13 TV Characters Who Deserved Better

Don't shoot the messenger, but life is unfair. Just ask those grown men who didn't get their Szechuan sauce at McDonalds over the weekend! So yeah, life is horribly unjust at times (especially for Rick and Morty fans). But that's why we have TV. Nothing bad ever happens on TV!

Wait, what? Oh, television is also unfair? Well, I suppose you're right. Instead of being a comforting escape or a light in the darkness, television is often just wheelin' and dealin' some of the very same bullsh-- we experience in our normal human existence. For example, a lot of people die, the endgame couple doesn't make it work, and sometimes a girl's best friend is murdered and replaced with an evil fake and no one even notices! Suddenly I feel empathy for Rick stans, so let's channel this negative energy somewhere positive.

Here are 13 TV characters who deserved better.

1. Frank Randall, Outlander

For all of Frank Randall's (Tobias Menzies) faults on Outlander, he tried -- really tried -- to make things work with Claire (Caitriona Balfe) when she returned to the 20th century. He allowed her time to grieve, he loved and raised Claire's child with Jamie (Sam Heughan) as if she was his own, and he abided by the rules Claire set when she decided they should live separate lives but live under the same roof. To be honest, Frank would have done anything Claire asked because he loved his wife. But in the end, he died in a car accident, unfulfilled. It's a shame he never had the chance to experience the life he wanted for himself. He deserved better.

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2. Jen Lindley, Dawson's Creek

Creator Kevin Williamson, who returned to Dawson's Creek to pen the series finale, has always said that he killed Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams) because the core characters of the coming-of-age drama had been through plenty of firsts together, but had never experienced the death of a core member of their group. But it wasn't as if they hadn't experienced death first hand prior to Jen's death. Dawson's (James Van Der Beek) father died, Joey's (Katie Holmes) mom passed away when she was young, and Abby Morgan (Monica Keena), annoying as she was, met her death during Season 2. To say they hadn't been touched by death is incorrect. Now, her goodbye was beautiful and heartfelt, but to kill the one person "who didn't feel like she fit in" to mark a turning point in the characters' lives was a low blow, especially since she left behind a young daughter. Honestly, there are better ways to get Joey to finally figure out she wants to be with Pacey (Joshua Jackson).

3. Stosh "Piz" Piznarski, Veronica Mars

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No one is arguing that Veronica (Kristen Bell) should have picked Piz (Chris Lowell) over Logan (Jason Dohring) on Veronica Mars -- come on, we're not crazy -- but Veronica didn't need to string Piz along for as long as she did. Yes, we understand creator Rob Thomas wanted to bring back as many actors as possible for the feature film, and we also understand the narrative required an impediment to the LoVe birds rekindling their relationship (at first), but Piz deserved better than to be blown off after Veronica swore she was ready to meet his parents. Team LoVe forever, guys, but Piz deserved better.

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4. Cordelia Chase, Angel

Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan-favorite character Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) traded Sunnydale for Los Angeles when Angel (David Boreanaz) got his own spin-off in 1999. The drama's leading lady, she could handle herself against creatures of darkness, but suffered when it came to behind-the-scenes drama. For example, there was the Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) storyline, which Carpenter personally hated, and we swore we'd never speak of again but felt like we had to address here for obvious reasons. And then there are the allegations that Joss Whedon wrote Carpenter off the series because of a strained relationship after she fell pregnant. When she agreed to come back for Angel's 100th episode, which revolved around Cordelia, the writers told her the character wasn't going to die, but killed her anyway. Although it was a rather beautiful episode, it wasn't nearly enough to make up for the poor treatment of a beloved -- and original -- character.

5. Alex Whitman, Roswell

We'd be lying if we said we weren't still holding a grudge against Tess Harding (Emilie de Ravin) for killing the kindhearted and innocent Alex Whitman (Colin Hanks) on Roswell. Yes, it's been 16 years since she mindwarped the well-liked character and forced him to translate an alien text for her own selfish purposes. She mindwarped him again and again and again until his brain couldn't take it anymore. People don't forget when you've wronged someone they love, and Tess definitely wronged Alex -- and right as he and Isabel (Katherine Heigl) were figuring things out, too! So yeah, it's safe to say that very few fans were sad to see Tess go when she eventually sacrificed herself at the end of the series.

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6. Kira Yukimura, Teen Wolf

Where do we even begin with Kira Yukimura (Arden Cho)? The last we saw of the powerful kitsune at the end of Teen Wolf's fifth season, she was embarking on a journey to tame her inner fox in the desert. However, it wasn't clear at the time that this was the end of her story -- and in fact, series creator Jeff Davis revealed to TV Guide after the finale the writers were considering storylines for her in Season 6. But Kira was never seen again after the Season 5 finale, written out of the series between seasons for reasons that were never fully explained to the audience. To make matters worse, Kira, who'd been the love interest of the show's main character (Tyler Posey), was never mentioned by any of the show's characters ever again. That's cold.

