10 Teen Drama Plots That Helped The Show, And 10 That Hurt It

    We don't talk about Season 4 Rory and Dean.

    Kelly Martinez
    by Kelly Martinez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    🚨 Spoilers ahead! 🚨

    1. First off, the time jump between Seasons 4 and 5 of One Tree Hill was definitely the right move for the show.

    The WB

    I prefer the earlier seasons of One Tree Hill, but I think skipping over the college years was a good idea. With the characters all pursuing degrees and careers in different cities, it would have been too hard to keep track of them all. Plus, jumping four years into the future let Jamie be an active character and not just a baby. I was glad they included some flashbacks to fill in the gaps, though!

    2. But revisiting the love triangle between Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke wasn't necessary at all.

    The CW / Via lottienickie.tumblr.com

    Look, I still firmly believe Brooke and Lucas were meant to be and Leyton was forced as hell. But even if the writers wanted Lucas and Peyton to end up together, they didn't have to revisit the love triangle and cheating plot again. Season 4 made Brooke out to be the villain when, honestly, she had every right to feel hurt and betrayed by Peyton and Lucas hiding the kiss and hanging out behind her back, especially since she already gave them another chance. It set everyone's characters back to their Season 1 selves.

    3. On 90210, having Liam replace Ethan as Annie's main love interest made the show a lot more interesting.

    The CW

    Ethan was clearly supposed to be Annie's main boyfriend when he was introduced in Season 1. But honestly, he was just kind of...boring? His whole personality was that he was good-looking and popular, but didn't want to "fit in" with the crowd. He was just a snooze-fest, and he and Annie really had no chemistry. Not only was Liam a more interesting love interest, he was a much more compelling character overall.

    4. But having Annie kill someone and cover it up for a year was too much.

    The CW

    I know Annie didn't intentionally kill Joe, but having the main character of the show casually drive drunk, commit a hit-and-run, and not turn herself in for a whole year was a lot. There were never really any consequences for her beyond being under house arrest for the summer, and everyone just sort of acted like it was no big deal. Like...were we all just supposed to forget she killed a guy?

    5. Toni's character was a great addition to Riverdale.

    The CW

    I remember when Season 2 first started and people were all worried that Toni was going to be a threat to Bughead's relationship — but nope! Toni and Jughead's fling barely lasted two seconds, and her and Cheryl's relationship is one of the best (arguably the best) on the whole show. I only wish we would finally get her background story — as great as Choni is, Toni's character has so much potential as an individual.

    6. But having Hiram Lodge move to Riverdale was a mistake.

    The CW

    I was so excited when we finally got to meet Hiram at the beginning of Season 2, but I feel like he was actually a way better villain offscreen. I love the idea of Hiram, and Mark Consuelos does a great job portraying him, but it's just the same plots over and over again with him now. Veronica barely has any storylines outside of her dad, and Hiram's constant presence honestly ruined Veronica and Archie's relationship. I think he would have been better as a character who just occasionally comes to town and causes trouble.

    7. Samuel and Guzman's unlikely alliance turned out to be one of the best friendships on Elite.

    Netflix

    Guzman started Season 2 blaming Samuel for his sister's death, demanding he leave Las Encinas, and physically attacking him any chance he got. Once Guzman started to doubt that Samuel's brother Nano was Marina's killer, however, they teamed up and found out the truth about her murder — and they made an amazing duo. Watching them in action together was easily the best part of Season 3 (honorable mention: Lu and Nadia's similarly unlikely friendship).

    8. But all the love triangles in Season 3 of Elite were just unnecessary.

    Netflix

    Honestly, who thought it was a good idea to split up the most popular couples on the show and introduce new love interests like this? Fans adored Carla and Samuel, but their relationship was sidelined all of Season 3 for Samuel and Rebeca and Carla and Yeray (who had zero personality). Another fan-favorite couple, Guzman and Nadia, had all their development thrown out the window in favor of pairing Nadia with new character Malick...who, by the way, ended up cheating on her with her brother Omar (which also ruined Omar's relationship with Ander, another very popular ship). Huh?!

    9. Dan and Blair dating was an unexpected highlight of Gossip Girl.

    The CW

    This is one of those couples everyone either loved or hated. I actually don't have a super strong opinion on them as a ship, but I think they were a fun change from the usual Chuck/Blair and Serena/Dan drama. They also seemed to genuinely care about each other, and seeing Blair go from detesting him to "finally beginning to understand the Humphrey appeal" was great.

