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23 Bad TV Character Storylines
23 Bad TV Character Storylines

Buzz Feed

time2 days ago

  • Entertainment
  • Buzz Feed

23 Bad TV Character Storylines

We recently asked the members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what storyline completely ruined a TV character's growth. Here's what they said: When Ginny became more like her mother on Ginny & Georgia. "Ginny started off kind and a bit unsuspecting. She was always headstrong and had issues, but had a likable vulnerability. Then she became almost menacing. She started to treat Maxine (her supposed best friend) terribly, lied to her dad over and over, manipulated Simone, blackmailed Cynthia, hated Paul without knowing the whole story, and although Gil was an abuser, setting him up as a murderer was just diabolical because he really did love Austin. Poor Austin was just a ploy in her web of lies. Even Georgia realized that she was becoming different. Ginny was becoming Georgia."—vibrantshield91 When Miranda cheated on Steve in And Just Like That. "On SATC, Miranda was the anti-romantic who fell in and out of love with Steve. Her being a lawyer and his being a bartender and later bar owner were worlds apart, yet in real life, love doesn't know anything but love. In the first movie, Steve confessed to cheating, which ruined Carrie and Big's initial wedding day. Continuing with AJLT, Miranda cheated on Steve with Che, Carrie's boss. Seeing Miranda as a person who disrespected her marriage with cheating and chasing Che made her look desperate and whiny, not to mention a hypocrite. Miranda is so cringe now, I can't stand her. The fun, sarcastic Miranda is gone and replaced by someone else. I wonder if, at some point, Miranda had a lobotomy."—Anonymous When Eric cheated on Adam in Sex Education. "He effed up their whole relationship, which will never fail to infuriate me."—famousphone424 When Fiona let Liam get into her drugs, which almost killed him on Shameless. "I was done with her and the show after that."—creepster When Michael turned out to be alive on Jane the Virgin, but had amnesia. "It just absolutely ruined his character. I'm not over." —emwren When Olivia Pope became head of B613 on Scandal. "She was always a strong, independent woman who did what was right (well, most of the time). She spent three seasons trying to end B613, and in the last season, she became the head of B613 and became everything that she hated."—itsmeshahbano When Quinn was obsessed with getting Beth back in Glee. "Everything about it was so wrong. Also, PUCK HOOKING UP WITH RACHEL'S (AND BETH'S) MOM was horrible. That whole part of the season just ruined so many characters."—Anonymous When Topanga turned down a scholarship to Yale so she could be with Cory in Boy Meets World. —sf4581 When Haley got back together with Dylan on Modern Family. "Haley going back to Dylan was definitely one of the worst because she had grown so much."—rbd89 When Spike attempted to rape Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "That was a very bad decision."—matdyjames When Debbie tricked her boyfriend into getting her pregnant at 15 on Shameless. "She was doing so well before that, then she just became trash."—A_Panda When Rory dropped out of Yale on Gilmore Girls. "She stole a boat, dropped out of Yale, lived with her grandmother, and ignored Lorelai for months because one guy told her she didn't have what it took to be a journalist. That's something you do when you're 15, not when you're 20."—s463b03bd4 When Jaime left Brienne for Cersei in Season 8 of Game of Thrones. "When he said he did everything for Cersei, it didn't make sense because it was established in previous seasons that he did what he did for the people and saved millions of lives. It completely ruined his character arc and I pretend the last two seasons never happened."