TV Show Characters Who Deserved Better (2025)

Many say society is currently living in the golden era of television. In the last few years, many outstanding TV series have been made, especially for streaming sites like Max, Netflix, and Prime Video. This new way of approaching television has put the media at the center of culture; people have never had access to so many shows.

However, even the most iconic and beloved TV series have butchered some of their greatest characters. Sometimes, shows mistreat characters by giving them poor character development, while other times characters are abruptly written out of shows too soon. Sometimes, the characters are well-written, but the audience loves them so much that they wish they had gotten a happier ending.

Updated on October 11, 2024, by Arthur Goyaz: From sitcoms like The Office to crime dramas like Ozark, there's always a character whose good intentions never pay off. It's even worse when brilliant character development ends in a meaningless death. This list was updated to include more TV characters who deserved more.

15 Adriana La Cerva Had No One to Rely On

The Sopranos

With every season of The Sopranos, Chris Moltisanti's behavior turned more erratic and Adriana La Cerva fell deeper and deeper into a black hole. One might wonder why Adriana decided to stay with Chris even after he killed her dog and beat her multiple times, but the answer is clear: she had no one. All of her so-called friends only stuck around to get something from her, and her closest companion turned out to be an FBI agent plotting to set her up.

In that sense, all Adriana had was the hope that Chris truly loved her and would do anything to protect her. When she finally came clean about being an FBI informant, Chris' first impulse was to tell Tony Soprano and have her killed. Adriana's death was the most heartbreaking in The Sopranos. She was by no means a saint, but Adriana was the victim of a harsh reality imposed on her. She knew about the danger of betraying the "family," but after all, they never really treated her like family. Then there's the fact that Chris barely even mourned her, making it clear to the audience the kind of sociopath Adriana got herself involved with.

The Sopranos

TV-MA

New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.

Release Date

January 10, 1999

Cast

James Gandolfini , Lorraine Bracco , Edie Falco , Jamie-Lynn Sigler , Robert Iler , Drea De Matteo

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

6

Creator

David Chase

14 There Was Nothing Unnecessary About Marissa Cooper's Drama

The O.C.

The O.C.'s fish-out-of-water premise was centered around Ryan, a troubled teenager from a harsh background taken under the wings of a wealthy Orange County family, the Cohens. Ryan's presence alone felt like an act of rebellion against the cynicism and arrogance that ruled the wealthy coastal neighborhood where the Cohens lived. There, appearances were the only thing that mattered. It was easy to relate to Ryan in this environment and dismiss the personal struggles of the more privileged characters as futile drama — in fact, it often was futile drama — but this preconception harmed characters whose drama is tragically real.

No amount of fortune and glamour can prevent someone from falling down a path of depression. Marissa Cooper had everything she always wanted, except the love of her family. Immersed in an idyllic material world, Ryan had to show up to Marissa to realize how unhappy she was among her money-obsessed parents and superficial high-school friends. In The O.C., Ryan and Marissa share the same feeling of being left out; living a life that doesn't belong to them. The problem is that the characters acted as if Ryan had the right to feel this way because of where he came from, and Marissa didn't. The fact that she met such a tragic end in Season 3's finale makes the treatment the character received all the more frustrating.

7

10

The O.C.

TV-PG

A troubled youth becomes embroiled in the lives of a close-knit group of people in the wealthy, upper-class neighborhood of Newport Beach, Orange County, California.

Release Date

08-05-2003

Cast

Mischa Barton , Adam Brody​ , Rachel Bilson , Ben McKenzie

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

4

13 Carl Was Destined to Follow the Steps of His Father

The Walking Dead

For some time, The Walking Dead TV show remained mostly faithful to the events of the comics written by Robert Kirkman, eventually switching character arcs and pulling off surprising kills to emphasize that no one was safe. However, it went too far when it killed off Carl Grimes for no reason, discarding the show's most promising character arc and the foundation of the story Kirkman envisioned.

The Walking Dead was all about holding one to one's humanity in an inhumane environment. Despite the post-apocalyptic scenario and the hoards of zombies, family was always at the center. By the time Carl faced his anticlimactic death as a result of a zombie bite, the conflict between Rick and the Saviors was about to reach a boiling point. The boy was finally becoming a man, coming to terms with the violent reality around him, and realizing how to make himself useful. All of Carl's character development was discarded to give Rick a reason not to kill Negan at the end of the season.

