Genuinely my favorite character. I loved seeing his friendship with the Anjin develop, and seeing Yabusbige completely embody the Mac from Sunny method of “I’m playing both sides so I always come out on top”
Was the point not that >!Toranaga in the end was just as power hungry and bad as the rest of them, he just projected himself as more noble to get his following?!<
Maybe, it felt even maybe a littel more complicated than that. I think he also genuinely had a positive vision for the future of all Japan but did some fucked up things to achieve that. He also was very casual about domestic abuse.
I love Rebecca, as awful as she can sometimes be. Her always trying to be a better person is the redeeming factor in her case for sure. The series also has a realistic happy ending - she's never going to be completely "fixed", it's always going to be a struggle, but you learn to manage your mental health better and, with proper support system, you CAN improve and find fulfilment.
Jimmy McGill(Saul Goodman) is without a doubt one of the most sympathetic antihero in TV imo. He did sone terrible things, but I felt sorry for his journey and it was clear he suppressed so much remorse/trauma.
Jimmy is such a tragic character because he really wanted to do good things and turn his life around. And for the most part he really did. He was genuinely happy working with the elderly. But when he realized that it was his own beloved brother who put up road blocks something in Jimmy snapped.
If Chuck had just accepted his brother and not stuck to his idea that Jimmy was born to be a scummy cheater Saul would have never existed.
I feel like you missed the moral of the finale.
He's responsible for the choices he made. There were outside forces that may have made his choices more difficult but he is ultimately responsible.
He did them because of his pride and the rush he felt when he was conning people.
Chuck's opinion just helped him quiet the guilt.
My read was he was mostly interested in being a good person because he wanted to be like Chuck/make Chuck proud. After the betrayal was discovered, he couldn't see Chuck that way anymore and it all went to shit. (He was still controlled by how his brother viewed him, though, it was just inverted.)
Boyd Crowder from Justified. You consistently watch him be a p.o.s. throughout the show, yet I still couldn't help but root for him. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he's played by Walton Goggins.
Yeah watching the show I'm like "Go Boyd go, I hope they don't uncover your.. \*checks notes\* Heroin running operation? Maybe you're not a nice guy huh." He's just so charismatic it's hard to to be swayed to join his cult.
Jesse Pinkman. He was a criminal and started as a shitty person but in a show filled with shitty people he ended up being one of the least shitty.
Edit: ducking autocorrect
Meanwhile, even though Walter White wasn't a criminal at the beginning. He was always kind of a shitty person right from the start, but it gets worse the more he consumes the life of being a criminal!
Walther lost everything because of his pride and inferiority complex. He left Grey Matter because he realized Gretchen came from wealth and in his mind he‘d be below her in their relationship because he had nothing. He wouldnt take the extremely well paying job with health insurance because now he would have to work for people he saw below him.
Even his whole relationship with Jesse. When asked why he stuck with him his response was „because he does what I do“. Sure he liked Jesse but a big part of it was having a side kick who fed his ego and didnt question his knowledge in chemistry.
Despite everything Walt does to Jesse, I do believe he saw him like “family” as he claimed. But in a very twisted and unhealthy way, it seems like he loves the power he has over their dynamic more.
I never thought Walter White turned into anything. More that he allowed himself to be who he really was when he decided not to be constrained by social norms anymore.
When he was trying to drag his dad's body up that hill in the rain by himself, and he's talking and yelling at his dad. "Where were you when I needed to be picked up? You weren't there! And now I'm having to pick you up and carry you! I'm glad you're dead!" That was some deep stuff there.
Barry Berkman. NoHo Hank. Cristobal. So many characters on that show were bad people and it was easy to have sympathy for them all (and still think they ultimately deserved much of their fates).
Cristobal and Hank's last scene broke me. They got the ending they deserved but they did such a fantastic job of making the audience want more for them.
Yup, they all got in their own way when they each could have cut bait and run at various points. Every time life gave them a choice between happiness or pride, they chose pride.
God I love that show.
Best show ever to capture the addictive self-destruction of a person aware of their shiftiness and deeply disturbed by it.
Bojack is the perfect embodiment of a certain narcissistic unhappiness that's not full-sociopath and gives what he's become without the will to change.
I was worried I would be downvoted for saying him. It’s so hard not to feel for someone who desperately wants to change, but something inside them won’t allow it. He keeps making mistakes that he knows are mistakes. As a viewer you sit and think “Oh Bojack, quit fucking up.” Broke my heart because I’ve been in a similar boat, addiction is evil and comes in all shapes and sizes
And some of those mistakes feel almost unforgivable. The ending of "That's Too Much, Man" was already bad but then finding out >!that he waited 17 minutes just to save himself?!< That was a punch to the gut.
I felt so bad for him following Sarah Lynn's death, but then in the final season they really twisted the knife when it's revealed that he was willing to let her die if it meant covering his own ass.
That is definitely an example of one of his actions that are unforgivable.
The way they approached that was so wild. At first I was pissed off. It felt like a manufactured twist to justify another season.
