海角大神

The ABC medical drama 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy鈥� shocked many viewers this past spring when a major character met his end.听

In April, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), a doctor on the show and the love interest for 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� protagonist Meredith, died during an episode of the show. 鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� creator Shonda Rhimes the reasons behind the decision at a recent Television Critics Association panel for the ABC show.

鈥淭he decision to have the character die the way that he did was not a difficult one in the sense of what were the options?鈥� Rhimes said. 鈥淓ither Derek was going to walk out on Meredith and leave her high and dry and what was that going to mean? That was going to suggest that their love was not true 鈥� that the thing we said for 11 years was a lie鈥� and that was untenable. Meredith and Derek's love had to remain Meredith and Derek's love. As painful as it was for me as a storyteller because I never thought that would happen, the only way to preserve that is Derek had to die for that love to remain honest鈥�. for me, the only way was to make Derek and Meredith's magic to remain true and forever frozen in time.鈥澛�

鈥淕rey鈥檚鈥� is currently part of a Thursday night lineup for ABC that includes the shows 鈥淪candal,鈥� which was also created by Rhimes, and 鈥淗ow to Get Away with Murder,鈥� which is produced by Rhimes鈥� company ShondaLand.听

Derek鈥檚 death was the newest character demise to shock viewers. Many were taken aback when actor Josh Charles鈥檚 character Will Gardner was killed on the CBS show 鈥淭he Good Wife鈥� in 2014. However, the departure of Will was a more traditional TV death in that it was reportedly caused by Charles's desire to leave the show. 鈥淚 was just ready to kind of move on,鈥� Charles .听

From remarks by Dempsey, it sounds like Derek鈥檚 departure was a storytelling decision rather than one by the actor. 鈥淚t really was something that was kind of surprising that unfolded,鈥� Dempsey said in an . Shocking character deaths and plot twists have seemed to be everywhere over the last few years as networks have tried to woo viewers to watch TV live rather than on a delay. One show has become particularly notorious for it: the HBO drama 鈥淕ame of Thrones.鈥� However, that鈥檚 not necessarily the showrunners鈥� fault 鈥� the show is based on the book series 鈥淎 Song of Ice and Fire鈥� by George R.R. Martin and most of the deaths on the show occurred first in the books.

These character deaths can be a good writing decision. With the death of Will on 鈥淭he Good Wife,鈥� many critics felt the character鈥檚 departure was a good way to move the show forward, with one聽聽writing that 鈥淎licia Florrick is not defined by her love interests, and her story does not end because Will's does鈥�. [I]n an entertainment landscape in which women still vie to be seen as fully realized people, rather than supporting characters in male-driven narrative or as mere objects of desire, it is a bold and welcome move.鈥澛犅燾alled Charles鈥檚 departure 鈥渁 limitation that worked in the [co-creators] Kings鈥� favor.鈥�

However, it also seems that these deaths can leave viewers or even the actors themselves feeling betrayed if the character demise doesn鈥檛 seem earned in the story or if important plotlines aren鈥檛 resolved. For example, many 鈥淭hrones鈥� fans believe that one of the most recent characters to be killed off, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), can鈥檛 be gone because a long-running plotline 鈥� that of his parentage 鈥� hasn鈥檛 been wrapped up. 鈥淭he major loss with Jon鈥檚 through-line is he never finds out who his mother is and that鈥檚 the heartbreaking thing for me,鈥� Harington himself .

As for the death of Derek himself, some critics feel it wasn't quite earned 鈥� wrote that Derek "deserved more than this" and called the manner in which his death occurred "incredibly frustrating.... I wasn't crazy about the writing."

A major character death is a risky move for any TV show. If it鈥檚 handled right, it can revitalize a program, but if handled wrongly, it can alienate fans and make the show tough to manage creatively.听