—districtrue When Andy sailed away on the boat without Erin on The Office. "I have no idea why they took his character in that direction. I can't believe how he treated Erin by leaving her to be on the boat and all the lying he did to Robert California to cover his own ass. The whole series he was portrayed as caring (if sometimes incompetent) to his coworkers and then he randomly did that. He did have an anger issue when his job was stolen, but it made sense because a total stranger stole his job! They just randomly turned him into this selfish person for no reason who only cared about himself."—irwhite1993 When Danny's regressed to a sexist jerk on The Mindy Project. "He was always super supportive of Mindy and proud of her work as a doctor but then as soon as they had the baby, he started gaslighting her, tried to trick her into getting pregnant again and generally shaming her for wanting to keep her job!"—sunshine193 Everything Sabrina Spellman did in Seasons 3 and 4 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. "She used to be a smart, ambitious, independent and likeable character in the beginning. She even defied her father, the devil, by refusing to rule Hell with him. In Season 3, she became OBSESSED with ruling Hell and made the most selfish decisions, like creating a cheap clone of herself to rule Hell, no matter who she hurt in the process."—a402635290 When Anya started doing coke on Degrassi: The Next Generation. "I quit watching Degrassi (after YEARS) immediately after the shot of Anya doing coke at a club. Anya? ANYA? Student Council Anya? Cheerleader Anya? Anya who had a HUGE falling out with Holly J. because Holly J. was always forcing her into bad situations and getting them in trouble? LARPer Anya?? Nope, NOPE, do not buy it."—chelseajack When Toby leaked classified information on The West Wing. "He leaked classified information on a military space program so the US would be forced to send help to some stranded astronauts. It was so out of character for him and it was heavily implied that he was covering for someone else like CJ. Not only did it completely blow up his storyline by forcing him out of the White House, but he turned into a total ass afterward."—annpricot When Guzman became a classist jerk again on Season 4 of Elite. "The show had him go from a dumb jerk to a better man to make his growth part of his journey. Alas, they erased said growth by making him a dumb jerk again to make the Guzman, Ari, and Samu love triangle work."—superkay When Schmidt cheated on Cece and Elizabeth by dating them both at the same time. "I couldn't get past it."—kthomas8836 When Cordelia slept with Angel's son Connor on Angel. "From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Angel we watched her go from a spoiled teenage girl to a wonderful strong, caring young woman, only for her to turn evil and sleep with Angel's son. She got 'pregnant' by Connor, went into a coma and died. It was an unforgivable character assassination. Cordelia deserved better!"—itsspeltpauline And finally, wjem Alex Karev left Jo and Meredith to get back together with Izzie on Grey's Anatomy. "Alex Karev's departure from Grey's Anatomy was utter, utter rubbish. Look, I understand that the actor wanted to leave to pursue other projects, fair enough. However, they didn't have to ruin his character in the process, but my god, did they ruin all of that wonderful character development and growth and then some."—ravenbard"Why create one of the best character developments in TV HISTORY only to have him backtrack and exit the show how he did."—Anonymous"It ruined 16 seasons of character development."—Anonymous What's a storyline that ruined a TV character? Tell us in the comments or use the anonymous form below.

