10 TV Shows That Killed Characters Unexpectedly Early
7. Barbara Holland - Stranger Things
Barbara Holland, known as Barb, was a fan favourite from the first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Barb was the innocent school friend of free-spirited teenager Nancy Wheeler. Despite their differences, the pair seemed inseparable during the opening episodes of the show.
With Nancy being the classically beautiful and popular highschooler, Barb was her nerdy and more sensible counterpart who kept the duo grounded. She was someone that the show's viewership could relate to and her character received a tonne of love online. The actress even showed up to Comic-Con, post-death, to ask the panel where Barb was, much to the delight of the audience.
However, Barb met her fate early in the show’s run when, in the second episode, she was left alone by Nancy at a pool party. Whilst Nancy was in the house with her boyfriend, a Demogorgan emerged and pulled her into the Hellish realm known as The Upside Down. Upon attempting a desperate escape, Barb was dragged underwater and killed, only for her rotting corpse to be found by Eleven later in the season.
Barb had huge potential to be the show's voice of reason, but as a result of poor party etiquette, this potential was wasted.