10 TV Characters Who Got Undeservedly Brutal Deaths
4. Matthew Crawley - Downton Abbey
Method Of Death
Car accident.
Why It Was Undeserved
Much like Kal Penn, Dan Stevens decided to leave a hit TV show at the peak of its popularity and the character he played consequently suffered for it.
The demise of the dashing, charming Matthew Crawley (Stevens) was especially gruelling as his wife, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), had literally just given birth to their son.
After visiting mother and child at the hospital, Matthew giddily raced back to Downton Abbey to inform the rest of his family, only to roll off the road and die instantly in the ensuing wreck, pinned under his own vehicle.
This was a peak shock value death and one that infuriated fans for how abrupt and needlessly cruel it seemed to be. These tragedies happen in real life, of course, but offing Matthew shortly after his son was born just seemed a little much.