7 Shocking TV Show Retcons That Changed Everything

For generations, the stories that unfold on the small screen have often proved to be some of the most talked-about. While streaming has undoubtedly changed the landscape of modern television, the idea of episodic storytelling remains incredibly popular. The very best TV shows often leave their mark not just on the most dedicated fans but also on wider pop culture, becoming a part of our collective cultural lexicon after capturing the imagination of their audience. As a result, TV history is filled with memorable moments, many of which have become every bit as famous — or infamous, as the case may be — as the shows in which they occurred.

Many of the most shocking moments have come in the form of unexpected TV show twists, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, shows make huge changes to their own established stories, retroactively changing elements of their narrative. Though they’re sometimes innocuous, these retcons occasionally change everything for their shows, drastically rewriting how fans perceive the story forever, marking them as monumental moments in their respective runs.

7) It Was All A Book – Roseanne

Roseanne will forever be remembered as a massive TV hit that fell apart in its final season, which is a shame considering how beloved it once was. The show’s first ending — before it was more recently revived — came at the end of a season that had drastically altered the overall tone of the show. The Conners had won the lottery, taking away the show’s working-class charm and completely changing its entire dynamic. The ending retconned the entire season, though, revealing it was all just a book that Roseanne had written to cope with the death of her husband, who hadn’t survived his heart attack the previous year.

6) The Appearance of the Klingons – Star Trek

The Klingons were first introduced into the Star Trek franchise in the late 1960s, playing a role in a handful of episodes in Star Trek: The Original Series. Later appearances saw the aliens undergo a redesign that incorporated prominent ridges to their foreheads, but the change was initially not explicitly referenced. The retcon itself wasn’t obvious until the show later explained the change, working it into the franchise’s canon, making a huge change to the story of the Klingons in the process.

5) Principal Skinner Is An Impostor – The Simpsons

There have been many characters in The Simpsons whose stories have subtly changed over its run, but few stand out like Seymour Skinner. In season 9, episode 2, “The Principal and the Pauper”, it is revealed that the Skinner we had grown to know was actually an impostor and that he had stolen the identity of his former mentor after he had been presumed dead. The retcon to his story didn’t last long, though, as the end of the episode effectively retconned it back, with Springfield’s townspeople promising to never again refer to the incident. Even so, it changed Principal Skinner’s story forever.

4) Sara Was Never Dead – Prison Break

Prison Break is remembered as a once-great TV show that was terrible by the end. After the first season’s daring prison escape and the second’s frantic attempts to remain free, the show swiftly lost its mojo. Season 3 saw the shocking reveal that Sara had been killed due to a real-world contract dispute with the actor. When this was later resolved, Prison Break retconned her death in season 4, bringing her back from the dead. The retcon completely transformed the show, which went on to use several other death fake-outs, with Sara’s return marking the first in a series of unlikely plot twists that saw Prison Break‘s quality drastically decline.

3) The Rules Of Being A Vessel – Supernatural

Supernatural‘s early seasons saw it focus on folkloric stories in a villain-of-the-week format, but it eventually began to work in wider narrative arcs. This included the introduction of angels to the show, establishing that their human vessels were doomed to die after they had been used by the celestial beings. However, Supernatural then retconned this in order to protect its most popular characters, subtly changing the show in multiple ways. The retcon simultaneously raised and lowered the stakes, allowing the looming threat of angelic interference to continue while also dispelling the more immediate danger of Sam and Dean’s seemingly imminent doom.

2) Buffy Has A Sibling – Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Dawn Summers is rarely considered among the best characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as many fans were irked by the retcon fake-out involved in her introduction. Dawn first appeared at the start of season 5, seemingly retconning previous seasons that had established Buffy as an only child. Dawn’s history was then itself retconned when it was revealed that the main characters’ memories of her had all been implanted, and that she hadn’t previously existed. It was a bizarre narrative choice that saw Buffy decline considerably in quality, and the show was never quite the same after Dawn’s baffling introduction.

1) The War Doctor – Doctor Who

The idea of the Doctor’s regenerations has become a staple of Doctor Who, but one of its most recent retcons changed a considerable portion of the show’s lore. Christopher Eccleston’s tenure as the iconic Time Lord saw him dubbed the Ninth Doctor, but it was later revealed that he was preceded by another regeneration known as the War Doctor. This version of the character was revealed to have destroyed Gallifrey to end the Time War, forever reshaping the character’s story by introducing a secret, dark chapter in his past.

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