Just because a beloved TV character dies, it doesn’t mean you won’t see them again later in the series. This is especially true for love interests, as their deaths can profoundly affect those they left behind, whose grief can often be unresolved. Thankfully, the magic of TV allows these deceased loved ones to return in the form of hallucinations, dream sequences, afterlife reunions, or flashbacks to better times. Depending on the nature of the show, they can even be resurrected from the dead.
Here are our favorite instances of dead love interests (and the actors who play them) returning later on their respective TV shows.
Lexa, The 100
Clexa fans know exactly what we’re talking about. After losing Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Clarke (Eliza Taylor) was granted one last chance to see her when she put the flame inside her head. As a result, the couple was able to say a proper goodbye before Clarke had to return to the real world. —Samantha Highfill
Denny Duquette, Grey’s Anatomy
Every Grey’s Anatomy fan knows about the “ghost sex.” After Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) died from a stroke — he was prone to blood clots — in the season 2 finale, the show brought him back, technically as a figment of Izzie’s (Katherine Heigl) imagination in season 5. Ultimately, her ability to see him would be her clue that she had a brain tumor. But that didn’t stop the show from letting the two of them get, um, physical. (Bonus comeback: Denny also appeared in season 3 when Meredith drowned and saw him in some kind of limbo.) —S.H.
Will Gardner, The Good Wife
The Good Wife thrived on the sexual tension between Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Will Gardner (Josh Charles); however, their love story came to a surprising end when Will died in the legal drama’s fifth season. Thankfully, the show didn’t end without giving us one more visit from Will. In the series finale, Alicia contemplated whom she wanted to come home to, and naturally, her mind drifted to the dearly departed Will, who proceeded to give her advice about the episode’s case and who she should end up with. “I’ll love you forever,” said Alicia to Will in her mind palace. He replied, “I’m okay with that.” And so are we. —Chancellor Agard
Marissa Cooper, The O.C.
Marissa’s (Mischa Barton) death in season 3 was a moment Ryan (Ben McKenzie) — and the fans — would never forget. And when the series came to a close just one season later, it paid homage to the girl next door when Ryan said goodbye to the house he called home, the very place that changed his entire life. And when he pulled out of the driveway for the last time, he imagined Marissa standing there, at the very spot where he first met the girl he loved. —S.H.
Francis, Reign
After Francis (Toby Regbo) died in season 3, Reign continued on for one more season. But when it came time to say its final farewell, the show followed the history books and killed Mary Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane). And, in the series’ final scene, the lovebirds were reunited in the afterlife. —S.H.
Rayna Jaymes, Nashville
After numerous near-death encounters, Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton) was killed from injuries sustained in a car accident in Nashville‘s fifth season. Rayna’s death put an abrupt end to the central love story between her and Deacon (Charles Esten). But, when Nashville aired its series finale, it gave fans a new scene between the husband and wife as Deacon remembered their wedding night together. It was a flashback fans hadn’t seen before, and a perfect way to say goodbye to that love story. —S.H.
Nicholas Brody, Homeland
The inscrutable Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) operated in a grey area throughout his three seasons on the drama, as a Marine–turned–terrorist–turned–Congressman–turned–guilt-plagued junkie, not to mention the object of Carrie’s (Claire Danes) affection and obsession. Ultimately, he was hanged for treason in Iran, but, while the CIA refused to acknowledge his death and legacy, Carrie didn’t. Which is why, in season 4, he returned — as a hallucination to coax Carrie out of her lowest, most paranoid moment. —Shirley Li
Charlotte “Chuck” Charles, Pushing Daisies
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Anna Friel on ‘Pushing Daisies’
Ned (Lee Pace), blessed/cursed with the ability to bring people back from the dead with a single touch, did so after his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (Anna Friel), was murdered. The problem? A second touch would mean permanent death. Sure, Chuck was only deceased for a brief time in the Pushing Daisies pilot, but we’d still argue this is a foundational text for how to creatively bring back a dead character. —Kevin Jacobsen
Hayley Marshall, The Originals
When Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) died in The Originals‘ final season, fans were heartbroken that she never got to say goodbye to Elijah (Daniel Gillies), the man she loved. But thankfully, her death was really only the beginning of her arc in the season, as the episodes that followed featured multiple flashbacks of her character, including the last day she spent with Elijah in France. (Flashbacks aside, her daughter also got a final moment with her when she had her own near-death experience.) —S.H.
Michael Cordero, Jane the Virgin
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Brett Dier on ‘Jane the Virgin’
In classic telenovela fashion, a character once thought dead eventually turned up again later in the series — with amnesia! Such was the fate of Jane’s (Gina Rodriguez) detective husband, Michael (Brett Dier), who was presumed dead after a gunshot wound in season 3 but the season 4 finale revealed him to still be alive. Michael returned in the fifth season unaware of his identity, calling himself “Jason” after suffering memory loss. —K.J.
Alex Whitman, Roswell
“Why does life have to be so wrong? Why does everything have to be a lie?” Those were the last words uttered by the sad, sweet Alex Whitman (Colin Hanks) on Roswell before his tragic, untimely death in a car accident surrounded by mysterious circumstances in season 2. Even when Max (Jason Behr) tried to use his alien powers to bring Alex back to life, he was unsuccessful and the group had to deal with the true finality of death.
