10 Heart-Breaking TV Deaths You Never Saw Coming

2. Papa Bartowski - Chuck

bartowski The whole Orion plotline of Chuck just makes me want to cry. All those years, Chuck and Ellie believed that their father was a mentally unstable deadbeat dad, when really he was a computer genius who left to protect them. Scott Bakula plays him with such a sense of vulnerability that it's nearly impossible not to like him pretty much as soon as his character is introduced. So of course, as soon as everything is resolved in the Bartowski household, and they can finally get back to being a real family, tragedy strikes. It's shocking to see him killed, but it's even worse that he goes out with so little fanfare. He doesn't go down in the glory of battle, he gets shot and killed pointlessly, as nothing more than a means to an end. Poor, poor Mr. Bartowski. We'll never forget you.
Contributor
Contributor

Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.