"She Went From Being Strong And Savvy To A Simpering Little Stereotype" — People Are Sharing The 20 Times A TV Show Ruined A Beloved Character

    "I did begin to get really tired of the writer’s lack of original ideas."

    Elizabeth Cotton
    by Elizabeth Cotton

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Recently, we asked people to tell us about a TV show that ruined a character they used to like. Of course, the responses were so good that we decided to round up some of the best ones:

    1. Belle and Rumple — Once Upon a Time

    Belle and Rumplestiltskin from the show 'Once Upon a Time' standing in a forest with a bow and arrow
    ABC

    "She and Rumple had a relationship with a lot of promise and lovely moments. Then in season four when Rumple had a pure heart and was being honest with Belle, she met him at the well to break up with him when he was FINALLY everything she wanted him to be. Later, she wanted him to be honest so he is and tells her he's scared only for her to tell him he's a coward. He was finally confiding in her! Then Rumple starts to do lots of underhanded things and it felt like the writers had undone all of the character development for him. Suddenly at the end, they are both coming together without any real reason or buildup. The writers really messed up this story."

    —sleepingmug72

    2. Lucas — One Tree Hill

    Chad Michael Murray in a grey hoodie, portraying a character in a school hallway scene
    The WB

    "When he becomes a cheater and starts swapping roles with Nathan. He went from the thoughtful, nice bookworm guy to total idiot in no time flat."

    —sparklyghost81

    3. Debbie — Shameless

    Woman in a striped tee in a scene from a movie or TV show
    Showtime

    "She could have had a great character redemption arc like Carl but she became more and more insufferable as time went on."

    —applebeesgothgf

    4. Alex Karev — Grey's Anatomy

    TV character, Dr. Alex Karev from the show, in medical attire, standing in a hospital setting
    ABC

    "The way he was written out ruined all the character development that he had gone through to become a really good man. I loved how he became really vulnerable and Meredith’s person when Cristina left. He and Jo were such a good couple as well. It was some of the worst writing I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been able to watch Grey’s Anatomy beyond that point."

    —catieferrarer

    5. Shane — The L Word

    Woman in a graphic t-shirt and disheveled hair holding a bottle. She portrays a character in a casual indoor setting
    Showtime

    "She just kept making the same mistakes over and over again. It felt like there was no character development and they ran out of ideas for her storylines. Leaving Carmen at the alter and then cheating on Tess after the writers took so long to get them together. Although hate is a strong word, I did begin to get really tired of the writer’s lack of original ideas."

    —catieferrarer

    6. Penny — The Big Bang Theory

    Actress in a TV show set, wearing a formal top, with a pensive expression
    CBS

    "She could’ve done SO much better for herself relationship-wise. Also, they made her 100% certain she didn’t want kids and then she gets pregnant and is happy about it?? Hate it when writers do that."

    —harriets_rhapsody

    "Yeah, I agree. As someone child-free by choice, the twist being added about her being pregnant in the finale really disappointed me."

    —kathleenannc

    "They seemed to have a habit of sacrificing characters for entertainment value sometimes. Like I would watch some episodes where characters would act randomly not like themselves for a joke or trying to appease the fanbase with Penny's pregnancy."

    —swivelthesailor

    7. Rory — Gilmore Girls

    Rory Gilmore of Gilmore Girls in a school hallway wearing a turtleneck and backpack
    The WB

    "Rory dropping out of Yale WAS a big disappointment, but when she continued the cheating 'relationship' with someone she knew wasn't going to be available to her, who had previous commitments he NEVER had any plan to abandon?! Sheer stupidity and vomit-inducing."

    —furryship57

    "Rory after she stole the yacht, and Lorelai after she gave Luke the ultimatum."

    —captaindivergent

    8. Deb Morgan — Dexter

    Character from TV show in an office setting, expressing surprise or concern, wearing a striped shirt
    Showtime

    "She was a really complicated woman, but making one of those complications falling in love with her own brother was a huge fail. It undid several seasons worth of us discovering who she was and her dynamic with her brother. It was not only kind of morally wrong, but it made no sense for the character, even as a trauma response. I know they weren't blood related, but they were raised together by the same people, and it was established that despite not sharing DNA, they did have a SIBLING bond. Can we just erase the last season or two of the show entirely?"

    —kathleenannc

    9. Laura — The Mysteries of Laura

    Woman in a blazer and striped top converses with a man in a suit, outdoors on a sunny day
    NBC

    "The first season was awesome and fun, and then in season two, they had Laura start pining over her ex, and all of her friends kept telling her what a great guy he was, and this was a dude that had cheated on her. She went from being strong and savvy to a simpering little stereotype and it honestly killed the whole premise. No wonder it got cancelled after that."

    —megang24

    10. Bellamy Blake — The 100

    Man looking intently at someone off-camera, wearing a casual t-shirt, in a dimly lit room. Scene appears to be from a TV show or movie
    The CW

    "I will never forgive them for what they did to his character. He started off as kind of a dick but completely dedicated to his little sister. Over time, he and Clarke developed one of the strongest connections I’ve ever seen on TV and even though it didn’t turn romantic (although IMO it should have) their bond was so incredibly special. He also had such strong ties to all the other characters, and then they just turned it all around in the last few episodes and had him turn against all of them and then die."

