A bad final season doesn’t necessarily ruin the legacy of a TV show, but it does make it impossible to consider the series perfect from beginning to end. While these shows' final seasons aren’t necessarily terrible or unwatchable, they pale in comparison to the rest of the story.When a show is good enough to commit to watching many seasons, it’s clear that it has something special,whether this is the writing, acting, or a combination of both. However, it’s the high quality of these series' early seasons that makes their later imperfection so difficult to witness.
It’s always disappointing when thefinal season of a TV show is the worst, as it’s a letdown for audiences who have dedicated years to watching their favorite characters weather the ups and downs of the story. These series are still worth watching, as their initial installments are iconic additions to their genres, but this makes the lower quality of the later seasons even more stark. Though I wouldn’t go back and stop watching before I reached the end of these shows, it’s easy to wish that they had gone out on a high note.
There aren’t many TV shows as popular and divisive asGame of Thrones,a revolutionary fantasy series that brought the genre back into the mainstream but ended with one of the most controversial final seasons in history. Based on the book series by George R.R. Martin,Game of Thronesdidn’t have a roadmap for the final seasons, as the novels had run out, leaving the writers to predict where the characters' stories might go. This worked for a while, but season 8 fell flat in more ways than one.
Game of Throneskilled off many beloved fantasy TV show characters, but it wasn’t the deaths inGame of Thronesseason 8 that were the most disappointing; it was the character arcs. Throughout the season, it felt as if all the work the characters had done to evolve and push themselves was forgotten, withbroad swings and messy action sequences failing to make up for the plot holes and confusing character choices.While there are some exciting moments in the season, it doesn’t live up to the expectations set by the show in its prime.
Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
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How I Met Your Mothershook things up in season 9, changing the format and structurethat the show had followed up to this point. With the mother’s identity revealed and Barney and Robin’s wedding on the horizon, there was a lot to look forward to throughout season 9, even if it wasn’t quite what viewers expected. However, the flaws in the final season of the show couldn’t be forgiven after the series finale undid the character development and story of the whole series.
Specifically,the finale took almost all the events of season 9 and threw them out the window,having Ted and Robin end up together. This made season 9 essentially pointless and made it incredibly frustrating to think about all the time that audiences had dedicated to the show. After waiting for years to find out the mother’s identity and see Ted get his happily ever after, season 9 makes the mystery of the story lose its potency and forces the viewer to question everything they knew aboutHow I Met Your Mother.
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WhenSex Educationfirst premiered on Netflix, it was groundbreaking in its frank discussion of sex and relationships,and its tight narrative and core characters were emotionally resonant. However, like every series set in high school, there was an inherent expiration date onSex Education. Additionally, since many of its leads quickly skyrocketed to fame following the series premiere, it became more difficult for some of the beloved characters to be prominently featured to complete their story.
The final season ofSex Educationintroduced new characters we didn’t care aboutand left many unanswered questions about the people who had anchored the show from the beginning. It wasn’t completely disappointing, but after the high bar that the early seasons ofSex Educationset, it was impossible not to feel like season 4 was a letdown. Fortunately, it’s still fun to revisit the first few installments and remember the series' initial magic.
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There have been an enormous number of medical TV shows produced over the years, and all of them try to set themselves apart through a specific angle or story type.Scrubsis a rare series that was largely a comedy but seamlessly included serious and interrogative dramathat hit home. For most fans and critics, it’s easiest to pretend thatScrubsseason 9 never happened, as it has little in common with the rest of the series in terms of quality and tone.
Scrubsseason 8 has a poignant finale that feels more like a farewell than all of season 9.
WatchingScrubsseason 9 feels like you’ve been transported to another reality, as J.D. and the other doctors take a back seat, with a new generation of interns leading the cast. While introducing a new class and shifting the focus makes sense for a series likeGrey’s Anatomy,Scrubshad been closely connected to its core group for many years, making this change unexpected and difficult to navigate. Additionally,Scrubsseason 8 has a poignant finale that feels more like a farewell than all of season 9.
