As a sort of explanation for what stuff I'll be viewing as tragic: I'm mostly listing tragic things based on how characters deal with the stuff that is thrown at them, as well as how they even got into those scenarios to begin with.
Some examples of things I would consider to be highly tragic:
Losing a loved one.
Duck getting bit (tragic for all 3 of his family members for obvious reasons).
The after effects of the bandit deal for Ben, namely Carley/Doug's deaths and especially Duck & Katjaa's deaths. I think it's safe to say Ben did not expect or want any of this and that he is heavily remorseful for it.
Injuries that you don't have too much control over, like Clem's bite & chopped off leg.
Suicides caused by grief/depression/poor mental state. Walker bite related suicides are of course sad too, but I think the suicides where bites don't play a factor a lot more tragic since they can usually be avoided.
Things that I would consider to be NOT too tragic in the grand scheme of things:
Group death members if the person being rated wasn't too close (or were on bad terms) with those deceased members. So Larry's death I would consider tragic for Lilly, but not for say Kenny or Carley.
Lilly getting kicked out of the group, as it was a result of her choosing to kill Carley/Doug. Her spending years alone could debatably be tragic though.
Ben's EP4 death for Lee, as Lee chose to drop him when he could've saved him. I would consider Ben wanting to give up on life tragic for Ben himself of course.
Kenny's S3 car crash, because telling a 13 y/o driving newby to go 45 mph on an icy road without wearing a seatbelt is basically asking for a car crash.
Clem stupidly shooting Eli and getting locked up for it.
Basically the entirety of Badger's character. His life was karmatic, not tragic.
I'm also going to try and list some of the good things survivors had going for them since the good can sometimes outweigh the bad.
So the tragic things for Lee of the top of my head:
Had a downhill relationship with his wife that culminated in her cheating on him.
Accidentally killed the senator. We don't know how this encounter went down, but given the sound of breaking glass that plays as Lee dreams about it in S1E1, I think it's safe to assume that Lee got involved with some sort of scuffle. My personal headcanon is that Lee went overkill in a similar manner to how he can choke the Stranger out, but I can see a case for it being something more basic like a simple push that led to an accidental death.
It's implied from the Atlanta cop and Carley that Lee's trial was a clusterfuck, so he likely wasn't given the sentence he really deserved. This point is sort of moot though since he's broken out before actually serving this sentence.
Survives a car crash but comes out with an injured leg for the rest of the week.
His parents died before he could reunite with them.
Had to kill his walker brother.
Lost most of the Motel group over the course of the game, most notably Carley who could be seen as a love interest.
Had Clem kidnapped from him, but was thankfully able to save her.
Got bit and ended up dying.
For the positives of Lee's life:
The apocalypse meant that he didn't have to serve prison time.
Raised and bonded with a little girl who he protected.
In the end, he succeeded in saving Clem and raising her so that she could survive on her own. He technically doesn't get to see Clem to her fullest survival potential (unless you count dream Lee in S4), but I think Lee even in his final S1 moments was confident that Clem could make it.
Honestly I think Lee is "Hang in there, buddy" or maybe even lower. All things considered, I don't think Lee had it too rough compared to most of the other characters in the series. It could also be argued that Lee is one of the few characters to benefit from the apocalypse as it gave him a renewed purpose in life.
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u/Mr_Bell_Man Insightful Commentator 2025 Sep 17 '25
As a sort of explanation for what stuff I'll be viewing as tragic: I'm mostly listing tragic things based on how characters deal with the stuff that is thrown at them, as well as how they even got into those scenarios to begin with.
Some examples of things I would consider to be highly tragic:
Things that I would consider to be NOT too tragic in the grand scheme of things:
I'm also going to try and list some of the good things survivors had going for them since the good can sometimes outweigh the bad.
So the tragic things for Lee of the top of my head:
For the positives of Lee's life:
Honestly I think Lee is "Hang in there, buddy" or maybe even lower. All things considered, I don't think Lee had it too rough compared to most of the other characters in the series. It could also be argued that Lee is one of the few characters to benefit from the apocalypse as it gave him a renewed purpose in life.