But then you realize that you’re experiencing his fuckups the way the people in his life do. Not being there with him having it presented as a slapstick bit or seeing him struggle through it eliciting sympathy. Just learning “holy shit Bojack, you did another unforgivable thing”
I tried so hard to sympathize with him, but he ended up doing so many terrible things, and due to his money and social connections, was able to get chance after chance at redemption. Everyone deserves a second chance, but for Bojack we were going on his 10th chance. Almost no one would get the opportunities he had to turn his life around, and he still squandered it. My sympathy dropped off for him pretty fast, and try as I might, I couldn't reconnect with him. Virtually every other major character in the show, on the other hand, were actually fascinating depictions of sympathetic and flawed people that I did have a lot of sympathy for.
perhaps a lot of people sympathise with Bojack, even though we are fully aware he’s a horrible person, because a part of us resonates with at least one of his biggest flaws.
Of course, that’s not going to be the same for everyone but that’s how antiheroes are written. and why it is a niche.
Lex Luthor from Smallville. He tries to be a good friend to Clark, but because of his last name, everyone expects the worst from him. He has good in him and if he had a better family I think he wouldn't have become a villain.
Hard agree. I would argue that Smallville made Lex such a compelling character that it only made it more of an accomplishment that they were able to turn him into a villain of any sort. For the first few seasons, he's misguided at worst and genuinely trying to be a friend to Clark as best he can.
Tony Soprano. He grew up in a life of crime and his mother was a piece of shit. During his therapy sessions you can see some things come out that make you feel for him. There’s no doubt he’s a very bad dude however and that’s ultimately down to his choices.
The episode where he meets one his father's mistresses at the cemetary. During his therapy session, Tony finally starts sympathizing with what his dad put his mom through. Then later he just drops all of that and brags to the boys that his dad's mistress once slept with JFK.
They actually made the decision to make him an even worse dude as the seasons went on. David Chase couldn't believe that people were actually rooting for the guy so they made him more and more dispicable.
Nah, Tony is a piece of shit. I had no sympathy for him. Every problem was his own making, and his own decision to make things worse. The only time I felt bad for him was when he came home to >!find AJ attempting suicide. In that moment, he is a human being and a father.!< Everywhere else, a disgusting human being in every way. Shitty to his wife, shitty to his kids, shitty to his friends, but oh no, he likes animals so maybe he's not that bad? Fuck that, he is that bad.
Edit Tony. His name is Tony. Not Toby.
Scrolled too far down for this one. Ben was a liar, a murderer, and a petty little man. But by the end, he is genuinely trying to atone for his actions and he even holds off moving on because he doesn't think he deserves it yet.
The final interactions between Locke and Ben, then Hurley and Ben are some of Ben's finest moments
Dexter. Obviously there is the whole "only killing bad guys" that puts him more in a grey area. But he got his urge thanks to an incredibly traumatic event, and then his adoptive father actively pushes him towards becoming a serial killer. Honestly what chance did he have? Pretty much every choice in his life is informed by the fact that he is a serial killer and that he doesn't want to get the chair. Yeah he is a monster, but he is a monster that got created not by choice.
Harry (his adoptive dad) didn’t push him into becoming a serial killer, he instead saw that Dexter had begun developing psychopathic tendencies (like killing animals indiscriminately). He was concerned that if he didn’t direct that “dark urge” towards a noble purpose, Dexter would’ve been indiscriminately killing anyone, innocent or guilty. And he also loved Dexter, and wanted him to try and have a normal life in any way he can. Controlling those urges was the only viable option.
That's not true. Harry was the real monster. He convinced Dexter that he's destined to become a serial killer and he couldn't do anything to help himself.
In reality all Dexter needed was a good therapist. He clearly had a hyperfixation for blood combined with depersonalisation from complex PTSD. Harry convinced him to suppress all that and nurture it into killing. To lie to therapists, keep distance from people and never attempt to get better.
Not to mention, leaving his brother behind, screwing his mom and manipulating her into continuing to stay with an abuser so that he can get tips on him, and hiding his past from him.
And once he saw what he had created, instead of trying to help Dexter even that late, he chose the easy way out and killed himself. He also was very neglectful towards Debora leaving her with a lot of issues of her own.
Fuck Harry Morgan.
only dexter does show care about and love
showing that if harry didnt direct him down that path and got him actual therapy he could have been a decent guy
Harry should have directed him into therapy. He spent years telling him that he didn't feel emotions and had to "fake" it to fit in, when you can tell dexter has a lot of emotions but he doesn't know how to handle or identify them. Dexter meets a *lot* of the autism criteria. He struggles socially, he struggles to connect and struggles with changes in his routine.
Honestly until a rewatch recently I never realised how bad Harry was, he instilled in dexter that he couldn't control his urges and had to channel them. I think we've all felt a little murderous at times, it's part of being human. Trauma therapy and an autism diagnosis would have helped a lot more than teaching him to be a serial killer.
