A central protagonist is our guide into a different world. Through them we will discover the people, setting and characters that make up a specific show and follow their journey from beginning to end, however long that may be. With the possible exception of Friends, virtually every successful tv show has a central character. Even those that have a large cast- which are usually described as ensemble shows- tend to have a main character, such as Jack from Lost or Emma from Once Upon A Time. These are the characters that the plot tends to focus on and are the characters that the story begins and ends with. Of course all things must come to an end, so however many years that a show runs for, there comes a time when the writers must build towards the end game. Though we expect most shows to give us the typical Hollywood happy ending, it cant always be the case. Some series are made with an unhappy ending in mind; Spartacus for example, was never going to survive his final battle and I dont think anybody expects Dexter to ride off into the sunset, when his eight season killing spree finally comes to a conclusion. As these endings are expected, they arent particularly shocking- emotionally devastating - but not shocking. However there are times when a character doesnt get the ending, which either we as an audience expected or they as character deserve. In fact some endings- no matter how powerful they otherwise may have been- leave us asking the question, was that really necessary? As we watch our hero departs from our screens for the final time perhaps, alone, unfulfilled in life or even dead. Whether you consider the ends to be good or not, they are normally among the most memorable in television. So let's have a look a 5 characters that had harrowing endings.