14 Major Plotlines TV Shows Completely Abandoned
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- Game of Thrones
- HBO
Game of Thrones offered its fans nearly as many moments of frustration as moments of exhilaration, and it did so from the very beginning. Daenerys spends most of the second season stuck in the merchant city of Qarth, on the southern coast of Essos. There, she gets wrapped up in the political intrigues of the Thirteen, Qarth's oligarchical rulers. At one point, an intriguing masked woman named Quaithe approaches Jorah Mormont and warns him that someone covets Daenerys's dragons. A warlock named Pyat Pree stages a coup, takes out the other members of the Thirteen, and takes Daenerys's dragons. Jorah and Daenerys manage to rescue the dragons, Pree is burned alive, Daenerys and company flee the city, and Qarth is mentioned only in passing for the rest of the series.
The fact that the show spent so much time in the city of Qarth only to abandon it definitely irritated fans. By introducing Quaithe, who seems to know a lot more about the main characters than she lets on, but never explaining her background or motivations, the writers seem to have missed an opportunity.
- Premiered: April 17, 2011
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- Dr. Who
- BBC
When Doctor Who introduced the character of the legendary Time Lord's daughter - during the 10th incarnation of the Doctor played by David Tennant - fans were excited to see a potential new dynamic play out, but it was ultimately a letdown. The Doctor's daughter Jenny first appears in the sixth episode of the fourth series of the long-running sci-fi show's revival. When the Doctor visits the battle-torn planet Messaline, one of the fighting factions uses the Doctor's DNA to create a super-warrior, and the Doctor recognizes her as his daughter. The Doctor's pacificism encourages Jenny to give up her aggressive ways, but she perishes and the Doctor leaves. After his departure, Jenny suddenly revives and boards a spaceship for parts unknown.
When the show aired in 2008, the actor who played Jenny, Georgia Moffett (who would later marry Tennant), was never told of her character's ultimate fate. Then in 2015, showrunner Steven Moffat admitted in an interview that Jenny's spaceship crashed into a moon, ending her - basically, the same thing that happened to Poochie in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" episode of The Simpsons. Moffett was understandably unhappy to hear the news.
Fortunately for Moffett and her fans, Jenny was brought back from the afterlife in 2018 to star in a four-part audio drama that sees her embark on adventures of her own.
- Premiered: March 26, 2005
Is this frustrating?- 1Sarah Jane Smith9,136 Votes
- 2Donna Noble11,577 Votes
- 3Wilfred Mott6,217 Votes
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- Arrow
- The CW
The creators of superhero shows face a unique conundrum: They often have a whole universe of characters, but there's always a chance that those characters might be needed for a different project. This is what happened to the members of the Suicide Squad on Seasons 2 and 3 of Arrow.
The show spends multiple episodes introducing the crew of antiheroes who undertake the most dangerous missions for the government, from Deadshot to leader Amanda Waller. There were even plans to bring fan-favorite Harley Quinn into the mix. However, during Season 3, the show starts offing Squad members in quick succession. Deadshot is pierced through the eye with an arrow and is presumed deceased, Waller is fatally fired on, and the Squad is disbanded.
It's obvious that the CW was compelled to dump the Squad so as not to conflict with the 2016 film version starring Will Smith and Jared Leto. Arrow actress Willow Holland confirmed as much. And since DC Comics has an unofficial rule not to have two versions of the same character at the same time, it was time for the TV version of the Squad to be retired.
However, Arrow fans, (and perhaps fans who were disappointed with the film), had their patience rewarded: In Season 7, Squad member John Diggle returned to lead a rebooted version of the group called the Ghost Initiative.
- Premiered: October 10, 2012
Is this frustrating?- 1John Diggle Didn't Even Exist in the Comic319 Votes
- 2Thea Queen Is TV Exclusive261 Votes
- 3Felicity Smoak Wasn't the Computer Genius on Team Arrow306 Votes
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- Gotham
- Fox
Part of the fun of a show like Gotham, which explores the origins of iconic characters like Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon, is that fans are never quite sure which of their favorite heroes and villains will show up. Sometimes that can lead to an exciting reveal, but if it's mishandled, it can leave fans disappointed.
Harvey Dent, the lawyer who would later become Two-Face, first shows up in the ninth episode of Gotham's first season, titled "Harvey Dent." Before he ever becomes a two-faced villain, Dent is just an idealistic young attorney who teams up with Gordon to try to solve the demise of Bruce Wayne's parents. He appears in eight total episodes throughout the first and second seasons before he disappears from the show entirely.
Showrunner John Stephens later explained why Gotham's version of Dent never made the transition to Two-Face: According to official canon, Dent only becomes Two-Face after Batman is on the scene. Since Batman never appears on the show, having Two-Face would have been impossible.
However, since Gotham was willing to take creative liberties with several other Batman characters, fans probably don't find this explanation particularly comforting.
- Premiered: September 22, 2014
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- The Walking Dead
- AMC
Whenever a TV show is adapted from a popular source like a novel or a comic book, some story elements will inevitably be left out, and ardent fans will likely be disappointed. This happened to fans of The Walking Dead graphic novel, who were thrilled to finally see one of the comic's major characters, Heath, appear on the TV show, only to disappear.