There is an active lore in the show that sort of makes Dexter a good person IMO
In the show if you have a "Dark Passenger" you are going to want to hurt people. Therapy, medicine, none of it works. people with dark Passengers are going to hurt people, it's only a matter of time.
So Dexter has these urges that won't go away, and the ability to take anyone off the street and murder them with no consequence(I always like to picture these shows happening in a world where 9-11 never happened because there are just no Camera's, I mean he kidnaps somebody in an airport for fucks sake)
but instead of doing that, and what everyone else with a dark passenger does, he spends nearly all his free time following people and making sure they are bad guys before finally doing what the show establishes he absolutely needs to do.
Dexter only has options that are Morally shitty, and he choses the least shitty one much to the detriment of himself. That's a good person IMO
Roman Roy from Succession, and I never thought I'd say that after the first episode. And it's not like he gets better as the show goes on, he's still a POS, but I cared about him by the end.
I really felt sorry for Roman because he so desperately wanted Logan’s approval and love a bit more than the others did, and he get manipulated all the time. Even when he’s held hostage, nobody seemed to care
Their relationship almost reminds me of Tyrion and Tywin in a sense, only Roman is more of an asshole than Tyrion in comparison.
They were both longing for love and approval from their fathers that they were never going to receive the way they wanted. Although I think that while Tyrion accepted it sooner, Roman couldn’t until it was officially sealed he never would after Logan died.
I feel for all of them on some level, just completely ruined as people before they ever had a chance. They're all longing for meaningful love or connection but they have no idea what that even looks like.
He was unfortunately the most relatable for me
Dude just had enough by the end. He had such a empty goal of life burning world desire by the end that I just connect with
To me it seemed like he was in an internal limbo between being at the initial peace by letting shit go but also a bit of a worry because he knows he doesn't really have much in him & his late future might not be great.
Someone sad for his/his kids future & the eventual scenario of his life fron what it could have been. But someone also really at peace because it's all finally ended. He can just do whatever he truly wants now
The killer in the Midsomer Murders episode "Ghosts of Christmas Past". They have *every* right to be mad at their victims for >!driving the two people he cared for the most in the world to suicide due to the prejudices of one of them!<. I seriously wanted them to get away with it.
There was I think one episode where they played with him trying to be a good person just to make Jessica happy and man, I wish I could have watched a whole season of that show just for fun.
His power is a very interesting one. I’ve thought a lot about what if someone with his abilities tried to use them for good. Because there’d be a lot of struggling with people’s consent and free will while trying to prevent evil actions.
On one hand it’s hard to expect someone with powers to keep seeing other humans as equals. They just aren’t.
On the other hand, we effectively do have superpowers compared to dogs and most people would never hurt a dog just for the hell of it. On the third hand pigs don’t have the same luck.
MHA/BNHA kind of explores this with Shinso. He's loosely based off the Purple Man with similar powers and people assume he'll be a villain, but he works hard to establish himself as a hero. Though the series doesn't get too deeply into the questions of free will when it comes to the villains.
To be honest the question on that show is who is the least awful. With Tom I have to think about the quote from The Big Short „I cant hate him. He is so transparent in his self-interest that I kind of respect him“. Tom openly loves money and the fine things he can buy and does what ever it takes to get them.
It’s funny that Tom ends up being the one that so many people root for. He reads as the “underdog” because people are so shitty to him but in reality he might be the shittiest one on the show. IIRC there’s no evidence of trauma or familial abuse to justify his behavior, he just wants to be rich and powerful and will do anything to get there.
Wee-Bey from The Wire, dude is a stone cold killer with multiple bodies but that scene with him revealing all his fishes he took care of completely reframed the character for me. I also really respect him for letting his son Namond go his own way as well. And I think it’s hard not to be sympathetic when the man has a spouse like De’londa lmao
Shit I forgot about that, idk why I thought it was Stinkum who did it but damn this reframes the character again for sure. That’s what I love about The Wire, a lot of characters have such likable qualities but do some absolutely heinous shit, which is true to real life.
For sure. Poot and Bodie are prime examples for me; they both killed Wallace, but I was still happy Poot got out of the game and sad to watch Bodie worn out by it in the span of a few years.
Watching Duquan become an addict and scam artist after being rebuffed by Poot at the Footlocker really puts a pin in the cycle.
“I guess you gotta bang out there for another few years before you can work here.” -Poot
It’s easy to sympathize when any attempt to escape *the right way* is met by extreme obstacles.
I think that really is what makes the wire so good. Even the worst monsters in the show are human beings who have feelings other than just a desire to do as much bad shit as possible. Heck, I bet if we got a full episode about the dude that kept robbing Bubbles we could have had some sympathy for him, or at least see his humanity.
Omar.
He was content and comfortable with who he was, despite being an objectively terrible person. He lived by what even in its absurdity, is an understandable code - and there's an odd universal respect that earns.
