Back in September, Modern Family co-creator Christopher Lloyd teased fans with a death of a “significant character” in the show’s tenth and final season. Fans of the show braced themselves for a death that could change the entire course of the series. Many feared that the lovable curmudgeon Jay Pritchett, played by Ed O’Neil, would be the one to kick the bucket seeing as he is the oldest member of the Pritchett family. Well, turns out the death wasn’t as major as we were led to believe because (SPOILER ALERT) Dede Pritchett, played by Shelley Long, was in fact the character that was killed off.
Fans of the hit show have mixed emotions about the “significant” death seeing as Dede has only appeared in about 7 episodes over the course of the show’s 10 seasons. While she is the mother to Claire and Mitchell Pritchett and the ex-wife of Jay, she was never a series regular. Viewers were never able to develop a strong connection to the character because of her limited screen time. The way she died wasn’t all that exciting either, especially when you consider just how free spirited and zany the character was. She died in her sleep on during a trip to Greenland. Why Greenland? Maybe a more interesting cause of death would have helped maintain some of the hype. A running gag in the series was the appearance of a mysterious omen before Dede would visit. Perhaps one of those omens could have been her demise? Either way, you know the internet lit up with comments once the death was revealed and let’s just say the reactions have been mixed…
Calling the modern family death a “major character” was false advertising.
Jay or bust
— Jilaria (@jilaria2) October 25, 2018
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So sad to about Claire’s mom😭 But I’m also a little happy that it’s not a main person. #ModernFamily @ModernFam
— Abby_Lundquist5 (@ALundquist5) October 25, 2018
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#ModernFamily has never disappointed…until tonight. The death reveal was underwhelming. It also took away from the usual shenanigans that would make the Halloween episode entertaining.
— Anne (@0107_anne) October 25, 2018
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Just as long as it wasn’t Pepper or Longinus.
Thanks, @SteveLevitan.#ModernFamily— eileen barrett (@chilibeanie67) October 25, 2018
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