Heath is a supply runner living in Alexandria who is first shown in the Season 6 episode "First Time Again." He makes several appearances throughout the next two seasons, proving to be a capable survivor in a post-apocalyptic world. However, in the sixth episode of Season 7, "Swear," Heath and Tara embark on a supply run and find a barricaded bridge over a river. The bridge turns out to be infested with zombies, and in the ensuing commotion, Heath falls into the water and is swept away, never to be seen again.
Fans were hoping this was a setup that would pay off in Heath's triumphant return. In reality, showrunner Angela Kang revealed that the actor who played Heath, Corey Hawkins, was written off the show so that he could pursue film acting opportunities.
- Premiered: October 31, 2010
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- That 70's Show
- Fox
Sitcoms that usually feature standalone episodes don't have the same standards of continuity when compared with some of the drama shows on this list, but it still irritates fans when a comedy show drops a plotline with no explanation. For instance, two main characters get married on That '70s Show, but later, they mysteriously break up.
In the 25th episode of Season 5, titled "Celebration Day," Fez is facing deportation, and Laurie agrees to marry him in order to keep him in the country. Even though this is strictly a green card marriage, the revelation is shocking enough to give Red Forman a heart attack. At the beginning of Season 6, the marriage is mined for laughs, like when Red and Kitty try to force them to divorce only to have second thoughts when they start receiving wedding gifts. Eventually, Laurie moves to Canada and disappears from the show, and Fez's life returns to normal. It's never explained whether they officially split up.
The show even pokes fun at this disappearance in the series finale, when Kitty says, "Speaking of daughters... has anyone seen Laurie?" prompting a long laugh from the studio audience.
- Premiered: August 23, 1998
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- The 100
- The CW
CGI can really be a blessing and a curse for showrunners. It can create mind-blowing special effects that make a show stand out from the pack. At the same time, making it a major part of the story can drain the budget. Case in point: the mutated animals on The 100. The show follows a group of delinquent teenagers detained on an orbiting space station who return to an Earth that's been ravaged by atomic conflict. When they arrive, they find the planet to be completely different - families are allowed to have only one child, any misdeed receives capital punishment, a mysterious group called the "others" controls society, and many animals have been mutated, like the deer above.
Mutated animals feature heavily in the first season, but seldom appear in Seasons 2 and 3. Fans wondered what happened to all the disfigured wildlife, but the show hasn't offered an explanation in subsequent seasons. It's likely more of a financial reason than anything to do with the story.
- Premiered: March 19, 2014
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- Dexter
- Showtime
Pretty much everyone regrets "the one that got away," and that applies to love just as much as it does to apprehending Miami's most notorious serial slayers. During the fifth season of Dexter, Debra Morgan and the Miami PD are investigating the Santa Muerte case, a grisly series of slayings that use Santa Muerte iconography. Dexter himself is only tangentially involved in this case, as he is away on leave following the passing of his wife Rita, and then is more focused on investigating what is later known as the Barrel Girls Case.
Debra and her colleagues eventually identify brothers Carlos and Marco Fuentes as the culprits and track the brothers to a nightclub called Club Mayan. In the ensuing showdown, Debra fatally fires on Carlos Fuentes, but Marco Fuentes flees the scene. He is never heard from again.
Fans were expecting Marco to pop up again, but the show never bothered to wrap up his storyline, and the showrunners have never offered an explanation. Since Dexter wasn't part of the investigation, he would have no personal motivation to track down Marco and deliver justice. And since this storyline was a B-plot to service the supporting cast members, the showrunners likely felt it wasn't worth the payoff to bring him back.
Still, Marco is the only slayer in the Dexter series to survive.
- Premiered: October 1, 2006
Is this frustrating?- 1The Getaway103 Votes
- 2Hungry Man62 Votes
- 3Born Free107 Votes
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- Supergirl
- CBS
Supergirl has experienced one of the more tumultuous production histories of any show on TV recently. After first airing on CBS in 2015, the show jumped over to the CW, where it joined the Arrowverse. Although the show is still a hit, moving to a different network meant that some plotlines would inevitably be reworked or dropped entirely, much to fans' frustration.
One such plotline appears at the end of the show's first season. Throughout the season, Supergirl's nemesis Maxwell Lord has been trying to discover her true identity. Once he does, he plans to off her and replace her with a brainwashed, obedient version of herself: Bizarro. In the season's 12th episode, Lord sends Bizarro to slay Kara's love interest James. In the ensuing battle, Bizarro overpowers Kara before being immobilized with kryptonite darts. Lord's experiments have deteriorated Bizarro's body, so the Department of Extranormal Operations decides to put her in a coma to save her life.
Fans never get to find out what happened to Bizarro, since the show moved to the CW shortly after. However, Bizarro shouldn't feel bad, because her creator Maxwell Lord was dropped from the show, too.
