How a rift should be done

[Joe Washington]

I see the heartbreaking rift that occurred between Sam and Dean in Season 4 of Supernatural that still lingers in Season 5 and the rift that developed between Vic and Shane in the Shield that lasted well into the series finale and it makes me cry when comparing them to the badly handled rifts between Lex and Clark in Smallville and Peter and Nathan in Heroes. Because those rifts acted more like a malfunctioning robot than a heart wrenching tragedy between two people with a close bond which the first two rifts were.
What are the things that made rifts like the Sam-Dean rift and the Vic-Shane rift such successful tragedies? And the poor examples of rifts like the Lex-Clark rift and the Peter-Nathan rift such miserable whimpers?

[Lindley]

I'm not familiar with any of those, but I did like the way Wesley was ostracized from the Fang Gang in Angel season 3. That lasted longer than I thought it would.

[RoJoHen]

Lindley wrote:

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I'm not familiar with any of those, but I did like the way Wesley was ostracized from the Fang Gang in Angel season 3. That lasted longer than I thought it would.

It broke my heart. All I wanted was for everyone to get along!

[Joe Washington]

Lindley: yeah, that rift was brutal. But in a way, it made a sense for the rift not to be resolved by the end of the third season because that would wrap things up too easily and it wouldn't give Wesley enough time to develop into the rugged, badass Wesley of Season 4.
Are you familiar with the rift between Tony and Christopher in the Sopranos?