Top 5 Saddest Deaths in Warriors by Skidfoot

Skidfoot shares 5 deaths of beloved characters from the series.

Why hello, there! I’m Skidfoot!

This is my top 3 of the most depressing deaths that have happened in the canon Warriors series. Be warned that this is going to be very biased because this is my individual top 3, and not some “mutual agreement” across a percentage of Warriors fans. These are the deaths I found the most depressing, which is saying something since books and movies don’t really make me feel things.

Obvious Spoiler alert.

Runner-up #1: Bluestar

I didn’t like Bluestar, but I will say that when I first read Warriors, I did feel like her death was very upsetting. We knew her for almost all of the first series, and to see her eventually die was pretty shocking. When she wasn’t in her insane spell, she was a great mentor to Fireheart, and to see someone as grand as Blue go could hit anyone in the feels. To tug at our heartstrings some more, she finally got to say goodbye to her kits. In Bluestar’s Prophecy, Oakheart urging Blue to keep pushing was even more depressing.
If I made this a top 5, she probably may have made #5, but would have tied with my next runner-up anyway.

Runner-up #2: Hollyleaf
Oh, Hollyleaf. Poor, poor Hollyleaf. Presumed dead in Sunrise, came back in The Fourth Apprentice, only to die in The Last Hope. You either loved her or hated her, or were just “meh.” She was “meh” for me. I admired her being the one character to actually be devoted to actually following the Warrior Code, but she was also a *little* crazy about it. The fact that she came back only to die a book later was upsetting. She was finally feeling more welcome, and was devoted to making everything up to her Clan, and then suddenly her neck is sliced open. Thankfully she went out with a fight, and not just a surprise attack. The whole dying scene was sad as well. I was super bummed out when she talked about how she was glad she came back to ThunderClan and got to know her biological mother before she died.

#3: Firestar: Lordy, this cat lived WAY too long. I do not like Firestar either, and felt he was too soft. But I’m not talking about cats I don’t like. Even though I had the dislike for him, it felt really weird and sad to finally say goodbye to him. Bluestar, we initially knew for five whole books. Firestar, we knew for four series, excluding Novellas and SE’s. The “oh so perfect cat” that “everybody loves” seemed almost immortal. I was actually pretty bummed out when he died.

#2: Yellowfang: Let’s head back to Series One here, with Rising Storm, and a bit of Yellowfang’s Secret. I enjoyed Yellowfang and her company and attitude, and thought she was a funny, sassy character who also had some heart. I wasn’t a big fan of YS, but to see Yellow go through so much between YS and RS was pretty sad. I mean, she didn’t have much good in her life. Forced into medicine cat-hood, losing her mate and kits, having her only surviving kit be treated horribly by Lizardstripe, witnessing her former love be killed by her son, getting kicked out of her own Clan, and having to live on her on a bit before being accepted into ThunderClan. It’s great she died a heroic death trying to at least make the attempt to *save* Halftail before crawling to her den. Also, her little speech about how she wished Fireheart was her son, she was accepting death and StarClan’s punishment, and how ThunderClan was a good place to die only tugged more at my heartstrings. Plus, the “Yellowfang, don’t die!” was upsetting to hear as well.

#1 TIE: Ravenpaw and Purdy

Both of these have tied for #1 because they are the only scenes in Warriors that have made me cry.

I told you I was super biased, at least with Purdy. I love and absolutely adore Purdy. From The New Prophecy to A Vision of Shadows. He was an amazing addition to the Clans, was totally selfless, and put everyone else before him. Purdy was essentially the “Clan Grandfather.” I also felt so horrible for him when Mousefur died in TLH. “You died a warrior’s death after all” broke my heart. To see my favorite character die made me so sad and angry I almost threw the book out my window. Plus, the events building up to it were sad as well. When he was asked to see Leafpool by Alderheart since he (Alder) was too busy, Purdy was basically like “Nah it’s fine, I can come back later” and is totally chill about going on with a bellyache. Then he goes on about his age and talks about how herbs can’t fix everything as if he knows already that he’s going to die. Even when he falls over and is in pain (due to his heart giving out), he said he thought his pain was normal for his age, and is totally accepting of his death, and then says his goodbyes to Alderheart. I was in heavy tears from this and just stopped reading right there because I was so sad. (Emberdawn edit: Purdytsar lives on forever in our hearts…)

As for Ravenpaw, he also was super accepting of his death. Hecking liver cancer, am I right? The way that they went on about Ravenpaw’s death was also extremely depressing for me. Especially in his final moments, where he decides to rest under the trees and receive a warrior’s farewell. Plus, I know it’s a small detail but when Barley’s voice broke, my heart cracked. Having him curl up to Ravenpaw in his final minutes was upsetting as well. Plus, he had to make his journey home alone, and couldn’t even bury his friend at the place they both call home.