23 Times Main Characters Were Written Off TV Shows And Basically Ruined The Show
A while back, I wrote about the best and worst TV character departures, and people had a lottttt of thoughts in the comments. So I'm back with 23 more character departures that people just can't stand!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
1.Ruby on Once Upon A Time
"Ruby 'Red' should be mentioned. She was such a badass and [I] loved the character so much, and her being a werewolf had a load of potential for great stories! Ruby deserve to be way above [an] underrated character. I mean she was the reason I got into the show."
2.Cristina on Grey's Anatomy
"Shonda Rhimes said herself when Season 10 aired that Cristina and Meredith were the true love story of the show. Ellen Pompeo was disappointed in fans and critics saying the show couldn't go on without Patrick Dempsey when they didn't say the same about Sandra Oh leaving. While there was of course a before and after Derek died in Season 11, the biggest 'old Grey's' and 'new Grey's' was before and after Cristina left."
3.Eric on That '70s Show
"Season 8 of That '70s Show was honestly a wild drug trip instead of an actual season. I know Topher Grace quit the show so they sent his character to Africa, but Randy (Eric’s replacement) could not hold a candle to Eric’s one-liners or comedic timing. The show went downhill after Season 7 because Eric was the heart of the show. You don’t continue a show when the person the show is about in the first place is gone."
4.Fiona on Shameless
"Her spiral in the last couple of seasons was painful to watch, and I got really annoyed by her decisions. Still, she was the one who anchored the family, and while I still loved Season 10, it felt like something was missing. And they didn’t even MENTION her at Ian and Mickey’s wedding."
"Yep, she was such a big part of the family and then it's like she barely ever existed. I don't understand why they've decided to handle it this way."
5.Michael on Jane The Virgin
"It's stupid how his character came back out of nowhere as a 'different person' and they brought him back just to get rid of him again. They certainly didn't do him justice."
6.Lucas and Peyton on One Tree Hill
"I know not everyone likes Lucas and Peyton, and they can be annoying at times, but the show just was not the same without them. Lucas was literally the main character that the show centered around, and without him the show kind of just fell apart. Seasons 7–9 were bad and you can’t change my mind."
7.Troy on Community
"Not only was he a fantastic character, but the show really lost something special when it lost Troy and Abed’s friendship."
"He was one of the few characters that interacted with every member of the study group and his friendship with Abed was my favorite thing in the whole show."
8.Elena on The Vampire Diaries
"Elena wasn't the best character, but Nina leaving the show was awful. The ratings dropped and the show was missing something. I love that they developed the relationship between the brothers more but apart from that, the show was terrible the last two seasons."
—uhm
9.Dave on Gilmore Girls
"He's a relatively small character, but I'm convinced that Gilmore Girls would have been better had Adam Brody stayed. Zack and Lane were a horrible couple and she lost all the independence she wanted throughout the first four seasons; I feel like had Dave stayed on the show, he would have encouraged her to apply to a top-notch music program (and give her the support to stand up to her mother) instead of buying a small apartment with her horrible bandmates."
"I love Dave too! [I] loved how he respected Mrs. Kim’s beliefs and knew Lane was worth it...especially when he read the Bible in one night because of what Mrs. Kim said (but she was actually quoting Shakespeare). But she was impressed with him. Both a very funny and touching moment. I don’t hate Zack, but Dave and Lane were by far a better couple."
10.Cuddy on House
"The last season of House without Cuddy in it wasn't nearly as good. Their back-and-forth bantering and the way they were always triangulating Wilson into their standoffs was a central part of the show, and everything felt weaker without those subplots."
11.Gina on Brooklyn Nine-Nine
"The show has sucked so much since she left. I don’t know if that’s because of her departure or switching networks, but the newest season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine was a disaster."
12.Glenn on The Walking Dead
"When they killed Glenn on The Walking Dead. The show lost a lot of its mojo that day and moving forward."
13.Carmen on The L Word
"She changed so much about Shane and it felt so real and beautiful to see them navigating their relationship and Carmen's family. I know Sarah Shahi's contract was up when she left the show, but it was such a moment of growth for Shane that never went anywhere and left her in a stagnant, same-old trope role."
14.Lexa on The 100
"I couldn't even watch it after they killed her off in such a terrible TV trope. She gave Clarke a lot of depth and personality and it fell flat after Lexa was gone."
15.Andy on Modern Family
"I stopped watching after Andy left. It was just back to Season 1 stuff and not funny anymore. ... [Haley] had so much growth before that and they just threw it away, not by being a mom, but by ending up with Dylan."
16.The Originals on The Vampire Diaries
"For ME the show started to lack after the Originals left. Elijah is my husband — Kol too. Klaus was spicy and fun to watch and Rebekah was the best friend I never knew I needed. ... They may have done bad things (I mean everyone on that show did) but I still loved them and missed them."
"The Originals leaving hit hard. They were definitely some of the best 'villains' on TVD. Still not over the end of The Originals."
17.Abbie on Sleepy Hollow
"When the writers stopped focusing on Abbie, the writing became tired and stupid. Show ended when they killed her off."
18.Charlie on Two and a Half Men
"I know he self-destructed in real life, which lead to his firing, but Charlie Sheen getting booted from Two and a Half Men pretty much killed the show (at least for me). It ran for four more seasons with Ashton Kutcher, but it just wasn't the same. It almost became a parody of itself. Sheen was just so good in those early seasons."
19.Reyna on Nashville
"Reyna James on Nashville hurt a lot. The show never recovered. It would have helped to kill off Scarlett instead."
20.Dr. Melendez on The Good Doctor
"One of the worst departures is Dr. Melendez on The Good Doctor. I have no intention of watching the next season."
21.Rick on The Walking Dead
"I couldn’t watch anymore after he left."
22.Crowley on Supernatural
"I just loved his sassiness. He added humor to the show, and I miss him."
23.And finally, Lexie and Mark on Grey's Anatomy
"Lexie and Mark was the worst departure for me! I guess from social media I already knew Derek was going to die, I just didn't know how, but the point is, I was prepared for it to happen so it wasn't such a big deal for me. But Lexie and Mark...I was not ready and I'm still not over it."
What other characters ruined a TV show by leaving? Let us know in the comments below!
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