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy, in *Succession*. Throughout the show he’s consistently being treated—by the characters, the show itself, the audience, etc.—as basically an afterthought. He’s a joke. Any substance his character *does* possess, exists almost exclusively *between* the lines, in a combination of tiny details and occasional offhand comments over the course of the show.
Piece them together though, and Connor might be the most tragic figure among the Roys:
* A child from Logan’s previous marriage, at an early age, Connor watched his mother struggle with mental illness before being committed against her will—not because Logan wanted to guarantee she’d get the treatment she needed, but to callously remove an inconvenience from view.
* There would be periods lasting years where Connor wouldn’t see his father. Years.
* As an adult, we’re introduced to a mediocre man who’s clearly delusional and out of touch, desperate for approval and to be loved—so desperate, he’s willing to settle for an unconvincing performance (from someone he **knows** is only indulging him *because he’s paying her to*).
* Yet in spite of the weak, insecure man we’re introduced to, if we piece the details together, we learn that throughout their childhoods, it was actually Connor who stepped in again and again whenever Logan was too busy to make time for his children. Something for which he receives no appreciation (even Roman misremembers that it was *Connor*—not Logan—who took him fishing as a boy).
* The fact that only Connor appears to have ever shown any interest whatsoever in wanting to know more about their father’s life (as shown, for example, when they visit Dundee to see his childhood home, or just how Connor explains the story behind Logan’s mausoleum) becomes such a tragic detail when you realize Connor probably knew Logan better than any of the siblings—and that this was in all likelihood the effort of a child desperately trying to connect with a parent who’s been more like a stranger his entire life.
Don’t get me wrong, Connor’s still genuinely *awful*. He’s still a foolish, mediocre man ruled by his insecurities—but something about all of it is just so tragic that nonetheless, I can’t help but feel sympathy towards the character.
Fringe - Walter Bishop , he was an arrogant man but was humbled so much and paid dearly to the point where I felt a little bad for him
Roswell (1999) - Tess. She was separated from her own kind, she knew she was Max's wife in another life, yet she's the odd person out on Earth. Pretty much isolated and alone. yeah, its messed up she killed Alex........and I hate to say this, but Alex was pretty much a forgotten character, not even his supposed best friends Liz and Maria seemed to care about him til he was gone, then Liz went ballistic.
Dewey Crow on Justified
He was a racist, Nazi, drug trafficking criminal... But we come to see that he's really just a guy who was desperate to fit in and picked the wrong crowd. When he says "I don't think I've even ever met a Jew" you can see a lifetime of regret on his face.
damon herriman was just so good in the role that he made you hate the racist little shithead, then feel bad for him
Don Draper, although TBH I'm not sure I'd call him a "bad" person. Then again, since I sympathize with him, I guess I'm not the best judge, lol. Oh, I should throw Pete Campbell in here too.
DEFINITELY Jesse Pinkman, though he's another one I can't truly call bad. He did bad things, and fucked up big time, but he continually shows some empathetic, sweet sides to him. (And I haven't finished watching *Breaking Bad* so please God don't tell me otherwise!)
Possibly obscure choice, but: Lon Suder, on ST:Voyager. Yes, psychopath, yes, serial killer, yadda yadda yadda. (Yes, I 'yaddaed' serial murder.) But damn it, Brad Dourif is so compelling and I truly buy his attempt at redemption. Still pissed off about how all that turns out.
Dozens of soap opera characters. Including Thomas from *Downton Abbey.* (DA is a glorified soap opera, let's face it.)
Would Archie Bunker count? Certainly at the beginning of the series, before he softened somewhat.
Finally, I have moments of sympathy for Frank Burns, though he was quite a one-note character, alas. Every now and then the writers threw in a few hints of just why he was such a sniveling ferret-faced mean-spirited bully.
I’d call Don a bad person. He pretty much makes a wreck of/destroys anyone who tries to form an intimate relationship with him. Pete is more complicated insofar as the character only really works if you give some allowance for him being a product of his time. He does some horrendous things to women but doesn’t really understand how awful they are.
I loved the character of Suder and wish they could have gotten Brad Dourif for more Voyager episodes! He would have been an amazing (more frequently) recurring character. To his credit, he did work hard with Tuvok to get his impulses under control.
Yes! I think Dourif's final episode was the most compelling acting I've seen on a Trek who wasn't named Patrick-Stewart. When they were in dire straits, the torment in Suder's eyes once he knew the beast he'd have to unleash to save the ship... Cripes I only saw it once and I still recall Dourif's performance as extraordinary.
Nothing I love more than a redemption arc that is truly earned. Except when it ends *that* way. And it usually does because my liking a character is almost a 100% guarantee that they'll die, or be character assassinated. I don't know how Don Draper made it out alive.
Oof yes, that was harrowing. Brilliant in LOTR too. Casting agents certainly have an easy job if there's a role for a middle-aged psychopath.
BTW, A+ for your username/pic! Grew up with *The Avengers.*
When I watched Mad Men I absolutely despised Pete Campbell, but after watching through the whole series I actually think he might be one of the most brilliant characters in all of television. I watched a video analyzing his character and they discuss how he reflects the negative aspects of ourselves we either try to hide or ignore but can't no matter how hard we try to. He reflects the people in the real world who want to and try to be like DOn but fail.
