It is always difficult to say goodbye to a beloved TV character, especially when this goodbye occurs before the end of the series. Whether it be due to external circumstances, or because it fits the narrative within the show, sometimes a character exit is inevitable. TV character exits range from infuriating and disappointing, to well-written and beautiful.
It is very challenging to write off a well-loved TV character in a way that is great and feels satisfying.The best TV character exits come in a variety of forms. Most commonly, it is saying bye to a character who has shown growth and moved onto other opportunities.Other times it is a character death, such as a sad but fitting death of a beloved character. These are the 10 best TV character exits, ranked.
10Callie Adams-Foster
‘Good Trouble’
Callie Adams-Foster (Maia Mitchell) was first introduced in the pilot episode ofThe Fostersas a scared and angry teenager who had just been released from a juvenile detention center. From there, Callie slowly developed a homeand a family among the Adams-Fostersover five seasons, and really grew as a character. The show’s spin-off series,Good Trouble, showed Callie being tested in adulthood on her law career path.
At the start of Season 4, Callie leftGood Troublein a very lovely way, as she moved from Los Angeles to Washington, DC for her dream job.Her goodbye episode was really touching and emotional, showing Callie having finally had the growth and courage to live on her own as an adult.Even sweeter, she reconnected with her on-and-off love, Jamie Hunter, on the plane, and it turned out that he was moving to DC as well.
Good Trouble
Watch On Hulu
9Ernie “Coach” Tagliaboo
‘New Girl’
Originally only appearing in the pilot episode ofNew Girl, Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.) returned halfway through Season 3 to become a regular. Coach became a great addition to the show, particularly through the arc where he came to work as a gym teacher at Jess’s school and developed a sweet friendship with her. In Season 4, Coach meets andquickly fell in love with May, becoming dismayed when she gets a new job in New York City.
Although it was sad to see Coach go, it was fitting to watch him move to New York in a loving relationship with May. His goodbye in the Season 4 finale, “Clean Break,” was really great. He had previously moved a lot, so he initially wanted to get rid of all his things and have a clean break.However, Coach ended up having a beautiful and emotional goodbye with the loftmates, and even wore the scarf that Jess made for him.
8C.W. Longbottom
‘Mythic Quest’
In the pilot episode ofMythic Quest, C.W. Longbottom was initially introduced as a washed-up fantasy author with a terrible personality. However, the second season of the show provided more depth to the character, through his backstory.C.W.’s flashback episoderevealed that he had destroyed his closest friendships decades before due to jealousy and insecurity, and that his legacy had initially been built on a lie.
In the first episode of Season 3, the employees of Mythic Quest prepare to welcome C.W. back with a party after he had been away on a book tour for a year. Instead, it was revealed that C.W. died.With very short time left to live due to a terminal illness, C.W. had driven a car into the Grand Canyon, then had his remains launched into outer space for all to see.A touching note revealed his love for his workplace family. It was a wonderfully dramatic send-off for the fantasy writer.
Mythic Quest
7Logan Roy
‘Succession’
Successionstunned viewers in Season 4, Episode 3, “Connor’s Wedding” with the decision to killLogan Roy (Brian Cox)not even halfway through the final season. The episode seemed like it would focus on Connor Roy’s wedding to Willa, and particularly on Logan’s decision to miss his son’s wedding in order to attend a business meeting. Instead, Logan died shortly into the episode, off-screen in the bathroom of his private plane.
Logan Roy’s death was an absolutely phenomenal character exit. It is hard to make an off-screen character’s death feel satisfying, but Logan’s was done very well.Even in death, Logan continued to take up a great deal of space on the show and in his children’s lives, leading them all to slowly tear each other and themselves apart in his wake.Logan’s death shook up the final season perfectly, and it also reflected his own choice of isolation and prioritizing of work above all else.
Succession
6Greg Serrano
‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’
HadCrazy Ex-Girlfriendplayed into typical rom-com tropes rather than subverting them, Greg Serrano (Santino Fontana) would have been Rebecca Bunch’s main love interest. The show played a lot on this expectation in Season 1. As Rebecca started to see that Josh Chan was not the cure to her unhappiness, she also started to fall for Greg, who had been under her nose all along. After a rocky end to their relationship, Greg unexpectedly leaves the show shortly into Season 2.
