You’re watching your favorite show and you love it. The concept excites you, the characters have you hooked, and each new episode is must see TV!
But then it happens…that plot you just can’t stand.
Sometimes your favorite character becomes someone you no longer recognize, or does something so stupid you’re tempted to change the channel.
Perhaps it’s a new character who simply doesn’t fit in, or a romance that either never takes off or takes a wrong turn.
How about a character’s death that’s either so devastating you can’t believe it happened or so infuriating you consider tuning out for good.
Come take this walk down memory lane of the 13 plots on TV that we absolutely hated!
Castle – Kate Beckett Was Married?!?
Kate Beckett was an intelligent woman and an extraordinary detective…and yet she somehow didn’t know she was legally married to some jerk she met in college?
Not only didn’t it make sense (Beckett had gone through multiple background checks for both NYPD and the Feds), but it destroyed the “one and done” concept that fans had loved about Beckett since Castle Season 1 Episode 2.
The fact that this horrible plot derailed an entire installment that fans believed was going to be filled with Rick and Kate’s wedding just added insult to injury.
Don’t even get us started on the ill-conceived non-wedding/disappearing Castle story that followed!
As for the entirety of Castle Season 8, we’re still pretending that was nothing more than a really bad dream that never actually happened.
Revenge – Daniel Dies!
We know that Emily and Daniel’s romance started off as Emily’s strategy to take down the Graysons, and things got worse from there, but no one can deny this couple had chemistry! It even spilled over into the actors’ real lives.
We know the show was determined to pair Emily with Jack, but we always had a longing to see Daniel and Emily turn their lives around and end up together. The best part would have been how it could have driven Victoria Grayson crazy!
How I Met Your Mother – They Killed the Mother!
The entire point of How I Met Your Mother was to finally see Ted meet the mother of his children! Of course fans also thought they’d get some romance, an actual wedding and perhaps some happily ever after…but they were greatly mistaken.
Fans waited season after to season to meet the much anticipated “Mother” only to have Ted apparently put off their perfect wedding for years, and then have her die!
To make matters worse, Ted then jumped into a “meant to be” relationship with Robin that the show spent all of nine seasons convincing fans was a horrible idea.
In the end, we still feel like we invested in a show and it cheated on us.
E.R. – Dr. Romano is Crushed by a Helicopter
ER’s run of 15 seasons meant there was plenty to love and plenty of stories we wished had gone differently, but nothing beats the death of Dr. Robert Romano.
Dr. Romano was complex. He could be a complete, arrogant ass…but he also loved his dog, mentored Lucy Knight, and adored Elizabeth Corday even if the feeling was never returned.
When he lost his arm in a helicopter accident, and thus ended his career as a surgeon, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to explore other aspects of his character, but obviously the writers didn’t see it that way.
Instead of character growth, Romano was crushed by a falling chopper as though he was starring in a cartoon. Robert Romano and the fans who rooted for him deserved more than that.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dawn Appears
We know that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was all about the supernatural, but having Dawn Summers appear out of no where was more than most fans could take.
Dawn, we were told, was actually a mystical power of living energy, called The Key. Thanks to a magical ritual, she was transformed into a teenage girl, who suddenly became Buffy’s supposed younger sister so that the Slayer would protect her from the hell goddess Glorificus.
As if that weren’t confusing enough, Dawn never, ever left…and fans really wished she would. Who knew that fictional, supernatural pre-teens could be even more annoying than the real thing.
Roseanne – It Was All a Dream?!?
For nine seasons we rooted for Roseanne and Dan Connor. We rooted for Darlene and David. Heck, we even rooted for Becky, no matter who was playing her.
So when the show pulled the rug out from under us during the series finale by making most of the final season a dream, killing off Dan, and pairing Becky with David and Darlene with Mark, we were dumbfounded.
What the hell did they do? Why? We still don’t have answers.
But thankfully there’s going to be a Roseanne reboot for a limited Season 10…and rumor has it that the dream was all just a dream after all.
