Nah if you kill off one of the core characters, thus changing the spirit and tone of the show/movie/story forever, I'm out. I hate it. I don't want it. I watch things for entertainment and this isn't entertaining.
"But it's realistic and it's beautiful to see people deal with grief--" I don't watch or read things for realism. I don't want fiction to be exactly like real life. I know people grieve and pick up the pieces and move on, I'm not a little kid who needs to see it happen on TV in order to know that it happens.
My problem often isn't even with the character death itself. Or with the grief shown. My problem is that a main character dying changes the dynamic of the group, it changes the other characters, it changes the status quo. It means that things won't be the same going forward. And I liked the group how it was, I liked things how they were, I don't want it to change. I don't want to watch all the other characters be sad and depressed over their friend's death. I know that's a part of life, so is going to the toilet and cleaning the house and paying taxes, it doesn't mean I enjoy watching fictional characters do it. It's boring. It's annoying. I like a bit of angst as much as the next guy, but I have very limited patience for manpain and characters sitting around whining and being sad.
"We killed him off to show that the main characters aren't safe, that anyone can die" - why? Because anyone can die in real life? Yeah thanks I already knew that. Because that way I'll be on the edge of my seat and it'll be more exciting? Nope. All it does is take away the comfort.
And again, it's really not about me not being able to "handle" dark storylines or whatever. It's about wanting my entertainment to be entertaining, not depressing, and it's about liking the group dynamic the way it was and not wanting it to change. And frankly I think it's stupid when people take a silly goofy fun story and try to make it "edgy". Edgy and grimdark isn't better or more realistic, half the time it just reads like teenage lads trying to show how tough they are.
The carbon freezing scene isn't any less devastating or impactful just because I know Han survives. Frodo's quest isn't any less exciting or suspenseful just because I know he makes it. In fact, knowing that things turn out well is a crucial part of me enjoying it, because I can safely get emotionally invested and root for the hero without ending up heartbroken. For me, that's one of the fundamental, important advantages that fiction has over reality.
And I'm not saying those stories shouldn't exist, I'm sure there are people who enjoy them, that's fine. People loved Game of Thrones, I didn't, but GoT was always one of those "nobody is safe" stories. That's fine. There are so many tragedies out there. That's fine. What I hate is when they take a story that's been "safe" for ages, where all the main characters always survive, and decide to go "edgy" with it (aka kill off a main character because that's the only way they know how to up the stakes or make it more impactful).
I just don't like it, and if I don't like something, I stop watching/reading. It's just not my cup of tea at all.
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