After hitting rock bottom and spending a night in jail after the Season 1 finale, Greg became sober, before quickly becoming tested when he found out about Rebecca and Josh’s relationship.With the sudden opportunity to attend business school, Greg had to choose between finally trying something for the first time and taking a real risk, or staying and pursuing a doomed relationship with Rebecca.Leaving was exactly what Greg needed, and although it was sad, his send-off was beautiful, completewith an amazing song.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
5Riley Flynn
‘Midnight Mass’
Midnight Masswas a severely underrated horror miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, that followed the lives ofthe townspeople of Crockett Island. What seemed at first to be a set of miracles quickly turned out to be the side effects of vampirism, although the show never called it by its name. The show stunned viewers by having the main character, Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford),get attacked halfway through the series.
Even more shocking was Riley’s death in the show’s fifth episode. Killing off the main character early was a bold choice, but his death scene was truly breathtaking. Riley took his longtime love, Erin Greene, out onto the water in a boat, to explain everything to her and to say goodbye.Then, it was revealed that Riley made the choice to be out on the water at sunrise, so that he would die rather than become a monster. Riley died a hero, in a beautiful and terrifying scene, while also experiencing a vision where he was forgiven by Tara-Beth, whom he had previously accidentally killed.
Midnight Mass
4Michael Scott
‘The Office’
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) was truly the central character inThe Office, which made it so hard when he left. Naturally, the show took a massive hit after his leaving, buthis actual goodbye was incredibly beautifuland fitting for his character development. Michael had started out the show as the goofy and often incompetent boss, but after seven seasons, he had found his groove at Dunder Mifflin and a stable relationship with Holly Flax.
Michael’s final episode was very lovely and emotional, with Michael making sure to say goodbye to everyone, while keeping his real departure date a secret.The highlight of the episode was Pam racing to the airport to say goodbye to Michael before he got on the plane, after Pam and Jim realized that he was leaving that day.It was a beautiful send-off for such an iconic character.
The Office
3Cristina Yang
‘Grey’s Anatomy’
After 10 seasons ofGrey’s Anatomy, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) had a truly beautiful and heartbreaking character arc. Starting out as a confident and stubborn intern, Cristina became a strong and self-assured cardiothoracic surgeon. After Cristina learned that she could not win the Harper Avery because she worked at Grey Sloan, it was clear that there was an expiration date on her time at the hospital.
When Cristina got offered the opportunity as the head of a hospital, Zürich, it was the perfect and satisfying way for her to leave the show and the hospital.Cristina had been through so muchwhile working at the hospital, and it was great to see her on her way to a fresh start and a new opportunity. Her goodbye with Meredith was especially beautiful, where they danced it out, and Cristina told Meredith that she was the sun.
Grey’s Anatomy
Watch on Hulu
2Troy Barnes
‘Community’
Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) was always more than just one of the six members of the study group; he was the heart ofCommunity. When Pierce left his fortune to Troy in his will under the condition that Troy would have to sail around the world for a year, it was a truly devastating moment. This led toTroy’s phenomenal send-off episode, though, where Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) hosted a school-wide game of hot lava to say goodbye.
This was a truly beautiful and heartbreaking character exit, particularly for the relationship between Troy and Abed.What started off as a fun and intense goodbye episode led to a raw and emotional send-off, as Abed finally revealed that he really did see hot lava because Troy was leaving.The resolution of Abed letting Troy go and Troy taking a huge risk was really lovely, as was their goodbye, where Abed told Troy that he’d patched his cloning DNA with that of a homing pigeon, and he might feel a compulsion to come back.
1Olenna Tyrell
‘Game of Thrones’
The greatest character exit of all time was none other than a murder confession from a dying matriarch. Shortly into the fourth season ofGame of Thrones, the truly evil Joffrey Baratheon was suddenly poisoned at his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. Joffrey was one of the most hated TV characters of all time. After he had ruined many characters' lives and been responsible for many deaths, it was extremely satisfying to finally watch him die. Even better, though, was the reveal of who killed him much later on.
The mystery of Joffrey’s killer hung over the show for three seasons. The reveal, many seasons later,that it was Olenna Tyrell(Diana Rigg), was absolutely iconic. After Cersei sentenced Olenna to death, Olenna drank the poison, only to reveal that she was the one who had killed Joffrey. Olenna had always been a strong character, and this was a perfect way for her to die victorious.Olenna’s last scene felt almost like a chess match between her and Jaime, with Olenna getting to declare checkmate with, “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.”
