"It Pisses Me Off Every Time I Think About It" – 23 TV Shows That Ruined Our Fave Characters

"I felt it just invalidated all of her growth."

We all have those characters we look up to in TV shows, but sometimes their trajectory just doesn't sit right with us. Whether it's the decisions they make, or them just changing for the worse, sometimes a character arc can really disappoint us.

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We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community about the character arcs they were disappointed in, and here are some of the best responses:

1. Lane Kim – Gilmore Girls

The WB / The CW

"She deserved so much better, but she was given the rushed marriage and kids. She should have got the freedom to see the world touring and being able to experience it on her own terms. She was used as a throwaway character when she could have been given so much more."

—allanahjayp

"She always had a strong sense of self, of knowing what she liked and not caring what others thought. She only ever hid things from Mrs. Kim because she knew she wouldn't approve. Lane had so much in life that she wanted to do, so for her to end up pregnant and giving up on so much of what she wanted to live with her husband and kids ruined it for me."

—staceyleighk"

2. Katherine – The Vampire Diaries

The CW

"I hated when she 'travelled' in Elena's body in season five. Katherine should've died in the 100th episode, but they dragged it out so they could show Nina and Paul together again. The episodes to me are annoying and kinda frustrating. I still skip those few episodes when I rewatch the series."

—ashpaige91

3. Spike – Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The WB

"Spike's story arc in season five was awful. His obsessive crush on Buffy was just childish and creepy and took you out of the storyline for the season. It felt so forced and out of place."

—hovanmolly

4. Almost everyone – The Witcher

Netflix

"Ciri has become an annoying character that does the most ridiculous BS. Yennefer is apparently no longer a badass witch – her entire identity is Ciri and Geralt and being a mom as if that's all a woman should want to be. 

Geralt has gone from the seasoned super monster hunter the show is titled after, to an occasional good fighter B character. The convoluted politics is weird for a show that did nothing to set that kind of thing up. Characters just randomly doing shit with no lead-ups (Fringilla literally all season three, Triss, and Istredd?) and it's just bad everywhere."

—chasingsmiles

5. Jamie – Game of Thrones

HBO

"No matter how much the incest fans say that what happened with Jaime in GOT, will happen in the books – GRRM has already confirmed that it won't and he's on a completely different path in the books. In the show, he went back to try and stop Cersei from being killed. In the books, he walked away and left Cersei for dead. His arc in the show was awful and completely against his character in the books."

—autumnmist

6. Darlene Alderson – Mr. Robot

USA Network

"They turned her from a badass but vulnerable character, to a helpless damsel in distress who needs constant saving from Elliot and Dom. I mean she did have her badass moments, but in the last two seasons they make her weak and defenseless."

—tanyam44ab2253d

7. Lana Lang – Smallville

The WB / The CW

"She was just plain annoying all the time. I think most of the blame could be placed on the writers, but she was so indecisive; new paths and dreams would be brought up without any context.

She went to Paris for art school on a total whim without showing any previous interest in art. She opened a cafe after quitting another cafe after a day because she hated it. There were eight seasons of her being wishy-washy and half committed to Clark. It was infuriating."

—strangerthanitseems

8. Andy – The Office

NBC

"He starts off as a lovable character with some anger management issues, but by season eight, his character becomes more and more unhinged. He's awful to his co-workers, especially the women in the office. I guess he redeems himself a bit by the end of the series, but it was a very odd choice for his character."

—robbinh

9. Rory – Gilmore Girls

The WB / The CW

"She was once the pure definition of a role model, but now when I see her, all I can think is, 'God, make me better'. Her Chilton era will always be my dream aesthetic! They did her so dirty for the trouble with Dean, who was also a perfect character in season one."

—sophie1989

10. Alex Karev – Grey's Anatomy

ABC

"He had the best character development going from a hated bad boy to a hot and loving husband. After all he went through to get there, they made him leave his wife (and obvious soulmate) to go back to Izzie (not the most loved character, to say the least) and their unknown kids. What a waste. It pisses me off every time I think about it."

—lauztremblz

11. Penny – The Big Bang Theory

CBS

"It was made to be such a big deal that she didn't want kids, and then, at the end of the show, she ends up pregnant and somehow happy about it. They should’ve just left it the way it was to show that not having kids is valid!"