The Walking Dead

TV-MA

Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.

Release Date

October 31, 2010

Cast

Andrew Lincoln , Norman Reedus , Melissa McBride , Lauren Cohan , Christian Serratos , josh mcdermitt , Danai Gurira , Seth Gilliam

Main Genre

Horror

Seasons

11

Creator

Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Tony Moore

12 Andy Bernard's Character Development Was Butchered

The Office

Andy Bernard was introduced in the third season of The Office and became one of the most iconic characters from the TV series. He starts as Jim's obnoxious co-worker in the Stamford branch of Dunder Mifflin and eventually gets transferred to Scranton when the company closes the Stamford branch. In the beginning, Andy had behavioral issues and had to work on his anger management. Little by little, Andy becomes a more lovable character. He starts a pleasant romance with Erin, becomes friends with Darryl, and grows up as a person.

The last two seasons of The Office, however, destroyed Andy's character development. When Steve Carell left the series, it seemed the writers didn't know how to continue the show without Michael. In their attempts to fill the hole that Michael left, they try to make Andy the new irrational, spoiled, terrible boss. Andy even ends up going on a random boat trip on his own, ending his relationship with Erin on a bad note, and having an irrational vendetta towards Nellie. All of these story beats go against Andy's growth throughout the previous seasons.

The Office

Comedy

Drama

Sitcom

A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

March 24, 2005

Cast

Mindy Kaling , Jenna Fischer , Kate Flannery , Ed Helms , Craig Robinson , Paul Lieberstein , Ellie Kemper , B.J. Novak , Angela Kinsey , Oscar Nunez , Rainn Wilson , Brian Baumgartner , Phyllis Smith , Leslie David Baker , Creed Bratton , Steve Carell , John Krasinski

Rating

Seasons

9

Creator

Production Company

11 Quinn Fabray Suffered the Most From Glee's Lack of Consistency

Glee

In recent years, Glee has gotten a bad reputation, but in the beginning, the show was a hilarious satire with a unique concept. One thing that made the show so popular was that it defied the usual stereotypes of "mean girls." Even though Quinn was the popular cheerleader with a terrible attitude, as the show advanced she became more sympathetic. After her pregnancy, Quinn developed a wholesome friendship with Rachel Berry and realized that there are more important things in life than her reputation.

However, as Glee loses focus, Quinn suffers the most. The character started to make less and less sense until they finally just wiped her out of the show. First, she tried to kidnap her baby, then she changed her whole personality, and last, she got into a terrible car accident. After the third season, Quinn only appeared a few times. It's safe to say that this beloved character deserved a more consistent and well-written storyline.

Glee

TV-14

Comedy

Drama

Musical

A group of ambitious misfits try to escape the harsh realities of high school by joining a glee club headed by a passionate Spanish teacher.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

May 19, 2009

Cast

Dianna Agron , Chris Colfer , Jessalyn Gilsig , Jane Lynch , Jayma Mays , Kevin McHale , Lea Michele , Cory Monteith , Matthew Morrison , Amber Riley

Seasons

6

Creator

Production Company

Number of Episodes

10 Rita Morgan Was Used to Push Dexter's Arc Forward

Dexter

Dexter was a show about a serial killer who unleashed his dark impulses on people who escaped the law. The main character was darkly funny, sexy, and easy to sympathize with, but the series was constantly reminding the audience that he was still a psychopath after all. However, whenever Rita was around, viewers could witness a new side of Dexter: that of a kind, caring husband. In his voice-over narration, Dexter would say that it was all to keep appearances, but deep down, viewers knew that he truly cared about Rita.

Rita Morgan never learned of her husband's dark secrets; she never had the chance to. In a classic case of the "women in refrigerators" trope, Dexter's showrunners showed their true colors in Season 4 by killing off Rita for the sole purpose of pushing the male protagonist's arc forward. Only a few episodes after her death, the TV show found a way to get rid of Rita's children and forget about her completely — and so did Dexter. He descends onto a much darker path and struggles to control his "Dark Passenger." As seasons went by, Dexter never recovered from Rita's shocking, yet meaningless death.

