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Even our favorite TV shows can occasionally give us a storyline that makes the fast-forward button look incredibly tempting. Maybe the main plot has finally reached a huge cliffhanger, only for the next episode to spend an hour somewhere completely different. Maybe a once-interesting flashback device has been used a few dozen times too many. And sometimes a show simply commits to a subplot, character arc, or season-long experiment that feels much longer than it needed to be. None of that necessarily makes the entire series bad. In fact, some of television’s best shows have stretches that fans would probably be perfectly happy skipping on a rewatch. Here are 15 shows where we think people did some fast-forwarding.
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Game of Thrones, The Dorne Storyline
Dorne seemed incredibly promising after Oberyn Martell’s introduction, but the storyline that followed never generated the same excitement. Jaime’s trip south and the Sand Snakes became one of the show’s most criticized detours, making King’s Landing suddenly seem very far away.
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The Walking Dead, The Farm
After the constant movement and danger of the first season, spending much of Season 2 hanging around Hershel’s farm was a dramatic change of pace. There are important character moments buried in there, but anyone binge-watching the series may find themselves wishing the group would get back on the road already.
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Stranger Things, “The Lost Sister”
Season 2 leaves Hawkins in serious danger and then abruptly takes an entire episode to follow Eleven and Kali in Chicago. The detour became one of the show’s most divisive episodes, particularly because it interrupts a major cliffhanger right before the season’s final stretch.
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Lost, Some of Those Later Flashbacks
Flashbacks were once one of Lost’s greatest storytelling devices, gradually revealing surprising details about the survivors. Eventually, though, the show had already explored so much of their lives that another trip into someone’s past didn’t always feel quite as essential as whatever was happening on the island.
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The Office, Andy’s Final-Season Storyline
Andy disappears on a months-long boat trip, returns with a considerably nastier personality, and then sets his sights on show business. It’s an especially strange final stretch for a character the series had spent considerable time making more sympathetic.
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Gilmore Girls, Rory and Dean Getting Back Together
Rory and Dean’s early relationship is a major part of the show, but their later reunion comes under very different circumstances. By the time they’re trying to make things work again in Season 5, their awkward dates make it increasingly obvious that the relationship belongs in their past.
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How I Met Your Mother, The Never-Ending Wedding Weekend
After spending years building toward meeting Ted’s future wife, How I Met Your Mother devoted almost its entire final season to a single wedding weekend. Stretching those few days across more than 20 episodes left plenty of room for filler, especially considering how quickly the finale moves beyond the wedding itself.
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Orange Is the New Black, The Later Flashbacks
The early flashbacks were essential to understanding how the inmates ended up at Litchfield, but eventually nearly everyone seemed to need another origin story. By Season 5, critics were questioning whether the device had become more of a distraction from the increasingly urgent action inside the prison.
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Dexter, The Doomsday Killer Storyline
Following the Trinity Killer was never going to be easy, and Season 6’s elaborate religious murders didn’t reach the same heights. The season does eventually deliver an extremely important final moment, but getting there requires spending a lot of time with Travis Marshall first.
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Grey’s Anatomy, The Endless Romantic Complications
After more than two decades, Grey’s Anatomy has paired, separated, reunited, and complicated the love lives of an extraordinary number of doctors. Even devoted viewers could probably identify at least one romantic subplot they’d happily accelerate through on a rewatch.
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The Handmaid’s Tale, The Lingering Close-Ups
Elisabeth Moss can communicate an enormous amount without saying anything, and The Handmaid’s Tale certainly knows it. But after enough lingering close-ups of June staring intensely into the camera, even an effective visual signature can start feeling like a good opportunity to reach for the remote.
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House of the Dragon, The Council Meetings
Political maneuvering is obviously a major part of any story about fighting for the Iron Throne. Still, House of the Dragon can spend an impressive amount of time watching nobles debate strategy around enormous tables when viewers know there are dragons waiting somewhere outside.
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The Witcher, The Confusing Timelines
The first season deliberately follows Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri across different periods without immediately explaining exactly how everything fits together. It’s rewarding once the pieces connect, but anyone who got lost along the way might have been tempted to speed through the conversations and wait for Geralt to start fighting monsters again.
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Riverdale, The Musical Episodes
Riverdale never met an opportunity for chaos it didn’t like, and that eventually included annual musical episodes inspired by shows including Carrie and Heathers. They’re a treat for viewers who enjoy the cast breaking into song, but considerably easier to skip if that’s not what you came to Riverdale for.
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Glee, The Lima and New York Split
Once the original characters started graduating, Glee tried to have things both ways by following familiar faces in New York while introducing a new generation back at McKinley High. The result sometimes felt like two different shows competing for the same hour, making it very easy for viewers to develop a preferred half.
The post 15 Shows Where We Think People Did Some Fast-Forwading appeared first on Den of Geek.
