Warning! Major spoilers for The Outsider follow.
HBO’s The Outsider is a dark take on a detective procedural drama, and one of the most shocking things the series has done so far is kill off many characters within its first two episodes.
The Outsider’s plot follows Detective Ralph Anderson as he tries to uncover the details surrounding the murder of a local boy named Frankie Peterson, which has rocked the entire town. Viewers likely expected at least one character to die during the premiere episodes. By the end of the second episode, however, it’s clear that no one is safe. One particular character’s death came as a complete shock and likely surprised most viewers if they hadn’t previously read Stephen King’s original novel that The Outsider series is based on.
The body count by the end of The Outsider’s premiere night was noticeably high for a show that just started. Here are all the characters viewers likely won’t be seeing again outside of flashbacks, if at all.
The Outsider Characters Killed Off
Terry Maitland is the town's Little League coach and prime suspect in the murder of Frankie Peterson. While Terry’s death does make sense in light of the tragedy that The Outsider is seeking to portray, it was shocking to see it happen relatively early on in episode 2. This is similar to how both Psycho and Scream killed off top billed characters early in the movie, Jason Bateman’s character, which was heavily focused on in promotional materials, gets shot dead outside the courthouse while he’s being led in for a hearing. The shooter ends up being killed himself in another tragic, surprising turn.
Ollie Peterson is the older brother of Frankie Peterson. Ollie has a short, tragic life. The older, teenage brother of the Peterson family decides to take justice into his own hands following Frankie’s death and another important, related death. Donning a hat, bandana, and sunglasses, he quickly charges the police unit walking Terry into the courthouse, then ends up shooting multiple officers and fatally wounding Terry before being brought down by Ralph. When Ralph approaches the body of the shooter, he unmasks him and looks on in horror when he realizes he just killed Ollie.
Joy Peterson is the mother of Frankie and Ollie. Losing a child is arguably one of the worst things imaginable, and can take a physical toll. What The Outsider decides to do with Joy's character is really stick in the knife by having her die suddenly from a heart attack following Ollie’s wake. While cleaning up the dining room, she looks at a picture of Ollie before losing control and smashing everything in the room. When her husband and son try to intervene, she clutches her chest and collapses. It’s later confirmed in a hospital scene that she has died.
Fred Peterson is the father of Frankie and Ollie. Within the span of only several days, Fred loses his entire family. As the sole survivor, he decides to end his own life by hanging himself. A passerby finds him, but he’s already suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen. He ends up in a coma where the police have to figure out final arrangements because he has no family left to make the decision for him. The Outsider premiere pulled no punches, emphasizing the tragedy of what’s happening to this small town.