Even the greatest heroes on TV have a breaking point. No one can hold their composure forever, and it’s really in those breaking moments that we see the best and most growing moments on television. From the calm and collected Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones to the always quick-to-bounce-back Lorelai Gilmore of Gilmore Girls, here are 6 TV characters who reached their breaking points.
1. Olivia Pope, Scandal
Olivia confronted Andrew to try and undo the damage created by Mellie. Andrew takes this opportunity to taunt and humiliate Olivia, calling her and insinuating some horrible things. Andrew doesn’t realize where the line is and all of this triggers Olivia’s PTSD and she loses it. In a blackout move, Olivia takes a chair to Andrew and beats him repeatedly until he draws his last breath. Probably should have taken it easy with the name calling, Andrew.
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2. Temperance Brennan, Bones
Brennan has always been a little off, but she’s also always calm, composed and most importantly, patient. However, when she found out that her husband, Booth, who has a gambling problem, had started up again and lied about it, she had enough. Brennan couldn’t entertain it any longer and the only way she thought he’d learn about the serious consequences of lying to her, as well as letting himself indulge in his weakness, was to kick him out. Many fans felt she was harsh to do so, but Brennan broke. She had enough.
3. Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
The only times Tyrions is ever quick to react is out of sarcasm and quick-witted banter. Every move he’s ever made throughout Game of Thrones has always been calculated. However, when he was dropped to absolutely nothing, on trial for a murder he didn’t commit, being accused by a father who’s always resented him and betrayed by the woman he loved, Tyrion lost it. He went to go confront his father and saw the absolute cherry on the top to justify his rash decision — the woman he loved, who betrayed him on the stand, was in his father’s bedroom, having just slept with him. Tyrion killed her and then went to kill his scumbag father as well.
4. Sam Winchester, Supernatural
In the earlier seasons of Supernatural, Sam was always the “boy scout.” The one Winchester with the more traditional sense of right and wrong. As the series progressed and we found out about Sam’s demon blood, we started to see his morals slip. At the end of season 3 when Dean goes to hell as his agreement for bringing Sam back to life, Sam throws his morals out the window. We find out early in season 4 that not only is Sam now drinking demon blood to get strong enough to kill demons, he’s also sleeping with one who worked for Azazel. Dean’s exile to hell definitely took its toll on Sam and he decided to stop at nothing to kill every demon he could after losing his brother.
5. Spencer Hastings, Pretty Little Liars
Spencer is easily the most intellectually brilliant of the Liars. She, too, is very calculated. However, the torture, murder and torment that she’s had to endure in her life finally caused her to tip. In a moment in season 3 when Spencer is on a bit of a downward spiral, Mona is antagonizing her and telling her that she has no one and nothing left. Finally, Spencer snaps and leaps across the table to Mona to try and kill her. We had never before seen Spencer do more than cry out for being bullied. She finally took it not one, but several steps further.
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6. Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
Lorelai’s been through a lot of heartbreak and emotional abuse from her parents throughout her childhood. What we love about Lorelai is that, while it’s always been hard on her, she’s quick to bounce back. But even the coffee-loving and always-perky Gilmore girl has a point where enough is enough. For her, that point was when she felt everything was finally going perfectly in her life and her mother’s actions brought everything to a halt. Luke and Lorelai were doing great in their relationship, but Luke felt very insecure about the fact that Lorelai’s family clearly didn’t think he was good enough. That came to a head when Lorelai’s drunk ex Christopher came to confront Lorelai about getting back together with her in front of Luke. Luke was deeply hurt when he found out that Emily was the one who convinced Christopher to do this. He left Lorelai placed full blame on her mother. This was the last straw for her and she cut off all communication with Emily Gilmore after that for quite some time.
Have a character breakdown to add? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