—alexandraisgay

12. Hughie – The Boys

Amazon Prime Video

"They made him into a selfish character last season. When Kimiko was dying he didn't care about her at all. All he wanted was to be a superhero. It was a punch in the nuts to see him change from an empathetic, reluctant hero to a jerk. it sucked."

—bowl_of_petunias

13. Robin – How I Met Your Mother

CBS

"It irked me when they made it so she couldn't have kids, her character would have been better as a woman who didn't want kids and simply never had them. Plus she was super obnoxious to Patrice for no reason."

—kbing

14. Jonathan – Stranger Things

Netflix

"He had a great relationship with Nancy and was a hard worker. The two worked great together all throughout season three, in particular. However, season four was a little disappointing. Jonathan got into weed, lied to Nancy about college, and just hung out with the wrong crowd. He did a total 180º, but I’m hoping he’ll have a change of heart for season five."

—sleepy555

15. Bellamy – The 100

The CW

"He made so much progress in season two, only for all of his growth to be stripped away in season three. Don't even get me started about the clusterfuck that was the last season."

—jessicacardwell

16. Daenerys Targaryen – Game of Thrones

HBO

"She has the worst character arc of any character on TV. She survived so many things – being exchanged in marriage by her abusive brother, winning over the Dothraki, losing a baby, her husband, and being burnt alive. She freed communities of the enslaved and oppressed and turned her enemies into her allies. 

THEN they decide, oh, let’s just make her uncharacteristically go and kill loads of innocent people, and then get STABBED by a man she finally loves??! Whaaaat? No way in hell was she doing that!"

—kirstystyles1

17. Haley Dunphy – Modern Family

ABC

"She was likeable but immature, selfish, shallow, and ditzy. As she got older she became more career ambitious, but still dated the worst guys until Andy was introduced. 

The character development she had from that point was so good. She valued herself more and realised she deserved respect from men. She matured and became thoughtful, deeper, and less of a ditz. Andy was her total opposite who helped her grow into the best version of herself, and she also helped him. 

Then he left and so did her character development. As soon as she got back together with Dylan, she lost ambition and regressed into her high school self. She deserved so much better than just getting pregnant and having a quickie wedding. If it was really a 'modern' family, she should have been single and focused on her career as the stronger person she had become."

—sunflowersugar

18. Helen Sharpe – New Amsterdam

NBC

"Freema Agyeman and Ryan Eggold (Max Goodwin) had such great chemistry, and I was so happy that they finally got together. But then the writers decided they had to make their relationship complicated with the whole long-distance thing and her leaving him at the altar with no explanation. 

In prior seasons, Helen shared what she wanted but then to close off from Max at the end and not be honest with him just goes against everything that she is. Add in the fact that Max's daughter started calling her 'mum' and it makes her seem so cold that she would hurt them both like this."

—vasato

19. Jim and Pam – The Office

NBC

"The change in seasons eight to nine when they tried to ruin their marriage (Jim's new job, Pam and the audio guy, etc.) is painful. I understand that not every relationship is perfect, but there is nothing wrong with letting things be near perfect in fiction."

—robert_dunder

20. Jessica Pearson – Suits

USA Network

"She finally realised that power in corporate law is not what's important in life, and moved to Chicago with her boyfriend, only to get sucked into the politics there. They just undid all the character development. I still love her though!"

—miac44e570659

21. Nate the Great – Ted Lasso

Apple TV+

"He was this sweet, humble guy and then, all of a sudden, they turn him into a giant narcissist for the sake of a new storyline that didn’t fit his story to date."

—laurenhuchingson

22. Spencer Reid – Criminal Minds

CBS / Paramount+

"I particularly hated in season 12 when he went to prison – it was such a stupid storyline! It made the show unwatchable. This was right after Hotch left. I just kept saying to myself 'Hotch wouldn't let that happen' over and over. The show never recovered and then they did the Spence and JJ thing. It's gross."

—deathbeforedecaf23

23. Rachel Green – Friends

NBC

"I would argue that she is the only one of the group that had any real growth.  However, after leaving a man at the altar to be more independent in season one, they made her give up her dream job for a man in the end. I don't have an issue with Ross and Rachel being together, but it should have been Ross following her to Paris. I felt it just invalidated all of her growth."

—klk3

When have you been disappointed in a TV character's development? Let us know in the comments below!