And another one bites the TV dust! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the TV moments that changed our perceptions of a character for the worst. Warning: Major spoilers to come!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the TV moments that changed
00:11our perceptions of a character for the worst.
00:14Warning.
00:15Major spoilers to come.
00:25Number 20.
00:26Nate Betrays Ted, Ted Lasso.
00:36We really didn't see this coming.
00:38Nate Shelley was an assistant coach and Ted's friend, one of the sweetest characters in
00:42the show.
00:43By the end of season 3, however, he has leaked Ted's panic attacks to the press and taken
00:47a job at the rival West Ham United.
00:49What happened?
00:50We're just as shocked as you are.
00:53This wholesome show's turn for the not-so-wholesome has been a mixed bag, to say the least.
00:58No doubt the show is attempting a villain redemption arc, but its penchant of putting
01:01significant plot beats off-screen ruins much of this arc's efficacy.
01:05Either way, we will never look at Nate the same way again.
01:14Number 19.
01:15It Was Dan All Along, Gossip Girl.
01:25The mystery of this anonymous blog writer was the heart of this iconic teen show.
01:29This writer was seemingly omniscient, posting scandalous details of the cast's love triumphs,
01:34entanglements, and doldrums of our main cast and beyond.
01:38When the show finally revealed that Dan Humphrey was behind the blog, fans were divided.
01:42While Dan has the writing skills required for the role, a lot of Gossip Girl's actions
01:46go against his motivation and open major plot holes.
01:49It doesn't help matters either when the show's creators confess that they initially
01:53planned to make Serena's younger brother Eric Gossip Girl and even flirted with choosing
01:56Nate.
01:57Either way, Dan is forever tainted by Gossip Girl's cruelty and opportunism.
02:02Some mysteries are better left unsolved.
02:13Number 18.
02:15Alex Leaves Joe For Izzy, Grey's Anatomy.
02:28How could they do Alex so dirty like this?
02:30Well, to its credit, Grey's Anatomy had little choice in the matter.
02:34When Justin Chambers suddenly left the show, his character, Alex Karev, necessarily had
02:39to depart as well.
02:40But breaking up with his partner Joe and confessing his love for Izzy Stevens via a letter, of
02:44all ways, was not the way to do it.
02:47Alex had experienced tremendous growth throughout the show, his rough and gruff exterior eventually
02:51revealing a heart of gold.
02:53To see him leave the show in this way was polarizing for fans, to say the least.
02:57Officially, the worst thing he's ever done, indeed.
03:07Number 17.
03:08Archie's Plea Deal, Riverdale
03:19Granted, this show is infamous for its bonkers plotlines and character arcs, so should we
03:24really be surprised?
03:26The boy next door Archie pleading guilty of first-degree murder when he is not takes the
03:31cake for the most bizarre incident, including when Archie literally gets attacked by a bear.
03:35Framed for the murder of Cassidy by Hiram, Archie's decision to take a plea deal and
03:39go to a juvenile detention center for two years was wild, especially since Archie got
03:44a hung jury.
03:45He could have gone free if it weren't for the showrunner's eagerness for a Shawshank
03:48Redemption-style storyline.
03:50Archie's golden retriever personality took a turn towards the dumber side.
04:09Number 16.
04:10Mr. Krabs' Praise on Plankton's Fear, SpongeBob SquarePants
04:24Animated shows are often known for their zany humor, but even cartoons should have a limit.
04:29In this infamous episode, it is discovered that Plankton is afraid of whales, as his
04:32entire family have been eaten by them.
04:35As a joke, Mr. Krabs disguises himself as his whale daughter Pearl and terrorizes him
04:40throughout town for two weeks.
04:42This harassment culminates in Plankton lying down in the middle of the road.
04:46Only when SpongeBob tells him that Mr. Krabs is afraid of clowns that Plankton gets a taste
04:50for life back again and plots revenge.
04:53Mr. Krabs' refusal to back off makes this icky episode even worse.
04:57If Mr. Krabs is capable of such a thing, what isn't he capable of?
05:09Number 15.
05:11Will Blackmails Finn, Glee
05:21Has there ever been any TV teacher more problematic than Will Schuster?
05:25Well, there is his weird comment on how his students are all minorities simply for being
05:30in the Glee Club.
05:31Oh, and there was also that moment when Will suspends Marley.
05:34But by far the most egregious act was his first one.
05:37Will blackmailing quarterback Finn into joining the Glee Club.
05:41How?
05:42He plants marijuana in his locker room.
05:44Why?
05:45Will heard Finn sing in the shower and decided he must have this talent at all costs.
05:50Will's character just gets worse from there, making him perhaps one of the worst teachers
05:53in television history.
05:59Number 14.
06:01Debbie Gets Pregnant On Purpose, Shameless
06:11The working-class Gallagher family, headed by its troubled patriarch, has its fair share
06:15of truly messed-up members.
06:17Not Debbie, though.
06:18Debbie is the kind-hearted third-youngest daughter, grounded and mature for her age,
06:23even running a daycare center.
06:24But as the seasons went on, Debbie's character took a turn for the impulsive, immature, and
06:29self-destructive.
06:31One of her most baffling actions was to get pregnant, on purpose, by her boyfriend Derek,
06:36lying to him that she was protected.
06:38This causes an angry Derek to cut out all contact with Debbie and move in with his grandparents,
06:43leaving Debbie as a struggling single mother.
06:45What a horrible series of bad decisions by the one character we thought was sensible.
06:54Number 13.
06:55Todd Shoots A Kid For No Reason, Breaking Bad
07:07When someone starts to look up to Walter White of all characters, you know there's going
07:10to be nothing but trouble.
07:12Todd Alquist worked for Walt and Jesse as a fellow meth cook, even helping Walt and
07:16Jesse pull off a major heist.
07:18At the end of this episode, right after they stole meth from a train, Walt, Jesse, and
07:22Todd see a boy on a dirt bike, waving at them.
07:25Todd waves back and shoots him.
07:27Until this moment, we never thought Todd would be capable of such ruthlessness.
07:31Of course, Todd goes on to do many more horrible things.
07:35It goes to show the extreme lengths to which some people would go to prove themselves.
07:40Number 12.
07:42Allison Almost Assaults Luther, The Umbrella Academy
07:53Able to compel people with the phrase, I heard a rumor, Allison had always struggled with
07:57the ethical ramification of her powers, hiding and even refusing to use them.
08:02So this use of her powers against her adopted brother, Luther, is particularly egregious.
08:07Granted, Allison does change her mind in time, but the fact that she even contemplated forcing
08:11herself on Luther, much less began the compulsion, is beyond horrific.
08:15Allison's use of her powers of suggestion crosses many lines before and after this moment,
08:21but this one must take the cake.
08:29Number 11.
08:30Rory Drops Out Of Yale, Gilmore Girls
08:41Remember when Rory used to be the diligent and responsible Gilmore?
08:44She dreamed of attending Harvard.
08:46Her role model was Christiane Amonpour, for crying out loud.
08:50But it isn't long before Rory begins to make increasingly questionable decisions.
08:54A big one that raised many eyebrows was Rory sleeping with her ex-dean, who is now married
08:58to a fellow schoolmate.
09:00But perhaps even more of a character break is when Rory steals a yacht.
09:04After she gets arrested, she decides to drop out of Yale entirely.
09:07From Harvard dreaming to dropping out of Yale is a steep fall, leaving fans bewildered
09:12and frustrated with the drastic turn this character took.
09:21Number 10.
09:22Andy Sails Away, The Office
09:24Granted, Andy has never been the most popular character in the series.
09:35His first introduction established him as a bit of a sleazeball with anger management
09:39issues.
09:40Throughout the seasons, though, he did grow and become more interesting, particularly
09:43through his love entanglements with Erin.
09:46Season 9, however, had him reverting to his selfish Season 3 characterization.
09:50He sails off to the Bahamas, leaving a neglected Erin behind.
09:54Andy eventually pursues his acting dream with the help of a talent agent, Carla.
09:58Undoing all that character work for the last season of the show is a pitfall a lot of shows
10:01fall into.
10:03Too bad The Office was one of them.
10:11Number 9.
10:12Meg Embraces Martyrdom, Family Guy
10:23There may be no character done more dirty by a show than Meg.
10:27Even becoming the Griffin family's, and the show's, scapegoat, Meg has been on the
10:31receiving end of some major mistreatment and cruelty.
10:34So when she does a Ned Flanders and finally confronts her family on their abuse while
10:38they are riding out a hurricane, it is nothing less than cathartic.
10:41But when the family turns against each other, Meg decides to apologize for her true remarks,
10:46believing this family needs someone to pile on all their dysfunction and that someone
10:50should be her.
10:51It's a terrible decision, not in the least because it makes Meg choose her role as the
10:55family punching bag willingly.
11:07Number 8.
11:08Love Quinn's Death, You
11:23It can be argued that love and death are the two universal themes of all drama, but what
11:27happens when you kill love?
11:29In season 2, serial killer Joe meets his match in Love Quinn, a fellow killer who would go
11:34to extreme lengths for the one she loves.
11:36Joe is hypocritically appalled by Love, but marries her when she falls pregnant with her
11:40child.
11:41When Love finds out about Joe's latest obsession and prepares to kill him, Joe gets there first.
11:47Accepting love would have been a great opportunity for character growth.
11:50As it is, it only cements Joe's status as yet another boring creep.
11:59Number 7.
12:00Andrea Sleeps With The Governor, The Walking Dead
12:11Why did this show do Andrea so dirty?
12:13A former civil rights attorney, Andrea began as a strong and sharp shooter with great aim,
12:18but her character took a distinct turn from her arc in the comics.
12:21In season 3, separated from Rick's group with her friend Michonne, Andrea abets and
12:26even falls for the villainous governor, who leads a town of survivors called Woodbury.
12:31Although Michonne bails out, Andrea stays in Woodbury.
12:34Worst of all, she sleeps with the governor.
