21 TV Characters Who Could Have Had Amazing Redemption Arcs But Didn't

Justice for Jaime Lannister's storyline!

We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which TV characters deserved redemption arcs but never got them. Here are the characters they think deserved better.

🚨Spoilers ahead!🚨

1. Billy Hargrove from Stranger Things:

Netflix

"Billy had so much potential. They could have shown him overcoming the Mind Flayer, learning from his mistakes, and standing up to his father, but they killed him off for shock value instead."

—margecillian

2. Enzo from The Vampire Diaries:

The CW

"We saw Enzo grow so much with Bonnie. They were so close to getting their happy ending, but they just had to kill him off. It was so unnecessary!"

—diamond186

3. Jason Stiles from Gilmore Girls:

The WB

"Richard literally destroyed Jason's career and left him in the dust. And then Lorelai broke up with him for suing her dad, even though he was completely justified in doing so. I wish they wrapped up his whole storyline better."

—megan

4. Marissa Cooper from The O.C.:

Fox

"She made bad decisions, but she wasn't a bad person. She could have just gone to college and come back for the finale. Killing her accomplished nothing but another downward spiral for Ryan."

—Lindsay Casey

5. Chuck Clayton from Riverdale:

The CW

"He came back genuinely remorseful and wanting to make amends for his Season 1 actions, but then his character was ruined yet again. His character could have been great POC representation, but they just made him a bad guy."

—jbmasta

6. Darla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel:

The WB

"I get that sacrificing herself was probably meant to be taken as a redemption arc, but it just doesn't sit right with me. Darla deserved a better shot at redemption, or at least a better ending."

—vapidrat

7. Sebastian Smythe from Glee:

Fox

"Obviously he did terrible things, like throwing rock salt in Blaine’s eye, but he had the potential for great character development. He needed a redemption storyline."

—happy_feet_12

8. Haley Dunphy from Modern Family:

ABC

"I have no idea why the writers thought it would make a good storyline to have her character basically end up back to the way she was in the pilot. It would have been so much more interesting to have her evolve from a superficial teen to a badass woman doing something she loves."

—ebony19

9. Rachel Gatina from One Tree Hill:

The WB

"They kept showing that she was capable of doing better, but never gave her the redemption arc she deserved. Instead, they had her marry Dan for money and then just got rid of her. She deserved to at least reconcile with Brooke."

—courtneyc4fa30a7b5

10. Esme Song from Degrassi:

Netflix

I think they were setting up her character for a redemption arc, but the show was canceled before she could be redeemed, and it basically ended with her being a villain. Her character had the potential to be a really important portrayal of mental illness, and I also would have liked to see her relationship with Frankie develop.

11. Vanessa Abrams from Gossip Girl:

The CW

"Vanessa was usually a good friend to Dan and was always loyal to him, even if she did do horrible things to the rest of the Upper East Side. In the end, she left to go back home and everyone basically forgot about her."

—sierra_m907

12. Azula from Avatar: the Last Airbender:

Nickelodeon

"It's clear by the end of the series that she's losing her mind because she was just betrayed by the only two people in the world she felt were her friends. I love Azula, villain or not, and I desperately want to see where she ended up."

—cfrinkadju

13. Nano García from Élite:

Netflix

Nano wasn't my favorite character, by any means, but he had to watch his pregnant girlfriend die in his arms, then spent a year serving time and eventually fled the country for a murder he didn't commit. He and Samuel at least deserved to be reunited. For the record, Christian also deserved better!

14. Janice Hosenstein from Friends:

NBC

"This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think she had the potential to actually be a good character. She wasn't a bad person in the beginning, aside from her annoying voice and presumptuous personality. Making her character cheat on Chandler just felt so unnecessary."

—CKaden

15. Tristan Dugray from Gilmore Girls:

The WB

"He was attractive, intelligent enough to be at Chilton, and enough of a bad boy to be interesting like Jess. I would have been totally on board for a Tristan-Rory romance as adults."

—shannonc4f8cc995d

16. Amy Ellis from Parenthood:

NBC

Amy wasn't a villain, by any means, but I was so disappointed with how the show left things for her character. She came back in Season 5 and basically gave up on school to be with Drew, which was so different from the strong, ambitious character we'd previously seen. I would at least have liked an update on how she was doing.

17. Carter Baizen from Gossip Girl:

The CW

"He went from being a villain to being a fairly compelling love interest for Serena. But then they just left his character in the dust. He deserved better."

—Tatsi

18. Hunter Hollingsworth from Degrassi:

Netflix

"He didn't DESERVE a redemption arc, but I would still have liked to see one. Degrassi ended with him just being a complete trash bag. I wanted more out of his mental health arc, and I wish his character had been fleshed out better."

—Kayla

19. Nicki from One Tree Hill:

The WB

"They could have made her actually develop into a good mother and co-parent with Jake. But instead, she came back for a few episodes, was evil, and drove Jake into hiding, and then we never really heard from her again."

—jessicashog

20. Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl:

The CW

"People hate her for the mistakes she made, but everyone forgets that she's also two years younger than the other characters. The two episodes where she and Nate date are the best in the series, and I'm convinced they would have been endgame if the writers had given her a redemption arc."

—kwg58

21. And finally, Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones:

HBO

"The show botched his entire character arc, and I’ll never forgive the writers for it."

—nicolew4dad774d7

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. Not all entries were from community users.