"The Show Could Never Quite Recover Without Him": People Are Sharing The Character Departures That Ruined The TV Show For Them

    "George O'Malley from Grey's Anatomy was funny, sweet, a best friend to all, and ridiculously great at his job and with patients. Poor George deserved better!"

    Kelly Martinez
    by Kelly Martinez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community which TV characters were written off the show too soon. Here are some of the characters fans who wish had stuck around longer (plus a few of my own additions):

    🚨 Spoilers ahead, including for House of the Dragon and Stranger Things!!! 🚨

    1. Andy from Modern Family

    closeup of a man and woman in glee
    Eddy Chen / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

    "Haley was her best self with him. I'm not saying she needed a man in the end, but Andy was much, MUCH better for her than Dylan."

    —ns67

    2. Laena from House of the Dragon

    a man kneeling down in front of a woman
    Ollie Upton / HBO

    "Okay, I know her character dies in the books, but hear me out: We deserved at least one more episode with her. I really wanted to see her and Daemon's relationship develop, and also wanted more scenes of her and Rhaenyra together. Giving her character more screen time would have made her death even more impactful."

    —kellymartinez

    3. Lexa from The 100

    closeup of a woman holding a large weapon
    CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Yes, her and Clarke never got the chance to be happy, and I will forever be angry about the 'bury your gays' trope the writers fed into, but I was also really excited to see more of Lexa's storyline as a leader. I wanted to see how the new relationship would have affected her leadership, how she would have handled the prime fire, and how the Sky People (Skaikru) would have been incorporated into the Trikru (Grounders) society."

    —p46bf3ddf0

    "She and Clarke deserved at least ONE WEEK of happiness. Her death still makes me furious."

    —arixa

    4. Eddie from Stranger Things

    long-haired teen saying this year is different
    Netflix

    "I legit had a complete breakdown when he died...snot and everything."

    —megsmcg07

    "Eddie. F*cking. Munson."

    —jedimindchick

    5. George from Grey's Anatomy

    man and woman having a conversation on the beach
    ABC

    "He was funny, sweet, a best friend to all, and ridiculously great at his job and with patients. Putting aside the actor's desire to leave the show...why kill him off? He had a great out — he could have gone off to be a trauma surgeon in the army. Why did he have to get hit by a bus? Why kill him?! What was the point — to break his mom's already broken heart? To break our hearts? Poor George! He deserved better!"

    —rachway

    Note: The show did "bring back" George while Meredith was in a dream-like state in Season 17 (pictured above).

    6. Casey Parker from Grey's Anatomy

    man in a hospital gown sitting on the floor
    Christopher Willard / ABC via Getty Images

    "We need more trans characters played by trans actors, and he was a great character. I needed more of him!"

    —fannik4047e5e79

    7. Peach from YOU

    character saying, male energy in her healing space is not optimal
    Netflix

    "They killed her off too soon. It would have paid off more for the plot if they kept her alive."

    —ands1901br

    8. Nathan from Misfits

    E4

    "Robert Sheehan brought such a unique, chaotic madness to that role and was a clear fan favorite. When he left, the quality noticeably dropped and just kept getting worse. The show could never quite recover without Nathan."

    —katcloud

    "I loved the show and watched it from beginning to end, but once Robert Sheehan left the show, it just felt empty. It was never the same."

    —beckichino

    9. Jess from Gilmore Girls

    man and a woman talking
    The WB

    "His character had the most illogical timing. He came in too early, so the writers made Dean more and more annoying to contrast him, and then he just left end of Season 3. After that, Jess was only used to tell Rory to get her shit together, and then for her to cheat on Logan. Rory should have left Logan in Season 6 and either been single or with Jess."

    —s463b03bd4

    10. Dave from Gilmore Girls

    close up of a guy outside talking to a woman
    The WB

    "He was Lane's love interest in Season 3, and I was so invested in their adorable relationship. It's tough because the actor left to play another one of my favorite characters, Seth Cohen on The O.C., but I still really wanted Dave and Lane to end up together. I liked Zack, but not with Lane — Dave and Lane will forever be an OTP in my book."

