Some endings remain more bitter than sweet. Despite some teases to the contrary, Charlie Sheen did not return to Two and a Half Men series finale on Thursday night.

Sheen had seemed to be on a winning streak with the series, a star vehicle on CBS that made him extremely wealthy. However, the situation deteriorated in 2011, with the star’s erratic, seemingly drug-fueled behavior that included multiple rants against the show and its creator, Chuck Lorre. Sheen eventually parted ways with the show, causing a production shutdown and apparently deep hard feelings.

The show cast Ashton Kutcher as a new character to co-star alongside Jon Cryer, and continued for 4 more years. As the series finale drew near, Lorre seemed to be hinting Sheen would return for the last episode. As Newsday reported, Lorre had said in January that he was not ruling out a return but wouldn’t give details, saying, “the other challenge is how to get people to watch something without telling them what it is.”

As Washington Post reported, the episode also seemed to hint that Sheen would return, as the plot revealed that the character Charlie was still alive and seeking revenge, making sure to take plenty of shots against the character’s drug use and other foibles. However, the ending revealed only the back of Charlie’s head, which was promptly smashed by a piano.

In the vanity card at the end of the episode, Lorre wrote that Sheen had been offered a role that involved him not only warning against drug abuse but claiming to be an invincible ninja from Mars. Lorre reported that Sheen had turned it down.

Sheen’s only contribution to the conversation was a tweet on Thursday writing, “If you’re looking for my much-anticipated cameo on network TV…” and linking to a clip of his appearance on ABC’s The Goldbergs.