Dexter

TV-MA

He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.

Release Date

October 1, 2006

Cast

Michael C. Hall , Jennifer Carpenter , David Zayas

Main Genre

Crime

Seasons

8 Seasons

Creator

James Manos Jr.

9 Ruth Langmore Deserved to Live

Ozark

Of all the post-Breaking Bad crime dramas with morally ambiguous characters in the spotlight, Ozark stood out as the best. It followed the Byrdes, a family who gets in trouble with a Mexican drug cartel and is forced to reallocate to the Ozarks to launder an exorbitant amount of drug money. There, the Byrde and the Langmore families cross paths: dangerous outsiders backed up by organized crime vs the local troublemakers. It doesn't take long before the Langmores are ripped to shreds, despite Ruth Langmore's attempts to build them a better future.

After witnessing almost every member of her family die and being crossed multiple times by the Byrdes, Ruth deserved some kind of redemption in Ozark. Her character evolved from a hostile loudmouth to a fierce businesswoman, and still, her arc ended with yet another silent betrayal from the Byrdes, which culminated in her death. No one had ever been safe in Ozark's man-eat-man reality, but the circumstances of Ruth's demise still hurt.

Ozark

TV-MA

A financial advisor drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder money to appease a drug boss.

Release Date

July 21, 2017

Cast

Jason Bateman , Laura Linney , Julia Garner , Charlie Tahan

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

4

Network

Netflix

8 Ted Gave Barney Stinson a Terrible Reputation

How I Met Your Mother

Ted Mosby is the hopeless romantic narrator of How I Met Your Mother. Even though he's telling the story of how he met his wife and the mother of his children, the story he's narrating starts nine years before he met her. In the last episode, it becomes clear that Ted is an unreliable narrator. More than the story about Tracy, he was telling the story of Robin, the one he always loved throughout the series. The problem is that Robin ended up marrying Barney and not him, which meant that Barney was the unwilling antagonist of the sitcom.

Even though the last season is about Barney and Robin's wedding, the couple ends up divorcing a couple of years later. Up till then, though, Barney was hyperbolically described as a terrible playboy, a misogynist, and a bad friend. However, when the audience pays attention to the character, it's clear that Barney is more than that. He helped destroy an illegal organization, he helped Lily and Marshall get back together, and he was a loyal friend. Many believe that Ted portrayed Barney in a bad light because he was his competition. This character deserved better, including his happy ending with Robin.

How I Met Your Mother

Comedy

Drama

A father recounts to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

September 19, 2005

Creator(s)

Cast

Josh Radnor , Jason Segel , Cobie Smulders , Neil Patrick Harris , Alyson Hannigan , Bob Saget

Rating

Seasons

9

Creator

Production Company

Number of Episodes

7 Dani Became Another Sapphic Character With a Tragic Ending

The Haunting of Bly Manor

As a horror show, it's not surprising that The Haunting of Bly Manor doesn't have a happy ending. However, viewers can't help but mourn Dani's terrible outcome. Arguably, everyone in this TV show deserved better, even Dani's ex-boyfriend, Eddie. Most of the characters suffer unfair untimely deaths or have to mourn the person they loved the most. However, unlike other characters, Dani never got to truly live a carefree, happy life.

Throughout most of her life, Dani had to hide her sexuality. When she finally decides not to marry Eddie, he shockingly dies in front of her in the worst possible situation. Dani decides, then, to create a new life for herself far from home, only to end up as the victim of the ghost of a haunted house. She has a happy few years with Jamie, but they're under the shadow of the Lady in the Lake's potential return. Eventually, Violet takes Dani for herself while she's still young. Fans understand the beautifully crafted allegory of mental illness or chronic disease, but it still follows a horrible "bury-your-gays" pattern that is hard to forgive.

The Haunting of Bly Manor

TV-MA

Horror

Drama

Mystery

After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry hires a young American nanny to care for his orphaned niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with the chef Owen, groundskeeper Jamie and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 9, 2020

Creator(s)

Mike Flanagan

Cast

Victoria Pedretti , Oliver Jackson-Cohen , T'Nia Miller , Rahul Kohli

Main Genre

Horror

Seasons

1

Characters By

Henry James

Network

Netflix

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

Directors

Mike Flanagan

6 Sabrina Spellman Didn't Deserve to Die in Her Own TV Series

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

When viewers started watching Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, surely the last thing they expected was for the main character to die in the series finale. The plot of this show became more and more intricate throughout the series, up till the point where Sabrina herself had to make the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone's lives. However, this is a pretty anticlimactic ending for a teenage drama.

