*SPOILER ALERT* for Once Upon a Time, "Hunter" episode

Like others in our class, I started watching Once Upon A Time when about 50% of the class told us it was their favorite show on the first day. So far, I have absolutely loved it! Then, a couple of nights ago, I watched "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."

YOU GUYS.

Why did nobody warn me my favorite character was going to get bumped off?! Graham was my biggest reason for watching the show! I mean, just LOOK at him:


Okay, (not really) kidding about his hotness aside, the character was just starting to get really interesting. He was raised by wolves, he has a wolf buddy, he kills people for insulting animals, he's falling in love with Emma, the Queen RIPPED his HEART out, and then he DIES? Why would the writers do that to me?

I thought about the strange phenomenon of parasocial relationships as I sat forlornly on the couch after watching that episode. Why on earth do I care, right? I've gone through this sense of loss many times because of TV, whether it's the show being cancelled (Firefly, *sob*) or a character dying.

*SPOILER ALERT for HOUSE, season 5*

Anyone remember Kutner?

I cried every night for like a week after watching the episode where he dies. Anytime I hear the song they played during that episode I get a little misty, and for months whenever I saw a guy that looked vaguely Indian I would get excited because I thought Kutner was back in my life.

Sigh.

This might be a good time to share this interesting article about parasocial relationships:
http://www.mnn.com/home-blog/guest-columnist/blogs/the-science-behind-empty-oprah-syndrome

This is my favorite part: "... researchers consider parasocial attachment to be a natural social response. Humans are hard-wired to develop social connections with other people and, apparently, it doesn’t matter if we’ve met them or not."

It's good to know I'm not crazy, just human.