Characters That Deserved Better

Sometimes writers look at a perfectly innocent fictional person and decide they simply haven’t suffered enough.

Here are some fictional characters that, in my opinion, deserved so much better.

Eleven (Stranger Things)

Can somebody please let this girl rest?

Seriously.

From the moment we meet Eleven, she’s already experienced more trauma than most people could handle in a lifetime. She was raised in a laboratory, experimented on, isolated from the world and treated like a weapon instead of a child.

Then, when she finally escapes, she immediately gets thrown into increasingly dangerous situations involving monsters, alternate dimensions and saving the world every five business days.

At some point I stopped worrying about whether she’d survive the next season and started worrying about whether she’d ever get a chance to simply be happy.

Spoilers: she doesn’t.

Read more: Characters That Deserved Better

Poussey Washington (Orange Is the New Black)

I don’t think I will ever be over Poussey.

Ever.

Donna Noble (Doctor Who)

Donna Noble remains one of the greatest companions Doctor Who has ever had.

Donna became extraordinary. She saved worlds. She became one of the most important people in the universe.

And then she had to forget all of it.

I don’t think younger me has ever forgiven Russell T Davies for that.

Bing Bong (Inside Out)

Why am I crying over an imaginary elephant-cat-dolphin thing?

I don’t know.

You don’t know.

Let’s move on.

Ophelia (Hamlet)

Honestly, Ophelia never stood a chance.

She’s trapped in a world where almost everybody around her is manipulating her, controlling her or using her for their own purposes.

Her father treats her like a tool. Hamlet’s behaviour towards her becomes increasingly cruel and unpredictable. The people who should have protected her consistently fail her.

And throughout it all, Ophelia has very little control over her own life.