Some shows hook you with their plots; others hook you with their depiction of romantic relationships ('ships, as they're commonly known).
We all know that watching a couple develop and progress onscreen is often one of the most enjoyable parts of watching any series. Even if you aren't a self-professed 'shipper, odds are you've become seriously invested in the relationship status of two fictional people at some point in time!
Unfortunately, sometimes things don't work out like you (and the two halves of the on-screen pairing) may have hoped. Someone dies, or moves on into a new relationship with somebody else, or needs to be killed by their partner after contracting "Vampire AIDS," and the 'ship sinks.
Check out the slideshow below for 13 of our most tragic sunken 'ships!
1. Sookie and Bill, True Blood
Sookie and Bill certainly had their highs and their lows over the course of True Blood's seven seasons, but by the last few episodes of the series it really seemed like they were about to make things work for the long haul. That is, until it became apparent that Sookie had affected Bill with the fatal virus Hep-V. Though a cure was found, Bill elected not to take it and to die instead -- theoretically for Sookie's benefit. Bill wound up dying via a mercy-killing at Sookie's hand and Sookie went on to marry/be impregnated by a rando bearded man. Ugh.
2. Damon and Elena, The Vampire Diaries
As all Delena fans know, this one is still fresh so it's a bit painful to talk about. Damon and Elena rocked the will-they-or-won't-they vibe with some serious underlying sexual tension for the first 3+ seasons of The Vampire Diaries (throughout her longterm soulmate-level relationship with his BROTHER) before finally getting together for real. They'd finally gotten to a good place in the most recent season, only to have their happiness cut short when the evil Kai put newly-human Elena under a decades-long sleeping curse, separating the two for the forseeable future. Is anybody else still crying over that dance in their final scene? Sob.
3. Will and Alicia, The Good Wife
This popular pairing was the embodiment of "bad timing," a recurring theme that was vocalized throughout their relationship. At the start of the series, Alicia's marriage crumbled and she got a job at Will's firm. Their romantic connection was palpable early on in The Good Wife, and they had a history together. For all intents and purposes, though they never quite found their footing as an actual couple, Alicia and Will had all the makings of an "endgame" relationship. Alas, it was not to be. Will was gunned down unexpectedly in the show's fifth season, putting a final end to their on-and-off relationship.
4. Buffy and Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Both halves of this couple died (repeatedly, in Buffy's case) but by the end of each of their respective series, they were both alive -- just not together. Buffy and Angel had a tumultuous, passionate relationship that began on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and intermittently crossed over to its spin-off series, Angel. They broke up several times (most notably when he turned evil and she had to kill him), but in the end, Buffy simply chose herself and focused on her personal growth ("I'm cookie dough") rather than choose between her two main love interests, Angel and Spike.
5. Matthew and Mary, Downton Abbey
After years of back-and-forth on Downton Abbey, spanning a world war and broken engagements to other people on both sides, Cousin Matthew and Lady Mary finally married AND had a baby. Mere minutes after seeing his son for the first time, Matthew was in a fatal car crash and died (as a result of Matthew's portrayer Dan Stevens electing to leave the series). None of Mary's potential love interests in the years since Matthew's death have come remotely close to recapturing that Mary-Matthew spark that drove the whole show forward.
6. Meredith and Derek, Grey's Anatomy
Meredith and Derek were THE Grey's Anatomy couple. Their relationship technically began before the major events of the series kicked off (shortly before Meredith started her internship at Seattle Grace, when the two slept together not realizing they would be coworkers). Throughout relationships with others, Derek's marriage to Addison, and lots of arguments, the two doctors always found their way back to each other -- until Derek was rendered brain dead following a shocking car accident. RIP McDreamy and RIP MerDer.