    10. But Dan turning out to be Gossip Girl was a horrible way to end the show.

    The CW

    We're all in agreement that Dan being Gossip Girl makes NO SENSE, right?! Not only was it a ridiculous plot twist (there were literally a million instances that prove he couldn't have been Gossip Girl), it totally ruined Dan's character for me. And don't even get me started about Serena still marrying him afterward! Dorota should have been Gossip Girl, and I will not be taking criticism on this.

    11. Jess coming to town made things a heckuva lot more interesting on Gilmore Girls.

    The WB

    No matter who you think Rory should have ended up with, you've got to admit Jess's character made life in Stars Hollow interesting. He brought out a new, more rebellious side of Rory that we hadn't seen before (Lane Kim was right when she said everyone has to have a bad boy phase), and the love triangle between Rory and Dean and Jess is an iconic aspect of the show's early seasons. Plus, we got to see Luke try to be a parent!

    12. But Rory and Dean's affair was just awful.

    The WB

    There's a reason this ranks as one of the most loathed storylines among Gilmore Girls fans. I was all on board for Rory making mistakes and not being perfect, but her losing her virginity to her married ex-boyfriend was just SO out of pocket. It felt weirdly out of character at the time, and it honestly marked the beginning of Rory's downfall as a character. Plus, it ruined Season 1 Rory and Dean for me and caused a rift between Lorelai and Rory.

    13. Clay's family adopting Justin on 13 Reasons Why was a great storyline.

    Netflix

    Justin and Clay went from being classmates who hated each other to brothers who would do anything for each other, and I loved it. Clay's family saved Justin's life and gave him a chance to get better, but Justin also made Clay into a better person too. Their sibling dynamic is definitely one of the highlights of the later seasons.

    14. But Bryce's murder mystery arc was a total mess.

    Netflix

    I was gobsmacked when the Season 3 trailer came out and revealed that Bryce was dead, and I was super excited to see this storyline play out. But the way it was executed was just kind of...awful. It felt like they were trying to get us to sympathize with Bryce, and it made me incredibly uncomfortable. I don't care if he was "trying to change," he was an awful human being who committed unforgivable crimes. And don't even get me started on Ani's character!

    15. Marissa and Alex's romance on The O.C. was iconic.

    Fox

    Alex Kelly deserved BETTER! I loved Olivia Wilde's character, and she and Marissa definitely had chemistry. It was also a pretty progressive storyline for the early 2000s. Although I loved Ryan and Marissa's relationship, it was nice to see her date someone else and it was cool to see her figure out her sexuality. I only wish the storyline had lasted longer — their relationship shouldn't have been written off as just a way for Marissa to piss off her mom when it was clearly so much more than that.

    16. But the whole Johnny storyline was poorly written from start to finish.

    Fox

    It's been years since The O.C. ended, and I STILL don't understand what they were going for with Johnny's character. It felt like a repeat of Oliver, except we were apparently supposed to like and sympathize with Johnny. His death messed up Ryan and Marissa's relationship, sent Marissa into another downward spiral, and was just unnecessary overall. Plus, Marissa never would have met Volchok if it wasn't for Johnny!

    17. The bus crash was one of the best storylines on the later seasons of Degrassi.

    Netflix

    If you haven't watched the newest edition of Degrassi, you're missing out. The bus crash brought Degrassi back to its "it goes there" roots, and added some much-needed darkness to the show. The aftermath of the crash brought us some of the best parts of the show: Miles and Lola's relationship, Maya's depression and suicide attempt, etc. I couldn't really bring myself to care about Tristan's coma though, TBH.

    18. But killing off Adam's character was a mistake.

    TeenNick

    Season 13 of Degrassi is controversial among fans in general, Adam's death being one of the reasons why lots of fans loathe the season. Not only was Adam a fan favorite, he was also one of the first transgender characters on TV, and it was pretty awful to just kill him off in some random texting and driving accident.

    19. Finally, Kurt temporarily joining the Warblers was a great plot point on Glee.

    Fox

    Even though it sucked that Kurt had to leave McKinley due to Karofsky's bullying, his temporary transfer introduced us to characters like Blaine and Sebastian, who helped make the show more interesting. Plus, the Warblers performed some pretty great numbers!

    20. But introducing a brand-new crop of main characters in the later seasons was a bad move.

    Fox

    I get that the show was kind of stuck in a pickle when a lot of the main characters graduated, but the new characters just weren't the same. A lot of them felt like rip-offs of the original characters, and it was confusing switching back and forth between McKinley High and New York City. I think the show would have been better off either ending after Season 3 or exclusively focusing on the original characters in their post-grad lives.

    Got any thoughts on these storylines? Disagree on any of these takes? Discuss in the comments!