Fantasy show fans have enjoyed new seasons of hit shows throughout 2023, including The Witcher, Good Omens, and The Wheel of Time. These shows have some exceptional female role models, such as young Ciri in The Witcher and Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones. However, many female characters are poorly written in fantasy TV shows, or have miserable arcs that don't serve them.
Characters such as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones and Abbie Mills in Sleepy Hollow are some of the most mistreated women in this genre. Though these characters had the potential to be great female representations, their stories were disappointing. There are many particularly beloved female characters in fantasy shows that deserved better.
Updated by Fawzia Khan on 13th October, 2023: Fantasy franchises have a bad habit of sidelining female characters, or putting them through unnecessarily harsh character development. This is a trend that continues to date, and there have been plenty of female fantasy characters who have had unjust arcs in their stories. This list has been further updated with more such characters.
15 Bonnie Bennett
The Vampire Diaries
The resident witch of Mystic Falls never got fair treatment on The Vampire Diaries, be it romances or favorable outcomes against villains. Bonnie Bennett only existed to benefit Elena, Damon, Stefan, and Caroline, and her character only used her powers to save them. She was given a savior complex and resisted doing anything for her own benefit.
Bonnie lost her mother and died herself to help her friends, which made little sense. Missing from whole episodes at a time, her storylines were an afterthought. Even her happy ending with Enzo was cut short, which was a bad look for the only person of color on the main cast of the show.
14 Alicent Hightower
House of The Dragon
Poor Alicent Hightower has often been labeled the "Cersei of House of The Dragon," but that couldn't be further from the truth. Since a young age, Alicent was merely a pawn in her father's hands. Otto made her seduce Viserys so that he could gain power, without paying mind to the fact that his daughter would lose her closest friend, Rhaenyra.
The young Queen did her best under the circumstances but only realized too late that she had played into the hands of men who didn't care for her. Unfortunately, her anger was misdirected at Rhaenyra and her supporters. Alicent was left making unsavory deals with the likes of Larys, and her only way out was to campaign for her son.
13 Larissa Weems
Wednesday
The Headmistress of Nevermore Academy was dignified and respected, even if she was dark and mysterious. Larissa Weems was committed to her school, going to great lengths to protect its reputation. Fans got to see her more emotional side when Wednesday depicted a flashback of how much she loved Gomez, but her roommate Morticia got the prize, so to speak.
Fans got a rude shock when Weems died when Laurel injected her with a fatal nightshade poison. This seemed like a rather unfair and abrupt ending for a woman who had more to offer, and some Wednesday Season 2 theories are hopeful of her return for a better ending.
12 Bill Potts
Doctor Who
Companions form an important part of the sci-fi fantasy saga of Doctor Who, and Bill Potts was a breath of fresh air when she became a fellow traveler with the Twelfth Doctor. Her luck went awry right from the start -- Bill's love interest, Heather was turned into an alien water creature. Still, she persevered and provided Twelve with surprising insight and friendship.
Her ending, however, was unjustly sad. Most companions get some semblance of joy at the end of the road, but Bill was shockingly turned into a Cyberman after being shot while answering an alien distress call. Twelve was unable to save her from this horrific fate, and only Heather provided relief when she offered to turn Bill into a water alien, too.
11 Camille O'Connell
The Originals
Cami became the victim of the supernatural early when her brother was driven to madness and death by a witch hex in The Originals. She came to New Orleans to investigate this, but caught the attention of Klaus and Marcel. Despite his obvious affection for her, Klaus turned Cami into a plaything by compelling her to become his therapist and then forgetting their interactions.
Eventually, she did find out the truth and fell deeply in love with Klaus. Her romance with him only led to more mishaps, as she was turned into a vampire against her will, and then finally fatally bitten by Lucien. Cami rarely had a say in her own life, and being associated with the Mikaelsons only brought her pain and an early death.
10 Charlotte Richards
Lucifer
Lucifer is a great fantasy show that has a nice police procedural twist to the storyline. Though the finale of the show was positive and heartwarming, not all the characters in the series received a great conclusion to their arc. Charlotte Richards had a sad arc, her body being taken over by the Goddess only to find her whole life had been changed when she gets control of her life once again.
Charlotte has a brutal conclusion, being shot shortly after she's tried to make a positive change in her life. Though it's mentioned she's happy in Heaven, her conclusion in Lucifer was a shocking and devastating end to a character that had a lot more to offer.
9 Suki
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Suki was a skilled Kyoshi Warrior and the love interest of Sokka in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Though she wasn't in the series for many episodes, she was an important part of Team Avatar in the final battle. It was sad to see her jailed by the Fire Nation before she was rescued, though she retained her awesome demeanor.