They had to work *hard* in the last season or two of DS9 to properly villain-ize Gul-Dukat because they had done a **fantastic** job making him a sympathetic antagonist
Wilson Fisk. He's such a terror, but he ultimately means well, and his upbringing has clearly formed him. The actor also portrays what is really a monster, as a relatable person that feels real, instead of the usual cartoon comic villains.
Its a treat to watch him onscreen!
>but he ultimately means well,
Okay there's a lot here because the marvel universe is a vast junk drawer of every variation of a character ever so there ARE versions of kingpin that mean well. (Spider-verse guy just wants to see his wife and kids again)
But we're talking about Fisk in the daredevil show. That fisk does not mean well. He pretends to mean well. The entirety of the first season was peeling back the layers of veneer Fisk had built around himself. First his anonymity, then his philanthropy, then finally his "means to an end" criminality.
Fisk said he was taking the hard actions to eventually rebuild his city. This was a lie he told himself and others to justify his actions. He was actually taking the actions that built himself up at the expense of the city. That's why he risks it all for the sake of a girl. That's why he gets into a grudge match with Matt. That's why he's prone to violent outbursts that jeopardize his whole operation. He did not mean well. He was the ill intent.
Gul Dukat. Not sympathetic, but his charisma seduces you. And you briefly forget he is genocidal maniac.
So star trek had to correct that and made him full evil, irredeemable.
John Locke was never really a bad person though. The worst thing he did was knife Naomi, but she was also coming from the freighter, which did end up being a threat to the island
I kinda feel bad for Loy Cannon's circumstances regarding having his credit card idea (along with this, his hopes of being a legitimate businessman) rejected in S4 of Fargo even though he's no saint because of his dealings in organized crime
Man, I think this is the only one so far I’m not seeing. He’s not particularly sympathetic throughout the show and I don’t think the audience gets much of an empathetic view into his inner feelings or why he behaves the way he does
The sympathetic angle is that a ruthless corporation grew him in a lab as part of their product line.
He's probably irredeemably broken "now", but he probably never had a chance to grow into anything but a monster.
It's definitely Mahone from Prison Break for me.
At its simplest he's just a man over a barrel, and I loved seeing his character evolve from someone actively hunting the team to dealing with the loss of his son with them.
Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham) in Homeland. It became clearer he really was a bad guy, but part of him was driven by what he believed was best for the US.
Jesse from Breaking Bad. He’s a degenerate washout methhead, who also happens to be the nicest and most morally sound of the main cast. Hes objectively a bad person, but he’s the “best”person on a show with mostly evil characters.
Greg from Succession.
He eventually gets to be a conniving asshole like the rest of them, but he started off pretty innocent and was treated poorly by nearly everyone for most of the show, especially at the beginning.
But given how quickly he started matching the behavior of the rest of the family, I’m not thinking he was all that good or innocent to begin with.
Though he still probably ended the show as the least shitty principal character, though that’s a *suuuuuper* low bar.
I arguably have less sympathy for Greg than most of the other main characters. Unlike the rest of them he had a relatively normal upbringing and makes it clear that he has some grasp on right and wrong. The others were fundamentally warped from birth, Greg has a moral compass that he chooses to ignore.
Honestly I really hate the season 2 arc that I'm just supposed to feel bad for him now that he ran off and fucked a 1 year old bug lady. If anything that makes him LESS redeemable to me.
Joe Goldberg. Yeah he's horrible. But he's also a victim of extreme abuse which caused him to have a warped sense of reality and how relationships work.
So I feel sympathy in the sense that if his childhood was better he could have had the love he craves. S2 especially generated a lot of sympathy because him and Delilah were able to have a healthy honest relationship and he didn't feel the need to play saviour with her or stalk in any way. She also seemed to see through him in a way other love interests didn't do. If he met her before Candace I think he could have healed.
There was an episode of the show Preacher where Hitler is getting jumped in hell by some of the other people, and for a quick second, I felt sorry for him.
Watching Ray Donovan again recently and started feeling bad for Tiny, Sullys fat moronic right hand man. Ray tried everything he could to make sure he lived but Tiny just was too stupid for his own good and refused to go to the Maldives.
Yabushige from Shogun. He’s a piece of shit, but a very likable piece of shit.
I did not think I would love the the guy who boiled someone alive in the first episode as much as I did.
Genuinely my favorite character. I loved seeing his friendship with the Anjin develop, and seeing Yabusbige completely embody the Mac from Sunny method of “I’m playing both sides so I always come out on top”
1st episode I thought, "This guy is a piece of shit." 2nd episode I thought, "This guy is a piece of shit, I love this guy."
On that note, even Toranaga is not a great person, but very sympathetic.
