As if executive producer Shonda Rhimes hadn't put fans through enough anguish in the Seaon 8 with Lexie's death, the show returned with the somewhat shocking reveal — we say "somewhat" because Dane announced was leaving the series — that Mark eventually succumbed to his injuries and died after the plane crash survivors were rescued. His death was even more heartbreaking because we knew he'd finally be reunited with true love Lexie in the afterlife.

Lori, T-Dog, Merle and Andrea (Sarah Wayne Callies, IronE Singleton, Michael Rooker and Laurie Holden), The Walking Dead It should come as no surprise that a show about the dead coming back to life and eating the living would have a lot of casualties, but what was shocking was the speed in which some of them happened. Rick's wife Lori died during childbirth in the season's fourth episode, which also featured the heroic death of T-Dog. Merle died at the end of the season after The Governor left him to turn into a zombie, while Andrea's death — in which she didn't escape Milton's transformation into a walker — was the most-shocking and tragic, especially since her comic book counterpart is still alive and kicking.

Just when Casey and Hallie looked like they finally have a shot together, they take her away. How cruel! After receiving a call about a fire at Hallie's clinic, Casey found her trapped and unconscious in a med cage. Though they were able to get her to the hospital, she was too far gone to be saved. Skirting tradition, Casey came up with his own version of the five stages of grief, which included teaming up with Voight to discover who murdered his girlfriend, chasing down said murderer and watching Voight shoot the guy in the head right in front of him. We can only hope Casey finds some lasting happiness in Season 2 (and maybe a way to deal with his loss that doesn't involve killing people).

Someone had to pay the price of the Illuminati's sins this season — they did rig an election after all. But when Verna, on her deathbed, threatened the president with going public with the information, he took matters into his own hands by suffocating her. Sure, the cancer-stricken Supreme Court justice was going to die soon anyway, but POTUS committing murder?! In all honesty, what was worse was that his act is one of the main reasons Fitz and Olivia didn't get together in the end. Boo!

We all know that if you get to close to discovering Dexter's secret, bad things will happen (See: Doakes). But what was shocking about the death of LaGuerta, who was so convinced that Dexter was the Bay Harbor Butcher that it nearly cost her her job, was that it was Deb who did the deed. With Dexter planning to set LaGuerta up for murder before killing her, Deb was able to intervene at the last moment, but she was then faced with a choice: kill her own brother or cover up his secret by killing LaGuerta. We all know how that turned out, but just wait until you see how she handles it in the final season. (Hint: Not well.)

We've never been so sad to see an S.O.B. go. During his prison stay, Arlo got attacked by crooked cop-turned-fellow inmate Hunter Mosley, who wants to keep Arlo quiet about the true identity of Drew Thompson. Though Arlo put up quite a fight for a man his age, the pulpy battle in the prison barbershop ultimately ended with Hunter stabbing a pair of shears in Arlo's heart. Raylan visited his father one last time, asking for details about Drew. "Kiss my ass," Arlo whispered. Like we said, he's a jerk, but we'll miss seeing the way he gets under Raylan's skin.

We have to admit we weren't too upset when Connor died in an explosion set off by Conrad, but we do feel terrible for poor Jack who's now lost his dad, his wife, his dog and now brother. However, Connor's death did lead to one helluva reveal: After stopping Jack from killing Conrad and Daniel, Emily told confessed to him that she's Amanda Clarke.

R.I.P. Jolene, the drug-addicted mother of Juliette Barnes, who never could seem to get her act together. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice to protect her daughter, Jolene kills Dante, her one-time sober coach who's now trying to blackmail Juliette, and then ostensibly choked to death on her own vomit after overdosing. It's a tragic end to the mother-daughter saga that made for some pivotal plot twists in the show's first season. Jolene's relationship with Juliette alternated between humanizing and demonizing the troubled starlet, and there's no doubt that Juliette's arc in Season 2 will hinge on how she deals with her mother's death.

The BAU Section Chief dies in the Season 8 finale in Hotch's arms after The Replicator (Mark Hamill) made Strauss, a recovering alcoholic, drink and drugged her with a meth/ecstasy mix. Though many fans loathed the overbearing, antagonistic Strauss when she first appeared in Season 2 (and futilely forced Prentiss to help her oust Hotch), she had since grown closer and more sympathetic with the BAU — so close that she'd been hopping in the sack with Rossi! Now with Strauss gone, it's time for a new boss.

