Most Annoying Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Death?

One name came up much more than any other when the Action Flick Chick (@ActionChick on Twitter) asked, “Most annoying Buffy the Vampire Slayer character death?” A couple of them came up a lot, including one played by an actress Katrina interviewed at the end of WonderCon (an interview you can read at MTV.com),  but plenty accept even that fan-distressing death on the basis that it provided a strong impetus for other stories.

Really tardy SPOILER ALERT to anyone who hasn’t finished watching all 7 seasons of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. A death from the final season of Angel came up too along the way.

Answers on Twitter:

Although the choice for many of you, Tara's controversial death did not turn out to be the #1 most annoying to more of you.

@TheDancingGamer: @ActionChick Tara’s death was frustrating, but we wouldn’t have had super-evil Willow without it. Anya’s death was anti-climatic too.
@TravisRathgeber: @ActionChick For Buffy, the vamp she asks, “How hard will you kick when you’re blowing in the wind?”
@joekinkopf: @ActionChick I don’t know about “annoying,” but Tara’s death,I literally screamed “F*** YOU,JOSS!!”
@geekgamergrad: @ActionChick I would go with Anya. The rest of the character deaths all served a purpose and made the story stronger.
@LadyJ3000: @ActionChick Anya’s. Her death was rushed and an insult to fans of the character.

Buffy dies - a lot deader than the first time but she'll still come back after a summer in Heaven.

@newageamazon: @ActionChick So, I guess Buffy is my ‘most annoying resurrection.’
@newageamazon: @ActionChick Tara getting fridged. And Buffy’s S5, but only because of the mess it caused on Season 6.
@zombiedoe: @ActionChick Harmony as a vampire was annoying.
@ChuckJamesShow: @ActionChick Tara. She was a good character.
@whunter89: @ActionChick Anya because it was unnecessary and they didnt even get to have any weight behind it.
@JuliaDenham: @actionchick I always giggle when Angel comes back he is naked haha got to love @David_Boreanaz he played Angel so well love it!
@JuliaDenham: @ActionChick Angel, if Willow came to Buffy sooner she wouldn’t of killed him…so yeah but Angel comes back just like Spike
@josephtages: @ActionChick Anya, Tara and Jonathan.
@Stollison_99: @ActionChick I wear the cheese, the cheese does not wear me!… but the most annoying to me was S5-1 Dracula episode

Angelus teaches Jenny Calendar the hazards of dating anyone in the Scooby Gang.

@Jake_Nelson_UK: @ActionChick Jenny Calendar. She was special to poor old Giles.
@AlwaysSinging: @ActionChick I don’t recall any that were annoying.. Are you specifically asking for main characters or can villains be included?
@starmanjack43: @ActionChick Well, Anya deserved better…
@HibbyFC: @ActionChick Prof Maggie Walsh
@johkurr: @ActionChick Anya. Hands down.
@KeithAllGamer: @ActionChick Both Ms. Calenadar and Tara’s deaths were pretty shocking. Joyce’s was different because there was no build up to it.
@GuillermoPonce: @ActionChick Anya? It didn’t even look real when she was slashed.

Left: Buffy (not dying this time). Right: Her mom, a.k.a. the body.

@SlackerAmerican: @ActionChick Heh? you mean the characters or the deaths? How is a Death annoying? that it happened? didn’t happen sooner? examples??
@emmatakesaphoto: @ActionChick Anya, defending Andrew… Didn’t feel important enough, was dealt with really quickly too
@Furbysbadday: @ActionChick Paul Ruebens. I loved what he brought to the role and wish he’d stayed just a bit longer- or is that the wrong Buffy? 🙂
@austinbosley: @ActionChick The very last character to die in the series.
@nerdarama: @ActionChick I don’t think you could really class any of them as annoying imo. Necessary, tragic or hilarious, yes. But not annoying. 🙂
@StusSong: @ActionChick Anya! She has a boring death, she deserved more!
@BatHobbit: @ActionChick Anya? Just happened, felt pointless really.
@moderationlovin: @ActionChick Fred, it counts right it’s buffyverse. Bc her & Wesley literally just got together FINALLY, then they had like 5 mins & shedied
@KeithAllGamer: @ActionChick By annoying, do you mean unsettling?
@SulitiLord: @ActionChick Angel in the last episode….

Trained all her life to fight vampires, Kendra (left) gets hypnotized and killed by Drusilla.

