Saga. If you’ve read the series, then you know exactly how high the emotional toll can be on this series. This is not a series that pulls its punches – no matter how hard you sometimes wish it would. Saga is a series that has gotten a ton of ink over the years, and with good reason.
It’s also a series that has emotionally wreaked its fans on more than one occasion. Again, the fans know exactly what we’re talking about here. What reader hasn’t felt the need to curl up in a ball and cry after finishing a certain issue here and there?
This list contains spoilers from Saga. Consider yourself warned.
10 10. Stalk's Haunting
Stalk was one extremely unique character – one of many from this series. Even if you didn't appreciate her design, you've got to admit that there was something striking about her. The Will's connection to her didn't hurt things.
So her death was a traumatic one. As was all of her following appearances, as The Will was clearly haunted by her death. We can only imagine how awful that must have been for him – because it was pretty rough for us as well, and we weren't in love with her.
9 9. Separation & Reunion
Saga really put our hearts through the wringer, again and again. The adorable family that was Hazel and her parents were not always in one place, as we're well aware of. Their separation and reunions were all extremely painful for us to see, especially as we didn't know what would happen to each individual character during the interim.
8 8. The Will's Constant Losses
The Will has not had a good run of things, can we all agree on that? First, he lost his on again off again love, Stalk. Then, he lost his sister, The Brand. But as if that wasn't enough, he also lost the good boy dog that Brand had left him with shortly after that. All of these moments were made all the more traumatizing by how quick and brutal they were. There was no time to prepare, and no room to pretend they didn't happen.
All of these moments mentioned were highly traumatizing – for The Will and readers both. They're moments that are going to haunt The Will until the end of time, and with good reason. They're moments that are going to stick with us as well.
7 7. Alana's Impact
The hardest moments in this series all revolve around love and loss. Alana and Marko somehow found each other – and fell in love with each other, against all odds. They ran off in order to make that work and brought into the world beautiful little Hazel.
They were in the process of bringing another sweet life into the world when something tragic happened. The ship they were on had to launch quickly – to do otherwise would mean their deaths. But that sudden launch resulted in Alana being tossed – landing hard and losing her baby in the process. It was devastating to see, and we don't need to explain why.
6 6. Barr's Death
Barr's death is one of many that we've had to face during this series, and there's no doubt that we'll be seeing more in the future. Barr's death was still one of the more shocking moments, as well as being a total kick to the gut.
Barr was the father of Marko, and he was adorably accepting of Marko and all of his decisions. He knew he was dying well before that final moment, which is perhaps one of the reasons he took the risk that he did. He did get to go out on his own terms – a rare thing in this sometimes horrible universe.
5 5. Kurti And His Family's Demise
There was a time when Hazel and her family found some semblance of peace on a comet called Phang. That peace was not to last, as Phang was ultimately doomed. Where Hazel's family opted to flee – the friends they made on that comet did not.
Kurti and his family, an adorable family from an even cuter alien race, opted to stay behind, believing that somehow they would all be fine. All was not fine. The family did not survive the events that followed, as fans saw in graphic clarity. It was a heartbreaking moment all around.
4 4. The Death of Prince Robot IV
Unsurprisingly, our next item is another death. Prince Robot IV was a character we started out not liking all that much. But over time, he grew on us. Which, naturally, meant he was doomed to die. That just seems to be the way of it.
Prince Robot IV died by The Will's hands, for he was the one to kill Stalk in the first place. It didn't matter that he had turned a new leaf, or that he was trying to make something of his life. Not in the end.
3 3. Goodbye Izabel
It's so tempting to take things for granted, to assume that at least one character in a series is safe. For many of us, we assumed that Izabel was that character. After all, she was dead, what more could possibly happen to her?
We were wrong. And learning that lesson was rough and brutal, as Izabel was stabbed and forced to leave our lives forever in one swift moment. To make it worse, her death (re-death?) left a glimmer of hope that she would return – only she never did.
2 2. The Introduction and Removal of Kurti
This is not to be confused with the Kurti mentioned above! Kurti was Hazel's brother – for a very brief period of time. Thanks to a series of events (mentioned above), Kurti was never meant to live long in this world.
His family did get to see him for a little while, as the magic within Alana's body projected what could have been. It was rough and beautiful and did not last nearly long enough for little Hazel. This was the only time she would get to know this little boy.
1 1. Marko's Final Scene
Finally, the most heartbreaking scene of all. So far. This is an event that all fans must have known would top the list, and with good reason. Once again, fans want to assume that certain characters would be safe.
Frequently, we assume that the main characters are safe. But in the world of Saga, they are not. The last issue before a hiatus from the creators proved that. Marko met his end, and it was a sudden and shocking twist. One that most of us are still not over, despite all of the time we've had to get over it.