TV's Most Polarizing Exits

TVLine is looking back at some of the most polarizing TV departures of all time.

We're talking about those truly "WTF" character departures that either had you screaming at your TV in disgust or desperately Googling in confusion. From unnecessary deaths on shows like Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to unceremonious exits on shows like Lizzie McGuire and Law & Order: SVU, we've assembled 15 of TV's messiest conclusions.

(Quick disclaimer: Because we're discussing major exits from more than a dozen TV shows, it should go without saying that this gallery is a spoiler minefield. You've been warned.)

Check out our list below, then drop a comment with your own additions. Which befuddling character departures would you add?

Elliot Stabler, Law & Order: SVU

Wanna tick off the fans of your wildly popular procedural? Fail to come to a contract agreement with your lead actor, then send away his character — with nary a word to his longtime partner! — off-screen. That's exactly what happened to Christopher Meloni's Det. Stabler at the start of Season 13, and though SVU was just renewed through a record-breaking Season 24, the show has never been the same.

Click here to stream Stabler's final episode on Hulu

Every other departed character, Grey's Anatomy

Rare is the exit from the long-running ABC drama that doesn't spark a heated debate. Whether the show is killing Derek, moving April to a part of Seattle that we never visit or reuniting "Calzona" off screen (and only after sending Callie to New York with — ugh — Penny), feelings are inevitably, intensely had.

Donna Gable, Kevin Can Wait

As part of a failed creative revamp, Kevin James' King of Queens follow-up killed off Kevin's wife and mother to his three children. The Gable family's (allegedly) beloved matriarch, played in Season 1 by Erinn Hayes, was jettisoned by way of a kung-fu coupon. (Yes, really.) A cause of death was never disclosed.

Tara Maclay, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Killing off a beloved character is always a controversial choice. But when that beloved character was one half of a celebrated lesbian couple on a cult hit? The Slayer herself couldn't shield the WB-to-UPN show from fan ire. Tara's murder created such a rift among Buffy diehards that then-showrunner Marti Noxon now says she regrets the decision.

Click here to stream Tara's final episode on Hulu

Aaron 'Hotch' Hotchner, Criminal Minds

When Thomas Gibson first got suspended, then soon after outright fired, from the CBS drama in August 2016, the original cast member's fans were up in arms, with many siding against the writer/producer with whom he had an altercation. On-screen, Hotch and his son Jack were put in WITSEC, to elude Mr. Scratch. Though Scratch was eventually snuffed, Hotch never returned to the team, not even for the series finale.

Kono Kalakaua, Hawaii Five-0

In one fell swoop in July 2017, original cast members Grace Park and Daniel Dae Kim parted ways with the CBS reboot, after seeking but failing to obtain pay parity with co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan. (That issue alone split fans into two camps.) While Chin moving to San Francisco to be with lady love Abby and launch a Five-0 unit made some sense, Kono chasing mainland leads on a sex trafficking network — and in the process experiencing such a personality change that she dumped husband Adam — was a reach, at best.

Logan Echolls, Veronica Mars

The unforeseeable death of Veronica's main squeeze in the Hulu revival's fourth season finale was the biggest tragedy to befall marshmallows since the invention of the s'more. But series creator Rob Thomas doesn't regret a thing, telling TVLine, "I know what the show needs to be moving forward. There are not many shows about kickass detectives and their boyfriend at home. ... It's not going to be Veronica and Logan solving mysteries, so what is Logan doing in the show?"

Click here to stream Logan's final episode on Hulu

Alex Karev, Grey's Anatomy

Seriously?!? Many a fan didn't buy that the erstwhile Evil Spawn would write off his marriage with a Dear Jo letter. But others, taking into consideration the abruptness of original cast member Justin Chambers' exit, not only accepted but liked that the show reunited with him old flame Izzie and gave him the family he'd always wanted.

UPDATE: Katherine Heigl has weighed in on Alex and Izzie's unexpected reunion: "Wasn't [Alex] with someone? Listen, isn't that an a–hole move?" (Click here to read all about it.) 

Click here to stream Alex's final episode on Hulu

Miranda Sanchez, Lizzie McGuire

Lizzie and her BFF were practically attached at the hip, so Miranda suddenly disappearing for the Disney Channel series' final handful of episodes did not go unnoticed by fans. Her mysterious absence was finally addressed in 2003's The Lizzie McGuire Movie, when Lizzie casually mentioned that "she's in Mexico City." The idea that Miranda would randomly jet off to Mexico in the final months of her middle school career — missing graduation in the process — garnered a big eyeroll, even from its young fans.

Click here to stream Miranda's final episode on Disney+

Pamela Ewing, Dallas

The best you can say about the way Victoria Principal was written off after 10 seasons was that, hey, at least it wasn't a dream death. It was, however, one sucker punch (Pam learns she can have babies... but crashes into an oil tanker!) after another (she survives... but she's still outta there!) after another (she's not Victoria Principal anymore... and she's dying!).

Judy Winslow, Family Matters

The youngest Winslow child suddenly vanished midway through the sitcom's fourth season, putting her in the rare category of characters whose disappearances were both completely random and never directly addressed on-screen. For some viewers, characters like Judy were largely forgettable, making their sudden departures hardly worth invigating. But for other fans, the sting lingers. Here's to all the Judys out there... wherever you are.

Click here to stream Judy's final episode on Hulu

Linda Reagan, Blue Bloods

Original cast member Amy Carlson and the family/crime drama parted ways soon after the Season 7 finale aired, with Danny's missus alive and well. So what is a show to do? How about drop the bombshell — midway through that fall's premiere — that Linda had died, off-screen, months prior, and Danny was in mourning. To say that viewers were baffled is an understatement. 

Click here to stream Linda's final episode on Hulu

Lucas and Peyton Scott, One Tree Hill

Getting married while welcoming your first child is stressful enough, so who would add the pressure of a major move onto that? One Tree Hill's Peyton and Lucas, that's who! Following the birth of baby Sawyer Scott in the CW drama's sixth season finale, the couple randomly drove out of town, never to be seen together again. Sure, Lucas briefly returned for a cameo in Season 9, but the characters' exits — which came about due to contract disputes between Chad Michael Murray and the Powers That Be — never really made a lot of sense.

Click here to stream Lucas and Peyton's final episode (together) on Hulu

Cordelia Chase, Angel

On one hand, Cordelia's evolution from Sunnydale High School mean girl to supernatural spirit guide is exciting, even admirable. But this beloved, complex character deserved so much better than a clunky send-off in which she randomly awoke from a months-long coma, only to "ascend" after sharing one last kiss with the show's titular vampire. (When you factor in that Cordelia's death was born out of behind-the-scenes issues between Charisma Carpenter and series creator Joss Whedon, the situation becomes all the more unfortunate.)

Click here to stream Cordelia's final episode on Hulu

Roseanne Conner, Roseanne/The Conners

Roseanne Barr's infamous, racist tweet about former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett — which led ABC to quickly cancel the Roseanne revival after one season — was uninamously condemned. But the decision to kill off her character via an opioid overdose in The Conners' series premiere remains a divisive plot twist that drove some fans straight out of Lanford.