2021 provided some great TV moments, but it’s also had its fair share of truly terrible ones. It's time to skip the good to consider the bad and outright ugly moments the small screen had to offer this year. Featuring repeat offenders as well as some unexpected entries from TV shows that were generally well-loved, these moments range from criminally bad, to so-bad-they're-almost-good.
The shows that had some of the worst moments to share this year range from teen dramas to supposed horror stories. Whether they had viewers scratching their heads or asking, “What was that?” as some of the worst TV moments of 2021 they deserve commemoration before being buried forever. After all, achieving notoriety is not so easy.
Riverdale: Jughead Gets Rabies
CW’s teen drama Riverdale is known for its absurd storylines, but this one takes the cake. Season 5, episode 14 of Riverdale (colloquially known as the “rabies episode”) follows several of its main characters as they each encounter… difficulties. Archie (KJ Apa) experiences PTSD and begins hallucinating “Mothmen” and dead soldiers, Betty (Lily Reinhart) goes rogue and captures a serial killer, and worst of all, Jughead (Cole Sprouse) goes on a bender and contracts rabies.
As the story goes, Jughead was working as a writer in New York City when he became an alcoholic. When Betty didn’t show up to his book release, Jughead spiraled and, after a night of heavy drinking, landed himself days later in A&E with a rabies infection. At his AA meeting, Jughead recounts falling into a sinkhole and meeting the “Rat King” during the time he went AWOL — a mystical being that, as it turns out, was just a rabies-induced hallucination (though who'd be surprised if it wasn’t). Unintentionally hilarious, “Chapter Ninety: The Night Gallery” demonstrates the best of Riverdale's crazy, and worst of 2021 TV.
I Know What You Did Last Summer: End Credits
Like Riverdale, Amazon Prime’s new series I Know What You Did Last Summer is also bonkers with just as many bad moments; its worst of which follows the series cessation. Here, in an attempt to tie up eight episodes worth of loose ends, Margot (Brianne Tju) explains her motive for killing her friends, and details exactly how she carried out the murders. Granted, this is necessary; despite the series being a slasher most of the murders occur offscreen and so viewers had no idea how they happened. The point is, a rundown of the series shouldn’t be necessary.
Nevertheless, the decision was made, and at least some laughs can be had at its expense. Short of time, Margot talks at such a rate that one must change their playback settings to understand anything said. And even then, they’d have trouble processing the information. For example, during the Q&A-style sequence, Margot explains it was her bodyguard Kyle (Jason Lee Hoy) who pushed her through the window, under her very orders. But if the attack was orchestrated, why was she genuinely scared by the “intruder”? Because she was alone, she had no reason to act scared, so why? Such inconsistencies beg the same question of the end credits themselves.
The Morning Show: Mitch Dies
The Morning Show’s decision to kill off Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell) was wrong for two notable reasons; one being that it’s a major cop-out. TMS markets itself as a series about the #MeToo movement and dedicated its first season to exploring sexual misconduct in the workplace. More specifically, through disgraced news anchor Mitch, it considered the implications of being exposed as a sexual predator. Season 2, however, cut this exploration short, and rather than tackling the question of what happens /should happen to sexual predators, the Apple+ TV series absolved itself of the responsibility by having its antagonist commit suicide in episode 7. Instead of deciding what future to give Mitch, they gave him none at all. Unfortunately, this is unsurprising; for a series that fancies itself woke (if not controversial), time and again it has demonstrated an inability to walk the walk.
Moreover, TMS’ decision with Mitch (or lack thereof) is morally questionable at best. Throughout TMS Mitch never faced any real consequences for his actions — in fact, losing his job led him to Italy and romance — and now he won’t ever have to. TMS writers, however, fail to see it this way; as showrunner Kerry Erin told The Hollywood Reporter, “The challenge of it was to not dip into sympathy… We never exonerated him.” While the ending was reportedly planned from the beginning, many viewers found Mitch’s death abrupt and argued the character deserved so much more. Punishment, that is.
American Horror Stories: Bad Bros
FX’s American Horror Stories may share the same producers as its predecessor American Horror Story but it is nowhere near as successful. Teetering between boring and awful, the seven episodes have been slammed online, with “The Naughty List” bearing the brunt of the criticism. The fourth episode in the anthology series offers 30-something minutes of bad moments and follows a bunch of douchey influencers who do terrible things for views. This includes — in a nod to Logan Paul’s “Suicide Forest” video — filming a “jumper” while chanting “Bro house! Bro house!” and sexually harassing a mall elf. Whilst it (clearly) intends to parody YouTubers who “will do anything for popularity” it just isn’t funny.
And for a horror series, it isn’t scary either. It’s only in the last ten minutes or so that the bros get what’s coming for them in the form of a murderous Santa impersonator. And even he isn’t introduced until halfway through. “C’mon it’s Danny Trejo!” is all people have to say about that. Elsewhere, others took to criticising the acting in this episode, but if anything the cast did too good of a job at playing the hyper-masculine bros, and that might be the problem. Do viewers really want to be reminded of these terrible people?
You: No More Pandemic, Please
Speaking of lack of escapism, Netflix’s You is also guilty. Though touted as one of the best series this year, season 3’s thinly veiled commentary didn’t go down too well. Not because people disagreed per se, but because viewers don’t want to be reminded of something they’ve spent the best part of a year trying to move past.
Granted, COVID-19 doesn’t play a huge role in the season; briefly mentioned in the premiere episode, it isn’t until baby Henry comes into contact with an unvaccinated family and contracts measles that You starts to make its statement, and even then, it’s given via metaphor. Still, if there is one thing that 2021 TV taught audiences, it’s that subtle or not, pandemic storylines aren’t a good idea, and as 2021 comes to an end, so should they.