17 TV Plots Where Characters Behaved So Unexpectedly, I'm Convinced The Writers Were Messing With Us

In what world would Monica "Queen of Clean" Geller have a junk closet?

Now I’m all for an unexpected storyline but every now and then a TV character will do something so out of left field that you simply can’t make sense of what is happening on screen.

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Here are 17 moments where our TV faves behaved completely out of character, changing the way we saw them and confusing the hell out of us all in the process.

There are a few spoilers below – most are minor, but if you're planning to watch Orange is the New Black, Grey’s Anatomy, Money Heist season three, Breaking Bad, or the original Gossip Girl, read at your own risk.

1. In New Girl, when Schmidt secretly dated Cece and Elizabeth at the same time.

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Schmidt may have his douchey moments, but we learned pretty early on that he’s a big softie at heart. Towards the end of season two, he dated Elizabeth and Cece simultaneously – essentially cheating on both of them with each other. 

If you ask me, this storyline felt uncharacteristically cruel for Schmidt, and besides, he spent the best part of the first two seasons pining over Cece. There clearly needed to be more obstacles in the way of Schmidt and Cece’s love story but I reckon in reality, he would’ve committed to Cece instead of playing them both. 

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2. When Serena apparently had no issue with the fact that Dan turned out to be Gossip Girl.

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The only thing more unbelievable than Dan being Gossip Girl was Serena being absolutely fine with it. Serena hated GG more than anyone, and rightfully so, she did torment her and her friends for years. Serena even set out several times to put an end to the column. 

When Dan finally came clean in the series finale, everyone was shocked. Well, everyone except for Serena. She seemed unsurprised and pretty unbothered, which wasn’t like her at all. If this had been reality, I imagine Serena would've eventually forgiven Dan, but not without an outburst or two. 

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3. When Daya shot a cop in Orange is the New Black.

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The season four finale was the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers. After a chaotic series of events, Daya picked up correctional officer Humphrey’s gun and pointed it at his head. 

Fast forward to seasoned five, where we discover Daya actually pulled the trigger. She shot Humphrey in the leg, and truth be told, I didn't see it coming at all. Up until that point, Daya had been pretty timid and always shied away from conflict and violence. So for her to so casually pick up a gun and shoot someone just didn’t feel fitting for her character.

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4. In Grey’s Anatomy, when Arizona cheated on Callie.

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In season 9, Arizona cheated on Callie with Lauren, the craniofacial surgeon, and it felt wildly out of character for the sunny pediatric surgeon. Granted, these two were going through a rough patch (what with Callie ordering Arizona’s leg to be amputated after the plane crash and everything) but Arizona loved Callie more than anything and would never have done that to her. 

Arizona was generally one of the most honorable characters on the show, and Callie only made that call in order to save her life, so the affair didn’t feel plausible at all. 

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5. And while we're on the subject of Grey’s, when Alex left without saying goodbye.

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Alex Karev may have had the best character arc in all of television history, and let’s be honest, he had very few redeemable qualities to start with. He was selfish, cowardly, and inconsiderate, but over time he grew into a respectable man and a fine surgeon.

So leaving Seattle at the drop of a hat to be with Izzie and his kids, abandoning his wife, and notifying his friends through letters – that felt like something the old Alex would’ve done. His character deserved so much better.

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6. When Monica revealed her secret junk closet in Friends.

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Monica Geller is many things, but messy is not one of them. In fact, a fundamental part of her personality is that she’s an obsessive, neurotic, perfectionist and we love her for it. So in season eight, when Chandler unlocked her secret close, and it’s full to the brim of clutter, it was pretty hard to believe. 

This is Monica we’re talking about. The same Monica that literally couldn’t sleep knowing that her shoes were left in the living room in a disorderly fashion.  

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7. In Money Heist, when Raquel teamed up with the robbers.

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Now, let’s make one thing clear, I’m all for Raquel fighting the good fight with the Professor and co, but it was a very unexpected decision on her part. Yes, she was in love with the Professor but it's a little hard to believe she would sacrifice her reputation, her family’s safety, and her life for a man that essentially tried to ruin her career and embarrass her publicly.

She joined forces with the robbers and becomes an accomplice to their crimes which again, felt pretty unlikely seeing as she dedicated her life to interrogating criminals and upholding the law.

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8. When Rachel quit her role in Funny Girl for a role on a TV show in Glee.

