Things We Were Wrong About: Friends' Polarizing Couple, HIMYM Proposal, Buffy's Dark Turn, Mando And More

As the saying goes, to err is human, and we at TVLine are fully admitting that we were mistaken about some of our favorite shows.

When they first aired, we felt strongly about certain popular storylines and characters on The O.C., Friends and How I Met Your Mother, to name just a few. We might have even fought you tooth and nail over them. But with time comes wisdom, and we're reevaluating our opinions after getting some perspective (and having the opportunity to rewatch with fresh eyes, in a few instances). Much like Seth Cohen, we're not perfect, but we have seen the error of our thinking — and our new views might be more controversial than ever now, in some cases.

Below, TVLine editors admit how their personal feelings have changed about The Office's post-Steve Carell run, Beverly Hills, 90210's bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's most controversial season and much more. Note: With the exception of The Mandalorian, we've limited our confessions to shows that have finished airing.

Scroll down to find out what we're 'fessing up to being wrong about, then hit the comments to share how your own TV judgments have evolved. It's OK, this is a safe space!

I blame the sideburns. When I was a pre-teen, loner high schooler Dylan McKay, played by Luke Perry, seemed like the epitome of what you'd want in a partner: passionate, wry and with an undefined sense of danger about him. It wasn't until I grew up that I realized that if someone breaks a giant planter in anger and cries about his emotionally absent father on your first date, there's likely going to be a lot of heartache in your future. —Kimberly Roots

The first go-around with Buffy's post-death depression and icky sexcapades with Spike was more than a buzzkill, leaving us wondering if our heroine would ever pull out of her darkness. But I've come to empathize with her lack of direction and hopelessness. Of course being ripped out of Heaven would send her on a downward spiral! (And let's be real: Adulting is hard.) The season served up heaps of gut-wrenching drama and honest storytelling as the Slayer reacquainted herself with a world she no longer recognized. Plus, Dark Willow! —Nick Caruso  

As a kid growing up in the '80s, Cheers' strapping bartender Sam Malone was a personal hero, and his vaunted success with the ladies was something to aspire to. But watching the series back now, his advances can come across a little creepy and cringeworthy — especially his persistent pursuit of Rebecca, even after she turned him down many, many times. The show was smart enough to cast a critical eye on Sam's womanizing in later years, but sadly, quite a few episodes put him right up there with How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson in the category of pre-#MeToo cultural relics. —Dave Nemetz

It's been over 20 years since Joey Tribbiani first admitted to having feelings for Rachel Green, but their connection still divides Friends fans to this day. When the show was originally airing, the idea of rooting for Rachel to end up with anyone but Ross felt outrageous — blasphemous, even. And the whole concept of pairing Joey and Rachel so late in the game (Season 8?!) reeked of laziness and desperation. But now that I've rewatched the series a few more times through older and (much) wiser eyes, I find that the Joey/Rachel pairing actually makes perfect sense. The characters were compatible and the actors had chemistry. The real issue was in the timing and writing of their relationship. Ross may have been Rachel's endgame, but there's an alternate reality where it's always been Rachel and Joey. And I would like to see that. —Andy Swift

After putting in the work to make Barney and Robin a believable pairing by the end of Season 4, the Powers That Be went and torpedoed that relationship just a few episodes into Season 5 for reasons I'll never quite understand — especially since the show then spent the better part of three seasons building towards reconciliation before Barney popped the question midway through Season 8. But the way in which he went about doing it, creating a new playbook and using human punching bag Patrice as a pawn in his scheme, was just gross. At the time of the big reveal, I, much like Robin, found myself in awe of the effort. But upon rewatch, I simply don't buy that the strong-willed Scherbatsky would just forgive everything Barney did in the lead-up to that rooftop proposal — certainly not in the few seconds it took for her to say yes. —Ryan Schwartz

TV's first live-action Star Wars series was teased in November 2017, but it took a year for EP Jon Favreau to reveal 1) the title, 2) that the show was set "after the fall of the Empire," and 3) it would "follow a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy." The series itself didn't premiere for another year after that, and for a while there, the only casting we knew was Pedro Pascal, Carl Weathers and Gina Carano. As such, even this Star Wars Fan Club charter member had near-zero interest in some Boba Fett wannabe, suspecting The Mandalorian would skirt well-known lore a la Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, by the end of that very first episode, as we laid eyes on Mando's 50-year-old, bright-eyed bounty, it was clear that this show would be out-of-this-world in its own right. — Matt Webb Mitovich

At the time that the Fox soap premiered, it was easy to fall for Seth Cohen. There weren't many (or any) characters like him on TV: an unabashedly geeky loner who wasn't just a sidekick or the butt of the joke. But upon a rewatch, Seth's "adorkable" charm is overshadowed by his selfishness and indecisiveness. Leading on both Summer and Anna? Unacceptable. Running away "like a little bitch on his sailboat, leaving nothing but a note for his girlfriend," as Summer put it? Not cool. Getting high and burning down the Newport Group? Are you kidding me?! Thankfully, Seth somewhat redeemed himself during the final season, but I was left feeling ashamed that I had overlooked Ryan on first watch. —Vlada Gelman

During the COVID pandemic, NBC's mockumentary comedy has become even more of a comfort watch for me than it previously had been, allowing me to appreciate its post-Carell era more deeply. Yes, James Spader's casting as Carell's replacement remains a creative whiff, and some of those late-in-the-run storylines — boom operator Brian's sudden infatuation with Pam, for example — miss the mark. But Carell's exit allowed for a brighter spotlight on The Office's delightfully weird ensemble, who elevated episodes like "Pool Party," "Trivia" and "Lice" to early-season caliber. Plus, The Office stuck the landing in a way few comedies have, delivering one of the decade's most satisfying series finales. The show may not have been the same without Carell, but even those wobbly seasons have plenty of shining moments. —Rebecca Iannucci

We're coming up on the 10-year anniversary of when ABC's Scandal instantly engrossed us with the tale of an elite D.C. fixer who also happens to be the married POTUS' mutual crush. And just as the Defiance election-rigging scheme was a compelling arc, B613 was at first a juicy deviation. At first. But over time, the super-secret government spy organization consumed absolutely everything in its path and roped in nearly every character. What was once a fizzy drama about white hats became a whole lotta white noise. Yeah, B613 really did a number on the once red-hot drama. —Matt Webb Mitovich