Corridors of Opportunity: Europe and Africa Pave the Way Together
Corridors of Opportunity: Europe and Africa Pave the Way Together

The Star

time7 days ago

  • Business
  • The Star

Corridors of Opportunity: Europe and Africa Pave the Way Together

Paul Riembault | Published 3 hours ago Transport corridors are among the most powerful engines for economic transformation. In Europe, every euro invested in the continent's Trans-European Transport Network has been estimated to return four euros in GDP. The same – or even greater - potential exists in Africa – if investments are focused and coordinated. That's according to Paul Riembault of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) at the European Commission. Speaking at the 43rd Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) on 10 July, Riembault explored how Africa could leverage the European Union's long and complex corridor development experience. He encouraged African institutions, planners and financiers to continue their coordinated approach to corridor development – and to consider Europe's successes as well as challenges in transforming fragmented infrastructure into the backbone of a thriving single market. 'Transport corridors are not just about roads and rails,' Riembault told delegates. 'They're about unlocking integration, intra-African trade, and regional prosperity.' What sets Europe's TEN-T model apart is its data-driven, criteria-based approach. Corridors are not selected arbitrarily or through purely political negotiation. Instead, they are based on criteria or even hard data: e.g. ports handling more than 33 million tonnes of freight annually – corresponding to 1% of total EU freight -, cities with over one million inhabitants, capital cities and strategic industrial zones. These 'core nodes' anchor each multimodal corridor. 'In a Union of 27 Member States, it's natural that national interests may diverge,' Riembault said. 'Hence, a strong common framework serves as protection against shifting political priorities and pet projects ' Currently, TEN-T consists of nine multimodal corridors, supported by harmonised regulations in road safety, rail electrification, axle loads, rail signalling systems, and even ticketing interoperability. Infrastructure is just one layer – governance, standardisation and financing form the others. 'Without harmonisation, corridors become patchworks. We learned that the hard way in Europe. Interoperability should start from day one.' Riembault outlined Europe's difficult past – a continent once divided by war, incompatible rail gauges, and isolated national railway systems. 'Europe's map was built to divide, not connect,' he noted. But from the wreckage of conflict came the political will to unite, and with that will came the need for infrastructure that reflected integration. Corridors in Europe, he explained, were not the starting point but the outcome of political alignment. The EU's single market project created the demand for connectivity, and the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) emerged to meet that demand. Riembault's presentation also highlighted how the EU is applying the approach of concentrating investment through the Global Gateway initiative – the EU's global investment strategy, which prioritises energy, digital and transport infrastructure. Through Global Gateway, the EU has identified a shortlist of African corridors – aligned with African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Community (REC) priorities – where it is focusing its transport funding between 2021 and 2027. 'The goal is not to duplicate Africa's frameworks like the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) or the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),' he said. 'The goal is to support them strategically and at scale.' More than €1.5 billion (about R30 billion) in grants have already been earmarked to African corridor development under the Global Gateway initiative, with many projects supported through blended financing that combines EU grants with loans and private capital. Among the flagship investments is the Maputo–Walvis Bay rail corridor, where upgrades in Mozambique are set to significantly boost freight capacity. In Dakar, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has been rolled out, featuring over 120 electric buses and dedicated lanes to enhance urban mobility and reduce emissions. Meanwhile, in Lagos, the OMI EKO water transport project should improve connectivity along the Abidjan–Lagos corridor by expanding ferry services and infrastructure to better serve the region's rapidly growing population. In addition to physical infrastructure, the EU is funding soft measures such as trade facilitation, customs reform, axle load regulations, and corridor governance frameworks. The session, which brought together representatives and experts from the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, the United Nations, the World Bank, and German cooperation, concluded with a vibrant discussion around a central question: Is it time to develop a more robust, African continental framework for corridor development? This would not replace existing initiatives, but rather add a layer of consistency – shared criteria, common standards, and cross-border monitoring. 'Africa doesn't need to copy Europe,' Riembault said. 'But it can draw on key lessons that fit its context' The EU, he added, stands ready to support African partners in shaping corridors that are modern, multimodal and resilient. 'This is Africa's corridor moment, the continent can transform transport corridors into economic lifelines,' he concluded. Paul Riembault from the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships

Corridors of Opportunity: Europe and Africa Pave the Way Together
Corridors of Opportunity: Europe and Africa Pave the Way Together