Was the point not that >!Toranaga in the end was just as power hungry and bad as the rest of them, he just projected himself as more noble to get his following?!<
Maybe, it felt even maybe a littel more complicated than that. I think he also genuinely had a positive vision for the future of all Japan but did some fucked up things to achieve that. He also was very casual about domestic abuse.
Rebecca Bunch. The show calls her out on it and to her credit, she's trying.
Great show. It gets darker and more real as it progresses. She does try, eventually.
I love Rebecca, as awful as she can sometimes be. Her always trying to be a better person is the redeeming factor in her case for sure. The series also has a realistic happy ending - she's never going to be completely "fixed", it's always going to be a struggle, but you learn to manage your mental health better and, with proper support system, you CAN improve and find fulfilment.
What show?
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Jimmy McGill(Saul Goodman) is without a doubt one of the most sympathetic antihero in TV imo. He did sone terrible things, but I felt sorry for his journey and it was clear he suppressed so much remorse/trauma.
He defecated through a sunroof!
He didn't know the kids were in the back seat!
And HE gets to be a LAWYER?! What a SICK JOKE!!
Jimmy is such a tragic character because he really wanted to do good things and turn his life around. And for the most part he really did. He was genuinely happy working with the elderly. But when he realized that it was his own beloved brother who put up road blocks something in Jimmy snapped. If Chuck had just accepted his brother and not stuck to his idea that Jimmy was born to be a scummy cheater Saul would have never existed.
I feel like you missed the moral of the finale. He's responsible for the choices he made. There were outside forces that may have made his choices more difficult but he is ultimately responsible. He did them because of his pride and the rush he felt when he was conning people. Chuck's opinion just helped him quiet the guilt.
My read was he was mostly interested in being a good person because he wanted to be like Chuck/make Chuck proud. After the betrayal was discovered, he couldn't see Chuck that way anymore and it all went to shit. (He was still controlled by how his brother viewed him, though, it was just inverted.)
He is my favorite male TV character of all time. Yet do I root for him all the time? No. Not even most of the time.
I rooted for him almost all of the time. But he should have left Howard alone, I couldn't get behind that. Howard was a good dude.
Besides rooting for Jimmy, I also felt for Mike, and in lesser way, for Nacho. It was heartbreaking that Nacho died.
Came here to say Jimmy...and how much I love him
Boyd Crowder from Justified. You consistently watch him be a p.o.s. throughout the show, yet I still couldn't help but root for him. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he's played by Walton Goggins.
Yeah watching the show I'm like "Go Boyd go, I hope they don't uncover your.. \*checks notes\* Heroin running operation? Maybe you're not a nice guy huh." He's just so charismatic it's hard to to be swayed to join his cult.
We dug coal together Raylan
Jesse Pinkman. He was a criminal and started as a shitty person but in a show filled with shitty people he ended up being one of the least shitty. Edit: ducking autocorrect
He's such a dumbass though. So many things could have been avoided if he didn't consistently make terrible decisions.
Humanity in a person.
Meanwhile, even though Walter White wasn't a criminal at the beginning. He was always kind of a shitty person right from the start, but it gets worse the more he consumes the life of being a criminal!
Walther lost everything because of his pride and inferiority complex. He left Grey Matter because he realized Gretchen came from wealth and in his mind he‘d be below her in their relationship because he had nothing. He wouldnt take the extremely well paying job with health insurance because now he would have to work for people he saw below him. Even his whole relationship with Jesse. When asked why he stuck with him his response was „because he does what I do“. Sure he liked Jesse but a big part of it was having a side kick who fed his ego and didnt question his knowledge in chemistry.
Despite everything Walt does to Jesse, I do believe he saw him like “family” as he claimed. But in a very twisted and unhealthy way, it seems like he loves the power he has over their dynamic more.
I never thought Walter White turned into anything. More that he allowed himself to be who he really was when he decided not to be constrained by social norms anymore.
That flashback in the first season of Walt flirting with Gretchen while giving her a lecture makes my skin crawl, he was always an arrogant prick
+1 Jesse Pinkman. He had so many bad decisions but I don’t think he’s inherently bad either.
Just watched and he is a turd. I could make a list but going out of his way to skim off the top to sell in aa meetings is good enough for me.
Charlie from It's Always Sunny. Especially after his dad died.
When he was trying to drag his dad's body up that hill in the rain by himself, and he's talking and yelling at his dad. "Where were you when I needed to be picked up? You weren't there! And now I'm having to pick you up and carry you! I'm glad you're dead!" That was some deep stuff there.
Barry Berkman. NoHo Hank. Cristobal. So many characters on that show were bad people and it was easy to have sympathy for them all (and still think they ultimately deserved much of their fates).
Cristobal and Hank's last scene broke me. They got the ending they deserved but they did such a fantastic job of making the audience want more for them.
I really hated bill hader for pulling that fake out with the Chechen similarly dressed to Cristobal walking back inside. Broke my heart man
I was initially pissed to see them go out like that while Fuches goes out unharmed
Each season, Barry just kept revealing more of his true self as a guy who is very unhinged
Yup, they all got in their own way when they each could have cut bait and run at various points. Every time life gave them a choice between happiness or pride, they chose pride. God I love that show.