    —bethfhan

    11. Maya from Pretty Little Liars

    two women talking and then saying i love you to each other
    Freeform

    "Her death was incredibly pointless and cruel. Killing her off caused Emily so much trauma, did nothing to add to the central mystery, and wasn't even in the books. Even if Emison was the endgame plan, the writers could have easily just written Maya off another way or replaced the Pailey scenes with Emaya instead. Maya deserved better!"

    —kellymartinez

    12. Zack from Bones

    closeup of the character with a name badge
    Fox

    "I can't believe they made him a serial killer apprentice to write him off the show."

    —e49737e4b6

    Note: Despite being out of the picture for several seasons, Zack did eventually return in Season 12.

    13. Catelyn Stark from Game of Thrones

    HBO

    "Michelle Fairley should have come back to the show for the Lady Stoneheart storyline. She would have been AMAZING, and it would have cemented the romantic relationship between Jaime and Brienne. It was such a missed opportunity!"

    —elissak4cc3926bd

    14. Colin Zabel from Mare of Easttown

    close up of a man pointing a gun
    HBO

    "Mare and Colin had just started getting to know each other, and we were starting to get to know his character. Then, BOOM! He was dead. Colin deserved better!"

    —megsmcg07

    15. Tori from Degrassi: The Next Generation

    closeup of a teen wearing a tiara
    TeenNick

    "Tori had SO MUCH potential. First of all, the actor was the real-life sister of Cassie Steele (Manny), and could have easily been the new 'it girl' of her generation if the writers had actually given her storylines. Additionally, I think Tristan's character would have been much more tolerable had Tori stuck around. She was the glue that held that Grade 9 friend group together, and it fell apart without her."

    —kellymartinez

    16. Peyton and Lucas from One Tree Hill

    a couple sitting in the car saying to run away together
    The WB

    "I wanted to see them interact with Clay, Quinn, and Alex so badly. Having Lucas and Peyton around would have made the later seasons better."

    —debbieresnick

    17. Keith from One Tree Hill

    closeup of a guy aiming his gun at another
    The WB

    "Keith Scott from One Tree Hill, hands down."

    —kateashford

    "His murder was one of the most shocking teen drama moments of all time. Although his death changed things up and gave everyone character development, I can't help but feel the show would have been better if Keith and Karen had just gotten to be happy together."

    —kellymartinez

    18. Mark from Parks and Recreation

    closeup of the character with his arms crossed
    NBC

    "I know this will be controversial, but I wish Mark had stayed on Parks and Rec longer. He was definitely more annoying in the first season — he was kind of dismissive and a womanizer. But then he grew a lot, and his scene helping fix up Ron's workshop was a great example of showing what he could bring to the team. I wish they would have at least mentioned him or his plan for the park that he gave Leslie during his departure. It was such a sweet gesture, but they seemed to completely forget about it."

    —centitype366

    19. Luke from The O.C.

    two teens talking
    Fox

    "He started off as a bully and complete jerk but had such great character development over the course of Season 1. I loved how he eventually became a really good friend to Ryan, especially during the Oliver storyline. They should have kept him and Anna on the show longer instead of adding in so many new characters in Season 2."

    —kellymartinez

    20. Vanessa from Party of Five (2020)

    closeup of the character saying he wants more in life
    Hulu

    "Amanda Arcuri being part of the cast was a big reason I was so excited for this show, and I was bummed that her character was written out so quickly. I thought Emilio had the best chemistry with Vanessa, and I loved how she was so kind and helpful to his siblings. It's a shame the show got cancelled after just one season, too."

    —kellymartinez

    21. Adrian from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

    closeup of a man handing a file over to a woman
    NBC

    "I loved his and Rosa's relationship and weird sexual chemistry. I don't understand having Jason Mantzoukas as a love interest and not ending up with him."

    —brittanybethpaulson

    22. And finally: Rayna from The Vampire Diaries

    closeup of the character aiming her gun
    The CW

    "She was such a good character and was easy to sympathize with. She was by far the best hunter on the entire show. She also gave us more Bonenzo and Bamon, which the show needed."

    —simonsaysbjorn

    Reminder that I, Kelly Martinez, do not necessarily endorse all of these opinions!!!

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

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