When Hagman — irreplaceable as the iconic, beloved villain — died in November 2012 from complications of cancer, there was only one fate for J.R. And so the oil baron was shot to death by an unknown assailant while detailing his "masterpiece" plan to John Ross. The nature of J.R.'s death, of course, paid homage to one of the original series' — and pop culture's — greatest cliff-hangers, as fans were once again asking: "Who shot J.R.?" So who shot him? Bum, with Cliff Barnes' pistol, as part of J.R.'s master plan to frame Cliff from beyond the grave.

Amy Pond and Rory Williams (Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill), Doctor Who The loss of a companion on Doctor Who is always reason to mourn, but the Ponds brought a level of compassion to the series that only a married couple could. Rory had already proven his devotion to Amy a zillion-fold as the Last Centurion, watching over her for millennia. Is it any wonder that she returned the favor? In their final adventure in Manhattan, a Weeping Angel sent Rory back in time time, and Amy allowed the Weeping Angel to touch her too so she could join Rory, knowing full well that through some complicated "timey-wimey" paradox that the Doctor can no longer travel back and save them. They live out the rest of their days in the past, never having direct communication with the Time Lord again. He never did like goodbyes, and neither do we.

Sybil Branson and Matthew Crawley (Jessica Brown Findlay, Dan Stevens), Downton Abbey Forget the Royals. The Crawleys have become America's favorite British noble family, and we are not amused that two of them died in Season 3. Sybil's tragic death from eclampsia was bad enough — her husband's pleading for her to "come back, love," struck the first blow. But Matthew's fatal car crash in the finale, right after he greeted his newborn son in the hospital, finished us completely. Sibyl and Matthew were arguably the two most modern (read: least snobby) and likeable characters on Downton. Without them, the heart and softness has gone out of the show.

Robb and Catelyn Stark (Richard Madden and Michelle Fairley), Game of Thrones After Robb broke his word to Lord Walder, he attempted to make amends by agreeing to marry his uncle to one of Walder's many daughters. Unfortunately, the betrothal was only a ruse to take Robb unawares (but not before butchering Robb's wife and their unborn child). Driven mad by grief at her son's death, Catelyn murders Walder's young wife, only to have her throat cut in suit. Known as the Red Wedding, the soul-crushing event also ended any hope the Stark family could reunite and get the happy ending they deserved. But it's unlikely their deaths will go unavenged. As they say in Westeros, the North remembers…

Even though Joe Carroll's death in a fiery boathouse explosion was seemingly confirmed by dental records and DNA at the end of the Season 1 finale, some fans are still speculating that James Purefoy will be back for the show's sophomore season. But even if Joe did actually die, his character is sure to have a ripple effect all over Season 2, with countless psychotic members of his cult (including his right-hand woman Emma) still on the loose. The tense dynamic between Joe and his nemesis, Ryan Hardy, will surely be missed, but fortunately for viewers, in addition to Joe's followers, Ryan has plenty of his own inner demons to do battle with in upcoming seasons.

As the right-hand man to Atlantic City's psychotic kingpin Nucky Thompson, Owen was the nice, relatively safe IRA guy with whom viewers could relate. He was certainly less jaded, which is why we don't fault him seeking comfort and starting a romance with Nucky's sweet yet neglected wife Margaret, who became pregnant with his baby and dreamt of running away with him. But when Owen was double-crossed, his bloodied body was shipped to Nucky in a crate. Like Margaret, who wailed over her dead lover's body, our ability to hope died with Owen. Irish eyes are not smiling today.

After Mike refused to give Walt the names of Gus' former employees, Walt's ego, once again, kicked in and he shot Mike in a fit of rage. He kinda-sorta regretted it after realizing that he could get the names from Lydia, but before Walt could finish his half-assed apology, Mike — in his trademark laconic, no-nonsense demeanor — snipped at him: "Shut the f--- up and let me die in peace." And he did, becoming just another notch on Walt's ever-growing list of collateral damage.

It was only a matter of time before another main character bit the dust. Unfortunately for Bonnie, her power was ultimately too strong for her and despite the warnings, she died while bringing Jeremy back to life. Good thing the show has ghosts so we can still get our weekly witch fix next season.

Good, loyal friends are hard to come by. Although Opie was dragged back into the outlaw life that has since cost him his wife and his father Piney, Opie stood by his best friend Jax until the end — even after Jax revealed why he couldn't let Opie kill Clay, who was responsible for Piney's death. Jax is told that the only way to end a beef with a rival gang is to sacrifice a member, and having already lost everything, Opie steps forward to stop Jax from sacrificing himself. "I got this," he says, before being brutally beaten to death with a metal pipe. We hope Opie's tortured soul is now at peace, but we can't help feeling he is goon to soon.