Some of the biggest advantages television shows have over movies is the ability to spend multiple episodes or even seasons developing characters. As a viewer, few things are more satisfying than watching interesting, well-written characters’ story arcs finally pay off. However, the opposite is unfortunately also true.
- For years, Game of Thrones was one of the best shows on television and had a bigger audience.than any other show on TV. However, in the last season, fans fell out of love with the show, and one complaint was scenes that betrayed characters they loved, especially with Daenerys. However, fans are giving the show a second chance with the 2022 spinoff series, Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon. It will only be a matter of time before fans see if the new version pays the proper respect to well-written characters from the start to the end, and in some ways, could surpass the groundbreaking original series.
A show can accidentally undo years of careful development and plotting with a single poor decision. Whether it is through a terrible choice that makes fans turn on the character or an unfitting ending that re-contextualizes the character’s entire journey, just one scene has completely ruined some of the best-written characters in television history.
Dan In Gossip Girl
The entire plot of Gossip Girl had a mysterious character revealing secrets about a group of young people, ruining the lives of many of them. The entire series played out with no one knowing who was destroying people’s lives, and then in the end, one specific scene showed it was Dan Humphrey, and many fans rebelled.
It made no sense. Dan had secrets and lies revealed, along with everyone else. He showed shock at what Gossip Girl revealed — even when he was alone in his kitchen. He ruined his 15-year-old sister’s life by exposing her sex life. Everything he did ruined the entire character in that one scene’s bombshell, and made him pure evil in the end.
Debra In Dexter
In Dexter, Debra Morgan went through eight seasons of suffering, but she fought and struggled through the problems. She was one of the strongest characters on the show, and then in the end, the show treated her with the utmost of disrespect.
Out of everyone on the show, Debra was the one who seemed that she deserved a happy ending. However, she did too much that kept her from moving past all her trauma and suffering. She did bad things, like killing Laguerta, but the one scene that ruined her character was when she admitted she fell in love with Dexter, destroying their brother-sister relationship and turning off many viewers.
Gi-hun In Squid Game
Squid Game was a surprising success for Netflix, one of the most-viewed shows in the streaming service’s history. The entire idea was brilliant, with people in debt allowed to play kid’s games for a chance to win a fortune, or die. The main Squid Game character was a man named Gi-hun, and he was putting his life on the line to earn a better life for his daughter.
In the end, Gi-hun won and left the competition. However, the last scenes with him ruined his entire character arc. Instead of getting on the plane and going to his daughter, the entire reason he played the game, he turned around and went back, planning to re-enter the game and get vengeance. It spoiled his entire reason for playing.
Tommy Shelby In Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is not a story about good people. This is a TV show about gangsters and Tommy Shelby was the primary family member who led this criminal empire. However, like Sopranos, the show tried to make Tommy at least somewhat sympathetic. One scene ruined all that.
Tommy had his problems, but he loved his family. When Polly died, Michael Gray broke away from the family and set out to destroy his cousin. However, Tommy was always stronger and when he murdered his cousin in cold blood, it made him seem much more dangerous and dark, a complete change from the character fans loved, for all his faults.
Michael Bluth In Arrested Development
In season 4 of Arrested Development, Michael discovered that he and George Michael were both dating Rebel Alley. He kept the information to himself and broke up with her, but after taking a “Forget-Me-Now,” he forgot he made that decision and instead went over to see her again where he bumped into George Michael and the truth was revealed.
Michael claims to put family first and even though he has had his share of issues with George Michael, he has never intentionally hurt his son. Because of this, lying to him and continuing to see Rebel made Michael difficult to like or sympathize with.
Ted Mosby In How I Met Your Mother
For 9 long seasons, fans of How I Met Your Mother waited anxiously for Ted to meet the titular Mother. The show told an emotional and inspiring story about a journey to find love. Ted’s relationship with Tracy made every painful moment from his past worth it. But all of that was undone when the last scene revealed that the entire show was actually about Ted’s love for Robin, not Tracy.
The ending of How I Met Your Mother does not work, because it re-contextualizes the entire show and Ted’s character arc. Ted and Robin dated and broke up multiple times and the finale resolved none of their issues, meaning that there is no guarantee that they would stay together this time.
Chidi Anagonye In The Good Place
After spending The Good Place overthinking things and trying to help teach others around him, Chidi left the Good Place. While the build-up to Chidi leaving is incredibly well written and acted, his choice to leave is ultimately disappointing.
Fans watched him torture himself with his constant anxiety and overthinking, and while he had peace about the decision, he deserved to get to rest and relax in the afterlife. It is also heartbreaking for The Good Place fans to watch him reject Eleanor’s pleas not to leave her alone.
Sylvie In Loki
For most of the first season of Loki, Sylvie was the best Loki variant and a compelling character. But in a pivotal scene at the end of the season, she betrayed Loki’s trust by kissing him and then pushing him away through a portal, so she could kill He Who Remains, irreparably damaging the sacred timeline.
The romantic aspect of their relationship was divisive from the start, but watching her kiss him and turn on him in his moment of vulnerability made her far less likable and sympathetic. Additionally, the impact of her rash decision to disregard his advice and kill He Who Remains is yet to be seen.
Dan Scott In One Tree Hill
In the third season of One Tree Hill, Dan Scott took his villainy to an entirely different level when he murdered his brother. Dan’s subsequent redemption arc is one of the best storylines on the show, but his actions in this one scene are ultimately too much to overcome.
Keith was one of the most likable characters on One Tree Hill, and it seemed like he was finally going to get his happy ending with Karen and his nephew, Lucas. After Karen found out she was pregnant, this betrayal hurt fans even more, as Keith never got the chance to meet his daughter. Out of all the things Dan did, this was the most unforgivable.
Daenerys Targaryen In Game Of Thrones
For many fans, the final season of Game of Thrones ruined a lot of their favorite characters. However, the most egregious moment came as Daenerys transformed from the Breaker of Chains into the Mad Queen in just one scene when she decided to burn King’s Landing to the ground.
While the slow descent into villainy could have been a compelling story arc if it had been told over multiple seasons, trying to cram it all into one moment was a major disservice to one of the show’s best characters.
Glenn Rhee In The Walking Dead
For many years, Glenn served as the optimistic heart of The Walking Dead. This made his unnecessarily graphic death scene especially difficult to watch. After the show had already bumbled his fake-out death, watching Negan beat him to death in front of everyone ruined a great character.
This scene left many fans with a sour taste in their mouth as it felt gratuitous and mean-spirited. The show was never quite the same after this moment, and it is not hard to see why. The scene prioritized shock value over storytelling and the show and character suffered as a result.
Fonzie In Happy Days
In season 5 of Happy Days, the leather jacket-clad quintessential cool guy Fonzie went waterskiing and literally jumped over a shark. Fonzie was an interesting, beloved, and occasionally deep character that helped make Happy Days a hit. This made watching the character stoop to this low painful.
The scene took one of the coolest characters in TV history and made him look cheesy and lame. The infamous moment is so singularly awful that it became the namesake for moments that ruin shows.