NCIS – Tony and Ziva’s Off Screen Romance
There was chemistry between Tony and Ziva from moment one and season after season fans waited to see if that spark would turn into a real romance.
There were longing looks, undercover trysts, and occasional hand holding, but time and time again, fans got their hopes up only to have them dashed by more of the will they/won’t they dance.
And then the dance ended when Ziva left and never returned. Apparently there was a very fond goodbye between Tony and Ziva, but it occurred completely offscreen, leaving fans in the dark until Ziva was dead and an adorable toddler named Tali showed up calling Tony the Hebrew word for Daddy.
Bones – Booth and Brennan Made a Baby?
Yes, we were shocked. Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth had been doing the will they/won’t they dance for six seasons as fans not so patiently waited for them to finally admit their love to one another and start a real relationship.
But instead of first dates and romantic kisses, we were told they were going to have a baby!
Fans were left wondering if they missed something important…like when the couple they’d been rooting for finally consummated their relationship?
Turns out Booth and Brennan took comfort in one another after a shared tragedy, but for fans the real tragedy was that such an important relationship milestone took place completely off screen!
Some suspected they’d done more than cuddle, but no one knew until Brennan sprang her surprise pregnancy news on Booth.
As happy as we were with the eventual outcome, it’s still difficult not to be disappointed that so much was missed.
That 70’s Show – The Entire Final Season
Eric took off for Africa. Kelso found work in Chicago. Donna took up with that new guy, Randy. Hyde married a stripper, and Jackie and Fez hooked up?
There were so many bad plots during the final season of That 70’s Show that it’s painful to remember them all, at least not without the help of whatever those kids were smoking in the Forman’s basement.
Once Upon a Time – Robin Hood Comes Back to Life…Sort Of
Robin Hood was Regina’s second chance at love and fans were rooting for the duo to find their own happy ending.
So they were understandably distraught when Once Upon a Time killed off Robin Hood in Season 5.
Not only did we have to watch Regina suffer through the loss, but then the unthinkable happened, and Robin came back in the Wish Realm.
Only this version of Robin didn’t steal from the rich and give to the poor, he just stole. Sometimes even from Regina.
So instead of a second chance at happily ever after, Robin was sent away with the Evil Queen, because for some reason, poor Regina never seems to be allowed to find romantic love that will last.
Jane the Virgin – Michael Dies!
Fans waited seasons for these two to finally pull it together, and then when they just started to settle into married life, Michael died!
While some considered it a genius move to push Jane’s journey forward, many more fans were simply devastated that they were made to root for such a wonderful character, and couple, only to have their hearts broken.
Moonlighting – Maddie Ditches David and Runs Off To Chicago
Some still believe that what killed Moonlighting was that Dave and Maddie finally gave in to their smoldering chemistry and hit the sheets…and the table, and the floor before that.
But it wasn’t the sex that killed Moonlighting, it was the lack of it.
After three seasons of wanting and waiting, Dave and Maddie finally consummated their relationship only to have Maddie run off to Chicago to hide out at her parents, and then marry some random stranger on a train, leaving David back in LA feeling just as disappointed and confused as fans.
We know the show had lots of behind the scenes drama, but we don’t care! This was a couple that was never given a real chance.
The worst part is that they are still the reason why shows today continue to drag their feet by playing the will they/won’t they trope for far too long, or in some cases, never even take the risk of getting a promising couple together.
It’s just wrong, and we’re still mad.
Sons of Anarchy – Gemma Murders Tara
In some ways, it’s hard to complain about an episode that was so horrific you can’t seem to burn it out of your brain, but Gemma murdering Tara, her son’s wife, led to carnage as yet unseen on Sons of Anarchy, and that’s saying a lot!
The show about the personal and political turmoil of a biker gang was always dramatic and bloody, but killing off Tara pushed Jax to a new low and upped the body count to absurd levels.
In the end, Tara’s murder by carving fork led to death and dismemberment of most of the characters we loved, and left the kids with no one to care for them but two recovering junkies.
To say the plot of the final season was depressing is an understatement.
