You know how every time a TV character seems to die, but it's not confirmed immediately, fans believe the character will bounce back to life? Well, it's these guys' fault. Check out the 21 characters who found redemption in resurrection.
Supernatural has become the gold standard for deaths that don't stick. The brothers Winchester have each died several times over, but they always manage to come bouncing back. Seriously, their many deaths are too numerous to count.
Again with the Supernatural. In season five, Cas was killed by a Lucifer-possessed Sam, but then resurrected by God later in the same episode. It's that easy!
In the final episode of Sherlock's second season, it appeared that the titular detective had flung himself from the roof of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in front of his best friend John Watson (Martin Freeman). Naturally, it was revealed to be one gigantic ruse when the series returned two years later, something everyone should've seen coming since, you know, the show is called Sherlock.
The Vampire Diaries is another series where death doesn't tend to mean much, but Bonnie's death in season four after being overpowered by a spell used to bring Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) back to life felt like a big deal. Then she was resurrected in seventh episode of season five because only Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) has ever died for good on this show.
Halfway through the stellar first season of The Flash, fans were stunned when Cisco discovered Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) was really Eobard Thawne and he'd come back in time to kill Barry (Grant Gustin). They were further stunned when Wells then murdered Cisco to keep his identity a secret. They were less stunned when Barry re-started the show's timeline the very next day, erasing the murder from existence.
Nothing ever sticks on Family Guy from episode to episode, which is why we were beside ourselves when Brian was hit by a car in season 12 and the Griffins replaced him with a new pup, Vinny. The show went out of its way to make us believe Brian was gone for good, which is why they were on the receiving end of some well-deserved scorn when Stewie went back in time just two episodes later and prevents Brian's death.
When ABC announced they were developing a TV series in the Marvel universe centered around Coulson, fans understandably had some questions. Namely, how it was even possible since he was pretty dead at the end of The Avengers. Nothing a trip to Tahiti couldn't fix. It's a magical place, they say.
Not only was Sara revealed to be alive in season two after everyone believed she drowned in the shipwreck that stranded Oliver (Stephen Amell) five years before the series began, but she was then murdered in season three and resurrected in season four by way of the Lazarus Pit. The lengths a girl will go to get her own CW spin-off show!
In season two, Chuck's (Ed Westwick) manipulative father was killed in a limo accident, just as the two were attempting to mend their relationship. But, in season five, it was revealed he hadn't died at all. Remember how he was manipulative? Balance was restored to the universe in season six, however, when Bart fell off a cliff and died for real. Or did he? (He did.)
The entire premise of Pretty Little Liars hinged on the murder of Ali. Imagine our surprise when it was revealed halfway through season four that she was alive and in hiding!
The separation of the living and the dead has always been funky on American Horror Story, to be sure. But Madison's resurrection on Coven after having her throat slit by Jessica Lange's Fiona was a particular delight if only because it brought us this magical GIF.
At the end of season four, Xena and Gabrielle were captured by the Romans and freaking crucified! However, at the start of season five, a remorseful Eli, feeling responsible for their deaths, resurrects them. Easy peasy!
All throughout season one, we believed Nathan was unaffected from the storm that gave the others powers, which is what made the final moment of the season when he woke up in his coffin all the more stunning. He was immortal all along!
Again, another death that an entire series hinged upon. Emily Thorne's (Emily VanCamp) entire reason for exacting her titular revenge was the mistreatment and eventual death of her father. Imagine our surprise when the season three finale revealed he'd been alive all along.
In Revenge's final season, Victoria decided to end her feud Emily once and for all by blowing herself up in Grayson Manor and framing her nemesis for the crime. A corpse in the rubble was ID'd as her, Stowe said it was her last season on the show, and then it was revealed in the series finale she'd used her mother's body to fake her death. For her trouble, she was killed, this time for real.
In the season eight finale of the long-running soap, Patrick Duffy's Bobby throws his love Pam (Victoria Principal) out of the way of a car and is struck by the vehicle instead, leading to his death in the episode's final moments. He remained dead for the entirety of season nine, but was found by Pam in the shower in the season 10 opener, where an incredulous audience learned a whole year of TV they'd watched was simply Pam's dream.
In the eighth season of the seminal sci-fi series, Mulder was abducted by aliens and then returned to Earth a corpse. He was resurrected one episode later, some three months after the character's funeral, when Scully (Gillian Anderson) administered some antiviral drugs to kill the alien virus they discovered within Mulder.
After getting off the island, Locke was murdered by Ben (Michael Emerson) but staged to look like a suicide so as to convince the Oceanic Six to return to the island. Once they returned to the island with his corpse, he appeared to them, seemingly resurrected. However, in the end, it was revealed the Smoke Monster was simply impersonating him and Locke was in, fact, still dead. And yes, it was as confusing to watch as it sounds.
In the end of season two, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was forced to kill her beloved to save the world from the demon he'd awakened as Angelus, Acathla, sending his soul to Hell. However, in the third episode of season three, he's resurrected and returns from Hell, broken and animalistic, but very much alive.
In season one, Buffy drowned, but was given CPR. Her death still counted, though, since new slayer Kendra (Bianca Lawson) was called to Sunnydale. More importantly, at the end of season five, in an effort to spare Dawn's (Michelle Trachtenberg) life and save the world, Buffy sacrificed herself to close a portal between dimensions. As season six opened, Buffy's friends, believing she'd gone to Hell, have Willow (Alyson Hannigan) resurrect her with a powerful spell. Unfortunately, Buffy was in Heaven and rather liked it, making this maybe the saddest resurrection on the list.
CLICK: 11 TV shows that didn't end the way they were supposed to