Paul Walker’s character in the “Fast & Furious” series, Brian O'Conner, needs to die (as opposed to retiring) in “Fast and Furious 7,” according to an entertainment writer.
O'Conner can’t retire, because that wouldn’t fit into the series, Kristy Puchko of Cinema Blend wrote. “Considering the real Walker not only died but also died in a violent car crash, it initially seemed in bad taste to kill off his character, especially in the most common act in this franchise--a gruesome automobile accident,” she wrote. “Walker’s death was shocking and terrible. And of course the franchise he is best known for shouldn’t exploit his death by recreating it for audiences, right? I agree. But Brian still needs to die. Nothing else makes sense.”
Universal Studios is planning to have O'Conner retire in the upcoming “Fast & Furious 7,” which was disrupted by Walker’s death and which now has a mid-2015 release date.
But that would mean O‘Conner and Mia, and their child, probably moving away from Los Angeles and Toretto and the crew. That wouldn’t fit into the storyline at all, because Toretto would never let O’Conner retire like that.
In “Fast & Furious 7,” Ian Shaw, Owen Shaw’s brother, sets out for revenge against Toretto and the crew for killing Owen. We learned at the end of “Fsat & Furious 6” that Ian was driving the car that plowed into Han in Tokyo in “Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift,” killing him.
Ian then calls Toretto and tells him that he’s coming for him and his crew.
For O'Conner to retire in the midst of this scenario wouldn’t make sense. Puchko is right. As she writes:
“Brian would never leave the family he has forged through these movies. He and Dom are deeply bonded, not just by their love of muscle cars, but by fraternal friendship and actual family ties! He married Dom’s sister. How are we supposed to believe that whatever future shenanigans the crew gets up to Bryan wouldn’t be there with a need for speed and a Baby Bjorn strapped on if need be?”
While it would be difficult for the cast and crew of “Fast & Furious” to have O'Conner be killed, bringing back painful memories from the real life death of Walker, it would also “prove cathartic” for the cast and crew and fans.
Many fans have expressed the same thing.
Erin, a fan, wrote on the opinion article:
“I have to agree. There is no way to have Brian leave and not have him be dead. He wouldn’t leave Mia and Jack, but also couldn’t disappear with them. It would defeat the whole purpose of Fast Six. Also Dom would kicked his ass if he tried to leave with Mia or without her. There is only one way to do this and that is to kill Brian. It would suck, and be hard, but it is the only way to be true to the story they are trying to tell.”
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