- Premiered: October 26, 2015
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- Lost
- NBC
By the second season of Lost, the survivors of Flight 815 have discovered that another group of people are living on the island, whom they called the Others. The island proves to be not nearly big enough for the both of them.
In episode 11, "The Hunting Party," the Others have just taken Michael's son Walt, and Michael has gone out alone to search for them. Jack, Locke, and Sawyer head into the jungle to find and assist Michael, but instead, they get ambushed by some of the Others, who have also captured Kate. The Others hand over Kate in exchange for the survivors' side arms, and warn the survivors not to leave their side of the island.
Back at the beach, Jack approaches Ana Lucia and asks for her help training a group to attack the Others. This is presented as an end-of-the-episode cliffhanger, but the idea is never revisited. Instead, the tail-section survivors and the Others engage in a slower and more drawn-out conflict.
Given Lost's production history, the dropped plot is really a microcosm of the entire series up to this point. Creators J.J. Abrams, Carlton Cuse, and Damon Lindelof weren't shy about changing anything on the fly, from character backstories to major plot points, all for the sake of making the show more dynamic.
- Premiered: September 22, 2004
Is this frustrating?- 1Desmond Hume5,653 Votes
- 2James "Sawyer" Ford6,049 Votes
- 3Hugo "Hurley" Reyes4,855 Votes
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- GIlmore Girls
- The WB
Gilmore Girls is a beloved show that primarily focuses on the relationship between Lorelai and her daughter Rory, as well as the quirky inhabitants of Stars Hollow. For this reason, it seems slightly unusual when the show devotes an entire episode to Rory's boyfriend Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) - after he leaves Stars Hollow for Venice, California. In the final episode of Season 3, "Here Comes the Son," Jess departs New England to visit his estranged father Jimmy. The episode is almost entirely devoted to Jess's story and even lets us get to know supporting characters like Jimmy, his girlfriend Sasha, and their daughter Lily.
And that's the end of it. Rory later visits Jess in Season 6 after he moves to Philadelphia and leaves behind his troubled past, but the rest of his family is never mentioned again. The reason is because this episode was actually a backdoor pilot intended to launch a spinoff series starring Jess titled Windward Circle. The spinoff plan was scrapped, and the episode stands out as one of the oddest Gilmore Girls episodes.
- Premiered: October 5, 2000
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- The West Wing
- NBC
A television show is never a finished product when it first reaches the air, and even the most accomplished TV writers treat their shows like works in progress. The first season of The West Wing features a character named Mandy Hampton, played by Moira Kelly. Mandy is a media consultant hired to work for the Bartlet administration, and is also the ex-girlfriend of main character Josh Lyman. Creator Aaron Sorkin intended for the character to be a foil who would challenge Josh's idealism.
However, it became clear to Sorkin that Mandy just wasn't working out. The show's ensemble nature made it difficult to fully explore her story, and by the end of the season, the character was written off the show. Sorkin never bothered to explain where exactly Mandy went, and her mysterious appearance actually became a running joke among the writing staff and fans. Even today, when a character suddenly vanishes from a show, it's said they can be found in "Mandyville."
- Premiered: September 22, 1999
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- Cheers
- CBS
Most of the other shows on this list had to drop a storyline due to creative or business reasons, but an actor's personal life can also affect the course of a series. When Kirstie Alley, who played Rebecca on Cheers, became pregnant at the beginning of Season 10, the show's writers incorporated it into the show. The showrunners decided to have Rebecca and Sam Malone (Ted Danson) try to get pregnant together, and spent several episodes mining their hot-and-cold relationship for laughs.
Sadly, Kirstie Alley then suffered a miscarriage. The showrunners faced the difficult choice of either continuing the storyline anyway, or devoting airtime to explaining why Sam and Rebecca had changed their minds. Instead, they dropped the storyline and never addressed it again.
- Premiered: September 30, 1982
Is this frustrating?- 1Thanksgiving Orphans141 Votes
- 2Give Me a Ring Sometime100 Votes
- 3What is... Cliff Clavin?136 Votes
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- Seinfeld
- NBC
If you're a showrunner, network notes can improve your show, hurt your show, or sometimes... both. Elaine Benes is still one of the greatest TV characters of all time, but she wasn't even introduced until the second episode of Seinfeld. After the pilot aired, NBC suggested that Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David add another character to bring a female perspective to the show. If not for this note, we would have missed out on everything from "The Little Kicks" to "spongeworthy."
But NBC's notes weren't always so on the money. Fans know that Elaine and Jerry had previously dated. After Elaine was introduced, NBC executives pressured Seinfeld and David to get Jerry and Elaine back together. Both were resistant to the idea, but by Season 2, they caved. In the infamous ninth episode of the second season, "The Deal," Jerry and Elaine explore the idea of rekindling their physical relationship while remaining friends. This, of course, proves more difficult than they expected, and they resume their friendship. Only when NBC executives saw their idea play out on screen were they convinced that Elaine and Jerry work better as pals.
- Premiered: July 5, 1989
Is this frustrating?- 1It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia177 Votes
- 2Brooklyn Nine-Nine152 Votes
- 3Letterkenny50 Votes
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