47 Bad (And I Mean Really Horrendous) TV Storylines That Honestly Should’ve Never Happened

    We deserve an apology for the last season of How I Met Your Mother.

    Ajani Bazile-Dutes
    by Ajani Bazile-Dutes

    BuzzFeed Staff

    We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what storyline from a TV show was completely unnecessary. Here's what they had to say:

    Note: Some of these submissions have been sourced from this Reddit thread because they were too good not to include.


    Warning: This post contains mentions of sexual assault. 

    1. When Mark found out he had a daughter on Grey's Anatomy.

    Sloan Riley introducing herself to mark
    ABC

    —unknown_human

    2. When Barney and Robin's wedding weekend on How I Met Your Mother lasted a whole season.

    Barney and Robin getting married
    CBS

    "Those 3-4 days were stretched into 22 awful episodes and then they finally got married in the finale. But then a few minutes later, it was revealed in the flash forwards that they eventually got divorced." 

    —u/lordb4

    3. Nikki and Paulo's whole existence on Lost.

    ABC

    "They did give us one of the best episodes ("Exposé") on the show, in my opinion. But they appeared on the show so randomly and weren't introduced properly. On the other hand, hating the two of them is one of the only things most Lost fans can agree on."

    —mer5931

    4. When Omar cheated on Ander with his sister's boyfriend on Elite while Ander had cancer.

    Ander telling Omar how chemo is scaring him and then Omar asking Malik to hook up at a party
    Netflix

    "It ruined an already tarnished relationship and made Omar seem like an actual fucking dick. Also, Malick served no purpose to the story whatsoever."

    —ahmedrehan155

    5. Eric leaving for Africa on That '70s Show.

    Red saying he approved of Eric going to Africa
    Fox

    "It was such a cop out. They needed to come up with a reason for Eric to be gone for a year since Topher Grace was leaving and this was the best they came up with. Bleh."

    —Agnostickamel

    6. Carrie and Berger's relationship on Sex and the City.

    Carrie and Berger at dinner
    HBO

    "They had no chemistry and it was cringeworthy. I always skip over those episodes."

    —patrickkeown

    7. When House purposely drove through Cuddy's home on House.

    Fox

    "It was too excessive, even for House."

    —wgbrund1

    8. When an aging pill was used on prisoners as a substitute for them serving time on Oz.

    A prisoner being injected withe serum and then waking up old the next day
    HBO

    "It's a fine idea to explore in a supernatural show or something like Black Mirror, but it felt so out of place in Oz and they undid it poorly. Cyril got aged and then the serum just wore off and then they dropped that plot."

    —u/deleted

    9. The Gryphons and Gargoyles game taking over the town on Riverdale.

    Riverdale residents playing Gryphons and Gargoyles
    The CW

    —u/321ss

    10. Dan being revealed as Gossip Girl on Gossip Girl.

    Dan explaining how he started Gossip Girl
    The CW

    "It was the dumbest decision I have ever seen across all mediums."

    —u/Parenegade

    11. Leo cheating on Grace on Will and Grace.

    Leo telling Will that he kissed someone else while he was in Cambodia
    NBC

    "It was totally out of character for him. I don't see why Grace couldn't just be happily married and still be close to her friends."

    —egc26

    12. Emma and Spinner getting married on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

    Spinner and Emma standing at the altar
    CTV

    "Just why? They have literally no chemistry and no relationship development."

    —Renata Vontobel

    13. Ben's whole existence on Friends.

    Rachel and Ben
    NBC

    "The show could've done without him. There were other ways they could have incorporated Carol and Susan in the series without Ben, especially since they completely dropped Ben for the last two seasons."

    —rowelakins

    14. Randy and Donna's relationship on That '70s Show.

    Donna and Randy talking
    Fox

    "He pretty much disappeared in the last few episodes, didn't even show up in the series finale, and she still kissed Eric in the end anyway!"

    —v487933a49

    15. The whole Olivia kidnapping storyline on Scandal.

    Oliva Pope trying to escape from a window in a room
    ABC

    "For me, that was when Scandal went to shit. You can clearly tell that the writers themselves were so confused with this storyline. They didn't know how to wrap it all up."

    —s4bb472acb

    16. The "tickling videos" storyline on Riverdale.

    Terry offering to film Kevin being tickled on film for money
    The CW

    "It just made me so uncomfortable; it was unnecessary and creepy. Kevin deserved better."

