26 TV And Movie Scenes So Bad, They Literally Brought Down Major Franchises And Series

"That scene stole my soul."

Hot Topic

🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Harry Potter

Reddit user u/friendlyxenomorph68 recently asked, "What single scene ruined an entire movie/franchise/TV series?" and there were quite a few disgruntled fans in the comments. Here are just some scenes so bad, they literally besmirched the name of their TV show/movie:

1. Bellamy's death on The 100:

The CW

—u/blacephalons

"It was so unceremonious, I was confident that it was a hoax or was going to be undone by some time-travel bullshit. Literally every character had a grander send-off than he did."

—u/Somnambulist815

Watch the scene here:

The CW / Via youtube.com

2. When Fonzie literally jumped over a shark on Happy Days:

ABC

—u/Bamapv

"I came here to say this. Sadly, I am old enough to remember watching this, and it really was the beginning of the end for that show."

—u/BobbyBinGbury

Hot Topic

Think you’re the biggest Harry Potter fan? Let’s put it to the test.

See our Harry Potter Discussions

Watch the scene here:

ABC / Via youtube.com

3. When Tyler was brutally assaulted in the bathroom on 13 Reasons Why:

Netflix

"The writers went way too far for no real reason."

—u/Kovuthebilion

You can watch the scene here, but it's very graphic and I wouldn't recommend it:

Netflix / Via youtube.com

4. When Logan died right after marrying Veronica on Veronica Mars:

Hulu

—u/RockDesk

"That scene stole my soul. I waited over 10 years FOR THAT? I just like to take the movie ending as the real ending. Terrible. It’s my favorite show of all time still, but I won’t watch that Hulu season again."

—u/nats2

Watch the scene here:

Hulu / Via youtube.com

5. When Palpatine was revealed to be alive (and poor Oscar Isaac had to utter this terrible piece of writing) in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Skywalker:

Lucasfilm

—u/Rorschach2510

"Taking away my criticisms of the first two of that trilogy, Palpatine being alive completely ruins the story of the original six: the redemption of Anakin Skywalker."

—u/Kevinjw16

Watch the scene here:

Lucasfilm / Via youtube.com

6. And when Rey and Kylo Ren kissed:

Lucasfilm

—u/fandomgirl33

"The story between Rey and Kylo Ren was really interesting. You had two people on differing sides, with different stories (concerning their experience with the Force too), constantly fighting nearly to death, but increasingly with kind of a shared burden — one being definitely an antagonist, but one was pulled to the light side. I was really intrigued, even in this movie, by how human it seemed, but most of all, how platonic. I would've found both of them sharing this burden and parting ways peacefully really memorable. And then they kissed. Furthermore, after all he's put her through, she goes in for it. I cannot forgive the screenwriters for the feeling seeing this gave me. It shifted their entire dynamic and ruined an otherwise fascinating story."

—u/RedSiren2

Watch the scene here:

Lucasfilm / Via youtube.com

7. When A was revealed to be Spencer's identical British twin, Alex, on Pretty Little Liars:

Freeform

—u/cannolirule

"I remember being so excited to watch the new episode every week, but the show was completely ruined for me by that, and I have never been able to rewatch for that reason."

—u/emilyyy712

Watch the scene here:

Freeform / Via youtube.com

8. When Jackie and Fez got together on That '70s Show:

Fox

—u/Rolyat28

"I seriously hated that storyline. I can’t watch the last season of that show at all."

—u/TerriblyAverage1

Watch the scene here (starts at 0:39):

Fox / Via youtube.com

9. When Marissa died on The O.C.:

Fox

—u/Jlx_27

"You could write her out (at least as a main character) without killing her off. It was just so stupidly dramatic, and the fallout bled into Season 4, which (even if you enjoyed it overall) you have to admit had to go through quite an odd tone shift from 'I'M A CAGE FIGHTER NOW AND I'M GONNA MURDER VOLCHOK' to sort of lighthearted teen happenings. They could have had her go off to college or be with her dad, and leave it open for her to return for holiday specials/the finale."

—u/AliJDB

Watch the scene here:

Fox / Via youtube.com

10. When Gi-Hun decided not to get on the plane to see his daughter at the end of Squid Game:

Netflix

"Go see your fucking kid, dude! The heck!"

—u/MissPeePee

"The series ended the way it started: with him letting down his daughter. Though, to be honest, it was the waiting a year to help any of the people he was begged to take care of that did it for me. Also, why don't YOU go help the drunk? Why don't you be the one to intervene and make the point?"

—u/senefen

Watch the scene here:

Netflix / Via youtube.com

11. When Skinner was revealed to be an impostor on The Simpsons:

Fox

—u/GizmoGeek1224

"Throughout the earlier seasons, The Simpsons had a fairly typical character arc planned for everyone that gets slowly explored. Skinner is a tight-laced principal and war veteran with an overbearing mother whom he hates but abides by. The show essentially completely rewrites seven seasons of his character for a changed story, then at the very ending omits it as a 'never happened' situation."

—u/QuestThro

Watch the scene here:

Fox / Via youtube.com

12. When Rory revealed she was pregnant at the very end of the Gilmore Girls revival:

Netflix

—u/pienkChappie

"Yeah, that was shoehorned in, Amy Sherman-Palladino being hell-bent on making the final shot the same as it would have been in 2007. But a 22-year-old being pregnant and a 32-year-old being pregnant are VASTLY different situations."

