10 Recent TV Scenes That Shocked The World
1. Alex's Sudden Death - The Expanse
Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Amazon's hit sci-fi show The Expanse, faced quite the headache when 30 allegations of sexual harassment and assault were made against actor Cas Anvar, who portrayed fan favourite character Alex Kamal on the series.
Given that The Expanse's fifth season was deep in post-production when the allegations came to light, Alcon was faced with a difficult decision - find a way to write Alex out of the show or risk creating on-set hostility and invoking the ire of the fanbase.
Ultimately Alcon announced shortly before season five's airing that Anvar wouldn't be returning for season six, and the season five finale "Nemesis Games" shockingly ended with Alex's sudden death due to a stroke during a high-g engagement.
Many fans likely assumed that Alex would be conveniently written off the show between seasons, but Alcon made the drastic step to employ shrewd reshoots and clever editing to give Alex a definitive on-screen death.
Existing footage of Anvar was digitally manipulated to show him lifelessly bleeding from the nose, which while hardly perfect was acceptable enough under the tricky circumstances.
It was certainly a sad outcome for fans of the character, especially as Alex doesn't die in The Expanse books, but considering how often the show has stated the risks associated with intense spaceflight, killing him through a medical event wasn't as random as it seemed.