Money Heist’s Tokyo is Netflix’s most heartbreaking death of all time

Warning: This article contains MAJOR Money Heist spoilers!

There’s no doubt about it, Money Heist‘s Tokyo was amongst the most heartbreaking, soul-crushing, pain-staking Netflix deaths of all time.

Of course, there are many characters before her whose death caused endless agony for many. Bob from Stranger Things and Orange Is the New Black‘s Poussey to name a few. But no character, in all of Netflix’s many original series, has ever received as much global uproar as Tokyo when her final moments were watched by millions, nay, tens of millions, and here’s why.

Why Tokyo was the glue of Money Heist

For many, the feisty rebel Tokyo was truly the heart of not just the red-jumpsuit-wearing gang but of the entire Money Heist series.

Prior to meeting her unfortunate end, Tokyo lived every day selfishly. Her way of life may seem negative or wrong at face value, however, her touch-and-go attitude was an inspiration to viewers, motivating them to live every day as if it was their last, to dance as if there was no one watching, and to love as passionately as their beating heart can take.

Simply put, Tokyo’s character served as a constant reminder of the tender truth Money Heist has been trying to convey since its 2017 debut and that truth is, whether you have $2 to your name or whether you have $20, as long as you have a resolve to keep moving forward somehow, someway, they (whoever they may be) can never take your life away from you — it’s yours and yours alone to decide how you want to live.

This poignant overarching message was certainly shown in Tokyo’s fatal choice to sacrifice herself for her teams’ victory rather than die at the hands of the movement’s enemies or, worse, die a prisoner stripped of free will.

As she shot those many bullets at her opposers, firing both in rage and in sorrow, it’s unmistakably clear that, even in her last minutes, Tokyo sought after the very same freedom she’s telling us to selfishly grab by the reins. The freedom to act heroically, the freedom to lay down her life for her family — the only ones she’s ever really had — and, most importantly, the freedom to let go when it’s time to move forward towards a new beginning, even if that means leaving the love of your life behind, all were decisions she freely made.

Falling to her death in all her vivacity, Tokyo used her last batch of free will to tell not just her lover but her many fans this:

"Don’t be sad. Something ends today. But now is the first day of your next life. You’ve gotta live a lot of lives, my love. So many. Now get going because it’s party time."

“Live Many Lives” was the name of the episode we last saw Tokyo in action, and it’s a title that applies beautifully to the life of this wild but kind-hearted force.

Although Tokyo is now one of the many fallen Money Heist vigilantes, her live-like-you’re-dying spirit still lives on for many all around the world.

Watch all five seasons of Money Heist streaming right now only on Netflix.