—u/FausttThaArtist

Watch the scene here (starts at 4:20):

Netflix / Via youtube.com

13. When Joey and Rachel kissed on Friends:

NBC

—u/GradeExtreme6825

"Especially considering they had a pretty wholesome friendship dynamic long before that. There aren't enough well-portrayed platonic male-female friendships on TV."

—u/ad240pCharlie

Watch the scene here:

NBC / Via youtube.com

14. When Dan was revealed to be Gossip Girl on Gossip Girl:

The CW

—u/FreshLuxe

"It didn’t make ANY sense whatsoever, and they just threw it all together at the end. I rewatched it with that knowledge, and it does not add up. I wish they had that part planned out from the beginning."

—u/thoptastic

Watch the scene here:

The CW / Via youtube.com

15. When Deb told Dexter she was in love with him on Dexter:

Showtime

"When Deb fucking confessed her love for Dexter. Who the fuck confesses romantic feelings to their brother? I don't care that he was her adopted brother; it's still her fucking brother. It entirely ruined the rest of the show for me. The stupid therapist put the idea into her head too. She didn't even feel that way until then. Dear writers, don't do this."

—u/bitterherpes

Watch the scene here:

Showtime / Via youtube.com

16. When Roseanne revealed that the entire last season of Roseanne had just been a fictional story she was writing in a book:

ABC

"The final five minutes of the original Roseanne. 'Dan died, the sisters swapped husbands, Mom's gay, Jackie's gay, this was all a book.'"

—u/Aquaman8894

"The final season was a nightmare and creatively depleted, so the writing room decided to try a retcon and failed."

—u/OGthrowawayfratboy

Watch the scene here:

ABC / Via youtube.com

17. When Dr. Romano was killed by the helicopter on ER:

NBC

"The helicopter coming back to finish off Dr. Romano — though, to be honest, it was on very shaky ground before that. At least I had a laugh before turning it off for the last time."

—u/Megamoss

Watch the scene here:

NBC / Via youtube.com

18. When Barney and Robin revealed they were divorced just after an entire season based on their wedding on How I Met Your Mother:

CBS

—u/crusemaister

"Nine years of development and growth end up trashed with 90 seconds of Barney and Robyn getting divorced, Mom making a cameo, and Ted and Robyn hooking up."

—u/EnigmaCA

Watch the scene here:

CBS / Via youtube.com

19. When Indiana Jones hid in a fridge during a nuclear bomb strike in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

Paramount Pictures

—u/Grump_Monk

"I liked the brief usage of the term 'nuking the fridge' as a form of 'jumping the shark.'"

—u/MHanonymous

Watch the scene here:

Paramount Pictures / Via youtube.com

20. When Nancy had sex with Alejandro on the hood of a car on Weeds:

Showtime

—u/BradyBunch12

"That show started out so strong and then just devolved into Nancy fucking everyone for no good reason."

—u/NNMR4eva

Watch the scene (though the audio seems to play in two languages) here:

Showtime / Via youtube.com

21. When Susan and Prince Caspian kissed in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

"Not in the book, made no sense in the context of the story, but for some fucking reason, they decided to shoehorn it in and sprinkle a load of sexual tension throughout the film leading up to it. Totally ruined the film, and given how shit Dawn Treader was, I think Prince Caspian was the beginning of the end of that series."

—u/PM_me_ur_navel_girl

Watch the scene here:

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Via youtube.com

22. When the Dothraki all died by charging the White Walkers on Game of Thrones:

HBO

"The Dothraki charge into the Night King's army. I just sat there and told myself, What the fuck is this ridiculous shit?"

—u/Siphtrex

"'We have the greatest mobile archers the world has ever seen. Let’s let them charge en masse — a tactic that largely depends on the defenders breaking due to fear — directly into an enemy that is literally undead and cannot feel fear.'"

—u/CoraxtheRavenLord

Watch the scene here:

HBO / Via youtube.com

23. The flash-forward scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part II (but especially the part when Harry revealed his youngest son's name):

Warner Bros.

"Albus Severus Potter. That kid got bullied a lot and you know it."

—u/Fedora200

"The Harry Potter series ended in the most trite way possible. I’ll give it a pass because it’s children’s literature, but having everything neatly tied up with a bow and spelled out for the viewer/reader felt stupid."

—u/widespreadpanda

Watch the scene here:

Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com

24. When Edward ran back for Vivian in Pretty Woman and she said this:

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

“'She rescues him right back.' OMG, that’s the best they could do?"

—u/PumaCatEyes

"One of the dumbest lines in movie history, IMO."

—u/TheEvilJenius

Watch the scene here:

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution / Via youtube.com

25. When Kowalski let go of the tether to save Stone in Gravity:

Warner Bros. Pictures

"His velocity was zero relative to the station. He wouldn't have 'fallen,' and he wasn't 'pulling her down.'"

—u/InsomniaticWanderer

"It's wild too, because it's not like they couldn't have had the exact same thing happen, sans the bullshit. Like, if they both were floating away at a low velocity and no tether, couldn't he push her toward the station, launching himself away from it? Why make it so obvious that the sacrifice was, you know, not real?"

—u/ForTheWilliams

Watch the scene here:

Warner Bros. Pictures / Via youtube.com

26. And finally, when Bran became king on Game of Thrones:

HBO

“'Who has a better story than Bran the Broken?' There was no saving it after that."

—u/Pfizzyhead

Watch the scene here:

HBO / Via youtube.com

What other scenes were so bad, they ruined an entire show, film, or franchise? Let us know in the comments below!

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

Hot Topic

🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Harry Potter