IOL News

time7 days ago

  • Business
  • IOL News

Corridors of Opportunity: Europe and Africa Pave the Way Together

Transport corridors are among the most powerful engines for economic transformation. Image: Supplied Transport corridors are among the most powerful engines for economic transformation. In Europe, every euro invested in the continent's Trans-European Transport Network has been estimated to return four euros in GDP. The same – or even greater - potential exists in Africa – if investments are focused and coordinated. That's according to Paul Riembault of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) at the European Commission. Speaking at the 43rd Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) on 10 July, Riembault explored how Africa could leverage the European Union's long and complex corridor development experience. He encouraged African institutions, planners and financiers to continue their coordinated approach to corridor development – and to consider Europe's successes as well as challenges in transforming fragmented infrastructure into the backbone of a thriving single market. 'Transport corridors are not just about roads and rails,' Riembault told delegates. 'They're about unlocking integration, intra-African trade, and regional prosperity.' A criteria-based approach to planning What sets Europe's TEN-T model apart is its data-driven, criteria-based approach. Corridors are not selected arbitrarily or through purely political negotiation. Instead, they are based on criteria or even hard data: e.g. ports handling more than 33 million tonnes of freight annually – corresponding to 1% of total EU freight -, cities with over one million inhabitants, capital cities and strategic industrial zones. These 'core nodes' anchor each multimodal corridor. 'In a Union of 27 Member States, it's natural that national interests may diverge,' Riembault said. 'Hence, a strong common framework serves as protection against shifting political priorities and pet projects ' Currently, TEN-T consists of nine multimodal corridors, supported by harmonised regulations in road safety, rail electrification, axle loads, rail signalling systems, and even ticketing interoperability. Infrastructure is just one layer – governance, standardisation and financing form the others. 'Without harmonisation, corridors become patchworks. We learned that the hard way in Europe. Interoperability should start from day one.' From fragmentation to connectivity Riembault outlined Europe's difficult past – a continent once divided by war, incompatible rail gauges, and isolated national railway systems. 'Europe's map was built to divide, not connect,' he noted. But from the wreckage of conflict came the political will to unite, and with that will came the need for infrastructure that reflected integration. Corridors in Europe, he explained, were not the starting point but the outcome of political alignment. The EU's single market project created the demand for connectivity, and the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) emerged to meet that demand. Global Gateway: Investment approach in Africa Riembault's presentation also highlighted how the EU is applying the approach of concentrating investment through the Global Gateway initiative – the EU's global investment strategy, which prioritises energy, digital and transport infrastructure. Through Global Gateway, the EU has identified a shortlist of African corridors – aligned with African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Community (REC) priorities – where it is focusing its transport funding between 2021 and 2027. 'The goal is not to duplicate Africa's frameworks like the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) or the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),' he said. 'The goal is to support them strategically and at scale.' More than €1.5 billion (about R30 billion) in grants have already been earmarked to African corridor development under the Global Gateway initiative, with many projects supported through blended financing that combines EU grants with loans and private capital. Among the flagship investments is the Maputo–Walvis Bay rail corridor, where upgrades in Mozambique are set to significantly boost freight capacity. In Dakar, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has been rolled out, featuring over 120 electric buses and dedicated lanes to enhance urban mobility and reduce emissions. Meanwhile, in Lagos, the OMI EKO water transport project should improve connectivity along the Abidjan–Lagos corridor by expanding ferry services and infrastructure to better serve the region's rapidly growing population. In addition to physical infrastructure, the EU is funding soft measures such as trade facilitation, customs reform, axle load regulations, and corridor governance frameworks. A call for a common framework The session, which brought together representatives and experts from the African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, the United Nations, the World Bank, and German cooperation, concluded with a vibrant discussion around a central question: Is it time to develop a more robust, African continental framework for corridor development? This would not replace existing initiatives, but rather add a layer of consistency – shared criteria, common standards, and cross-border monitoring. 'Africa doesn't need to copy Europe,' Riembault said. 'But it can draw on key lessons that fit its context' The EU, he added, stands ready to support African partners in shaping corridors that are modern, multimodal and resilient. 'This is Africa's corridor moment, the continent can transform transport corridors into economic lifelines,' he concluded. Paul Riembault from the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships

Now 'AJLT' Is Just Gaslighting Us About Carrie's Awful Novel
Now 'AJLT' Is Just Gaslighting Us About Carrie's Awful Novel