    —That Emo Chick

    17. Spencer having an evil twin at the end of Pretty Little Liars.

    Spencer and her identical twin Alex standing next to each other in fear
    Freefrom

    "The show after Mona was revealed as 'A' went steadily downhill, but the entire last season was unnecessary."

    —rowanswor15

    18. Bryce's redemption arc on 13 Reasons Why.

    Ani defending Bryce and saying he was trying to become a better person
    Netflix

    Suggested by: 2025sarahc

    13 Reasons Why handled A LOT of — like, most — serious topics horribly. And one of their biggest mistakes in the third season was trying to get viewers to sympathize with Bryce and redeem his character despite the fact that he was a serial rapist.

    19. Mr. Turner getting into a motorcycle accident on Boy Meets World.

    Sean sitting beside Mr. Turner who is in a hospital bed with casts on his arm and head
    ABC

    "It was like a big deal for one episode and then not really mentioned again for the rest of the series."

    —Megan Townsend

    20. Frank being revealed as the child of Sam and Hannah's incestuous relationship on How to Get Away with Murder.

    Annalise telling Bonnie that Frank is the product of incest between Sam and Hannah
    ABC

    "It was a little much. It was only placed in the last few episodes to try to wrap up some loose ends, but they could have done that a lot of other ways."

    —erica

    21. Cameron being in love with House on House.

    Cameron saying there's no point in working at the hospital if House isn't there and then kissing him
    Fox

    "It just wasn’t genuine and made it seem like she was only there to fill the stereotypical female character role."

    —jennaransome

    22. When Blaine and Karofsky dated on Glee.

    Karofsky holding Blaine as they sit on the back of a truck
    Fox

    Suggested by: ktparkins

    Karofsky was incredibly anti-gay and Kurt's biggest tormentor in high school. Kurt literally had to transfer schools one year because Karosky threatened to kill Kurt. So it's wild that Blaine could date someone who caused his ex so much trauma and fear.

    23. Annie’s cousin staying with her family on 90210 and ruining Annie's social life for no reason.

    Annie confronting Emily and then attacking her
    The CW

    "I don’t even remember her name. It was so unnecessary."

    —discarlett

    24. Hayley getting back with Dylan and then getting pregnant on Modern Family.

    Hayley looking freaked out during her sonogram appointment
    ABC

    "No thanks! She had grown so much during the show, and it ruined her character's journey. She should have got together with Andy and that's it."

    —totesrandom

    25. Tom finding out he had a daughter before he and Lynette were together on Desperate Housewives.

    Kayla looking out of the back window of a car at Tom and Lynette as she's driven away
    ABC

    "They brought her and her horrible mom into the show to cause problems between Tom and Lynette, killed off her mom, made the daughter a huge brat to Lynette, then sent her away with her random grandparents, never to be spoken about again! I hated that storyline."

    —ashtonwinona

    26. When Emma's stepdad, Mr. Simpson, cheated on her mom on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

    Emma catching Mr. Simpson kissing Ms. Hatzilakos in a movie theatre
    CTV

    "He cheated with his boss, who was the vice principal. It was ridiculous and totally out of character for him. It was out of left field, went nowhere, and kind of ruined a good, wholesome character for literally no reason."

    —mollys1114

    27. When Britta and Troy dated on Community.

    Britta holding Troy's hand as they sit on a couch
    NBC

    "It just came out of nowhere, and they had no romantic chemistry. I understand it was a plot device to address Troy and Abed's codependency in their friendship, but it just felt so off."

    —GhoulKidRae

    28. Rachel and Joey’s romance on Friends.

    Ross walking in on Rachel and Joey kissing
    NBC

    "It makes me cringe even now."

    —clareb5

    29. Luke discovering he had a daughter on Gilmore Girls.

    Luke talking to April and processing that he's her father
    The WB

    "It didn't add anything; it was just time filling."

    —s463b03bd4

    30. Lily and Rufus meeting their son on Gossip Girl.

    Rufus and Lily talking to their son Scott
    The CW

    "He was never mentioned again. This storyline added nothing to the plot and didn’t help the character's to progress in any way."

    —Pinkie pie

    31. Quinn getting in a car accident and being in a wheelchair on Glee.

    Quinn in a wheelchair going up a ramp
    Fox

    "They had her go through physical therapy with Joe, just for them to not even stay close at all. Then, by Nationals, she’s just up there dancing like nothing ever happened. Maybe they just needed something to stop Rachel and Finn from getting married, but that was legit ridiculous."

    —EmilyTheIt

    32. Eleven finding her siblings on Stranger Things.

    Eleven and Kali standing next to each other
    Netflix

    "It came out of nowhere and was so unnecessary and never mentioned following that episode."

