11 Times Teen Shows Handled Serious Topics Really Irresponsibly, And 11 Times They Actually Did A Great Job

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us examples of teen shows handling serious topics poorly, and some examples of times they handled them really well. Here's what they had to say!

🚨 Warning: Spoilers ahead!! 🚨

Note: The following contain mentions of sexual assault, eating disorders, suicide, and other sensitive topics.

1.Handled poorly: When Hannah and Mona's eating disorders were never properly addressed on Pretty Little Liars.

Alison tells Hanna she knows a way to help her feel better, leading to her becoming bulimic

2.Handled well: When JJ revealed that the bruises on his body were from his father on Outer Banks.

JJ sobs that he can't take his father anymore

3.Handled poorly: When Blair had a miscarriage and it was pretty much never mentioned again on Gossip Girl.

Blair's doctor tells her she lost the baby

4.Handled well: When Spike got pregnant at just 13 on Degrassi Junior High and chose to keep the baby, and the show was realistic about the difficulties of being a teen parent.

Spike realizes her period is late

5.Handled poorly: When Cheryl attempted suicide and never received any help afterward on Riverdale.

Cheryl plunges into the icy river on "Riverdale"

"Nobody goes to an adult and Cheryl never gets therapy for her serious trauma."

rmohanawilliamson

The CW

6.Handled well: When Archie's dad, Fred, died on Riverdale and they held a memorial for him after the actor who played him, Luke Perry, died in real life.

Archie and his mom and Veronica and Jughead and Betty grieve Fred

7.Handled poorly: When the severity of Marley's eating disorder was never properly addressed on Glee.

Ryder to Marley: "I don't want to kiss a girl who's got puke on her breath"

"They skipped over it so quickly."

anjaxmiller

Fox

8.Handled well: When it was revealed that Craig's father was physically abusing him on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Angie: "I saw today, all purple, a dinosaur hurts him, he told me"

9.Handled poorly: When Spike attempted to rape Buffy and it was used for his character development on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy and Spike talk about the assault, Spike says he's changed

10.Handled well: When Buffy's mom died and the show realistically explored Buffy's grief on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy finds out her mom is dead

11.Handled poorly: When Kelly's friend Amanda's eating disorder was resolved in one episode on Beverly Hills, 90210.

Kelly says her mom used to pop diet pills and that they "murder your personality"

12.Handled well: When Adrian's baby was born stillborn on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Amy holding a sobbing Adrian

"It was so hard to watch. The way they showed how pregnancy is completely unpredictable was heartbreaking and real."

booka2003

Freeform

13.Handled poorly: When Maya was framed as being in the wrong for protecting Tristan from a predatory teacher on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Tristan says Maya shouldn't have "blabbed" about his relationship with Mr. Yates

14.Handled well: When Manny became pregnant at 14 and decided to have an abortion on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Manny tells Emma she's getting an abortion

15.Handled poorly: When Nathan was implied to have purposefully crashed the race car, and then never received any serious help in the aftermath on One Tree Hill.

Nathan crashes race car and almost dies

16.Handled well: When Jimmy brought a gun to school, (unintentionally) shot Peyton, and then killed himself on One Tree Hill.

"We're just kids, we can't be like this, it's not possible" alongside Jimmy pointing gun at everyone

17.Handled poorly: When Landry killed a man who was trying to rape Tyra, and then they covered it up, and it was pretty much never addressed again on Friday Night Lights.

<div><p>"It was a multi-episode arc that was resolved <i>way</i> before the finale of the season and then completely forgotten about from then on! Why did the writers put the characters and their audience through that for a few episodes if it just didn’t matter?!"</p><p>—<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/unlikelyfloof" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:unlikelyfloof;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">unlikelyfloof</a></p></div><span> NBC</span>

18.Handled well: When Polo killed Marina, and then dealt with extreme guilt and eventually attempted suicide on Elite.

depressed Polo takes pills to try and kill himself

19.Handled poorly: When Aria and Ezra's student-teacher relationship was completely romanticized, and they even ended up getting married on Pretty Little Liars.

Aria and Ezra tell her parents they're in love

20.Handled well: When Maeve chose to have an abortion on Sex Education.

clinic nurse tells Maeve she needs to have someone pick her up after the procedure, Maeve jokes "what if I was a serial killer or a hermit or my whole family died in a fire?"

21.Handled poorly: Nearly every single storyline on 13 Reasons Why.

Tyler's storyline

22.And finally, handled well: When Shawn's drinking began negatively affecting his behavior, and he discovered his family's history of alcoholism on Boy Meets World.

Shawn shoves Angela while drinking

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