10+ TV Characters Who Should Have Gotten Redemption Arcs

Sometimes it can be fun imagining what might have been. To reflect and wonder the outcomes of roads not taken. Much the same can be said about TV and our favorite characters as well: how might some of them have turn out?

Some came close to fulfilling their potential, only to have it dashed to pieces before our very eyes.

Prepare to get nostalgic when you see these 10+ TV characters who almost had redemption arcs but didn’t.

Marissa Cooper in *The O.C.

Why did they have to kill off Marissa? I mean really, what point did it serve?

Her bad decisions weren’t the reflection fo a bad person; she deserved better than what she got.

Brody in Homeland.

Homeland tried to go all Game of Thrones on us and kill off their main character. Unfortunately for Homeland , the remaining supporting cast couldn’t carry the weight.

I would have loved to have seen Brody pay his debt and ride off into the sunset.

Enzo The Vampire Diaries.

You just couldn’t give us a happy ending, could you The Vampire Diaries ?

Just when Enzo and Bonnie were so close to finally reaching their happily ever after, you go and kill him off.

Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things.

I like to think of Billy as more of an anti-hero and less of a villain. That’s the direction I saw his character going.

The Duffer Brothers, however, clearly had different ideas.

Sebastian Smythe in Glee.

I forgot that Grant Gustin was in Glee ! Suffice it to say that the world’s fastest man could have benefited from some extra screen time.

Sebastian had unlimited character potential.

Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl.

Why would you go through all the trouble of turning Carter from the show’s villain into a viable love interest for Serena, only to completely and totally abandon his character altogether?

Nicki in One Tree Hill

One Tree Hill seemed determined to turn Nicki into some Disney witch caricature of herself.

It would have been so great to see what things might have looked like if she was given the chance to co-parent with Jake.

Chuck Clayton in Riverdale

Riverdale wasn’t exactly what I’d call an inclusive place for characters of color. Yes, Chuck had a lot to atone for after season 1.

But he was genuine about wanting to make amends! Why not give him a shot?

Rachel Gatina in One Tree Hill.

I’m not arguing that Rachel was the most beloved TV character of all time. Far from it in fact.

But she deserved more than to go out as a gold-digging monster.

Dexter Morgan in Dexter.

This was maybe the biggest and greatest character betrayal in the history of television. Having Dexter run away, abandoning his son and all his loved ones, was nothing short of cowardly and lazy.

I’m still not over it.

Vanessa Abrams in Gossip Girl.

Say what you will about Vanessa, she was unquestionably one of Dan’s most loyal friends.

Yes, she was basically a demon on wheels to everyone else around her. But they could have done so much more with her character!

Tristan Dugray in Gilmore Girls.

Gilmore Girls screwed up doubly bad with this one. Once for not seizing the initial character opportunity that they had to show Tristan’s evolution.

Then again for recasting Chad Michael Murray with Anton Narinskiy.

Jimmy/Steve in Shameless.

Ugh! Shameless is so beyond frustrating. What was once one of the greatest shows on television slowly became a shadow of its former self.

The Jimmy/Steve situation was at the root of its downfall.

Haley Dunphy in Modern Family.

Haley Dunphy did a complete 360 as far as her character development is concerned. She was on such a great path and becoming a strong independent woman.