Time​ Magazine

time11-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Time​ Magazine

Now 'AJLT' Is Just Gaslighting Us About Carrie's Awful Novel

For those of us who have stopped worrying and learned to love And Just Like That, the absurdity of the Sex and the City sequel is part of the fun. Over the course of three seasons, we've guffawed our way through Mr. Big's death by Peloton, basked in the pure cringe of Miranda's romance with Che Diaz, and stanned Charlotte and Harry's dorky The Americans standom. Just a few episodes ago, we indulged shoe-maven-slash-ankle-masochist Carrie's refusal to remove her stilettos at home after incurring the wrath of her downstairs-neighbor-slash-inevitable-love-interest, Duncan Reeves. But in Thursday's seventh episode of Season 3, AJLT crossed the fine line separating the willing suspension of belief from full-on gaslighting. All season, Carrie—a recovering sex columnist, erstwhile podcaster, and sometime memoirist—has been dabbling in historical fiction. Episodes are often framed by Sarah Jessica Parker's voiceover, in a callback to SATC's quippy narration, reading snippets of the novel that mirror her character's own life. They are bad. Which isn't necessarily a problem; as the 'I couldn't help but wonder' meme demonstrates, we all know Carrie is a hack. No, what finally finished me on this subplot was this week's exchange of manuscripts with Duncan, a highbrow biographer. His rhapsodic response to her pages destroys any illusion we might've had that Carrie's stilted prose is an inside joke between the show's writers and its audience. Apparently, we're supposed to believe the novel is good. The episode opens with a distressed Carrie showing up at Duncan's door. 'I hate you,' she tells him. 'Your first chapter is thrilling. It's polished and it's ready to publish and how am I supposed to hand you my work-in-progress now?' But, of course, she finds the courage. And by the time she visits him again, to deliver a (rude) last-minute party invitation, he's devoured it. The verdict: 'It's brilliant.' (I mean, sure, it may well be publishable, given the success of language manglers like Colleen Hoover and E.L. James. Brilliant, though?) 'The opening sentence: 'The woman wondered what she had gotten herself into.' It just stopped me dead in my tracks.' (Same. But only because it reminded me of every formulaic 'attention-grabbing' intro from every undergrad creative writing workshop since the beginning of time.) As for the plot? 'The way it flows is so propulsive.' (We wouldn't know; AJLT only gives us the vibey, introspective passages.) Now, maybe Duncan is trying to flatter his way into Carrie's conveniently nearby bed. He seems too prideful for that, though. (That said, his whole deal makes little sense to me. He comes to one of the most expensive, not to mention distracting, cities in the world just because he doesn't know anyone there, to hole up in an overpriced basement and write about Margaret Thatcher? Has this man never heard of renting a cabin in the woods?) Besides, the idea that he'd be lying feels like the kind of 4D-chess plot AJLT typically avoids. So let's assume he's genuine. Could he possibly be correct? We all know art is subjective, after all. So we owe it to Carrie to take a closer look at the most substantial chunks of the novel AJLT has provided to date. Consider the passage we watched her type out in her back garden, during a work session that was soon interrupted by a cavalcade of rats: Sitting in the sunlight, the woman felt the fog of the last few nights lift. She realized her tossing and turning and insecurities were remnants of another time. This is a new house, she reminded herself. A new life. This wasn't her past… It was the present. May, 1846. Here we have several classic elements of bad writing. There's an overreliance on weather as a metaphor for the mood of a protagonist who is, pretentiously, only ever identified as 'the woman.' The thoughts to which Carrie's close third-person narration gives us access are rote exposition masquerading as an internal monologue—one so shallow, it suggests that our nameless heroine is very stupid. Who has to 'remind herself' that her house is new or that, good lord, she's living in not the past but the present? Alas, in the absence of time machines, everyone who's ever walked the earth has been doomed to live in what is, to them, the present. Also: surely there are more eloquent ways to inform the reader that your story is set in May, 1846. Episode 5 featured an even longer excerpt: The woman threw open her windows to let the city in. She could hear the horses coming and going with their carriages, each one bringing an exciting possibility. The unexpected cool breeze on this hot afternoon reminded her that each day need not be an echo of the one before. There are endless adventures to be taken, if she simply dared to decide to take them. Putting one foot in front of the other, she stepped off the expected path and vowed to go wherever a day might take her. So. Another weather metaphor, this one a veritable non sequitur; what does a summer breeze have to do with spontaneity or repetition? For that matter, is a carriage horse more likely to be 'bringing an exciting possibility' than it is to be ferrying mundane deliveries or facilitating neighbors' quotidian routines? Poetic license must be granted to figurative language, but that doesn't mean an analogy can be fully nonsensical. Meanwhile, the final two sentences are painfully inspirational therapy-speak—which would be cringe-worthy enough in a contemporary novel but sound jarringly anachronistic in the context of a 19th century period piece. (To really be pedantic, there's also a verb-tense misalignment that would give a copyeditor nightmares: 'There are endless adventures to be taken, if she simply dared to decide to take them.') I'm going to resist the temptation to dissect every bit of prose we've heard so far. Believe it or not, I am indeed aware that close reading a fictional work of fiction by a fictional writer is a ridiculous way to spend one's limited time in a world with an unlimited supply of real problems. I also realize that Carrie's novel is being used as a framing device, and thus—however shoddy the execution—the unnamed heroine and inapt metaphors exist more to give us access to Carrie's state of mind than to function as an actual story that a person might want to read. And yet, a viewer who is also a reader can only withstand so much literary gaslighting. This week's episode ends with another meaning-free affirmation from the book: 'The woman held on to what she knew to be true,' Parker intones as we see Carrie cradling her cat (do pets have truth values?). Well, if there's one thing this woman knows to be true, it's that Carrie Bradshaw is no great novelist.

