Out of curiosity, I was wondering what other fans considered the series biggest missed opportunities, i.e. interesting ideas, characters or plotlines that the stories introduced or seemed to be leading towards, but either went in a different direction or were just dropped.

Personally, I'll have to go with the Curse of Camp Cold Lake. One thing that strikes me, reading it, is that Sarah's younger brother Aaron is set up as a potentially interesting character, but largely only exists as an explanation for why Sarah ended up at the camp despite her disdain for water sports and athletics in general.

Aaron is presented as much more level-headed, charming and mature compared to his socially awkward, short-sighted older sister (to her displeasure). Now, whilst having a younger sibling who outshines the protagonist (and their obvious frustrations about it) isn't uncommon in this series, what makes Aaron stand out is that he actually comes across as a nice guy who's implied to look up to his big sis.

Considering this is a series that loves the obnoxious and trouble making sibling (some may argue a bit to much), I always felt that this was quite a fresh dynamic, and if explored could go in a number of interesting different directions (do they say grow closer? Does Sarah's envy continue to grow until she does something truly nasty to her brother? Afterwards when tormented by Della could Aaron be a source of support for Sarah?).

But instead, he just kind of disappears from the narrative, and I don't think he even gets mentioned after the real plot gets going. Plus, considering one of the largest criticisms of the book is that none of the focused characters come across as particularly likeable (to the point many argue that Della comes across as the most sympathetic despite being the villain), I can't help but feel this could have been an improvement.

Still, what do you think? Do you agree? And what do you personally consider the series biggest missed or wasted opportunities?

What Are The Series Biggest Missed Or Wasted Opportunities?