@FailedAsian: @ActionChick Kendra. I know she died to introduce Faith, but a slayer getting hypnotized? wtf.
@TheJWebb: @ActionChick didn’t Christian or w.e that original vampire with feelings.. die like 6 times.
@edgarva11es: @ActionChick i always loved the vampires Turning into ashes
@MaxMagius: @ActionChick Pee Wee Herman’s death in the movie….
@ItsTheeJake: @ActionChick When Jenny dies! omg
@scottEweinberg: Ack! #thebuffyproject RT @ActionChick Most annoying Buffy the Vampire Slayer character deaths?

Answers on Facebook:
Aaron Pynn: Anya and Tara neither death needed to happen at all. They were pointless.
Alex Langley: My vote goes to Anya as well.
Amory Gritta: Caleb. Best baddy ever and he dies pretty much mid-“MUHAHA”. Bummer.
Ashley Pitcock: Tara, because they trick you by finally putting her in the theme song and then they kill her.
Autograph Hound: Each of Buffy’s deaths. Like we didn’t know she was coming back? Maybe if she sell it better…
Erik A. Williams: I fully agree with Robert. Tara’s death was annoying and devastating. The truly annoying part was the ridiculousness that occured when she was supposed to return to the show in “Conversations with Dead People” to which the storyline had to be completely changed and a totally-not-Amber-Benson person had to be pulled in to fill the void. Now, don’t get me wrong. I greatly enjoyed Azura Skye’s performance but it would have been MUCH better if Tara had been in that episode as she was supposed to be. That’s not to mention how it would have affected the entire season as well as the rest of the Buffyverse to come.
Faith McKiernan: Anya’s. Totally unnecessary and pointless. Anya was a badass.
Jason McLarty: I agree, definitely Anya. All the others had some sort of strong impact on the story and characters.
Josh Brown: If Joss kills someone, he has good reason. Jenni Calendar’s was the most painful (poor Giles), but it also is the reason that’s one of the best episodes of the show ever.
Kalyn Corrigan None
Kanu Digit: Joyce’s death. It is annoying because it is so real. Buffy calling to her mother over and over. I can’t watch that episode. It strikes too close to home.
Kevin Harmala: didn’t watch any of the shows…. they were all annoying?

Harmony survives high school only to get killed by random vampire at graduation.

Marq Piocos: Harmony – she was annoying in life, death, and during her death
Melissa Voelker: Angel’s death was annoying because it didn’t stick. There is all this sadness and angst associated with it when it happens, and then he comes back which makes all that emotion totally worthless. I don’t even really like Angel, but that kind of pissed me off. It felt like a cheat.
Michael Wasserman: Anya
Raishel Dion Wasserman: Hmm..I don’t know if I ever found any BtVS deaths annoying per se…a few that were devastating…
Robert D. Bagley: DAW….oh you said deaths…. Okay all kidding aside…Tara! Her death was so senceless and needless. I know it elivated Willow’s character in the end ( Damn Willow! You scary!) But damn!
Ross Mack: None, they all had a reason and were right for the story being told.
Scott Hillman: Buffys-to a degree she was kind of always an annoying character and her death felt sanctimonious
Sean Collier: Anya her character had developed so much and to just kill her off in the last ten Mins was so lame
Stephen Young: Kendra. She pissed me off. Was her accent Scottish, like mine, or Jamaican, or what? Actually, her death was a relief.
Travis Langley: As painful as deaths like Tara’s and Jenny’s were, they served solid story functions. Anya’s death, however, served no function except to meet Joss’s arbitrary “It’s the final episode, so I have to kill somebody to make it matter” rule.

Anya's death irked so many of you, let's focus instead on a happier moment as Xander (Nicholas Brendon) proposes to bunny-phobic ex-vengeance demon Anya (Emma Caulfield) - well, happier as long as it doesn't make you think about how that engagement turned out.

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About Action Flick Chick

Action Flick Chick Katrina Hill, author of the books Action Movie Freak and 100 Greatest Graphic Novels , learned to appreciate all things action at a young age by sneaking into the room while her two older brothers watched action movies and horror. At ActionFlickChick.com, she shares her love of these films with everyone, along with interviews, news, and whatever else she happens to choose. G4TV crowned her their Next Woman of the Web champion, and she co-hosted MTV Geek’s live Comic-Con coverage. Her articles have appeared at sites including MTV.com, io9.com, Arcade Sushi, and Newsarama. Follow her as @ActionChick on Twitter. Base of operations: Dallas, Texas. Favorite Movie: Tremors (1990).
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2 Responses to Most Annoying Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Death?

  1. Pingback: Rocket Llama HQ - » Most Annoying Buffy the Vampire Slayer Character Death?

  2. Interesting responses! I’m surprised so many people were upset about the death of Anya. It was sad, and I loved her character, but I thought that at last ONE person had to die in the finale, because it would seem too ridiculous that they all made it out of the high school just fine with thousands of thousand-year-old vamps all over the place.

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