3. Wash - Serenity
Who Is He?: The pilot of the ship Serenity and married to first mate Zoe. Notable for his quick-witted sense of humour - what Joss Whedon character isn't? - and the collection of dinosaurs toys he keeps in the ship's cockpit.
How Does He Die?: After negotiating some tricky terrain, Serenity crash-lands and everything seems to be fine. Wash utters his immortal phrase, "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I..." - but before he can say anymore, a Reaver harpoon is shot through the ship, killing him instantly, much to the horror of everyone on the ship, and most certainly the show's fans.
Why He Should Have Lived: Because Joss Whedon just
loves killing off everybody's favourite character in pretty much everything he makes. Though the movie pays tribute to Wash by keeping his dinosaur toys on the cockpit at the end of the movie, did he
need to die for the story to play out? It was really just a way to augment our emotional engagement with the final stand against the Reavers.