8 TV Show Headcanons That Fix Terrible Storylines

Shows need to take risks to stay relevant and keep the curveballs coming, but this can sometimes result in truly horrible storylines that make no sense for the characters in question — and yet there is a way to make it all right. Headcanons essentially exist to fill the plot holes or provide satisfying alternatives to the botched story arcs. For instance, Modern Family broke up Haley and Andy, only to bring Haley and her dim-witted high school boyfriend Dylan back together. However, it is largely accepted that Haley realized her mistake, divorced Dylan, and won Andy back somewhere down the line off-screen.

TV series are likely to fall into the trap of their own creation when they want to introduce a bold storyline to spice things up, but it ends up being poorly executed, out-of-character, or just plain wrong in the broader perspective. Some shows become too popular for their own good, lasting longer than expected and not being able to properly send off their characters. Still, theories and headcanons can ease the pain of knowing that the characters haven’t deserved their fates by offering a way to continue their stories in a better, more appropriate way. The only catch is that it won’t be shown on-screen.

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Sometimes fan theories turn out to be better than what TV shows end up doing in reality, and Supernatural’s ill-advised finale is a great example.

8 Quinn Was Ellie’s Mother

How I Met Your Mother

Barney’s ending in How I Met Your Mother was arguably the most divisive story arc on the show. His divorce with Robin made him circle back to his old patterns, completely destroying all the character development he’d had, and then his daughter Ellie was born. Ellie was the result of Barney’s perfect month, and her mother was Number 31. No name was ever given, but there was a theory suggesting that Barney reconnected with his ex-fiancée, meaning that Quinn was Ellie’s mother. Quinn and Barney may have started anew as co-parents, but later on, they got back together, and Barney rediscovered the joy of marriage.

7 Haley Got Back Together With Andy

Modern Family

Modern Family didn’t do right by Haley Dunphy; even Sarah Hyland hated her character’s ending on the show. In season 10, Haley got back together with her old boyfriend Dylan and unexpectedly became pregnant. The character didn’t deserve to be stripped of a potentially incredible career in fashion. On top of that, Dylan was never a suitable partner for Haley, as she had outgrown him by a mile. Andy was always a much better choice for her, so hopefully, Haley came to her senses, divorced Dylan, got Andy back, and climbed the high fashion career ladder in no time.

6 Bonnie Brought Enzo Back

The Vampire Diaries

In The Vampire Diaries season 8, episode 11, “You Made a Choice to Be Good,” Stefan brutally killed Enzo right in front of Bonnie. This episode was crucial both for Bonnie and Stefan’s relationship and Stefan’s redemption arc that started with him turning human again. Bonnie and Enzo were one of the best couples on the show, and it was wrong to sacrifice their love story for the sake of propelling Stefan’s plot. Still, Bonnie was a powerful witch, and she was theoretically more than capable of bringing Enzo back. She simply might not have told anyone about it, and Bonnie and Enzo left Mystic Falls to live happily ever after.

5 Castiel & Dean Reunited In Heaven

Supernatural

In Supernatural season 15, episode 18, “Despair,” Castiel ambiguously professed his love for Dean and sacrificed himself in the most devastating fashion. Then, in the series finale, Dean was unceremoniously killed off during a hunting trip, and that was it. Castiel and Dean belonged together, and separating them without a proper goodbye was a wasted opportunity. Thankfully, it’s easy to believe that Castiel and Dean reunited in Heaven and that their afterlife was much more peaceful than their time on Earth. They could have opened a bar where all their friends and family came from time and time.

4 Edwina & Kate Faked The Love Triangle

Bridgerton

One of the most infuriating aspects in Bridgerton season 2 was the unnecessary love triangle between Kate, Anthony, and Edwina, and it was also one of the biggest differences from The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn. Edwina and Kate’s sisterly bond was butchered in the show, but that’s only if the love triangle was real. The Sharma sisters were bright young ladies, and Edwina might have known that Kate and Anthony had feelings for each other, but Anthony needed a little push. Kate and Edwina might have raised the stakes so that Anthony would crack and admit that Kate was the one he truly desired.

3 Jason Became An Informational Assistant

The Good Place

The Good Place‘s Jason and Janet might have been different species, if Janet could even be considered as a species, but they had the most profound relationship on the show. It was gut-wrenching to see Jason say goodbye to Janet and walk off into the sunset, effectively exiting the afterlife. Jason was a special human, and it’s quite likely that the portal took him right back to Janet, but in a new form — Jason became an informational assistant as well. Together, they flourished in the afterlife, helping humans to become better versions of themselves and moving on to the next stage.

2 Britta Was Already A Successful Therapist

Community‘s Britta seemed different in the later seasons — she went from a smart young woman with goals to a laughingstock with self-destructive tendencies for no reason. However, the explanation might have been there all along. Britta famously strove to become a therapist, however unsuccessfully, but life seemingly kept getting in the way. In reality, Britta might have been a thriving psychologist all along, and her personality shift was just a technique she used on the study group for some kind of experiment on the human psyche. This could perfectly explain why Britta, who had her life figured out in season 1, transformed into a shell of herself later on.

1 Rory’s Pregnancy Was A False Alarm

Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

In Gilmore Girls, Rory was already the most annoying character who messed up time and time again, but the revival series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, managed to make her even worse. The most questionable storyline was Rory’s pregnancy with the twist being that she might not have known who the father was. In an alternate reality, Rory found out that she wasn’t pregnant after all, but the possibility of a different outcome scared her into drastically changing her life for the better. Rory reevaluated her actions in the professional field and personal life and became a more responsible and conscientious human being.