Everyone has experienced the downfall of a TV show they once loved, whether it was due to the series being canceled, behind-the-scenes drama, or a steep decline in writing quality over the seasons. While shows like Game of Thrones and Supernatural may be the first to come to mind for fantasy TV lovers, there are far more examples in this category that aren't discussed nearly as much as they deserve.
So, when Reddit user u/kalsaloser asked for examples of "good TV shows that got ruined by the last season/last episode," the responses came flooding in. The examples brought up in the thread ranged from '90s classics to modern hit shows, and people did not hold back about how much these endings stuck with them (in the worst ways). These were some of the top responses:
Note: Responses were also pulled from this thread, this thread, this thread, and this thread. Also, ***MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!***
1. "The Boys, of course. Well, obviously not only ruined by its final episode, but rather by its final season, and the final episode was the last nail."
2. "Stranger Things. Season 1 was great. Season 2 was alright, but felt too similar to Season 1. It laid a solid foundation, so it’ll always have my respect. Season 3 was the GOAT. Season 4 was honestly great. Wasn’t really thrilled about Hopper and Joyce's arc, but didn’t hate it. Eddie shredding in the Upside Down is top-tier. Ends so fuckin' good, too, best cliffhanger I’ve watched in years. Season 5…oh boy. Retconning Season 4’s ending off-screen was a terrible choice. I enjoyed Will getting powers and his clunky-as-f **k coming-out scene. Felt on brand for him. I like the Abyss’ Flesh Flayer’s physical form being a base for Vecna. Also, Vecna being manipulated since early childhood is great. His REFUSING to leave Mind Flayer was…perfect, honestly. Everything else was lowkey awful."
3. "The latest entry on this list, and the one that qualifies the most, in my opinion, is Shameless. The last three seasons were terrible, with the last one being especially bad. But the ending was indescribably bad. Frank floating up to heaven on a bar stool with a never-ending glass of beer, really?"
4. "I think Yellowstone is well past a craptastic final season and possibly an even worse series finale."
5. "House of Cards was incredible…right up until the final season. Once they got rid of Kevin Spacey, the show died. Frank Underwood is an iconic and incredible character, and despite the real-life circumstances surrounding it, getting rid of him so abruptly and cobbling together a final season just killed it. Spacey nailed that role."
6. "Killing Eve had been going downhill every season, but the final episode truly was an epic failure that completely buried the series for fans."
7. "Merlin! I loved that show, and the finale was such a shocker. I really couldn't get that ending out of my head for quite some time. I couldn't believe that was it! It was a really rushed and sad ending, which spoiled what was otherwise a great show."
8. "Prison Break. Completely unnecessary to do a fifth season. Considering how awful Season 4 was, the ending with the grave, which is then fully explained in The Final Break TV movie, was absolutely fine. All loose ends were tied up. Then, doing Season 5 to unravel the big ending and find out he was alive all along is absolutely ridiculous."
9. "I had given up on The Walking Dead, but I decided to power through the last few seasons when I heard the series was ending, only to realize the finale was being used to set up numerous spin-offs. There was no conclusion, and they introduced new elements (like zombies getting smarter) that would only pay off if you watched the spin-offs. I was so mad that I haven’t watched any of the spin-offs and have no desire to ever rewatch the series."
10. "Charmed. They had to rush the final season to wrap the story because the producers and showrunners knew Season 8 would be the final season due to the UPN-The WB network merger. Season 9 became infeasible due to high production costs, the prioritization of new shows, expiring cast contracts, and low viewership, so the show was canceled. Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano said they'd all decided to depart the series anyway after production on the final season wrapped, but the open-ended conclusion of the series set it up for spinoff or reboot iterations rather than a proper sendoff, which felt rushed and anticlimactic."
11. "Dexter is the answer, in my opinion. This show was a legit hit. It made its way into water-cooler culture. If it had ended at Season 4, I genuinely think it would be talked about as a great. Hell, even after Season 7, I bet it is still mostly beloved, but with a weak back half. Nobody ever talks about it anymore except to say how badly it ended."
12. "The Man in the High Castle. An entire series' lore was ignored to tack on a deus ex machina, feel-good ending that made almost no sense in the context of the show."
13. "The finale of Manifest basically undid everything we'd come to know and many of the characters we'd come to care about."
14. "Battlestar Galactica (2004). The show was never perfect, and it's clear neither the writers nor the Cylons had a plan after Season 1. I personally disliked the religious plotline, but it was still a good watch. The ending, however, made the entire series a shaggy-dog story."
15. "The 100 could have been one of the greatest survival shows ever. But they completely ruined it at the end with terrible ideas that didn't match the amazing beginning."
16. "Star Trek: Enterprise. The final episode, which follows a two-parter (Demons/Terra Prime) that is one of the best stories in the entire franchise, is such a piece of crap that fans pretend it doesn't exist. It's less of a send-off than a f**k you to the fans from Rick Berman."
17. "Xena. I wanted a 'ride into the sunset with your girl' moment, but I got the freaking opposite."
18. "The Umbrella Academy. The show was inconsistent but fun throughout. The final season, though, every single decision was terrible. Entirely unsatisfying. Time was dedicated to pointless and weird side stories that added nothing and, at worst, were actively unpleasant and uncomfortable. It had no consistent theme or moral; it felt dismissive of every single character and their potential or growth from previous seasons. Genuinely staggering how awful it was."
19. "Roseanne (the original series). That final episode, hell, that final season should be stricken from the record books, but that finale was just a huge 'fart in church,' as the old saying goes."
20. "The Blacklist. The last two seasons were going down the drain, but the finale itself was just awful."
21. "In the Dark was a fantastic show about a blind girl who decided to investigate who killed her friend. Without spoiling anything, the ending was so bad it retroactively ruined the entire show for me. I never would’ve started watching it if I had known that’s where it would end up."
22. "Lucifer. The final season was terrible, especially the ending. The whole storyline with Rory was unnecessary."
23. "Weeds. Jumping forward eight years for the final double episode just didn't work, especially given what they showed happening in the intervening years. They didn't need to make that jump to give the characters the potential to finally get rich."
24. And lastly, "The Apprentice (US). Leaving the host free to pursue other career options was the worst decision in TV history."
So, do you agree that these shows were ruined by their final seasons or episodes? Did we miss any other examples? Let us know in the comments or submit them anonymously via the form below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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