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Once Upon a Timeis an example of a series with an incredible initial premise that struggled to maintain itself long-term.Once Upon a Timeproved that it could reinvent its structure and conceitmany times throughout the seasons by relying on character development and relationships. When the introduction of new and sometimes obscure fairy tale characters started to bog down the excitement and intrigue of the story,Once Upon a Timeoften rose to the occasion, but season 7 was so different that it felt like a different series.
Incorporating a time jump in any part of the TV series run is always a risk, and doing so in the final season while essentially restarting the plot from scratch was too much forOnce Upon a Timeto handle. Season 7 begins with Henry as an adult, being reunited with his daughter and most of the original cast. However, many of the most iconic characters are missing from season 7, andthe story is just a reinterpretation of plots we’ve already seen and have done better in the early years.
Following the blood path Joe has cut across the world in the darkly comic TV series,You, has been both compelling and horrifying, but Joe’s rampage has finally come to an end.It’s been a long journey sinceYoupremiered, with the show changing networks and settings, but season 5 brings us full circle, seeing Joe return to New York and face the fallout from his past. However, byYouseason 5, there were so many overlapping plot points and characters that it was difficult to keep track of them.
While it’s important that the writers and showrunners drive home the point that Joe is a true villain, I was hoping for a slightly more action-packed conclusion to the story.
Joe’s fate in theYouseason 5 endingis satisfying in some ways, but the final season as a whole was a little messy. The conceit of the series had to be upended and subverted in the final installment for it to work, but this means that the show loses some of what has made it so special. While it’s important that the writers and showrunners drive home the point that Joe is a true villain, I was hoping for a slightly more action-packed conclusion to the story.
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It came as a shock when the hit BBC TV showSherlockannounced it was coming back for a fourth and final season,as the finale of season 3 had felt like an appropriate closure. It had been a long time since the series had first premiered, and the excitement of being a modern spin on a classic story had worn off. Additionally,Sherlockhad already adapted some of the best work by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so season 4 lost all connection to the original spirit of the series.
Where the series used to be a logical, if slightly exaggerated, sequence of thrilling cases and steady character development,Sherlockbecame pure fantasy by the final season.Since it had been on the air for so long and had generated a large fan base, it became considered a cultural moment. However, this resulted in self-consciousness and too many metatextual winks at the audience throughout season 4. Compared to the iconic debut,Sherlockwas practically unrecognizable.
One of the most iconic recent additions to the vampire genre,The Vampire Diaries, has proven itself to be an enduring and beloved supernatural teen drama, standing the test of time reasonably well. In the early seasons, especially,The Vampire Diarieswas innovative, romantic, thrilling, and everything a fantasy series should be. However, the conceit of the show started to get repetitive by the final seasons, and after Nina Dobrev’s exit, it was clear things were going downhill.
There was still fantasy and excitement leading up to season 8, butthe last installment felt more like a rehash of the relationships and development that had already been establishedin the previous seasons. Not without some poignant emotional moments,The Vampire Diariesseason 8 concluded quietly, without too much additional drama, letting its spinoffs take up the mantle of mystery and intrigue. It’s still worth watchingThe Vampire Diariestoday, but there’s an argument to be made that it lost its magic by the end.
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Whether or not you consider the final season ofGilmore Girls, season 7, orA Year in the Life, both additions to the series' canon were largely controversial. After going through the ups and downs of Lorelai and Rory’s lives for six years,Gilmore Girlslost its writer and creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino,in the final season, and the difference in quality is obvious. Without Sherman-Palladino, the series lost its edge, and it was impossible not to compare the season to the show’s heyday.
Conversely,A Year in the Lifewas Sherman-Palladino’s answer to complaints about season 7, but it still left fans uncertain about what to think about the series' ultimate message. BothA Year in the Lifeand season 7 includeGilmore Girlsstorylines that the show could’ve done without, altering some of the carefully set-up character development from the early years. Whileit’s worth finding out what happens to Lorelai and Rory in the end,when I rewatch the series, I often skip the final installments.
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