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Summary
- Some beloved TV shows have lost viewers and suffered a decline in quality due to poorly received episodes and unresolved storylines.
- Examples include Lost’s “Stranger in a Strange Land,” The Simpsons’ “The Principal and the Pauper,” and The Walking Dead’s “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be.”
- These episodes disappointed viewers with lack of resolution, lazy writing, excessive violence, and undermining of beloved characters, leading to a loss of interest and abandonment of the shows.
Some beloved television series, from The Walking Dead to Game of Thrones, have produced episodes so upsetting, or just plain terrible, that many stopped watching altogether. This typically occurs when TV shows continue for too long, are hoping to stretch their story out for another season, or even suffer the loss of a key cast member. It can also happen when a popular show loses track of what made it good in the first place.
There have been many divisive season finales in televisual history. However, it is rare for an episode midway through a season to be so roundly rejected by audiences that they altogether abandon the show. That said, there are a few examples where even some of the best TV shows of all time rapidly lost viewers before the season’s conclusion thanks to some of the worst TV episodes ever.
11 “Stranger In A Strange Land” – Lost
After maintaining respectable viewing figures over its initial two seasons, Lost suffered a major blow to ratings after season 3, episode 9, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” The episode teased several major revelations in its promos but failed to actually deliver on them. “Stranger in a Strange Land” became indicative of the whole series, constantly setting up more mysteries rather than resolving the current ones. In fact, the episode was so poorly received, that it prompted showrunner Damon Lindelof to set an end date for the series, but for many this was too little too late. Jaded by the lack of resolutions proffered, many viewers gave up.
10 “The Principal And The Pauper” – The Simpsons
The Simpsons season 9, episode 2, “The Principal and the Pauper,” is widely considered the episode that signaled the end of The Simpson‘s “Golden Age.” Revealing that Principal Skinner was an impostor divided fans, particularly after nine years of fairly robust character development and backstory. This was particularly compounded by the deus ex machina ending, wherein every character simply chose to forget Skinner’s secret. This meant all these revelations had become redundant and a waste of time. Many found this ending lazy and ultimately became disillusioned with a series that would undermine their favorite characters on a whim and then provide such a poor resolution.
9 “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be” – The Walking Dead
After following the exploits of several characters throughout The Walking Dead, audiences developed a strong connection to Glen Rhee (Steven Yeun). Many were therefore heartbroken by his brutal death in season 8, episode 1 “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be.” Audiences and critics thought the scene depicting Glenn’s death in The Walking Dead went too far in its graphic portrayal, seemingly relishing in the protracted and vicious violence simply to match a famous moment from the comic book. Glen’s death was a turning point for the show, especially because the buildup to Negan’s arrival never really paid off.
8 “The List” – The Office
Losing a main character from a hit sitcom will never be easy, but The Office initially seemed capable of continuing after star Steve Carell left. The three episodes that concluded season 7 appeared to maintain the standard of previous seasons, and the lack of Carell’s Michael Scott felt somewhat managed. By season 8, however, this perception had changed. Though season 8, episode 1, “The List,” received reasonably positive reviews, for many, there wasn’t a show without Michael Scott. Resultantly, The Office lost a lot of its charm, and then a lot of its viewers.
7 “Sona” – Prison Break
After two seasons of Prison Break, audiences were overjoyed when Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) actually escaped from prison. Their plan had been depicted and built up, in meticulous detail, since the very first episode of Prison Break. It therefore felt like quite an affront, when they both returned to prison in season 2, episode 22, “Sona.” Audiences felt this was not adequately justified in the episode and was clearly an attempt to elongate the narrative for future seasons. It also made everything that happened throughout seasons 1 and 2 entirely redundant, and watching it was a waste of time.
6 “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” – Game Of Thrones
Game of Thrones has several infamous scenes that made their audiences squirm, but one in particular prompted many to abandon the series entirely. Season 5, episode 6, “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” depicted a sexual assault on Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), which did not happen in the books. While some praised the performances, others criticized the episode for being too graphic, uncomfortable to watch, and completely unnecessary. It is almost sadistic in its brutality, and after observing Sansa be victimized for so long, many viewers felt Game of Thrones was now too bleak to engage with.
5 “Moving On” – House M.D.
Hugh Laurie’s performance as Dr. Gregory House was highly praised for subtly weaving a balance of uncaring misanthrope and tragic victim. Underneath his cruelty, however, House was always portrayed as a good man. House M.D. season 7, episode 23, “Moving On,” completely undermined this, and as a result lost many viewers. After his break-up with Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), House drives his car into her living room window, endangering several lives. The scene itself is ridiculously melodramatic, but more importantly, it destroys any notion that House had a good heart. Additionally, this was Edelstein’s last episode, and many felt the subsequent seasons suffered without her.
4 “Goodbye” – Glee
With a high school setting, characters in Glee were bound to one day graduate and leave the series – particularly when you consider its longevity. That said, it shouldn’t have surprised audiences, or the writers, that several main characters would be leaving in Glee season 3, episode 22, “Goodbye.” After the episode aired, however, many still felt the ending was rushed, with many central storylines still left unresolved, or concluded very hastily. This led to a steep drop-off in viewership, with fans reeling from the loss of key characters and cautious about building a relationship with the next generation.
3 “The Exodus: Part 2” – Sliders
Part-way through the third season of hit the science-fiction series Sliders, all was not well behind the scenes. Tensions arose between the writers and one of its stars, John Rhys-Davies – who played fan-favorite Professor Maximilian Arturo. Ultimately firing Rhys-Davies, the Professor was killed off rather unceremoniously in season 3, episode 17, “Exodus: Part 2”. Viewers did not respond well to this, many of whom considered Rhy-Davies a particular highlight of the show, with his replacement unable to adequately compensate for his departure. Indeed, the subsequent seasons were never quite able to recapture the magic of the early seasons.
2 “Four Months Later…” – Heroes
After a highly successful first season, Heroes was set for a triumphant return with season 2, episode 1, “Four Months Later…” Many were eager to witness the events which followed season 1’s dramatic finale but were soon disappointed. Right from the beginning, the new season felt detached from the previous one, and it opted to set up a swathe of new storylines and characters, rather than focus entirely on the established, and now beloved, original characters. The shift felt very noticeable, and viewers quickly felt less enthusiastic about continuing the series.
1 “The Abominable Bride” – Sherlock
Sherlock was one of the most popular television series of its time, with each season almost constituting a televisual event. The 2016 special, “The Abominable Bride,” reoriented the series into a Victorian setting, with a rather flimsy hallucination premise. The episode featured the deceased antagonist, Moriarty, and seemingly wanted to shoehorn the episode into the wider narrative without proffering a resolution to the previous episode’s cliffhanger. Instead, all the special demonstrated was that Sherlock couldn’t move on from Moriarty, and unwittingly encouraged viewers to disregard the subsequent season. It is unfortunate, but Sherlock, like many other television shows, produced an episode so bad, that it hurt the entire show.
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