We got one last look at Alex in the third and final season, when he returned to haunt Isabel (Katherine Heigl) as she contended with her feelings for her new love, Jesse (Adam Rodriguez). Alex walked alongside Isabel as she dealt with the knowledge that Jesse might propose to her and how her past loves, Alex included, all met untimely deaths. Isabel turned down Jesse’s proposal and Alex urged her to go after him, asking her to move on beyond him. She promised to name her future son Alex, accepted Jesse’s proposal, and Alex waved goodbye, dissipating into the air. As ghosts tend to do. —Piya Sinha-Roy
Hannah Baker, 13 Reasons Why
The first season of 13 Reasons Why ended with the death of Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford), but that didn’t stop her from returning to the series in season 2. As Clay (Dylan Minnette) dealt with her death, he started to have visions of her. In those visions, Hannah would talk back to Clay until, in the season 2 finale, he was finally ready to let her go. —S.H.
Eddie Thawne, The Flash
Iris West’s (Candice Patton) fiancé, Det. Eddie Thawne (Rick Cosnett), met his maker in The Flash‘s season 1 finale when he killed himself in order to erase his evil descendant Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh), a.k.a. Reverse Flash, from existence. But, this is The Flash, a show where time travel is a thing, so that wasn’t the last time we saw him. Cosnett returned to the show in season 2 when Barry (Grant Gustin) traveled back in time. During his journey to the past, Barry recorded Eddie’s touching birthday message for Iris on his phone which he then gave to her when he returned to his present. Cosnett popped up again in season 3’s “Into the Speed Force,” but this time he was playing the Speed Force-as-Eddie. —Chancellor Agard
Lori Grimes, The Walking Dead
Rick’s (Andrew Lincoln) wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) died during the birth of her daughter Judith early in season 3. But Callies returned — though in voice only — just two episodes later, haunting Rick through phantom phone calls. Rick progressed to having visions of his wife through the end of season 3 as he grappled with the morally questionable things he’d done during the zombie apocalypse. —Patrick Gomez
Alex Sokolov, The Flight Attendant
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Michiel Huisman on ‘The Flight Attendant’
Michiel Huisman appears throughout the first season of The Flight Attendant despite his character, Alex Sokolov, being murdered in the very first episode. After a one-night stand with Alex, flight attendant Cassie (Kaley Cuoco) woke up to find him dead; she would then be perpetually haunted by him whenever she entered her “mind palace,” seeing a vision of Alex while processing her traumas. —K.J.
Trudy Monk, Monk
His wife’s murder was the one mystery he could never solve. Trudy Monk died in a car bomb explosion years before the show began, the incident which exacerbated the obsessive-compulsive tendencies in police detective–turned–private investigator Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). Trudy occasionally appeared to Monk as an apparition (first played by Stellina Rusich, then Melora Hardin), offering prognostic advice, but mostly just comfort. —Dana Schwartz
Rex Van de Kamp, Desperate Housewives
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Steven Culp on ‘Desperate Housewives’
On a series full of shocking deaths, the loss of Rex Van de Kamp (Steven Culp) in the season 1 finale of Desperate Housewives is one that had the most lasting impact. Bree (Marcia Cross) grieved the loss of her husband through many subsequent episodes, though Rex would return a handful of times throughout the rest of the series, showing up in seasons 2, 5, 7, and 8 via flashback sequences and even narrating an episode in season 3. —K.J.
Anna, The Vampire Diaries
In a world full of vampires, it’s not uncommon to have a ghost, and The Vampire Diaries had many. But, when it comes to love stories, Anna’s (Malese Jow) ghostly reunion with Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) stands out among the rest. —S.H.
Sara Evans, One Tree Hill
When Clay Evans (Robert Buckley) joined the cast in season 7, viewers were led to believe he was just Tree Hill’s newest playboy. However, when he started to fall for Quinn (Shantel VanSanten), he revealed that he was struggling to commit because he still wasn’t over his late wife, Sara (Amanda Schull), who he still saw and talked to regularly. After encouraging him to let Quinn into his life, she no longer appeared. —Aja Hoggatt
Allison Argent, Teen Wolf
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Crystal Reed on ‘Teen Wolf’
Scott (Tyler Posey) and Allison (Crystal Reed) seemed destined to be together at the start of Teen Wolf, particularly because of the dramatic tension of him being a werewolf and her being, well, a hunter of werewolves. Their relationship evolved for the first three seasons, culminating in her dying in his arms after being mortally wounded in the season 3 episode “Insatiable.” Reed came back for a season 5 appearance as Allison’s ancestor Marie-Jeanne Valet, but she returned as Allison for Teen Wolf: The Movie, in which her character is resurrected. —K.J.
Practically everyone, Lost
Jack (Matthew Fox) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly); Sawyer (Josh Holloway) and Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell); Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim); even Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and Shannon (Maggie Grace) — all of the couples who found each other on the Island reunited in the series finale, remembering each other just before moving on. Sure, Jack was the last one to die on the show, but, given how many people he saw in the flash-sideways church, it’s safe to assume almost every character we ever met perished eventually, but found each other again. After all, there are no smoke monsters in that peaceful, purgatory-esque place. —S.L.
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