If you ever watch a show you’ll know there is always a character that you don’t like. But how many times are you frustrated that they keep forcing these characters in because the filmmakers thought they were cool, deep, or the next big thing.
For this list, I am going to talk about characters that are supposed to be given some sort of nuance. An important piece of this elaborates is how these characters were supposed to feel like one thing but they are completely different than wasn’t intended.
This list includes, but is not limited to:
- “Comic relief” that’s not funny.
- “Heroes” that are really just a**holes.
- Villains we are forced to sympathize with – despite lacking any redeeming qualities.
- Characters that are just clearly plagarized from another show to please the corporate chart overlords.
Characters like Joffrey (Game of Thrones), Delores Umbridge (Harry Potter), or any of the faces here below are not on this list as they are characters that we are meant to fear and despise.
Our guys are terrible by bad writing.
Bolin (Avatar: The Legend of Korra) – An Unfunny Sokka 2.0
Avatar: the Last Airbender is considered by some to be one of if not the greatest TV shows of all time. No doubt a major part was their characters, Sokka in some way the comic relief of the crew however he’s the most relatable because he is a non-bender like the rest of Team Avatar.
The sequel series, The Legend of Korra, takes place 70 years and most of the original team is dead or too old. When the new avatar is revealed a new Team Avatar is assembled. Unfortunately, they decided they needed another Sokka in the form of Bolin, the younger brother of Korra’s love interest Mako. To best describe Bolin is that he’s Sokka without the intelligence of charm. In the original Sokka wasn’t just the guy that made jokes – he was the guy that makes all the plans and served as the moral center. Bolin is just all jokes and that’s it.
The reason I put him low on the list is that the show makes it clear that the reason he’s a simpleton is that he is a younger sibling (an element I can relate to). To his credit, he does develop more of an arc in season 4, where he was essentially red-pilled by Kuvera’s Earth Empire and tries desperately to rationalize his service amongst the earth Nazis. However, season 4 is a little late for establishing an arc for one of your main characters. This is a prime example of ripping off other characters and doing nothing new aside from just earth bending.
Judith (Vikings) – A Soul-less Cersei
After Game of Thrones, many period dramas seemed to be vomiting up copies of Cersei Lannister, the scheming seductress behind the throne trope. One example of this was Judith from the History Channel series Vikings. Much like my criticism of Bolin, my criticism stems from the fact that this show wanted another character from a popular brand. Except for this time they try to outdo Cersei.
Introduced properly in season 3, at first her story arc isn’t bad. She seems like an innocent young girl put into an arranged marriage to prince Æthelwulf and develops the hots for the priest Athelstan (quite randomly in fact).
After Athelstan dies and Judeth gives birth to Alfried we see a bizarre turn for Judith as she weirdly develops a sexual relationship with her own father-in-law Ecbert, and her reason for doing so never made sense to me.
“Sleep with me.”
> No.
“I’ve got books?”
> Okay.
Sidenote: everyone inevitably tries to boink each other in Vikings, whether there was chemistry or not
(Spoilers for season 5)
Their writing choices go even further, in season 5, after manipulating her first Son Aethelred to step down as king in favor of her son Alfred. Aethelred was almost plotting to overthrow his brother but bowed out due to brotherly love. After Aethelred confessed, Judith callously poisons her own son right in front of her.
My problem with Judith is that I don’t know what character she’s supposed to be. It’s clear that the writers want to make a Cersei character of their own, however, it’s without nuance. She’s introduced as a protective mother in one season, Then a psycho and there’s no in-between. Pick one archetype or the other.
Ben Affleck (Pearl Harbor) – A “hero” who’s really just an awkward asshole
Yes, we know his character has a name – but we all know him as “Ben Affleck” in every movie he’s in since the 2000s
I think the reason why Ben Affleck was disliked throughout much of the 2000s was that his characters have this kind of awkward cringe that his films confuse for humor and innocence. Well, Micheal Bay decided to make an American hero out of him with Pearl Harbor.
He doesn’t want to sleep with his girlfriend before going to war because this was his way of honoring her. Flies for the British only to get captured, then upon turning to Hawaii – as you guess, the night before the attack – he’s suddenly shocked that his girlfriend got together with his best friend. What did you expect, man? I understand that Affleck’s character arc is learning to let go of relationships and value his friendship more, but this is a contrived way of doing it.
Catherine of Aragon (The Spanish Princess) – History be damned
When it comes to making period dramas, characters are rarely portrayed in a way that accurately resembles their counterpart. However, that has been turned up to eleven with the Starz original series, The Spanish Princess.
Being the third in a series that focuses on several English queens, each one tries to present powerful women that survive in a man’s world. Boy was that not conveyed well here – and her terrible Spanish accent doesn’t help either.
Being badly miscast is one thing that tries to be the “strong female character with virtues” however is another matter entirely. Her character is supposed to be a righteous catholic, but sleeps King Henry’s brother, Arthur, and lies about it as she desperately wants to hold her marriage to her husband Henry VIII (Yes, that king Henry). She even goes so far as to hate her own daughter Mary, her only healthy child, because it wasn’t a boy. Needless to say, this is the exact opposite of what one of England’s most tragic Monarchs was like. hating your child for being born a girl was King Henry’s Job.
Okay so the parts I just mentioned are tacked on, but passable Season 2 however is things get absolutely ridiculous to where it reeks of pandering. That Image I showed you isn’t fake. Kathrine actually goes into battle fully pregnant in full armor. If this was some sort of fantasy setting or satire I’d be laughing my ass off (to be fair I did), But no this is supposed to be a serious battle with the Scots. I know there’s supposed to be some sort of metaphor but lost thought halfway through.
