# When bad twists happen to good TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237 "2010-04-15T18:08:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/21 "2010-04-16T23:41:56Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I came in here just to bitch about the world’s shittiest episode of _Bones_. I don’t know that I’d count a coma fantasy as a twist when it’s so obviously a fantasy. (Or were you thinking of some other Bones episode? :D) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/22 "2010-04-17T01:01:45Z")
**Battlestar Galactica** when they finally found Earth (the original one) and pretty much everything that followed. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/23 "2010-04-17T01:28:33Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/24 "2010-04-17T01:36:21Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > [http://www.cracked.com/article/242\_6-tv-shows-that-completely-lost-their-shit\_p1](http://www.cracked.com/article/242_6-tv-shows-that-completely-lost-their-shit_p1) From cracked . com Six shows that completly lost it. Ominous portent: The current ad at the bottom of the first page is for _Lost_ t-shirts. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/25 "2010-04-17T08:02:24Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Finding out that Leia was Luke’s sister. Completely killed the competition between him and Han Solo. And killed my threeway action figure marriage… Lundy did make sense considering her father issues but still… ewww… ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/26 "2010-04-17T15:16:32Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > It’s retconning because they’re trying to make it look like Dean has always loved Lisa, but that’s pretty clearly not the case. He never mentioned her to Sam until the Season 3 episode she’s in, and then, when he does, does he say that he really liked her? No, he points out that she’s a yoga teacher and says that “it was the bendiest weekend of my life!”. So, the sex was good (Lisa seemed to agree), but there’s no hint of a deeper, emotional connection. > > And then…she’s the one he runs off to when he’s falling apart? That just came out of NOWHERE. If they’re trying to make it look like she’s the love of his life, that is a total retcon. > > Now, I agree that he might be more in love with the idea of having a family than actually being in love with Lisa, but there isn’t really any hint of that. I think we’re genuinely supposed to believe that he’s been in love with her all of this time…despite the fact that she’s only been mentioned one other time on the show, in a dream sequence. > > Maybe Sam can gently point this out and Dean will realize he’s being a bit delusional. I would be okay with that. [continuing hijack, sorry!] I think thou dost protesteth too much, or somethingeth. Dean doesn’t let very many people get close to him, especially women; love 'em and leave 'em is the way he has lived, because it’s probably too much risk of heartache to let yourself get too attached to someone while living that nomadic lifestyle, which is one of the things that made his goodbye scene with Jo more poignant; you could tell that he really cared about her. Now, you could argue that he really didn’t spend a whole lot more time getting to know Jo than he did Lisa; fact is, we don’t know how long Dean knew Lisa before they had the legendary night of sex, and of course Dean doesn’t talk about her because he NEVER talks about the women in his life; he barely talks about his mom and he only ever mentioned Jo to Sam in the context of “Ellen and Jo” as a resource, as backup, or as the people that they got killed. Never has Dean mentioned ANY feelings for Jo beyond comments indicating physical attraction, but we’re pretty sure he really cared about her. Now with Lisa, there’s someone who he may have also cared about AND she has a kid that reminds Dean so much of himself that even after Lisa assured him that Ben wasn’t his, Dean was actually disappointed and said he would have been proud to have found out Ben was his. AND he saved Ben’s life, so here’s Lisa reuniting with Dean, whom she knows is good in the sack, and he demonstrates a strong figure of male leadership and authority and saves her son’s life, of COURSE she’s going to remember Dean with quite a bit of fondness. As for Lisa wanting Dean to stay and have a beer; why wouldn’t she want him to come on in? They shared intimate moments together and he saved her son’s life! What would you do, talk to him through the mail slot and call the cops on him? More to the point, Dean was obviously troubled, and Lisa probably would have been wondering if maybe Dean was intending to attempt suicide or even just tackle a very dangerous case, but she was trying to get him to come inside to talk him down from whatever it was that he was preparing to do. Again, how is that in any way unrealistic? [/end hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/27 "2010-04-17T15:45:54Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > **Battlestar Galactica** when they finally found Earth (the original one) and pretty much everything that followed. While there was a post-coup attempt malaise towards the very, very end, “Sometimes a Great Notion” was one of the best episodes of BSG. When so many shows, both cable and network, pull punches and try to avoid change once they stumble upon a reasonable degree of success, it’s refreshing when a show confounds expectations and takes characters on an even darker journey. In a way, it reminded me of the premise of “Firefly.” That show, at least for Mal, was about losing the war and having to find a way - any way - to keep going afterward. In BSG, we saw the effects of the death of a dream held by many. Their only choice following that was to kill themselves, kill each other, or keep walking a few more steps until you have to find yourself facing the same question all over again. Dualla chose to kill herself, Zarek and Gaeta chose the middle option, and most everyone else kept stumbling and trying to find anything worth living for. With the whole premise of the show built around the search for Earth, there really was no satisfying way to resolve it without Earth itself being a wasteland. If Earth was never found, then the show is kinda pointless. Finding Earth in either the relatively recent past, the present, or the future raises too many “Galactica 1980” problems. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/28 "2010-04-17T17:51:51Z")
> [@](#): > > As for Lisa wanting Dean to stay and have a beer; why wouldn’t she want him to come on in? They shared intimate moments together and he saved her son’s life! What would you do, talk to him through the mail slot and call the cops on him? More to the point, Dean was obviously troubled, and Lisa probably would have been wondering if maybe Dean was intending to attempt suicide or even just tackle a very dangerous case, but she was trying to get him to come inside to talk him down from whatever it was that he was preparing to do. Again, how is that in any way unrealistic? I found it unrealistic because the stuff he was saying was seriously creepy and weird. Now, I’m down with Dean and Lisa feeling fond of each other, and of course she’s grateful because he saved Ben’s life a couple years ago. But when your not-even-ex shows up on your doorstep (_after you’ve moved_) and tearfully starts talking about how he’s going to do something awful but he’ll make sure you’re protected and by the way, he’s always felt like he would only be happy with you (even though _you barely know each other_), that is just CREEPY and STALKERY. P.S. I don’t think I am protesting too much. Personally, I would not mind it in the slightest if the Winchesters showed up on my doorstep. 🙂 (Except it would probably mean that something really, really terrible is happening.) ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/29 "2010-04-17T20:03:44Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I found it unrealistic because the stuff he was saying was seriously creepy and weird. Now, I’m down with Dean and Lisa feeling fond of each other, and of course she’s grateful because he saved Ben’s life a couple years ago. But when your not-even-ex shows up on your doorstep (_after you’ve moved_) and tearfully starts talking about how he’s going to do something awful but he’ll make sure you’re protected and by the way, he’s always felt like he would only be happy with you (even though _you barely know each other_), that is just CREEPY and STALKERY. > > P.S. I don’t think I am protesting too much. Personally, I would not mind it in the slightest if the Winchesters showed up on my doorstep. 🙂 (Except it would probably mean that something really, really terrible is happening.) You forget, though; in TV/movies, creepy/stalker behavior = romantic! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/30 "2010-04-17T22:44:44Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > You forget, though; in TV/movies, creepy/stalker behavior = romantic! 😉 Okay, then we agree: it was totally unrealistic. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/31 "2010-04-17T23:06:48Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I don’t know that I’d count a coma fantasy as a twist when it’s so obviously a fantasy. (Or were you thinking of some other Bones episode? :D) Oh, no, I was really okay with the coma episode. (And downright thrilled that previously, a character who had bizarre cartoon hallucinations realized it was a PROBLEM and told people about it and they were, “Oh shit, you better see a doctor right now!”) I’m talking about the ridiculous one that just STARTS with Booth having faked his own death to yadda yadda yadda and ends with Zack being the Gormagon apprentice because… I don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/32 "2010-04-17T23:21:54Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > But when your not-even-ex shows up on your doorstep (_after you’ve moved_) and tearfully starts talking about how he’s going to do something awful but he’ll make sure you’re protected and by the way, he’s always felt like he would only be happy with you (even though _you barely know each other_), that is just CREEPY and STALKERY. I don’t watch the show, but I just want to say I agree. To me, that sounds a lot like a “This is why I’m going to kidnap you and lock you in my basement” speech. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/33 "2010-04-18T04:15:38Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I’m talking about the ridiculous one that just STARTS with Booth having faked his own death to yadda yadda yadda and ends with Zack being the Gormagon apprentice because… I don’t know why. Because the writers were fucking with the audience. That’s the reason they gave. In public. It just boggles the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/34 "2010-04-18T12:22:22Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I don’t watch the show, but I just want to say I agree. To me, that sounds a lot like a “This is why I’m going to kidnap you and lock you in my basement” speech. Bah! Lisa KNOWS what kind of work Dean does; she even asked Dean if the “bad stuff” that he said would happen soon would be “his kind of bad,” and she knows the guy who risked his life to save a bunch of kids (including her own) wouldn’t harm her. It’s creepy and stalkerlike when Jimmy, the quiet middle-aged guy with glasses and a bald spot and who likes to do crossword puzzles ad infinitum suddenly shows up at your door out of the blue and starts talking about destiny and soulmates or something; COMPLETELY different context with Dean and Lisa. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/35 "2010-04-18T12:37:00Z")
> [@hankhill911](#): > > When Dexter’s sister starts dating the much older fed agent who is brought in to help the Miami PD track down the killer… > > Creepy, unbelievable and annoying… I actually liked this, but maybe it’s because as a female, I sympathize. I was always the kid with the crush on the teacher, and my 12-year-old crush was Patrick Stewart from watching Star Trek. :smack: It’s not that I have a huge thing for older men, it’s just that feelings of respect for a guy in a position of authority can lead to infatuation and attraction. Distinguished older men can have it going on. It was never a balanced relationship, and I thought it was played very well. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/36 "2010-04-18T12:43:55Z")
The Simpsons episode where Homer starts a grunge band. As far as I’m concerned it does not exist. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/37 "2010-04-18T14:39:50Z")
> [@hankhill911](#): > > When Dexter’s sister starts dating the much older fed agent who is brought in to help the Miami PD track down the killer… > > Creepy, unbelievable and annoying… I don’t agree. Deborah has a daddy complex, for one. And I [heart] Agent Lundy. And that actor since he played Bigfoot Wallace in the Dead Man’s Walk miniseries. I thought it was hot. However, the romance between Batista and LaGuerta (sp?) is annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/38 "2010-04-19T01:37:41Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > I don’t watch the show, but I just want to say I agree. To me, that sounds a lot like a “This is why I’m going to kidnap you and lock you in my basement” speech. Thank you, objective person! **Cuckoorex** , I stick my tongue out at you. Your mother was a hamster, etc. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/39 "2010-04-22T00:54:00Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Oh, no, I was really okay with the coma episode. (And downright thrilled that previously, a character who had bizarre cartoon hallucinations realized it was a PROBLEM and told people about it and they were, “Oh shit, you better see a doctor right now!”) > > I’m talking about the ridiculous one that just STARTS with Booth having faked his own death to yadda yadda yadda and ends with Zack being the Gormagon apprentice because… I don’t know why. Didn’t some of that get retconned away? Didn’t he tell Sweets he didn’t really do some of the stuff he supposedly did, then make Sweets promise not to tell he didn’t do it? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237/40 "2010-04-22T01:13:54Z")
Jimmy McNulty [**Season 5 spoiler follows**] gets all wiggy and starts posing dead homeless people to look like serial killer victims. Yes I understand the plot parallel to the fabricatin’ reporter, but do you think they’re maybe on a slightly different scale? I know he’s a wild and crazy guy, but that just felt really dumb and I refused to go along with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-bad-twists-happen-to-good-tv-shows/536237.md?page=3)