Dear screenwriters,
Please stop. This thing about getting us invested in storylines only to totally abandon them sucks. I spent three seasons hanging on every episode of The Borgias and then it just ... stopped? That's it? No ending? Showtime got me to root for an murderous relationship and then just ditched me?!? You can't just snatch Jeremy Irons away from people like that. It's hurtful!
And don't even get me started on Family Matters. The show just pretended a whole child never happened! Judy was there for like 3 or 4 seasons and then she just never showed back up and we never talked about her again. Where did she go? Was she in Laura's imagination? Was she a cyborg spy that Steve Urkel invented? What happened!?!
One Reddit user asked:
First things first, it's clear I'm not the only one salty about the whereabouts and well-being of the missing young miss Judy Winslow. Secondly, get it together TV people! I had no idea this many shows were this messy with their plot lines. Here are some of the responses that people really agreed with.
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
GiphyI remember in The X-Files where the main characters find a stash of government secrets hidden in a mountain, then next episode they're back at the FBI building ... and it's never mentioned again.
Pissed me off. It took like 60 episodes to get them to the climax in that mountain, just to pretend in the following episode and season that it never happened.
Dog Or Wife?
Brooklyn Nine-nine: is Kelly Skully's dog or his wife? We still don't know!
Great Friends, Terrible Parents
Every time a character had a child on Friends. They would pop up whenever convenient then vanish. With Ross' son it kind of made sense because his ex had custody, but then Rachel and Ross had their baby and it seemed to barely impact on their lives.
Casual Pirates
In Hamlet, Hamlet casually gets kidnapped by pirates. Mentions it once and never again.
All A Dream
In Married with Children season 6, Peggy and Marcy are pregnant. This is a big element of the first half of the season. Then actress Katey Sagal, who was pregnant in real life as well, had a miscarriage and rather than have her work through the remainder of the storyline, they scrapped it altogether. It was explained away in an episode in which Al dreamed he was a detective. At the end, it is revealed that everything up until that point in the season, including the pregnancies, was a dream.
Also, in season 7, the Bundy family adopts their little nephew Seven. He has some small parts in half a dozen episodes, before he mysteriously disappears and is never seen again.
Ghosted By Ghost
Ghost literally just disappeared from the last season of Game of Thrones with no explanation. I had his character for a fantasy league, ugh.
- sydvaca
Zuko's Mom
GiphyAvatar: The Last Airbender totally abandons the story of Zuko's mom. I know they wrapped it up in the comics, but still they paved so much of the back story in the series and then just completely dropped it. We got a whole episode about her disappearance and everything. Also, they mention the Zukos grandfather was Avatar Roku, but aside from one line we don't learn anything else about any of that at all and it's completely irrelevant.
There's even a joke about it in the sequel, Legend of Korra. One of Tenzin's kids asks Katara what happened to Zuko's mom. Katara says something like, "Aahhhh yes, it's an amazing story, it all started when--" but she's immediately interrupted and it's never mentioned again.
Trade With Mexico
In Handmaids Tale, there's an entire episode where June learns that handmaids are going to be traded to Mexico for valuables, since Gilead's economy will only work if they trade. Gilead doesn't have anything of value but Handmaids, since they abandoned all factories and whatnot. Only this super crucial plot point gets abandoned and all we get from the episode is that June learns her husband is alive. They probably could've done more with that.
Chicago
In the failed backdoor pilot for a Supernatural spinoff called Bloodlines, it's revealed that Chicago is being run by five monster families. That just never gets mentioned again. Chicago is full of monsters! Shouldn't they be checking up on that?!
- violue
"What’s an unhealthy obsession people have?"
Schadenfreude Much?
"Love to hate."- Odd_Adhesiveness4804
Never Settle!
"Being in a relationship no matter the cost."- hibbletyjibblety
"Pointless relationships."
"Settling for less just because you think you can't be alone is not healthy."- shutyourmouf03
Aging Gracefully Always Pays Off
"People are obsessed with youth and some people will do anything to maintain its appearance."- Mad-farmer
There's So Much More Beyond Your TV Screen
"24 hour news cycles."- SuvenPan
Slow And Steady Wins The Race
"Having to be first."
"It's okay if you beat me to the pump, or if you beat me to the grocery checkout line."
"It's okay if you get to the freeway exit before me, or pull in front of me on the highway."
"I'm patient, and it's a virtue."
"Have to credit my father who taught me this."
"He was an airline captain for over 30 years who is a very patient man."
"Thanks Dad."- Look-At-The-Aliens
Humming Season 17 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphyThere Are So Many Better Ways To Be Social
"Obsession with their social media image."- knovit
Has No One Seen All About Eve?
"An obsession with everything celebrities are doing."- Streak_Free_Shine
There's A Reason Paid Vacation Days Exist!
"Work/productivity."
"Everybody needs a break, not just every once in a while, but often."- RoKe3028
To Each Their Own
"An obsession with each others lives."
"Seriously just let people live as long as they’re not hurting anyone just leave people the f*ck alone."- MiseinToxicity
"Other people's sex lives."- huiscloslaqueue
Worry About Yourself Saints And Sinners GIF by BounceGiphyIronically, Making Calls Is One The Last Things They're Used For Now...
"Their phones."
"It's one thing to keep yourself busy, it's another to never let yourself be bored."
"Being bored is important sometimes, it makes you think/helps clear your head.'
"Phones make it ridiculously easy to never let yourself get bored, to the point where it ain't healthy."- Crestego
"Being on their phone all the time, especially while driving."
"I see this literally every day, despite laws against it."
"I constantly have to honk at people sitting at green lights, because they can't possibly be inconvenienced with their own thoughts for 2 minutes sitting at a red light."- dallased25
Mistakes Are How People Learn...
"Being right all the time."- lee24k
Sheldon Cooper Rules GIF by CBSGiphyIt's very easy to scold or ridicule someone for being inordinately fond of someone or something.
However, before passing judgment, always a good idea to take a step back and examine our own behavior.
As we may be no different at all.