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Anyone who watched Glee knows that it was Rachel's lifelong dream to become a Broadway star. So when she landed a lead role on Broadway’s Funny Girl, it wasn’t all that surprising that she dropped out of the New York Academy of Drama and Arts to focus on the show. 

What was surprising was that she then quit Funny Girl to work on a TV show in Los Angeles. This felt like quite possibly the very last decision Rachel Berry would ever make. 

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9. On That '70s Show when Jackie started dating Fez.

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While Fez had been keen on Jackie from early on, she never showed any interest in him whatsoever. In fact, she was pretty much repulsed by him throughout the series thanks to his crude remarks. 

Her sudden interest in him may have been convenient for the plot but really, it’s pretty unlikely that Jackie would have ever dated him. These two should never have been involved romantically and that is a hill I’m willing to die on.

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10. When Toby leaked classified information to the press in The West Wing.

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While this made for a scandalous storyline, the die-hard West Wing fans among us know the Toby we loved would never have leaked top-secret info about the military space shuttle to the press. In fact, in earlier seasons, he actually condemned colleagues for making similar choices. 

So, him going behind President Barlet’s back and doing the same completely contradicted everything we knew about him. I will never forgive the writers for this storyline.  

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11. In Beverly Hills 90210, when Andrea turned down her scholarship to Yale to stay with her friends at a local state college.

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Now I understand that this decision was probably more about keeping the characters together than it was about Andrea and her dreams, but it’s still hard to wrap my head around. She was easily the most driven, ambitious, and hard-working student at West Beverly High and her dream had been to go to Yale. 

So when she got accepted, on a full-ride scholarship at that, it made absolutely no sense that she would turn that opportunity down to stay with her friends. 

12. When Andy ditched Erin to sail his family boat to the Caribbean in The Office.

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I’m sorry, but there is just no way the Andy we knew would’ve sailed off to the Caribbean on his family’s boat. He left without taking Erin into consideration, failed to contact her for the duration of the trip, and gave her no indication as to when he would come back. 

And to make matters worse, he somehow became even more obnoxious and unlikeable when he returned. Andy was by no means perfect, but he’d grown considerably over the series and this felt like a massive step back for his character. 

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13. In Line of Duty, when DS Arnott had an affair with a suspect.

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DS Arnott is the resident good guy of the show, so when he had an affair with suspect Lindsay Denton in order to gain incriminating evidence against her, I was caught off guard to say the very least. Now we all make questionable decisions from time to time, but this one felt like a stretch for DS Arnott and his moral compass. 

For a man that prides himself on being on the straight and narrow, leading a suspect on to source information just felt wildly out of character. 

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14. When Eleven found her ‘lost sister’ and helped get revenge on the Hawkins lab employees on Stranger Things.

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I thought Stranger Things could do no wrong until I watched episode seven of season two. Eleven hunts down Kali, a fellow test subject from the Hawkins lab, and gets involved in activities that she would usually despise. Kali somehow persuades Eleven to join her gang, help track down Hawkins employees, and essentially murder them. 

One thing we all love about Eleven is the fact she has a strong moral compass – even though she does eventually come to her senses, I find it hard to believe that she would have ever agreed to a killing spree in the first place.

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15. In Breaking Bad, when Mike abandoned his granddaughter to escape the police.

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In his final episode, Mike left Kaylee alone in the park to avoid being found by the police. He realised that the police were nearby and would arrest him if he stayed at the scene. So he fled, leaving Kaylee on her own without a clue about what was going on. 

He was faced with an incredibly difficult decision, but knowing how attached he was to her and his family, I highly doubt he would’ve ever left her without knowing that she was safe. 

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16. When Caleb and Spencer slept together on Pretty Little Liars.

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Spencer was Hanna’s best friend and Caleb was Hanna’s ex-boyfriend, so their hookup really caught me off guard. I couldn't picture either of them jeopardising their relationships with Hanna for a casual hook-up, especially as Caleb still had strong feelings for Hanna. 

To be honest, this storyline felt more like an attempt to create senseless drama than a plausible series of events for the characters.

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17. And finally, when Olivia Pope turned into a self-serving villain in Scandal.

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We need to talk about the character assassination of Olivia Pope because she really went from being the most honorable character to a self-serving, reckless villain. She was once the moral compass of the crisis management firm but by season six she was dark, manipulative, and underhanded. 

Who would’ve thought Olivia would be rigging elections, having affairs, AND committing murder on the daily? Not me, and quite frankly, I’m still having a hard time believing that her character would go that far. 

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What unexpected moments changed the way you saw your favourite characters? Tell us in the comments!