10 TV Characters Who Died In 2020
4. Justin Foley - 13 Reasons Why
Netflix's controversial drama series 13 Reasons Why sputtered to a messy conclusion with its fourth and final recent season, which delivered the cruelest blow of all in its series finale "Graduation" with the death of Justin Foley (Brandon Flynn).
The episode sees Justin diagnosed with AIDS as a result of his drug addiction and prostitution, eventually succumbing to pneumonia and meningitis in hospital.
The fan backlash to Justin's death was immediate, with many criticising the decision to have him relapse and quickly die at the height of his redemption arc, while others felt that using an AIDS diagnosis for the sake of a shocking plot twist was exploitative and insensitive.
For a show taken to task in the past for how indelicately it's dealt with real world issues such as suicide and sexual assault, it was dispiritingly fitting that the show went out by robbing fans of arguably the series' most hopeful character.