What’s even weirder is that this “maternity armor” was shown in the trailer, they were proud of this. Catherine was treated as and heroic and righteous when in reality this is nonsensical and pandering.
Ezra Bridger (Star Wars: Rebels) – The “spunky” kid.
The one tragedy (aside from the sequel trilogy) is that for a time Lucasfilm’s animated projects felt the need to pander to kids. A case in point was Ezra Bridger. He’s Disney’s Aladin/Hercules/Taran those guys that have the bland annoying voices, that just happen to come from a 14-year-old. Guess what he’s the focus of the show.
Worse, Ezra distracts from other characters that are way more interesting like his master Kanen Jarris who escaped order 66 and is torn between committing to the Jedi or remaining hidden from the empire. Or Hera Syndulla the daughter of a Ryloth nationalist who chose to leave her father to fly starships for a better cause.
Any one of these stories could have driven a whole show, instead, instead we just get Space Aladdin and talking Chewie shopping for fruit. This seems to be a lesson that Lucasfilm seems to keep missing time and again. We don’t want kids characters in our Sci-Fi action rebellion. Sure, The Clone Wars had Ahsoka – but she took a whole 2 seasons before fans started to warm up to her – when she actually grew up. Ezra, for all intents and purposes, never did.
I know there are objectively worse characters in Star Wars (Rose, Jar Jar, Holdo, etc) but Ezra irritates me the most because the entire show is on his back. And now Lucus animation is doing the same mistake again with Omega in The Bad Batch.
Kids don’t want to be Robin, they want to be Batman.
Sidenote: I know you thought from the cover i was going to pick Rose for a Star Wars punching bag – you fell for our click bait 😉
Also, Admiral Holdo was far worse in Episode IIX
Bloo (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends) – The worst friend anyone can “imagine”
If you grew up with Cartoon Network in the mid-2000s then you remember Foster’s Home. It’s a creative setup, as it’s a home where imaginary characters are left behind by their creators, literally. Bloo was the imaginary friend of the main character, Mac.
I’m surprised Mac didn’t leave his friend Bloo behind earlier because he is a ripe bastard. Throughout the entire series, he’s been nothing more than a narcissist who manipulates his friends and tries to be the big shot. In many ways he reminds me of Eric Cartman, but far less funny or intelligent.
Makes you question why Mac would create a best friend like that.
Brian Griffin (Family Guy – the later years)
During the early series, Brian was my favorite character, however, after season 3 Brian became more and more hate-able with the way he manipulates his friends and family. I wouldn’t mind so much if it weren’t for the fact that he’s supposed to be the voice of reason in the Griffin family. Brian has become less of a character and more of a cynical extension of Seth MacFarlane.
What’s worse is that Seth MacFarlane is completely aware how much of a downgrade as he made Brian and entire episode with Quagmire ranting far better than I can ever describe
Adam Sandler (8 Crazy Nights) – We get it, Billy Madison is a jerk.
Adam Sandler’s career was built on occasionally funny, but universally annoying comedic leads. In my opinion, the worst revolves around his character in Eight Crazy Nights.
Throughout the entire movie he mocks people for their looks, freezes his mentor Whitey in a poopsicle, and routinely vandalizes people’s property because he hates the holidays, Hanukkah included. Think Ebenezer Scrooge, but less charming. The big problem is that this character is supposed to learn his lesson, but you don’t give him any real redeeming qualities. the only part where he isn’t an asshole was befriending his old girlfriend’s son.
The only reason you’re supposed to feel sympathy for him is that he lost his parents in a car wreck. In my opinion, giving a tragic backstory is a lazy way of making us feel sorry for a terrible character, no matter how sad your life may be your actions define what you are, if you’re an asshole it’s because you chose to be, no excuse.
Sidenote: Despite Sandler’s antics, he’s a goddamn saint compared to my #1 pick…
#1 Bryce Walker (13 Reasons Why) – Redeeming an unredeemable character
I’ve written a more in-depth article on this waste of flesh, so I won’t repeat myself here – you’ll understand after watching the show.
Okay, here’s the thing, I’m kind of cheating with regards to this one character. During the first 2 seasons, Bryce was written to be those “meant to hate” kind of character showing very clearly that he has no redeeming qualities. Basically, he’s a serial rapist who gets away with everything because the system protects those with privileged parents.
However in season 3, the writers decided to flip the script and not only make him the pseudo protagonist, but go out of their way to somehow redeem this unredeemable character, and they fail. Now for the record, I’m not saying that it’s impossible to make a serial rapist into a complex character. It can work if they show some of that complexity from the start, so you understand why Bryce does what he does.
But, for the past several seasons, he’s been nothing but a simple thug who happens to be rich. So when he does make that change it’s not very believable. The writers clearly wrote him to be one of the worst human beings imaginable. We were never really given a reason why he wanted to change it actually so oversimplified I can’t piece together exactly why he made it.
You can make compelling characters out of such people, Alex (A Clockwork Orange) and Jaques de Greis (the Last Duel) are perfect examples. But don’t say deep down their good people or that they are misunderstood. Doing so negates whatever his victims are going through which is what that season should have been about. It’s like that if Ramsay Bolton was somehow transformed into Zuko, some villains arcs are just not compatible.
Ohh and it’s only because he’s killed off instead of living with his consequences that he’s “redeemed”
I binged the entire series just so I can put him #1 with a clear conscience (much to my regret). I knew If I were to ever put a worst character it would be this guy. Not because of what he does, but what this series tries to do and fails. Villains don’t need redemption arcs to make them compelling or even sympathetic, but you are supposed to give us a reason to feel sorry for this guy from the start and this show did not.