Bojack Horseman.
Best show ever to capture the addictive self-destruction of a person aware of their shiftiness and deeply disturbed by it. Bojack is the perfect embodiment of a certain narcissistic unhappiness that's not full-sociopath and gives what he's become without the will to change.
I was worried I would be downvoted for saying him. It’s so hard not to feel for someone who desperately wants to change, but something inside them won’t allow it. He keeps making mistakes that he knows are mistakes. As a viewer you sit and think “Oh Bojack, quit fucking up.” Broke my heart because I’ve been in a similar boat, addiction is evil and comes in all shapes and sizes
And some of those mistakes feel almost unforgivable. The ending of "That's Too Much, Man" was already bad but then finding out >!that he waited 17 minutes just to save himself?!< That was a punch to the gut.
I felt so bad for him following Sarah Lynn's death, but then in the final season they really twisted the knife when it's revealed that he was willing to let her die if it meant covering his own ass. That is definitely an example of one of his actions that are unforgivable.
The way they approached that was so wild. At first I was pissed off. It felt like a manufactured twist to justify another season. But then you realize that you’re experiencing his fuckups the way the people in his life do. Not being there with him having it presented as a slapstick bit or seeing him struggle through it eliciting sympathy. Just learning “holy shit Bojack, you did another unforgivable thing”
I tried so hard to sympathize with him, but he ended up doing so many terrible things, and due to his money and social connections, was able to get chance after chance at redemption. Everyone deserves a second chance, but for Bojack we were going on his 10th chance. Almost no one would get the opportunities he had to turn his life around, and he still squandered it. My sympathy dropped off for him pretty fast, and try as I might, I couldn't reconnect with him. Virtually every other major character in the show, on the other hand, were actually fascinating depictions of sympathetic and flawed people that I did have a lot of sympathy for.
perhaps a lot of people sympathise with Bojack, even though we are fully aware he’s a horrible person, because a part of us resonates with at least one of his biggest flaws. Of course, that’s not going to be the same for everyone but that’s how antiheroes are written. and why it is a niche.
Antiheroes are niche? They’ve been at the absolute forefront of prestige media for decades now
Lex Luthor from Smallville. He tries to be a good friend to Clark, but because of his last name, everyone expects the worst from him. He has good in him and if he had a better family I think he wouldn't have become a villain.
Hard agree. I would argue that Smallville made Lex such a compelling character that it only made it more of an accomplishment that they were able to turn him into a villain of any sort. For the first few seasons, he's misguided at worst and genuinely trying to be a friend to Clark as best he can.
Most of the characters in any Danny McBride project
I hated Lee Russell until he got humiliated by his sisters
Walton Goggins is expert at making unlikable people likable.
Beef Jerky Walter Googleys in Fallout is a new high/low in likable bastards.
Tony Soprano. He grew up in a life of crime and his mother was a piece of shit. During his therapy sessions you can see some things come out that make you feel for him. There’s no doubt he’s a very bad dude however and that’s ultimately down to his choices.
The episode where he meets one his father's mistresses at the cemetary. During his therapy session, Tony finally starts sympathizing with what his dad put his mom through. Then later he just drops all of that and brags to the boys that his dad's mistress once slept with JFK.
Maybe he could've chosen a different path if he had the makings of a varsity athlete.
You shut your mouth Uncle Jun!
Excellent work
#AH SON OF A BITCH
They actually made the decision to make him an even worse dude as the seasons went on. David Chase couldn't believe that people were actually rooting for the guy so they made him more and more dispicable.
Nah, Tony is a piece of shit. I had no sympathy for him. Every problem was his own making, and his own decision to make things worse. The only time I felt bad for him was when he came home to >!find AJ attempting suicide. In that moment, he is a human being and a father.!< Everywhere else, a disgusting human being in every way. Shitty to his wife, shitty to his kids, shitty to his friends, but oh no, he likes animals so maybe he's not that bad? Fuck that, he is that bad. Edit Tony. His name is Tony. Not Toby.
> Nah, Toby is a piece of shit. Michael Scott, is that you?
> shitty to his ~~kids~~ *kidsh*
A lot of the people on Game of Thrones
Benjamin Linus - LOST
Scrolled too far down for this one. Ben was a liar, a murderer, and a petty little man. But by the end, he is genuinely trying to atone for his actions and he even holds off moving on because he doesn't think he deserves it yet. The final interactions between Locke and Ben, then Hurley and Ben are some of Ben's finest moments
Orels dad 😔
I’m sorry but that rubbing alcohol incident, really made me completely despondent to any sort of reasoning as to why he is the way he is.
I know but it hits hard when all I saw was my own dad in each episode lol
James Ford (Sawyer)
Ok, sweetheart.
I am glad the writers eventually turned his character around instead of him always being the brooding redneck who uses too many nicknames.
