I felt the first death in Serenity was actually a lot more manipulative than the second--I could actually swallow the death of a major character in a huge action sequence, even if the character is a fan favorite, because well, with that much going on if someone didn't get hurt it'd almost feel like cheating.

But a mostly offscreen death, complete with a final monologue that barely makes sense and we don't even get to see said character's MOMENT OF AWESOME? And his whole purpose was just to motivate our protagonist, apparently? And his death left a ton of stuff unresolved? Yeah, so not on, Whedon.