It’s not easy to say goodbye to your favorite TV show — but a bad ending definitely makes it easier.
Viewers have always shown their support for scripted shows that kept them coming back week to week — or bingeing all in one go. However, Riverdale and Game of Thrones are just some of the projects that ended on a sour note after disappointing their loyal fanbases.
The hit HBO series found success fairly quickly after its 2011 debut and the critical acclaim just kept coming. But after an eight-year build up, having Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) attack King’s Landing and die while Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) took the coveted Iron Throne was definitely a choice.
Riverdale, meanwhile, was always applauded for never taking plot too seriously. From organ harvesting cults to suspected alien visits, the CW series was always up for the challenge when it came to surprising viewers. The conclusion, though, proved that a show can go too far if it doesn’t listen to what fans want.
Season 7 was largely set in the ‘50s after Tabitha was forced to bring everyone back in time because a deadly comet hit their town. No one remembered their past lives until the penultimate episode and almost every character chose to only keep the happy memories.
The series finale took things one step further by focusing on present day Betty (Lili Reinhart) as she was taken back in time by Angel Jughead (Cole Sprouse) to say goodbye to her friends. Fans had to spend 44 minutes finding out how these strange versions of their favorite characters passed away offscreen before Betty died as well.
The main message of the series finale came off as ironic commentary about people who peaked in high school while losing focus of the characters that Riverdale spent the first six seasons developing on screen.
Scroll down for more shows that have gone down in history for their lackluster finales:
