ellie to the Fireflies. We first met the somewhat cold, determined boss lady after the opening tragedy of the game and it is quickly established that she is somewhat of a leader figure amongst people and very well respected.
On a mission to try and get Ellie to Marlene, Tess is bitten fighting off a runner in the museum. At first, she hid her wound but as time goes by and her bite gets worse she begs Joel to complete the mission and take the girl to his brother. An ex-firefly member who could possibly put him into contact with Marlene and fulfill her dying wish.

After a short argument, Joel and Ellie set off to go and find his brother, Tommy, leaving Tess to hold off the forces that are chasing them. After a few gunshots being exchanged Tess’s body can be seen lying on the floor along with two of the soldiers she killed.
Tess is a good example of what would happen to any person who survived an apocalypse. She might have seemed cold and heartless at some points, but instead, I saw her as a fighter who adapted to the changes around her. In the end, she was brave enough to do the right thing and she wanted to die as a human and not become one of the undead. 

Duck and Katjaa – Walking Dead Season 1 (Telltale Games)

Another sad death from the fantastic Telltale video game series, The Walking Dead Season 1. I know many people who played the game say that they never really liked Duck as he was annoying and really loud. I, however, liked him a lot. He was sweet, caring, and very carefree. He was always on the move excited about everything. 

When Duck got bitten his parents took it incredibly badly, as any parent would. The group didn’t know how to react since they never had a bite victim in the group before. As time passed we could see the effects the bite had on the young boy and how his condition became worse. When it was time to say our goodbyes, as both parents talked about how they would handle the situation, Katjaa could not bear to see her son being killed and took her own life in the process. Leaving her husband with Duck who is at the last turning point, Kenny is left alone to take the responsibility no parent ever needs to take upon themselves. At this point, you are able to take the gun (as Lee) and shoot Duck in order to make it easier for him, or you have the option to have Kenny shoot Duck instead.
Whatever your choice is, it was a difficult decision to make and tears flowed either way. 

Sarah – Last of Us

Sarah is the first character we get to play in the game. We start off the game with her waking up and looking for her dad, Joel, who is not yet home but should have been. The atmosphere is well and truly set as we slowly move through the house picking up items and exploring.
Sarah is shown to be a caring and selfless individual as she is more worried about others than herself throughout all the things that happen around them. 

Looking at the front cover of The Last Of Us we don’t see Sarah. Instead, we see Ellie which should already give us a hint of something bad happening to the young girl.
As Sarah, Joel, and Tommy make their way into town they get caught up in an accident where Sarah is injured and cannot walk. Joel picks her up and they set off to find a way out of the town. As they dash through a bar, Tommy stays behind to give them a chance to run and escape. As they make it to the highway they find a soldier who saves them from the undead, Joel asks for help. The soldier seemed unsure about what to do and warned them to say away at gunpoint. Joel, scared for his and his daughter’s life, still tries to calm the soldier down. In the blink of an eye, shots are fired and a bullet hits the little girl as her father tries to shield her.

At this point I was crying, Sarah was crying, screaming, and gasping for air in her father’s arms and Joel begging for his little girl’s life. This is easily one of the saddest beginnings to a game ever. Leaving the player heartbroken and worried to keep playing. Although Sarah was not killed or bitten by a zombie she is on the list because we lost her on the brink of an apocalypse. 

Barbara-  Shaun Of The Dead

If you’re unfamiliar with this movie, it’s a comedy film set in a zombie apocalypse. Even though it’s a funny film it still stands to reason that characters will die. So when an unexpected apocalypse does happen we all need to face the fact that we will probably lose loved ones or they will lose us. And when this happens there can be no worse feeling than having to pull the trigger on our own family.
So it really did not surprise me when Barbara decided not to trouble her son or make him worry after she got bitten by a zombie. She decided to keep it to herself to ensure her son and his companions stayed focused on surviving. However, as time went by she could no longer fight the effects of the bite and slowly started becoming weaker and paler. When she collapsed to the floor Shaun was right by her side, upset that she never told him about her bite. As her life slowly comes to an end we see everyone crying except David who is trying to convince everyone that Barbara needed to be ‘put down’ as she begins slowly turning.

After she rises from the dead Barbara is killed once again by her own son with a shot through the head. Usually, this wouldn’t have made me too sad but it’s the way in which Barbara cared enough for her son to not cause trouble for him that made me feel a real connection to Shaun’s mother. It made me wonder if I would ever be able to “take care of things” when one of my family members would turn. It’s a really scary thought and something I believe NOBODY will be prepared for. 

Carl – The Walking Dead (TV)

For those of us who have watched and are still watching or catching up with the TV series, we know how big an impact this character has made on our lives. Many will remember Carl as the sweet little boy who always wanted to help others and someone who cared for his friends and family. As the series continues we get to see how a small sweet boy slowly turns cold. Carl quickly has to come to terms with the fact that if he wants to protect the people he loves he needs to take a stand. Even if it’s against his own mother’s wishes.

As we reach the end of his story we watch as he says his final wish is that his family keeps fighting for a better future and that he knows they will make it. In the end, Carl took his own life, knowing that it would be a heavy burden for his loved ones if they had to shoot him. Despite this tragic end, his character will always be remembered as the little boy who tried his best to remind everyone that life is worth fighting for and that it should be cherished. Yes, he made mistakes but he lived every day trying to make it right. 

All of these character deaths resulted in me crying, leaving my throat dry, and questioning if I should continue playing the rest of the games or watching the rest of the story. They are all characters we fell in love with through their hardships and development. I’m sure we all probably agree we wish they would have never died, but through their deaths, we somehow get to experience some fantastic storytelling.
Did I mention your most heartbreaking zombie apocalypse related character death? If not tell me who I missed out on in the comments below :)

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Comments (4)

While I can rarely watch horror movies or play the games, I did play Last of Us and the opening sequences just crushed me. To me, that’s how you can tell its going to be a great game, when the narrative just hits you right in the feels before you even really get a change to start playing. I loved the blog post, AC! Well done :D

Hi BorealysMac,

The Last of Us is a fantastic game, I played it the day before Christmas when we had family visiting and EVERYONE was watching the opening. I was crying and my mom even told me to not play the game, however, I did keep playing and it was fantastic. Looking forward to part 2 :)

Lots of Love
AzuraCub

I won’t spoil it for anyone that would like to see it, but during lockdown I watched Train to Busan. NO movie has ever made me feel the way this movie has. I watched it with headphones on to experience the audio and the movie in full glory. So when “the badass” character dies I broke down. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll know who I’m talking about

Hi Carlo,

I’ve never seen the movie but I will take your word for it and watch it over the weekend and look forward to sharing my thoughts on it with you :)

Lots of Love
AzuraCub

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