TV Viewers Are Pointing Out Shows That Totally Ignored Storylines After Setting Them Up, And I Love The Friends And Yellowstone Points

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It’s tempting to think TV shows are made solely for artistic reasons, but the reality is that things like money, ratings, and network decisions often play a big role. Because of this, television history is full of stories that were cut short, characters that disappeared, and plot points that were never resolved. Even hugely popular shows like Friends and Yellowstone have fallen victim to these behind-the-scenes pressures.

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Unresolved storylines in TV shows are a popular topic for debate – I definitely enjoy discussing them! Recently, a Reddit post asking about shows with loose ends sparked a huge conversation. People mentioned tons of different series, going way beyond the usual example of Lost, which is famous for leaving viewers wondering what everything meant. (Although some argue that those unanswered questions in Lost aren’t a problem.) Let’s take a look at some of the biggest complaints fans have about these unresolved plots.

Many viewers noticed that Taylor Sheridan, the creator of Yellowstone, often introduces plot points that are never fully resolved, especially concerning the storylines around the Montana ranch. One particular instance, mentioned below, is something I’ll likely always remember.

Yellowstone’s Forgotten Plots

  • In the first few episodes of Yellowstone, Kayce is having trouble adjusting to civilian life and calls his old commander and says he wants back in. The CO says “Pack a bag, im sending a chopper”. Kayce says “i never unpacked” No helicopter ever arrives, no mention is ever made again of Kayce rejoining the service. Hell, at the end Sheridan’s super cowboy character is at the Yellowstone helping with the liquidation auction. Then Teeter asks him for a job, and he says “why do you want to leave this place?”, she says “too many memories”. Both of them apparently forgot they just finished liquidating the ranch. – @UnderwaterKarma
  • Still waiting for the bomb on the airplane to blow up on Yellowstone. – @PhutukKusi
  • The one that immediately springs to mind is the kid – the grandson – finding the dinosaur. – @BlackbirdsGarden
  • Also, when John stops to help the lady change her tyre and they both get shot we never find out what happened to her son. Makes me think that boy was originally going to be Carter since he appears at the start of the next series – @OnafridayR

Honestly, the dinosaur bones found on the ranch could have easily been used to support its designation as a historically significant site. Plus, using those bones wouldn’t have interfered with filming any TV shows, unlike potentially using fabricated ones. The same applies to Kayce’s military past – it seemed like it would be a bigger part of the story, but it didn’t get explored as much as expected.

Let’s talk about TV shows that brought in a main character’s siblings, only to completely forget about them later on.

Missing Siblings

  • In the first episode of Sherlock it is deduced that John Watson has an alcoholic brother named Sam all from the appearance of his phone. This sibling is then said to be a sister. They are never referenced again even at Johns wedding. Nor is this quirk of Sherlock getting something 95% right because Sherlock is the one to notice and admit he deduced poorly. – @HatOfFlavour
  • Seinfeld mentions he has a sister in the Chinese Restaurant episode … She’s never mentioned again. – @RunDNA
  • In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it’s pointed out that Amy is the way she is because she has 7 brothers, and not only do we only meet one (Lin-Manuel Miranda by the way) but none of them even to come to her wedding! – @alehansolo21
  • On New Girl, Jess having a sister out of nowhere, and then sister disappearing again right after she was introduced. – @nomnomsquirrel

On many TV shows, siblings are often only used to introduce new characters and then disappear. This wasn’t really a problem for Joey on Friends, as his sisters appeared in multiple episodes. However, Phoebe’s rediscovered father wasn’t given the same consistent presence on the show.

Phoebe’s Dad In Friends

  • Also, there’s no mention of Phoebe’s biological father after she meets him for the first time. The storyline of her search for her dad was so great, and was the main story for a number of episodes. Then she finally meets him, and it looks like the two might be able to slowly heal old wounds and form a relationship. Then he never came up again and it’s like the whole storyline never happened. For me, that’s the most frustrating one in Friends by far. – @Scarred-Face

It’s incredibly frustrating when a story spends a lot of time and effort building up a mystery or searching for a character, emphasizes how important it is, and then completely drops the plotline without resolution. That’s a storytelling issue I find particularly annoying.

Speaking of lengthy build-ups to fatherly reveals that go the way of the do-do:

Jon Snow’s Lineage On Game Of Thrones

  • Everyone talked up Jon being a Targaryen for fucking YEARS too before it officially happened on the show. It was going to have such massive consequences and either put a massive wedge between him and Dany for their claims to the Iron Throne… OR it would draw them closer together to give them an undoubted authority to claim the throne together. Then as soon as its confirmed… no one really mentions it as being important that he’s the son of Rhaegar Targaryen. In a setting where names mean eveything and are the most important factor in determining who should be sitting on the throne. – @dynesor

Fans spent years discussing and making predictions about a major plot point in the books, especially during the show’s early seasons. However, when the show finally revealed Jon Snow’s true family history, it didn’t fully explore all the potential consequences, which was a bit of a missed opportunity.

I could easily point out many other failed TV storylines, but let’s quickly look at some criticisms leveled against shows like Pretty Little Liars, Blindspot, and others.

  • Aria murders someone in the season 5 premiere and this incident is barely mentioned again. The whole show was so messy but the good outweighs the bad for me so I still have a lot of love for it- even if the night Allison disappeared is extremely convoluted – @athmeystic
  • Blindspot. Jane Doe shows up covered with clue-based tattoos related to various future crimes and terror attacks. We eventually find out who tattooed her and why, but not where they got the foreknowledge for them to be cued by things like sports scores and other unpredictable events – @Fancy-Television-760
  • Landry killing a guy on Friday Night Lights. Just swept it under the rug – @spokanetransplanted
  • Just as a new one that nobody mentioned: Thawne/Wells was seen to be stealing genetic tissue or blood or some shit from captured supervillains in a pre-credits sequence in the first season of the Flash but this never came up again. – @ContinuumGuy

As a huge movie and TV fan, there are so many times I wish I could rewind time – like having The Flash’s speed! I’d go back and plead with some showrunners to give their series a better ending. Seriously, can we get some justice for Judy Winslow already? That finale still haunts me!

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2025-11-11 20:43