Despite Suki being an important part of the gang in the final season, she isn't mentioned in The Legend of Korra, unlike several other characters from ATLA. She's a fan-favorite that viewers wanted to see more of. Not highlighting her conclusion in ATLA and touching upon her adulthood in the spin-off was an injustice to her contributions throughout the war against the Fire Lord.
8 Mary Winchester
Supernatural
Supernatural is a great fantasy show that became controversial in the final few seasons. Mary Winchester had a sad story, as she was killed by a demon when her sons were young. Her death was a catalyst to the Winchesters becoming monster hunters, though it's revealed later she was a descendant of a line of hunters.
After she was raised from the dead, Mary became one of the most interesting characters and exceptional hunters. In the end, she met a sudden and unintentional death at the hands of Jack. Despite being at peace in Heaven, Mary's journey after her resurrection was heartwarming. She had much more to contribute other than a plot device to create a rift between her sons and Jack.
7 Prue Halliwell
Charmed
The reboot of Charmed was not received positively, criticized for not bringing anything new to the original plot. One of the beloved aspects of the '90s hit was Prue Halliwell. She was the oldest and most powerful of the sisters, dedicating her time to learning about her abilities.
While trying to protect a doctor from a deadly demon, Prue is mortally injured and succumbs to her wounds before she can be healed by Leo the Whitelighter. Though she had an honorable death, it was devastating for fans to see her die in the third season, especially since she was the most powerful of the Charmed Ones.
6 Charlie Bradbury
Supernatural
Charlie was a beloved character in Supernatural, known for her quirky and fun personality. Her inclusion offered a freshness to the male-dominated series and added LGBTQ+ representation that was lacking in the overall show. Despite her popularity, the character received a brutal demise.
After translating the Book of the Damned for the Winchesters, she is stabbed to death in a motel by an enemy seeking the translation. Fans were devastated by this death, feeling as if this tragedy wasn't necessary for the forward-moving plot. Though her character returned in the alternate world storyline, it was not the same lovable character.
5 Tara Maclay
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Tara was introduced into the Buffyverse later in the series, becoming Willow's love interest. Willow and Tara are arguably the best couple in this teen fantasy, adding diversity to the series and a wholesome relationship that was far less toxic than others throughout the storyline.
Tara died being shot by a stray bullet meant for Buffy. This event inevitably led to Willow going dark, unable to cope with the loss. Tara was a kind, gentle person who put others before herself. Unfortunately, she was another victim of being a plot device to forward the characterization of another character.
4 Abbie Mills
Sleepy Hollow
Sleepy Hollow was a great reimagining of the classic tale, following Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) who ends up 250 years into the future. He and Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie), a detective, team up to stop the Headless Horseman in modern-day Sleepy Hollow. Mills was a main reason for the popularity of this show, beloved for her courage and empathy.
However, Beharie had experienced mistreatment compared to her co-star, making the actress unhappy with her role. Sleepy Hollow's third season ended with Mills' death, sacrificing herself to bring an end to Pandora. This was another sacrificial death that was made to seem honorable to the character, but, in reality, was another injustice to female characters in fantasy shows.
3 Sansa Stark
Game Of Thrones
Many fans of Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones were satisfied with how her story concluded. Though she had gone through some terrible ordeals, she ended up the Queen of the North. This seemed like an honorable conclusion to her storyline. However, Sansa's story only needed such a grand conclusion because of how her character was written throughout the series.
Following the death of her father, Sansa was relentlessly abused and made to feel as though her treatment was justifiable and simply the way of the world. The treatment of women in this series is a deeply concerning controversy, with many fans despising the way Sansa's strong characterization at the end was made to seem only possible because of the abuse she suffered.
2 Francesca Findabair
The Witcher
Francesca has one of the most chilling stories in Netflix's The Witcher. When introduced, she is the fierce ruler of the elven people struggling to survive the harsh treatment of their kind. After partnering with Fringilla and Nilfgaard, Francesca gives birth to a rare elf baby, only for her child to be assassinated.
Toward the end of the second season of The Witcher, Francesca walked with her people through the streets of Redania, using her magic to kill the human infants of the city. Though her story will certainly continue, the constant injustice of elven people in their society has turned Francesca into a vengeful and unforgiving ruler.
1 Rhaenyra Targaryen
House Of The Dragon
In the next season of House of the Dragon, fans will see the beginning of the war between the Greens and the Blacks. While the fandom has split between which side to support, it's clear the show made the Blacks, Rhaenyra's side, the more favorable winners. Rhaenyra's story highlights her struggle to have a voice in court until her father names her heir to the Targaryen throne.
Rhaenyra is degraded by friends and family and is thought to be an unfit ruler, mainly due to her gender. In the finale, Rhaenyra is hesitant to begin a war until the murder of her son Lucerys. Many of Rhaenyra's decisions are based on a desire to be in control of her own life, leading to a heartbreaking story about a young woman who begins a war because of her constant mistreatment.