From the very beginning, the premise of the TV series is that Sabrina wants to find a way to live both in the mortal world and the immortal one. However, that seems pretty impossible. The show eventually robs the character of any choice, killing Sabrina for good after her 17th birthday. Not only that, but the ending is supposed to be happy in a way, because she goes to The Sweet Hereafter with her boyfriend, Nick. This seems to imply that for a female character, a happy romance is more important than self-fulfillment.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

TV-14

Drama

Fantasy

Horror

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 26, 2018

Cast

Kiernan Shipka , Ross Lynch , Lucy Davis , Chance Perdomo

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

4

5 Raj Koothrappali Remained the Butt of the Jokes

The Big Bang Theory

One of the members of the nerdy gang in The Big Bang Theory, Raj didn't get the happy ending he deserved. While all the other characters are married at the end of the show, Raj is left as the "forever alone" member of the group, even though he wants a relationship more than anything else. Raj was even going to move to London to be with his girlfriend, Anu, but Howard stopped him.

Since The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom, the expectation is that every character will get a happy closure. However, this series neglected Raj's character for most seasons and didn't develop a satisfactory romance for him. For a character who overcame his fear of talking to women and wanted to settle down, it was very sad to see him without a partner in the series finale.

The Big Bang Theory

A woman who moves into an apartment across the hall from two brilliant but socially awkward physicists shows them how little they know about life outside of the laboratory.

Created by

Chuck Lorre , Bill Prady

First TV Show

The Big Bang Theory

First Episode Air Date

September 24, 2007

Cast

Johnny Galecki , Jim Parsons , Kaley Cuoco , Simon Helberg , Kunal Nayyar

Current Series

Young Sheldon

Where to watch

CBS

Spin-offs

Young Sheldon

Character(s)

Sheldon Cooper , Leonard Hofstadter , Howard Wolowitz , Raj Koothrappali , Penny Hofstadter , Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz , Amy Farrah Fowler

Genre

Comedy , Sitcom

Where to Stream

Max , Paramount+

4 Lena Luthor Didn't Get the Closure She Deserved

Supergirl

The Arrowverse crossover of Crisis on Infinite Earths completely ignored Lena Luthor's character development. After the macro-event, all the Earths fused into one, meaning that Lena lost the company she had built on her own, her proudest achievement. Not only that, but before Crisis​​​​​​, Lena killed her brother, Lex. However, the Monitor brings him back to life, and Lex becomes the villain of the following season. When Lena appeared in the second season of Supergirl, she was built to become a heroine.

Coming from a line of cruel billionaires, she created her own company to make the world a better place. She also took control of her narrative, killing Lex Luthor, one of the biggest villains in the DC Universe and her biggest bully. However, in the last season, the series erased all they had created for Lena Luthor's character and turned her into an unoriginal witch relegated to a side storyline. What's worse, the series considered making Lena the main villain of the show after she felt betrayed by Supergirl. However, they gave this role to Lex instead. Lena could have been an amazing villain or a great hero, but CW didn't let her shine in any role.

Supergirl

TV-PG

Action

Adventure

Drama

Science Fiction

The adventures of Superman's cousin and her own superhero career.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 26, 2015

Cast

Melissa Benoist , Mehcad Brooks , Chyler Leigh , Jeremy Jordan , David Harewood , Calista Flockhart

Main Genre

Superhero

Seasons

6

Studio

DC Entertainment, Warner Bros.Television

Creator

Otto Binder, Al Plastino

Number of Episodes

DC

Network

CBS , The CW

Franchise(s)

DC

Directors

Greg Berlanti , Ali Adler , Andrew Kreisberg

3 Jesse Suffered Too Much Because of Walter

Breaking Bad

Although he was a young drug dealer, Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad was never a villain. Instead, as things progressed between him and Walter, it became obvious that the former teacher was manipulating him, taking advantage of his naïveté and his addiction. Throughout the series, fans saw him struggle with his upbringing and fight his addiction, only to fall back into old habits.