12:37Even after the governor attacks the prison, Andrea is unable to kill him and she is finally
12:41captured by him.
12:42That the show would turn Andrea into this lovestruck apologist is nothing less than
12:46criminal.
12:47For many fans, it ruins her character for good.
12:54Number 6.
12:56Spike Assaults Buffy, Buffy The Vampire Slayer
13:06There are bad boys, and then there's just bad.
13:09Initially planned as a one-and-done villain along with his sire, Drusilla, Spike's popularity
13:13among fans made him a recurring character.
13:16Eventually, he becomes Buffy and the Scooby Gang's most reliable ally.
13:20He even falls in love with Buffy, entering a passionate, tumultuous relationship with
13:24her that garnered its own passionate fanbase.
13:26Unfortunately, that relationship turns violent on both sides, especially as Buffy struggles
13:31with her depression.
13:32Worst of all, in response to Buffy's jealousy over his drunken advances towards Anya, Spike
13:37attacks and almost forces himself on Buffy.
13:40He leaves Sunnydale after that and endeavors to get his soul back, but such an inexcusable
13:44act will definitely haunt us.
13:53Number 5.
13:55Seymour Skinner is an Imposter, The Simpsons
14:05This controversial episode really made us look at Seymour Skinner differently.
14:09This season 9 episode reveals that Principal Skinner is, in fact, an imposter.
14:14His real name was Armin Tamzarian, a juvenile delinquent turned soldier who befriended the
14:19real Skinner, a sergeant fighting in the Vietnam War.
14:22When Agnes mistook Armin for her supposedly dead son Seymour, Armin decided to keep up
14:26the deception, which worked until the real Skinner returned.
14:30Eventually, the people of Springfield realize they prefer Armin Skinner to the real deal
14:34and welcome him back.
14:36The decision to retcon Skinner's backstory was decried as cheap.
14:40The revelation of a beloved character being a mere fraud is also a hard pill to swallow.
14:52Number 4.
14:53Ted Goes Back to Robin, How I Met Your Mother
15:06Decried as one of the worst finales in all of TV, this show also made us change our perception
15:11of Ted Mosby for good.
15:13Ted's tale of how he met his children's mother included his tumultuous relationship
15:17with Robin Scherbatsky.
15:19After their breakup, they eventually move on to other people as their inherent incompatibility
15:23is made clear.
15:24Ted wants a family, Robin does not.
15:26But in the last season, even as Robin marries Barney and Ted meets the mother of his children,
15:32the show suddenly changes gears.
15:34After Robin's divorce and Ted's wife dying, we are shown Ted going back to Robin after
15:38all these years, encouraged by his own children.
15:41It's a terrible conclusion, one that ruined Ted's character for good.
15:50Number 3.
15:51Jump in the Shark, Literally, Happy Days
16:00We have talked a lot about shark jumping moments, and this actual shark jump is why.
16:05In this now infamous Happy Days episode, the California kid dares Fonzie to jump over a
16:09tiger shark on skis.
16:11Fonzie had grown into a fan favorite, with storylines written just for his character
16:15as a result of his popularity.
16:17But before this moment, Fonzie has never shown the slightest ability for water sports.
16:21At best, he's a biker.
16:23Switching the setting from diner to beach only made matters worse.
16:27It was clearly a case of the creators abandoning character consistency for a memorable moment,
16:31but not memorable in the way intended.
16:33At least we got a cool new descriptor for bad TV writing.
16:44Number 2.
16:45Deborah in Love with Dexter, Dexter
16:54Now this change is nothing less than bewildering.
16:57Deborah Morgan was Dexter's foster sister, loyal, caring, and a great police officer.
17:03Both she and Dexter viewed each other's relationship as nothing more than fraternal.
17:06But while talking to her psychiatrist about her failed relationships in season 6, Deborah
17:11realizes her feelings towards her adopted brother may be less fraternal than she thinks.
17:15The rationale doesn't make much sense on the face of it, nor is it psychologically
17:19plausible as the two did grow up together.
17:22To make matters worse, Dexter reacts with believable confusion.
17:25Of course, he doesn't return Deborah's feelings.
17:28Deborah was truly done dirty by this plotline.
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17:59Number 1.
18:00Daenerys Burns King's Landing, Game of Thrones
18:11Universally decried as pure character assassination, this show's decision to turn a beloved character
18:16to the dark side has to be seen to be believed.
18:20Forced into marriage by her abusive brother, Daenerys rose from the ashes, literally, to
18:25become a formidable contender for the Iron Throne, freeing slaves and defending the innocent.
18:30Despite her occasionally brutal actions, they were not illogical and balanced out with acts
18:34of kindness and mercy.
18:35The last season of the show, however, showed her out-of-nowhere decision to burn King's
18:40Landing.
18:41Daenerys' character switch from liberator to tyrant was not well executed, and with
18:45her death by Jon Snow, her character is officially assassinated.
18:49Thanks show.
19:03Can you think of ways that any ruined characters could have been redeemed?
19:07Let us know in the comments below!