    —finnegangc

    33. When Finn kissed Emma right before her wedding to Mr. Schue on Glee.

    Finn kissing Emma and her looking freaked out after
    Fox

    "It wasn't even a love triangle. The storyline was just a mess and waste of episodes."

    —r49a54a93f

    34. Ian and Lip getting DNA tests done on Shameless and finding out Ian is not Frank’s son, but the son of one of Frank’s brothers.

    Lip and Ian being shocked by seeing Clayton, Frank's identical twin
    Showtime

    "They spend one episode looking for Frank’s brothers, make an assumption about Clayton being Ian’s dad, and then it’s never mentioned again."

    —hairbymorgen

    35. Archie dating his teacher, Miss Grundy, in the first season of Riverdale.

    Archie and Ms. Grundy about to kiss
    The CW

    "It was extremely random and had no significance to the show whatsoever."

    —ninadanielx

    36. Izzie having a brain tumor that resulted in her having sex with her dead ghost boyfriend on Grey's Anatomy.

    Izzie having sex with the ghost of her dead ex-boyfriend, Denny
    ABC

    —emmaloveschocolate

    37. Caleb and Spencer's relationship on Pretty Little Liars.

    Caleb and Spencer sitting on a couch, holding hands, and looking at a laptop
    Freeform

    "It didn’t really add anything to the show for me, and it was confusing to watch, knowing they were clearly going to end up with other people."

    —emmakatejohnston

    38. Pam and Jim having marital problems in the final season of The Office.

    Jim and Pam walking together with annoyed expressions on their faces
    NBC

    "It was unnecessary and felt completely ill timed. We spent nine seasons knowing they were soulmates, and then some camera guy throws them off for a second? Come on."

    —kminfl

    39. When Reagan was a replacement for Jess on New Girl.

    Reagan and Jess
    Fox

    "I think Zooey Deschanel was on maternity leave or something, but I would have rather had to wait than to have her essentially replaced."

    —faithelisef

    40. Debra getting over her stepbrother being a serial killer and realizing she had romantic feelings for him on Dexter.

    Debra confessing her feelings to Dexter
    Showtime

    "It was super out of the blue and never went anywhere except for giving me a creepy feeling, especially knowing that the actors were married at the time in real life."

    —Aves

    41. The whole last season of Once Upon a Time.

    Scene in a church from Once Upon a Time finale in which Regina is crowned "the Good Queen"
    ABC

    "It was completely unnecessary and didn’t really make sense from the other seasons. Like, why would they introduce a whole new set of characters?"

    —tanderson1

    42. On Glee, when Rachel gave up her dream Broadway role in Funny Girl to star in that really bad TV show that got canceled.

    Rachel in scene from TV show pilot that got canceled
    Fox

    "While it was nice to see Rachel Berry finally fail at something and not have it fixed by a diva tantrum, the plot didn't make sense. The whole goal of her character was to be on Broadway, and she idolized Barbra Streisand. It ruined the show for me."

    —c0330

    43. When Schmidt cheated on Cece on New Girl.

    Schmidt talking about how he never broke up with Elizabeth to date Cece and how he feels terrible about it
    Fox

    "It was the most unbelievable storyline in television. Period."

    —beccao4accb32d4

    44. The whole high school musical storyline in Season 1 of The Politician.

    Payton singing onstage and playing a guitar
    Netflix

    "Ryan Murphy was just looking for an excuse to have Ben Platt sing again."

    —kurly_gurly

    45. Landry killing a guy on Friday Night Lights.

    Landry grabbing a blunt object and hitting a man's head with it
    NBC

    "LITERALLY unnecessary because they proceeded to never mention it ever again."

    —melissan40168c557

    46. Ted going back to Robin on the series finale of How I Met Your Mother.

    Robin looking out her window to see Ted standing there with a french horn
    CBS

    "You just spent an entire nine seasons waiting for him to find Tracy, and this devalues the love he and Tracy had before her death and how she’s everything he was looking for. It makes it feel like the whole point of the show was for him and Robin to be together, which it wasn’t. They wanted different things."

    —ailsah3

    47. And finally, Michael coming back after he had presumably died on Jane the Virgin.

    Jane looking at Michael in shock and Rafael explaining how his sister faked Michael's death
    The CW

    "He died, and it took so long for her to grieve and move on that bringing him back for like three episodes seemed forced."

    —erbcu95

    Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

    What are other storylines on TV do you feel were unnecessary? Let us know in the comments!