The end of Breaking Bad strongly suggests that Jesse would live a normal life far from the emporium Walter built, and El Camino confirmed that he crafted a new identity for himself and went to live in Alaska. However, up until the finale, he struggled constantly with everything life threw at him, which was incredibly unfair. Jesse made bad choices, but he always showed empathy and remorse when he hurt someone. The contrast between his humanity and Walter's ruthlessness was always central to Breaking Bad's essay on morality. It earned him the hearts of the fans, who suffered plenty when seeing him grieve Jane Margolis' completely avoidable death.

Breaking Bad

The Breaking Bad franchise consists of the television drama series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, as well as the film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Exploring the desperate trials of a high school chemistry teacher turned drug lord and his former student/accomplice to the criminal enterprises of lawyer Saul Goodman, the Breaking Bad universe covers a timeline spanning the 1970s (through flashback scenes) through 2010.

Created by

Vince Gilligan , Peter Gould

First Film

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

First TV Show

Breaking Bad

Latest TV Show

Better Call Saul

First Episode Air Date

January 20, 2008

Cast

Bryan Cranston , Aaron Paul , Bob Odenkirk , Michael McKean , Giancarlo Esposito , Patrick Fabian , Rhea Seehorn , Jonathan Banks , Anna Gunn , Dean Norris , Betsy Brandt , RJ Mitte

2 The Revival Ruined Rory Gilmore Forever

Gilmore Girls

In Gilmore Girls, Rory was arguably one of the least-liked characters of the series. However, the way she developed through the seasons made sense. She had been treated as a special kid all her life by a cool mom, and eventually, it got to her head. When the time came to grow up, Rory didn't have the tools to accept rejection or to work hard at her Ivy League university. This led her to make many mistakes, like sleeping with Dean when he was married or dropping out of Yale after stealing a boat with her boyfriend, Logan. However, Rory did grow throughout the seasons. She became mature and responsible. Eventually, she graduated from Yale and rejected a marriage proposal from Logan to focus on her own life.

In Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, the show attempted to show how Rory was caught in the "prodigy-kid-to-burned-out-adult" pipeline. However, they neglected Rory's development, especially when it came to her romantic life. It would make sense that in the current economy, Rory would hit several challenges in finding a good job. However, it didn't seem like her to become the mistress of her ex-boyfriend while cheating on a relationship she didn't even care about. The show tried to be edgy and current but failed both the audience and the original series, especially when it comes to Rory.

Gilmore Girls

Comedy

Drama

A dramedy centering around the relationship between a thirtysomething single mother and her teen daughter living in Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

October 5, 2000

Cast

Lauren Graham , Scott Patterson , Sean Gunn , Keiko Agena , Matt Czuchry , Alexis Bledel , Yanic Truesdale , Kelly Bishop , Melissa McCarthy , Edward Herrmann , Liza Weil , Jared Padalecki , Milo Ventimiglia

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

7

Story By

amy sherman-palladino

Writers

Amy Sherman-Palladino

Network

The WB

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

1 Eddie Munson Is One of the Biggest Tragedies in Television

Stranger Things

Stranger Things is known for killing lovable characters every season, but the fandom could never forgive the series for killing Eddie Munson. Eddie, a character introduced in the fourth season, won over the audience's hearts quickly. He was the archetypical rebel with a heart of gold, and eventually, he sacrificed himself to save the world.

No one in the series cared about Eddie and many even considered him the antagonist. Even Eddie thought he was a coward until he befriended the gang, but he deserved more screen time to prove his value. The character could have thrived among a supportive group, and his chemistry with the rest of the gang was outstanding. Killing such a great character was just a waste, especially before the series finale, but the real problem was Stranger Things once again introducing an interesting new character just to kill him off a few episodes later.

Stranger Things

TV-14

Horror

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl.

Where to Watch

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

Not available

*Availability in US

Release Date

July 15, 2016

Cast

Winona Ryder , David Harbour , Cara Buono , FInn Wolfhard , Millie Bobby Brown

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

5 Seasons

Creator

Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer

Production Company

21 Laps Entertainment, Monkey Massacre, Netflix