    —thetimble

    11. Darrin — Bewitched

    Man holding young child, both smiling, in a scene from a classic TV show
    ABC

    "The first actor Dick York was soo good but then they changed the role from him to Dick Sargent. I LOVE that show and for some reason the new actor who plays Darrin totally changes the character role. I mean IDK if this is just me, but Dick York played Darrin with such good and strong emotion and he had that hilarious grumpy attitude, but when Dick Sargent took over he played Darrin as almost too nice."

    —bflanders7

    12. Bonnie — The Vampire Diaries

    Woman sitting at a table portraying concern, likely a scene from a TV show or movie
    The CW

    "OK, this might be controversial. She was the whole reason Elena got put in that sleeping beauty curse. I get Kai was a jerk who stabbed her with that knife and left her alone in the world that was created to punish him, but once he won the duel with Lucas he started to develop a conscience and felt bad/guilty about what he did to Bonnie and the others and actually apologised and tried to help the group get Bonnie back. She refused to accept his apology and even went so far as to leave him in the other world with the starving vampires as payback. That is what killed his conscience, turned him back into a sociopath and prevented him from actually growing and possibly developing into an ally for the group. It annoyed me because even after all the horrible stuff Damon did in the show to her and to her loved ones, like killing her mum, she still was able to forgive him and became close friends with him, and yet, she wouldn't even give Kai a chance."

    —wholockianpotterhead

    13. Luke Dunphy — Modern Family

    Person on screen portraying a character, in a white shirt with subtle pattern, expressing surprise or curiosity
    ABC

    "I feel like the writers didn't have a direction for the kids once they grew up, and I think Luke was the most forgotten. At least Manny was unlikeable, Luke kinda just... fell off."

    —claardvark

    14. Sansa Stark — Game of Thrones

    HBO

    "I'm aware many see her show ending as a girlboss moment when really, it's just depressing. She went from comforting the women during the siege of King's Landing to sitting in the crypts of Winterfell not giving a fig about the scared smallfolk around her. She went from learning to be a subtle schemer (with Littlefinger telling her to never let her enemies know what she's thinking) to showing obvious contempt for Daenerys, to the point where Dany knew Sansa was plotting against her. She got subjected to an abuse arc that was never hers (but Jeyne Poole's) so the showrunners could rob her off all compassion, and then she threw her own family under the bus repeatedly (wrote off Rickon, almost let Jon die at the Battle of the Bastards, nearly had Arya killed if not for Bran's superpower)."

    —witchycentipede62

    15. Gina — Brooklyn Nine-Nine

    Woman seated at a desk smiling and holding up a cell phone, portraying the character Gina Linetti from Brooklyn Nine-Nine
    NBC

    "I felt like she was cool at first, but then after every episode she got worse and worse and she wasn't funny anymore. She was just a bully and I was not at all sad when she started showing less and less in every chapter."

    —viqui543

    16. Cassie Howard — Euphoria

    Woman portrayed by Sydney Sweeney looks pensive in a grocery store aisle
    HBO

    "I did not like how they made her from a flawed sexualised woman who was dealing with so many issues to a straight up sadistic psychopath who enjoys torturing and bullying her former best friend and sister for no reason other than for her own sick amusement. While I am all for a woman having a hero to villain arc, can they do this with Cassie properly? I found her hero to villain arc interesting but I feel like they should give Sydney Sweeney the power to write Cassie's arc for next season."

    —tanyam44ab2253d

    17. Andy Bernard — The Office US

    NBC

    "He began as an annoying character who really found his niche on the show over the middle seasons. They moved him to regional manager, where his character did an okay job filling the giant hole left by Michael leaving. Then, Ed Helms had to take a few months off to go shoot The Hangover and they created a horrible plot line where he just vanishes from his job for a few months. When he returns, they make him as unlikeable as they possibly could. It was as lousy of a finish to a character as you could have."

    —robert_dunder

    18. Daenerys Targaryen — Game of Thrones

    Daenerys Targaryen from "Game of Thrones" with a brooch on her attire
    HBO

    "GoT did a lot of characters dirty, but she got it the worst. It's straight up character assassination, to the point where the show pretended she forced Jon to bend the knee (when he'd done so willingly AFTER she pledged to fight for the North) or that she's super mega power hungry and would never give up her crown (when in the books, she explicitly said she would to elope with Daario Naharis). The speeches about burning cities? Not in the books either. It still annoys me to this day because of how much depth and potential this character had."

    —witchycentipede62

    19. Jim — The Office US

    Man in suit with tie smiling at the camera, seated indoors, plant and blinds in background
    NBC

    "At first you think he's so cute and funny and then he starts dating poor Karen. The years of 'pranking' Dwight to the point of bullying. He literally gets promoted over and over again, because who doesn't love to see an extremely mediocre white dude fall upwards? I loved the show, but the older I get I'm just like 'what a mess'."

    —eveamongthem

    20. Miranda — And Just Like That

    Actress with short hair in a dark top holding papers, looking to the side with a slight smile in a scene
    HBO

    "She should be called Anti-Miranda."

    —boringgoat57

    "Couldn’t agree more! I did not make it past the first few episodes because of how the writers changed her character. There’s no reason she had to be an alcoholic and there was never any indication of that before. If they HAD to go that direction with one of the characters, why not have Charlotte be under so much pressure to maintain a 'perfect' family that she falls into the 'wine all the time mommy' trope? I could buy that."

    —jaimecw

    Do you have anything else to add? Let us know in the comments below!

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