TV can be a cruel, cruel place, and we're not even talking about the writers' rooms. Here are some of the small-screen deaths that shocked us the most. 
Josh Charles' turn as lawyer Will Gardner on "The Good Wife" has come to an end. The character was killed off in the 15th episode of the fifth season. "We've all experienced the sudden death of a loved one in our lives," the showrunners said in an explanatory letter. "Television, in our opinion, doesn't deal with this enough: the irredeemability of death." 
The death of the wise doctor, Hershel, during "The Walking Dead's" fourth season broke some hearts. 
On the November 24 episode of Seth MacFarlane's long-running "Family Guy," fans were stunned to watch one of the animated comedy's central characters bite the dust. The family dog, Brian, lost his life after being hit by a car. 
Author Helen Fielding killed off Mark Darcy in her latest Bridget Jones novel, "Mad About the Boy." Fans are reportedly not happy about the loss of Darcy, played by actor Colin Firth in the films. 
Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) didn't have a chance to live happily ever after on "The Walking Dead" since she died in childbirth. 
The character of medical student Lucy Knight (played by Kellie Martin) was stabbed to death by a mentally disturbed patient on "ER." 
Heath Ledger starred as the Joker and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes in "The Dark Knight." The death of Rachel hit Bruce Wayne/Batman hard. 
The birth of her daughter should have been a joyous time for Lady Sybil Branson (Jessica Brown Findlay) and her husband, Tom (Allen Leech), on "Downton Abbey," but fans were shocked when tragedy struck. 
The death of Kevin Spacey's character Lester Burnham in the 1999 movie "American Beauty" is accompanied by poignant words at the end of the film. 
The revival of John Travolta's career via playing hit man Vincent Vega in the 1994 film "Pulp Fiction" was almost as surprising as the way his character gets taken out in that film. Toaster pastries, anyone? 
Killing off a popular character early on has almost become a trademark of HBO shows (remember Stringer Bell on "The Wire"?) so fans really shouldn't have been stunned when Sean Bean as Eddard "Ned" Stark lost his life during the first season of "Game of Thrones." 
Viewers didn't actually witness the death of Gwyneth Paltrow's character Tracy in the 1995 film "Se7en," but "The Box" was enough to shock Detective David Mills, played by Brad Pitt -- and us viewers. 
Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) and Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) were a happy couple on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" until a bullet felled Tara, which led to much outrage from fans. (But what else is new?) 
"The Sopranos" offered up plenty of killing, but the murder of Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo) struck a nerve with fans. 
Michael K. Williams plays Omar Little, who was a bit of a Robin Hood on the critically acclaimed series "The Wire." His death in season five was more shocking for the manner in which it happened than that it happened in the first place. 
Peter Krause starred as Nate Fisher, who was expected to survive after a brain hemorrhage but ultimately died -- like the rest of the cast -- on "Six Feet Under." 
Is there any character on TV who's died as often as poor Kenny on "South Park"? The hooded kid has met his maker via death by tree, chicken pox, mosh pit and even giant bird. By some counts, Kenny's bid farewell roughly 89 or 90 times.
- "The Good Wife" killed off an integral character in Sunday's episode
- Fans have struggled with understanding why
- Showrunners Robert and Michelle King have explained it was necessary for the plot
- The Kings say TV doesn't deal with the irredeemability of death enough
Editor's note: This article contains spoilers about a major death on "The Good Wife."
(CNN) -- Be kind to fans of "The Good Wife" today. They're seriously struggling.
During the course of Sunday's episode, faithful "Good Wife" viewers had to say goodbye to Josh Charles' character, Will Gardner, who was killed in a plot twist no one saw coming.
Fans have taken the news so badly that showrunners Robert and Michelle King have been forced to explain why they did it.
The Kings, who launched the acclaimed drama in 2009, say in an open letter addressed to their "loyal" audience that their focus has always been on "the education of" Julianna Margulies' character, Alicia Florrick, a lawyer whose life was thrown into turmoil after her husband's corruption scandal.
Over the past five seasons, Florrick has gone from being "the good wife" to a woman rebuilding her life and career as a litigator, reuniting with her old law school friend, Will, along the way.
So when the two writers were "faced with the gut punch of Josh's decision, made over a year ago, to move on to other creative endeavors, we had a major choice to make. We could 'send him off to Seattle,' he could be disbarred, or get married, or go off to Borneo to do good works," they say of the deceased character.
But distance would've been but a "meager hurdle" for Alicia and Will.
"To us, there always was a tragedy at the center of Will and Alicia's relationship: the tragedy of bad timing," the Kings said. "The brutal honesty and reality of death speaks to the truth and tragedy of bad timing for these two characters."
Basically, this character's death will "propel Alicia into her newest incarnation."
"Death also created a new dramatic 'hub' for the show," the Kings continue. "We're always looking for these turning points -- some event midway through the season that will spin everybody's lives in new directions. These turning points keep the show from slipping into a numbing sameness, and keep the characters fresh: because you see how they react to a completely new status quo."
The unexpected death they just handed down "in many ways becomes a hub for the whole series, violently spinning everybody in new directions."
So why did they opt to off the guy in such a gut-wrenching way?
Well, the Kings say, "we've all experienced the sudden death of a loved one in our lives. It's terrifying how a perfectly normal and sunny day can suddenly explode with tragedy. Television, in our opinion, doesn't deal with this enough: the irredeemability of death. Your last time with the loved one will always remain your last time. 'The Good Wife' is a show about human behavior and emotion, and death, as sad and unfair as it can be, is a part of the human experience that we want to share."
In the end, the two conclude, "Life does go on."
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