3. Wash – Serenity (2005)
Frustration is nothing new to fans of Firefly. Joss Whedon’s beloved short-lived space Western had a criminally short original run, and though the franchise survived across other media, it wasn’t until 2005’s Serenity that its ragtag cast of characters reunited for one final epic adventure. Written primarily to wrap up loose plot threads, Serenity was a bittersweet affair: it was the much-anticipated ending that never should have been.
Joss Whedon’s knack for delivering occasional gut-wrenching deaths is well-known, but Serenity‘s biggest moment felt senseless, cold, and ultimately pointless. After expertly piloting the Serenity through an apparent suicide run of crossfire between Reaver and Alliance ships, fan-favorite Wash crashes the ship and is unceremoniously impaled. There’s no warning for the moment: Wash is simply saving the lives of the crew in one moment, and he’s dead the next.
Wash’s death coming at the moment of one of his greatest triumphs was a dark and upsetting way to see the character off. What’s more, it didn’t really serve any true purpose other than shocking the audience and having a beloved character sacrificed for added emotional weight. It’s a death that’s particularly memorable in its cruelty, serving as another unwelcome reminder that Firefly and Serenity simply didn’t play out the way it deserved to.