Warning: Spoilers are unmarked.
The novel
- Raku’s death. She is tied up and left to die in the flood. And if Gorokhov came to check up on the village only a bit earlier, he could have rescued her – as it is, he only finds the body.
- Kostyakov’s death. It occurs when the explorers are on the brink of leaving Sannikov Land and believe themselves to be safe. And it’s as horrible as it is sudden: he is crushed beneath fallen rocks, while still in his sleeping bag.
- The moment when the explorers realize that the entire Sannikov Land is gone. The Onkilons and the Vampu may have not been so nice to them, but they are still hundreds of people who don’t deserve to die like this. Moreover, Annuir is with the explorers at that point. She realizes her family, friends and her entire culture are wiped out.
The film
- Ignaty is shot by Dukkar just as he tries to comfort the distraught Annuir. The poor man doesn’t even realize what happened.
- Krestovsky, the cheerful guy who got all the songs in the film, slowly dies in the icy desert, and Ilyin is unable to help him and can only watch.