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7. Keith Scott, One Tree Hill

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The death of Keith Scott (Craig Sheffer) during One Tree Hill's third season was enough to make some fans stop watching the show (OK, well, at least one fan... who obviously later went back after a long break). The revelation that Keith was killed by his own brother Dan (Paul Johansson) because he mistakenly believed Keith had tried to kill him just made it that much worse. And it couldn't have come at a worse time: Keith, who'd been in love with Karen (Moira Kelly) for most of his life and acted as a surrogate father to her son with Dan (Chad Michael Murray), finally got the girl. Not only did Keith and Karen plan to wed, but it turns out Keith died without ever knowing he was going to be a father too. All of this came before the dog ate Dan's heart, and we like to think the show's most iconic/insane moment was karma for what Dan did to Keith that day.

8. Mandy Milkovich, Shameless

Mandy Milkovich (Emma Greenwell) may have started out as a supporting character on Shameless, but she quickly evolved to become a crucial piece of the show's beating heart. Although her life was hard -- she'd been raped and abused by her dad, and was constantly bullied by her brothers -- she still found a way to put others before herself. She was Ian's (Cameron Monaghan) fake girlfriend when he needed a cover, and his best friend when he needed someone to lean on. She filled out and sent in Lip's (Jeremy Allen White) college applications when he was too stubborn to do it himself (though he ditched her for higher education once he was accepted). Honestly, neither Ian nor Lip would have made it through high school without Mandy, and no one has ever properly thanked her for it. Instead, the show sent her off to live with a boyfriend who regularly beat her until she escaped into the life of an escort. Even if no one else is rooting for Mandy, we always will be.

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9. Nate Kulina, Kingdom

On one hand, we understand what Kingdom was trying to do when it killed off Nate Kulina (Nick Jonas) in the penultimate episode of the emotionally charged, MMA-themed family drama. It showcased the way the seemingly level-headed Nate wasn't entirely unlike his father (Frank Grillo) or his brother (Jonathan Tucker) -- he was just as angry and just as capable of flying off the handle. It also highlighted how quickly life could change, or even end. But on the other, more emotional hand, Nate was the most innocent of the show's characters, and we'll probably never stop wishing he'd had a different fate, one in which he found happiness and success, and most importantly, the ability to live a life in which he felt he could be his true self with the people he loved.

10. Francie Calfo, Alias

Francie Calfo (Merrin Dungey) might have committed the cardinal sin of not liking coffee ice cream, but other than that, she did nothing to deserve what happened to her on Alias. Think about it: the girl thinks she has a totally normal life, living with her workaholic best friend (Jennifer Garner), struggling to open a restaurant in LA, and occasionally hooking up with her other best friend (Bradley Cooper) while boiling lobsters. And then BANG, a genetically modified doppelgänger shows up and shoots her in the head. To make matter worse, the two aforementioned best friends didn't even realize she'd been replaced by a psycho who barely had a personality.

11. Johnno Mitcham, Top of the Lake

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With Top of the Lake trading the isolated wilderness of New Zealand for the seedy underbelly of Sydney in Season 2, it stood to reason there would be something unfortunate that would push Robin (Elisabeth Moss) to return to Australia. But rewriting the previously caring and understanding character of Johnno (Thomas M. Wright, recast for Season 2) and turning him into a cheating, careless man who would engage in an affair on his wedding day and show no remorse for his actions was unnecessary, and far less than the character deserved. There were plenty of other ways to write Johnno out of Robin's life, and plenty of ways to get her back to Australia, and none of them involved destroying a character.

12. Beth Greene, The Walking Dead

Don't even get us started on Beth Greene (Emily Kinney). She watched her father be executed right in front of her before being separated from her sister (the only remaining family she had), and somehow she still believed there were good people in the world of The Walking Dead. She even got Daryl (Norman Reedus) to believe it! Then the series spent 10 episodes building out this weird kidnapped-and-imprisoned-in-a-hospital storyline only to have her die is the stupidest way possible. Beth deserved so much better.

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13. Charlie Bradbury, Supernatural

You could argue that nearly all of Supernatural's supporting characters, especially the female ones, deserved better treatment, but the endearing, innocent and optimistic Charlie Bradbury (Felicia Day) sticks out as the character who truly deserved better. Like Jo (Alona Tal) and Ellen Harvelle (Samantha Ferris) before her, Charlie was capable and well-liked, fighting next to Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), who came to be like brothers to her, a number of times. Unfortunately, this relationship would also be what led to her demise. Her death in Season 10, while emotionally effective, was a sacrifice to the Winchesters' unhealthy codependency. And although death is the nature of the business, and Dean later avenged Charlie, her death was a sobering end for a character who'd come to mean quite a bit to the show's fans.