Saw a similar post today that made me think, what was the worst in-show explanation for a character exit (after the actor left the series)?

Anything is probably better than Shameless straight up not even mentioning Fiona in the finale.

Alex Karev in Grey’s Anatomy might be one of the worst. It’s not THE worst but the fact the character just exists in faceless letters is so weird - especially for a 15 season run of that character.

Alex Kamal in The Expanse is probably one of the best.

I honestly hated how they wrote Carl out of The Walking Dead. Having him die off-screen after getting bitten just sucked, based on the fact that he was the one telling the story in the comics. They seemed to be putting Judith in that position (after she died as an infant in the comics), but really didn't.

I know people hated Carl for years, but the character should have made it to the end.

I also hated Rick leaving the show early, although I don't fault Andrew Lincoln for wanting to be home with his family more, and at least he got his finale with the spinoff. Carl got screwed.

On 11/16/2025 at 9:24 AM, Ben Kendrick said:

Alex Karev in Grey’s Anatomy might be one of the worst. It’s not THE worst but the fact the character just exists in faceless letters is so weird - especially for a 15 season run of that character.

This is terrible for another reason, too. He left his wife in the same way that Izzy left him. Anyone who felt sorry for him after what Izzy did could only shake their head at him doing the same thing to Jo.

9 minutes ago, Shawn Lealos said:

This is terrible for another reason, too. He left his wife in the same way that Izzy left him. Anyone who felt sorry for him after what Izzy did could only shake their head at him doing the same thing to Jo.

Ha! So true. A total full-circle moment in all the worst ways.

Doakes in Dexter comes to mind, the show never really recovered in giving him an actual antagonist after that

Remember when the whole show was low-key centering around him?

yeah, that went nowhere.

13 hours ago, saperry said:

Doakes in Dexter comes to mind, the show never really recovered in giving him an actual antagonist after that

Oh man, that's so true. So much so that we've gotten at least 2 or 3 post-death "Surprise Motherfucker" cameos. He was so good.

Having Bobbi and Hunter be written out of a beautiful episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., only for the spinoff to get cancelled, was devastating. It made whatever reason they were leaving completely irrelevant because there was no follow-up.

I keep coming back to Karev in Grey's.

Or, honestly, almost any character in Grey's since that show is really weird with how it gets rid of people, but Karev still makes me mad.

In my opinion, Dawn is one of the worst-written characters in a TV show. She worked for the season she was introduced in and gave Buffy the Vampire Slayer a major twist, but after that she just became… meh. And don’t get me wrong, I love Michelle Trachtenberg (may she rest in peace) and adored her in Gossip Girl, but in Buffy, after her introduction season, her character became pretty much irrelevant. The final season proved it: Dawn was just there, neither good nor bad, just… there.