Some storylines are so wild, they make you seriously question what the writers were thinking. Whether you call them poor judgment or just a product of their time, we still can’t believe these storylines were allowed to be swept under the carpet.
Here are the top 10 times TV shows tried to quietly move past a mistake that we just can’t accept.
10. Zack’s Native American Heritage in ‘Saved By The Bell’
In the episode “Running Zack”, Zack has to do an ancestry assignment. While doing so, he discovers an old photograph of a native American man and immediately decides that he must be Native American too.
He treats Screech like a canvas for stereotypical war paint. Even when his teacher calls him out and Zack is sent to learn from Chief Henry, a First Nations man, he only comes out with even more outdated stereotypes. What was meant to be a lesson about heritage ended up becoming so remarkably insensitive.
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9. Phil’s Crush On Gloria in ‘Modern Family’
Phil’s crush on Gloria is one of those ‘Modern Family’ storylines that was repeatedly treated as harmless comedy, but today it is so uncomfortable to even watch. Phil is constantly staring at Gloria and openly making crude comments about her.
Somehow, we are supposed to believe that Gloria never calls out his creepy behaviour. At the same time, Claire is portrayed as having an irrational jealousy of this situation. This storyline was repeatedly used as a running joke in the series, which is even more unsettling to think about.
8. Barney’s Ranking Of His Exes in ‘How I Met Your Mother’
The entire Barney Stinson storyline in ‘How I Met Your Mother’ has aged very poorly, but “The Bracket” is the clearest example of just how problematic the show actually was. Barney is presented as a charming “gentleman” in his suits and his famous Bro Code, yet his behaviours are anything but gentlemanly.
In this episode, he creates a ranking list of all the women he has slept with based on which one supposedly hates him the most. What makes this storyline even harder to defend is the fact that his friends treat his behaviour as harmless fun, while mocking these women for expecting basic decency.
7. Carrie And Sean’s Relationship in ‘Sex And The City’
For a sex columnist who prides herself on being open-minded, Carrie was too uncomfortable with bisexuality. In one of the episodes, she starts dating Sean, who genuinely seemed like a nice guy.
Until he opens up to Carrie about his bisexuality. She immediately becomes suspicious and uncomfortable, constantly asking him to compare her to men. It isn’t a wonder why their relationship never worked out, but the show’s treatment of Sean reveals so many uncomfortable views of bisexuality that were prevalent during that time.
6. The Puerto Rican Day in ‘Seinfeld’
“The Puerto Rican Day” is one of ‘Seinfeld’s most controversial episodes, and it is easy to understand why. After the gang gets stuck in traffic because of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the usual chaos unfolds.
But it was Kramer’s storyline that takes things much further. While celebrating, he accidentally sets a Puerto Rican flag on fire, triggering an angry reaction from the crowd. The episode’s portrayal of Puerto Rican people was widely stereotyped and completely insensitive. You just can’t revisit the episode today.
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5. Diversity Day In ‘The Office’
‘The Office’ has always relied on risky comedy, but “Diversity Day” is just straight up problematic. After Michael makes a series of inappropriate choices, the employees are required to attend diversity training. Naturally, Michael turns it into his own disastrous version of sensitivity training.
He puts labels on employees, encouraging them to imitate different racial and cultural groups. The episode is clearly meant to expose Michael’s ignorance, but some of the stereotypes and impersonations go so far that even the satire becomes uncomfortable.
4. Ross Trying To Kiss His Cousin in ‘Friends’
Plenty of Ross Geller’s storylines have become uncomfortable to revisit, but his attraction to his cousin Cassie is just unsettling. When Cassie comes to stay with Ross and Monica, everyone’s reaction is pretty questionable, but they are all laughed off.
Ross takes things even further by making a move on his cousin, leaving Cassie understandably frightened and confused. What makes the storyline worse is Ross’s internal monologue, in which he tries to rationalise his disturbing behaviour.
3. Fat Monica in ‘Friends’
“Fat Monica” was one of ‘Friends’ most prominent recurring jokes and also the most controversial. The show repeatedly presented Monica’s younger, larger body as something inherently ridiculous, using her weight as a punchline.
Instead of casting a plus-size actor, the production used prosthetics on Courteney Cox to create an exaggerated caricature rather than a realistic portrayal. Even the entire before-and-after idea is just needlessly damaging and cruel.
2. Ezra And Aria’s Relationship in ‘Pretty Little Liars’
‘Pretty Little Liars’ spent years trying to convince viewers that Ezra and Aria were soulmates, but their relationship becomes extremely disturbing when we revisit the show today. Aria is only 16 when she gets involved with Ezra, her adult teacher.
Things become even worse when it is revealed that Ezra deliberately targeted Aria and created the so-called coincidence meeting. Then, he used the story of these four underage girls for his book. Somehow, the show wanted us to overlook all of this and root for their great love story.
1. Damon And Caroline’s Relationship in ‘The Vampire Diaries’
One of the most disturbing storylines in ‘The Vampire Diaries’ is also one that somehow is never even mentioned. Early in the series, Damon uses compulsion to control Caroline and force her into a sexual relationship with him.
When she tries to leave, he stops her and uses his supernatural power to control and intimidate her again. For a while, Damon constantly used, manipulated, and hurt Caroline. The show used her only as a tool to create Damon’s bad boy persona. What is even worse is how everyone in the show just moves on and never addresses this storyline again.
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