No one wanted to see Eddie Carr go

Faithful followers know that we’ve been trotting out the #EveryJurassicMovieNeeds hashtag on our Twitter account. The goal is to carefully dissect the Jurassic movie formula and look for constants, pitting them against each other for the fun of it. Our thesis? “#EveryJurassicMovieNeeds a minor character who is killed off in a brutal fashion.”

It turns out that Richard Schiff’s Eddie Carr (The Lost World) death really put a lump in people’s throats, with Martin Ferrero’s Donald Gennaro (Jurassic Park) cited as memorable and Katie McGrath’s Zara Young (Jurassic World) as “strangely cruel and unusual”. Michael Jeter’s Mr. Udesky (Jurassic Park III) didn’t really affect fans all that much.

Minor characters killed off in a brutal fashion

Jurassic Park’s Donald Gennaro isn’t quite the hero type. He famously abandons Lex and Tim and runs into a nearby straw bathroom to take cover from the T-Rex, who not much later escapes and stumbles upon the “bloodsucking lawyer” while chasing Malcolm. The whimpering Gennaro is subsequently snapped down on, head-first, by the escaped. Displaying its brute strength, it’s the first T-Rex kill of the series.

Then there’s Eddie Carr, field equipment expert in The Lost World. He basically ends up saving all of the main characters at the same time when he uses his SUV stop the trailer they’re in from plummeting over the edge of a cliff. His reward? Oh, besides being ripped in half by a pair of adult T-Rexes? Even up to that moment, Eddie still has his feet on the gas as he attempts to save his friends.

In Jurassic Park III, it’s Mr. Udesky’s turn. He is consciously maimed and left alone to call out for help by the raptor pack, which then goes into hiding mode. This sophisticated trap shows how savvy the raptors are - waiting for the others members of the party to come to Udesky’s aid is a highly intelligent scheme. When it’s clear that won’t be happening, they surgically kill Udesky, just to send a message.

Then there’s Jurassic World’s Zara Young. She’s the British assistant to Clare Dearing, who is assigned to babysit Zach and Gray, and suffers a most horrible death. She at first is swooped up by a pteradonon, with one of his buddies coming in for a little back and forth, after which she falls into the huge Mosasaurus tank. She is pulled under a number of times and eventually swooped up again, only to be chomped down on by the Mosasaurus in the end. All the while the viewer travels with her as she is tortured before being eaten.

What do Jurassic fans think?

When asked about their opinion on the matter, Jurassic Park fans unanimously voiced their grief for ‘hero’ Eddie Carr, who died a brutal death trying to save Nick and Sarah in the unforgettable cliffhanger scene.

Both Donald Gennaro and Zara Young received votes for second place, albeit for completely different reasons. Where Gennaro’s death was quick and  important plot-wise, Zara’s demise was loud and shocking, but so unwarrentedly brutal that it didn’t sit right with a lot of people. Let’s peg them at 2a. and 2b. for good measure.

Mr. Udesky didn’t get a lot of love. Only @CRabHoward outright picked JP3’s moustached hired gun, stating that he was just an innocent bystander.

R.I.P. Eddie Carr

So there you have it. When it comes to minor characters being killed, the untimely and horrible demise of Richard Schiff’s Eddie Carr really got to people. Second place is a toss-up between Martin Ferrero’s Donald Gennaro, forever known as ‘the guy who died on the toilet’, and Katie McGrath’s Zara Young, whose horrific death didn’t sit right with a lot of people. It is acknowledged that Michael Jeter’s Mr. Udesky was an innocent bystander who didn’t deserve what he got, but his death didn’t leave a lasting impression.