While every TV series has made a bad plot decision at one point or another, these storylines annoyingly ruined their shows forever. Although each viewer has differing opinions and experiences while watching a TV show, there have been some storylines that everyone generally agreed caused a lot of damage. Some TV shows have repeated storylines more than once, but more often than not, these titles learned which to avoid recreating because of audience backlash.
Despite multiple attempts from writers, these shows were never quite the same after a risky or poorly received storyline (and this has often resulted in TV retcons). Audiences still tuned in, but they couldn’t forget about their favorite character making a terrible mistake or being killed off at the most untimely moment. While these TV shows were still brilliant in their own ways, they betrayed audiences with a storyline that tainted viewers’ perspectives for the remainder of their runs.
Amy Breaking up With Jonah
‘Superstore’
The most frustrating thing about Amy ending her relationship with Jonah in Superstore was that it made no sense. Unlike a lot of sitcoms, which have often featured a will-they-won’t-they or an on-off romance between two characters, Superstore‘s Amy and Jonah were actually realistic. The build-up to the pair getting together wasn’t overly dragged out, and they didn’t split up and get back together at any point before the final installment for the sake of drama. Jonah served as an incredible parental figure to both of Amy’s children, but especially Parker, as he’d been dating Amy since before he was born.
Amy and Jonah initially seemed to be Superstore‘s version of Amy and Jake from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. For someone who had found their own identity and had experienced immense success after leaving an unhappy marriage, it was baffling that all of that character development resulted in Amy suddenly getting cold feet before she and Jonah moved to California. She’d never felt tied down by Jonah before, so why then? Thankfully, they returned to one another in Superstore‘s ending, but this storyline really soured the entirety of Season 6 and somewhat tarnished the memory of Amy and Jonah’s relationship throughout the show.
Jane Trying to Figure Out Her Feelings for Michael
‘Jane the Virgin’
While Jane’s struggle to deal with the fact that her late husband was actually alive made sense in Jane the Virgin, her actions did not. Years later, Jane had moved on, was ready to marry Rafael, and had a stable home life with him and their son. It was logical that Jane was conflicted when she learned Rose had faked Michael’s death, and even that she still harbored feelings for him to a certain degree, but the way she treated Rafael and Mateo was completely out of character.
Jane left her own child and ended her relationship with his father behind to see whether there was still anything between her and Michael, even though he didn’t remember being that man and had assumed a new identity under the name of Jason. What was even more frustrating was that when Jane realized there was nothing left between her and Michael, she couldn’t understand why Mateo was so hurt, and she failed to recognize how much damage she’d caused to her entire family. Although Rafael and Jane work things out and get their happy ending, Jane’s poor decision-making definitely ruined the last half of Jane the Virgin Season 5.
Deb Falling in Love With Dexter
‘Dexter’
Deb developing romantic feelings for her own brother was completely wild at the time this Dexter storyline was airing, and it’s one that audiences to this day are still befuddled by. Regardless of the fact that Debra Morgan was Dexter’s adopted sister, it was still plain weird for her to suddenly fall in love with him. This was jarring for a number of reasons, but audiences were even more furious because there was no real foreshadowing, nor was there any proper justification for Deb’s change of heart. Dexter was always a pretty strange TV show, but this storyline was a step too far.
It also felt somewhat disrespectful to Rita. Dexter’s relationship with Rita was an integral part of Dexter, and her death was a huge shock. In a way, viewers would probably have preferred the writers to establish a romance between Dexter and literally anybody else at that specific moment, rather than to abruptly announce that Deb had fallen in love with her brother. Viewers were glad nothing actually happened between the pair, but they were also confused about why this storyline was set up, only for it to fizzle out (although the audience response was likely attributed to that).
Moriarty’s Death
‘Sherlock’
There were two core issues with Moriarty’s death in Sherlock: the fact that the show killed the villain off too early, and that even though he was meant to be dead, Moriarty was still overly involved in the overarching story. Moriarty was a heinous and thrilling antagonist to watch, but Sherlock made the mistake of killing him at the show’s peak. Many who were a part of the TV show’s rabid fanbase at the time believed Moriarty was also still alive after “The Reichenbach Fall,” just like the titular character, but this wasn’t the case, and subsequent Seasons of Sherlock failed to introduce a villain who was just as enthralling.
To this day, it’s clear that the later installments of Sherlock weren’t as good as Seasons 1 and 2. It was annoying enough that Moriarty was killed, but it was ridiculous how influential he still was from beyond the grave. Moriarty was behind several cruel tricks, and he played a major part in Eurus’ chaos in Season 4. In fact, the unhinged younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft used Moriarty’s image to taunt them. While Moriarty was a great villain, the show should’ve either kept him around longer or killed him off properly.
Joey and Rachel’s Romance
‘Friends’
Although Joey and Rachel’s weird relationship in Friends didn’t last for long, the rest of the show didn’t feel the same after. On paper, the two sort of made sense, but Friends made the mistake of trying to push them together romantically too late into the show, and too much had happened for both of them for it to ever succeed. Even when the show tried to make audiences believe there really was something more between the two, it simply wasn’t believable, and it made sense that the characters in Friends struggled to adjust (plus, the cast hated this storyline, too).
Friends attempted to distract audiences from the nonsensical romance between the two by shifting its focus to Ross and Rachel’s seemingly never-ending on-again, off-again relationship, but by this point, it had become overexhausted and felt like a cop-out. When Rachel was offered a new job in Paris, it was her time for a fresh start. Even though Ross and Rachel were always established as being endgame to a certain degree, it was hard to root for them after Rachel dated Joey.
Pam and Jim’s Marriage Problems
‘The Office’
While The Office had its flaws, especially in the later installments, one storyline audiences had trouble forgiving the show for was Jim and Pam’s marriage struggles in Season 9. One reason as to why The Office was, and still is, one of the best NBC sitcoms of all time was Jim and Pam’s will-they-won’t-they romance. When the pair finally got together in Season 4, audiences were overjoyed, and their relationship throughout the rest of the show was relatively plain sailing. However, the decision to throw a grenade into their marriage in the last Season of The Office wasn’t the greatest move.
Both of these characters had enough stuff going on to keep audiences interested in their stories without creating conflict in their relationship. Pam’s art career was starting to see some traction, so it didn’t quite make sense when she failed to understand how important Athlead was to Jim. At the same time, it was also illogical that Jim was unable to see that Pam needed more help with the kids and needed him to be more present in general, too. Both of their actions during this time were slightly out of character, and they could’ve kept pursuing their chosen paths without The Office trying to cause drama in their marriage. While they did work things out in the end, it unfortunately tainted their journey throughout the show in the process.
Not everyone will agree on which TV storylines “ruined” their shows forever, as it’s a personal experience for each viewer. Some have been frustrating and skewed someone’s overall opinion, but they’re still able to appreciate and enjoy the show anyway. However, others have been so disastrous that audiences were unable to forgive the show’s writers for it, to the point that they gave up watching it altogether. Do you think these TV storylines ruined their shows, or were they just a bad moment in an otherwise good plot? Which other TV storylines do you believe ruined their show?
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