Why do you think Andi Mack dropped so many plots it set up?
2a is where pretty much all of those dropped plots are set up and likely most of them were potential set up for a different version of S3 than we actually saw. The biggest dropped plots/set up that went nowhere I noticed on my 2a rewatch are in order below:
1) Gabriel set up in 2x03 as Bex’s toxic ex and the reason she thinks she can never get married then never mentioned again
It’s very likely that the re-shoots for A Good Hair Day (which was originally 2x04 in production order) were caused by a Gabriel related plot being cut. We know an actor was cast as his agency put out an instagram post about his casting and a later Disney quiz featured a photo of Gabriel which matched that of the actor they cast to play him. So this one is not the writers fault as for some reason Disney let them write and film whatever was going on with Gabriel in 2x04 and then decided that it had to be cut entirely.
2) Cyrus saying in 2x03 that he one day would have to come out to all 4 of his parents as well as clear set up for Cyrus to kiss a boy after his 2nd kiss with Iris left him feeling like things wouldn’t get better
There’s no way to spin Cyrus straight up saying he would have to one day talk to all four of his parents about his sexuality; that’s Terri planning on doing it later on and never being able to follow up on it. Same with the clear set up for Cyrus to kiss a boy and have it feel right, Terri just didn’t know the limits she’d face with Cyrus’ story line at this point and it shows in the writing. 2x03 is only the 15th ep of the series and there were still 42 more to go and the show could have done so much more with Cyrus’ story line if Disney had only allowed them.
I don’t think Disney would have said no to Cyrus coming out to his parents in S3 but with there being no more than 2 coming outs allowed per season and with endgame Tyrus only approved with the writing of the series finale having Cyrus come out to his parents in 3x11 means you end the series with Jonah never knowing and if Tyrus never gets approved then you end with Cyrus single and only out to 2 of his 3 best friends which is a sad, pathetic ending.
It’s no coincidence that 2x03 is TJ’s first appearance, he obviously would have been the guy Cyrus kissed but Terri probably envisioned him playing a big role in Cyrus coming out to his parents. Not only as someone who understands what Cyrus is going through but it was probably Cyrus dating TJ that was going to spur Cyrus to come out to his parents at some Jewish holiday or event as Cyrus didn’t want to hide his identity and his boyfriend around his parents any longer. I’m sure it would have been a wonderful ep. Of course, that would have been dependent on Disney actually allowing canon Tyrus and whatever Terri’s original plan was I’m sure it didn’t involve waiting until the series finale to get permission for Cyrus and TJ to quietly get together.
3) 2x07 had the second group date that went badly after the S1 Jamber/Ciris group date, this time for Jandi and Muffy. There never was a 3rd times the charm group date
Cyrus was out of the dating game so that leaves Jonah, Andi, and Buffy as characters available for this 3rd group date but Marty’s departure and the show later going with single Andi and Jonah endgame didn’t leave much room for another double date. We had a carnival and a virtual reality arcade and I can’t help but wonder what the 3rd group date may have been.
4) Celia says she’s selling the house in 2x04 because she doesn’t need that big space then puts her house sale plan on hold in 2x08 and that’s the last we hear of it
I had forgotten just how brief this plot was when I did my re-watch. I really don’t know what the plan was because Lauren Tom was on a four season contract just like the other mains and there was no way the show could have afforded to lose the Mack house set. And the series finale is dependent on Cece not selling the house for at least a few years otherwise Andi Studio is a bust. It’s pretty bizarre, I can only guess that maybe it was potential set up in case they suddenly got cancelled later in S2 and they could bring it back up and end with the cast saying goodbye to the Mack house.
5) Cyrus’ film career/Cyrus’ fortune starts in 2x07 but Cyrus never does anything film related after 2x11 and the texts after 2x13 spelled out that Cyrus would drop out of an Ivy league university like the fortune teller predicted because he’d go into film but nothing comes of it until a brief mention in the flash forward sequence of the series finale
It’s not a shocker that Cyrus has a disproportionate number of dropped plot lines but this one is all on the writers. They also dropped his love of reptiles and dinosaurs after him and Iris broke up. Giving Cyrus any kind of hobby or activity like Andi had her art and Jonah his ultimate and Buffy her track and basketball would have alleviated a lot of the complaints with how Cyrus was handled as a main character and would have made his story line feel much more balanced and developed. It’s not like Cyrus putting on a play or joining some junior paleontology club would have had to touch on his sexuality in any way and they could easily have kept TJ out of the eps focusing on Cyrus’ hobby if that would have been an issue. Also we know that Buffy’s basketball flash forward was only written during the 3c re-shoots as that’s when the casting call was put out for adult basketball players which means that Cyrus’ movie flash forward was a literal last minute tacked on thing.
6) Jonah shows up at Andi’s door at the end of 2x13 and seems like he wants to tell her about the panic attack but then asks her to be his official girlfriend, Jonah never tells Andi on the show
This is another one that’s all on the writers. Andi is the main character of the show and her and Jonah are in every single ep, it’s not like Disney would have said no to Jonah having a solo scene with Andi to tell her about his panic attacks. I’m not counting the texts because most of the audience doesn’t have access to them and they’re no replacement for Andi finding out in person. It’s stunning that they had TJ of all people be told about the panic attacks yet it wasn’t important enough for Andi to know. It’s wild that Bowie, Cyrus, Buffy, Norman Goodman, and TJ all know but Andi doesn’t (and Jonah’s parents never get told either). Jonah’s ultimate and outdated slang get dropped in S3 but I think that’s more a reflection of the writers feeling embarrassed that what they though would be a quirky hobby and way of speaking became a running joke among the audience.
I suspect that Andi didn’t find out in large part because they were dead set on single Andi and Jonah endgame and deliberately kept Andi and Jonah apart for most of the season. Most of their solo scenes involved Andi counselling Jonah about whatever failing relationship he was in at that time and perhaps they thought Jonah telling Andi about his panic attacks would have been too emotionally intimate of a scene and since it would have brought them closer together it might have gotten the audience hoping that they’d get back together. And the show may have wanted to avoid having to show Jonah on Andi’s doorstep in 2x13 on the previously on as that would remind the audience of Jandi. 2b spends a lot of time pretty much fixing the issues Jandi had and leaves them in a good place and then S3 just throws that all out so it wouldn’t shock me if Terri didn’t decide on single Jandi endgame until after S2 was over and was writing 2x13 with the expectation that Jandi would be together in S3. Regardless it was a big failing on the writers part as was much of Jonah’s story line in S3