'And Just Like That' plot hole, explained: Did Lisa Todd Wexley's dad die twice?
'And Just Like That' plot hole, explained: Did Lisa Todd Wexley's dad die twice?

NBC News

time09-07-2025

  • Entertainment
  • NBC News

'And Just Like That' plot hole, explained: Did Lisa Todd Wexley's dad die twice?

A shocking death is not a new plot point for 'And Just Like That…' The 'Sex and the City' spinoff show left many fans reeling with the surprising death of Mr. Big in the very first episode of Season 1. Now in Season 3, the show has once again made waves with an unexpected passing. In the most recent episode, the characters mourn another loss, but sharp-eyed viewers have noticed that something doesn't seem quite right with this storyline. Here's the plot point caused confusion — and the simple explanation behind it. Who is killed off twice in 'And Just Like That'? The father of the character Lisa Todd Wexley (Nicole Ari Parker), also known as LTW, seems to die twice in three seasons of 'And Just Like That...' For those only familiar with the original show, LTW might not be a familiar name. The character was introduced to the 'Sex and the City' universe in the first episode of the spinoff when she runs into Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) at brunch. In the second episode of Season 1, LTW shares that her father died a year prior. LTW brings up his passing while comforting Charlotte as she grieves Big's death. 'I was the exact same way when I lost my dad last year,' she tells Charlotte. This small detail makes sense until Season 2, when LTW's father pops up, alive, with no explanation of what happened. Played by Billy Dee Williams, LTW's dad, Lawrence Thomas, makes an appearance at her anniversary party in an episode fittingly titled 'ALIVE!' In Season 3, Episode 6, which premiered July 3, the mystery continued when LTW reveals her dad died suddenly from a stroke at age 90. Is there an explanation for the plot hole? Turns out LTW was referencing her stepfather's death in Season 1, can confirm. The dad who died in Season 3 was her biological father. This explanation would account for the confusion, but it still has not stopped fans from coming up with their own humorous takes on what could have happened. 'can we talk about how and just like that feels like if someone asked chatgpt to write an entire series after only having seen the SATC movie,' one user commented on an IndieWire post on X about the show's viral mix up. 'He also appeared in a dinner held for her husband in season two. So he died, resurrected, and now died again,' joked in reply to the same post. Perhaps the apparent resurrection of LTW's dad means other characters will also return, some fans teased. 'Carrie will be having dinner with Big next episode,' a fan commented on TikTok. Other viewers took the moment as an opportunity to dream up their craziest reasons for why the plot point could have occurred. 'It's the multiverse. Each season takes place in a different alternate universe,' another fan theorized in the TikTok's comments section. 'She has two gay dads y'all. Did you ever think of that?!?' added another commenter on the same video. However, some fans were defensive of the show, compelling fans to remember it isn't that serious.

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