10 TV Characters NOBODY Expected To Die
4. Nate Fisher - Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under is a show utterly immersed in death in every single moment, but for the most part it felt like the central members of the Fisher family were basically safe.
Yet by far the most endangered Fisher throughout the show's run was protagonist Nate (Peter Krause), who in season two is diagnosed with a potentially fatal brain condition - an arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
However, Nate undergoes surgery at the end of the season, and that seems to be that. Yet in the second half of the fifth and final season, Nate suddenly collapses from a huge stroke likely related to his AVM, and though he appears to survive in the next episode, ultimately dies from complications.
Nate was a character who truly seemed like he'd been through enough existential torment throughout the show and, despite his health issues, would make it to the end in one piece.
But instead, creator Alan Ball made the shock decision to kill the series' main character with three episodes left, each of which tragically explored the fallout of Nate's death before pulling the trump card in the series finale: flashing forward to reveal how every single major character died.