I've never been able to warm up to AMC's "The Walking Dead" (zombies in general), but I do keep up with some of the major plot points in magazines and from what I understand it's been a rough couple of weeks, as fans of the show have had to cope with uncertainty over a major, and beloved, character's death.

"Nashville" fans are in a similar boat. Except we're fairly certain he's dead. And "beloved" wouldn't exactly be the right word.

It's been a little less than two weeks since Jeff Fordham's death (there was no new episode last week due to the CMA Awards) and while the show left viewers (myself included) with the sliver of a hope that he somehow managed to avoid the full impact of a very high fall, the previews for this Wednesday night's episode make it pretty unmistakable. Actor, Oliver Hudson's, series regular status on FOX's new show, "Scream Queens" everything but confirms it..

If you had originally told me I'd be this affected by this character's exit, I would've said you were crazy. In the course of three seasons Jeff almost ruined a fan-favorite couple's relationship, blackmailed a singer for being gay, and left current girlfriend, Layla, alone and emotionally distraught with pills that she used in a suicide attempt. Some have touted him as the character you loved to hate but that's too generous. It was hate.

So why have I been unable to stop thinking about his final scene all week?

"Nashville" has had deaths before--in fact, only a few episodes earlier there'd been another huge loss, though one which personally left me feeling more sorry for the grievers than the character herself, as much as the show tried to redeem her towards the end.

Jeff, on the other hand, never stopped being a snake. Only in his relationship with Layla did the show writers manage to leave room for the chance he might someday pull off a redemption arc but the actual likelihood was low, and fueled more out of hope for Layla's sake than anything else. No way should she have been with that man, a fact she herself recognized, yet if ever there was anything to find likable (or more despicable) about him it was through how he treated her. Making their relationship public was about the only decision he ever made which was not in his best business interests. So while it always seemed like betrayal was just around the corner, there was a chance he was sincerely changing--one which, like him or not, made him compelling to watch; one which, for the most horrible reason, will never be resolved.

So maybe it's that permanent question mark around Jeff's morality that's got me rocked.

Maybe it's knowing how devastated Layla will be.

Or maybe it's simply the way he died all together. Pulling another character back from the ledge, in her own suicide attempt (for any readers who don't watch, please know the show isn't always plagued by tragedy), he loses his balance and suffers the worst death imaginable--enough time to realize what's happening but not enough be able to do anything to stop it.

Unsurprisingly, like all things Jeff, it was partly his fault that this character (his client) was able to come so close to death in the first place. A terrible music manager, he never showed any concern for her well-being outside of how her increasing emotional instability was hurting his numbers game, and his idea to dump her alone in a hotel room stocked with alcohol and illegal substances when she's having a breakdown was monstrous. Lesson not learned. But even if his rescue wasn't entirely (or minutely) selflessly motivated, it doesn't change the fact that he saved her life, and paid the ultimate price for it. Nobody deserves to die that way.

I've grieved many favorite fictional characters over the years but this grief is different. I hated Jeff Fordham. I hated seeing him die just as much.