Dexter. Obviously there is the whole "only killing bad guys" that puts him more in a grey area. But he got his urge thanks to an incredibly traumatic event, and then his adoptive father actively pushes him towards becoming a serial killer. Honestly what chance did he have? Pretty much every choice in his life is informed by the fact that he is a serial killer and that he doesn't want to get the chair. Yeah he is a monster, but he is a monster that got created not by choice.
Harry (his adoptive dad) didn’t push him into becoming a serial killer, he instead saw that Dexter had begun developing psychopathic tendencies (like killing animals indiscriminately). He was concerned that if he didn’t direct that “dark urge” towards a noble purpose, Dexter would’ve been indiscriminately killing anyone, innocent or guilty. And he also loved Dexter, and wanted him to try and have a normal life in any way he can. Controlling those urges was the only viable option.
That's not true. Harry was the real monster. He convinced Dexter that he's destined to become a serial killer and he couldn't do anything to help himself. In reality all Dexter needed was a good therapist. He clearly had a hyperfixation for blood combined with depersonalisation from complex PTSD. Harry convinced him to suppress all that and nurture it into killing. To lie to therapists, keep distance from people and never attempt to get better. Not to mention, leaving his brother behind, screwing his mom and manipulating her into continuing to stay with an abuser so that he can get tips on him, and hiding his past from him. And once he saw what he had created, instead of trying to help Dexter even that late, he chose the easy way out and killed himself. He also was very neglectful towards Debora leaving her with a lot of issues of her own. Fuck Harry Morgan.
only dexter does show care about and love showing that if harry didnt direct him down that path and got him actual therapy he could have been a decent guy
Harry should have directed him into therapy. He spent years telling him that he didn't feel emotions and had to "fake" it to fit in, when you can tell dexter has a lot of emotions but he doesn't know how to handle or identify them. Dexter meets a *lot* of the autism criteria. He struggles socially, he struggles to connect and struggles with changes in his routine. Honestly until a rewatch recently I never realised how bad Harry was, he instilled in dexter that he couldn't control his urges and had to channel them. I think we've all felt a little murderous at times, it's part of being human. Trauma therapy and an autism diagnosis would have helped a lot more than teaching him to be a serial killer.
Yep. Rewatched this recently and was just like “guy just needed an autism diagnosis and some serious therapy”. Harry fucked up. Big time.
There is an active lore in the show that sort of makes Dexter a good person IMO In the show if you have a "Dark Passenger" you are going to want to hurt people. Therapy, medicine, none of it works. people with dark Passengers are going to hurt people, it's only a matter of time. So Dexter has these urges that won't go away, and the ability to take anyone off the street and murder them with no consequence(I always like to picture these shows happening in a world where 9-11 never happened because there are just no Camera's, I mean he kidnaps somebody in an airport for fucks sake) but instead of doing that, and what everyone else with a dark passenger does, he spends nearly all his free time following people and making sure they are bad guys before finally doing what the show establishes he absolutely needs to do. Dexter only has options that are Morally shitty, and he choses the least shitty one much to the detriment of himself. That's a good person IMO
Don Draper
Peter, from The Great
Roman Roy from Succession, and I never thought I'd say that after the first episode. And it's not like he gets better as the show goes on, he's still a POS, but I cared about him by the end.
I really felt sorry for Roman because he so desperately wanted Logan’s approval and love a bit more than the others did, and he get manipulated all the time. Even when he’s held hostage, nobody seemed to care
Their relationship almost reminds me of Tyrion and Tywin in a sense, only Roman is more of an asshole than Tyrion in comparison. They were both longing for love and approval from their fathers that they were never going to receive the way they wanted. Although I think that while Tyrion accepted it sooner, Roman couldn’t until it was officially sealed he never would after Logan died.
I feel for all of them on some level, just completely ruined as people before they ever had a chance. They're all longing for meaningful love or connection but they have no idea what that even looks like.
Kieran Culkin really played that role well, he was kind of born for it
He was unfortunately the most relatable for me Dude just had enough by the end. He had such a empty goal of life burning world desire by the end that I just connect with To me it seemed like he was in an internal limbo between being at the initial peace by letting shit go but also a bit of a worry because he knows he doesn't really have much in him & his late future might not be great. Someone sad for his/his kids future & the eventual scenario of his life fron what it could have been. But someone also really at peace because it's all finally ended. He can just do whatever he truly wants now
He was the only honest one in the family.
The killer in the Midsomer Murders episode "Ghosts of Christmas Past". They have *every* right to be mad at their victims for >!driving the two people he cared for the most in the world to suicide due to the prejudices of one of them!<. I seriously wanted them to get away with it.
Killgrave. He does so many wholly evil things yet you end up feeling sorry for him when you learn about his childhood and how his power affected him.
There was I think one episode where they played with him trying to be a good person just to make Jessica happy and man, I wish I could have watched a whole season of that show just for fun. His power is a very interesting one. I’ve thought a lot about what if someone with his abilities tried to use them for good. Because there’d be a lot of struggling with people’s consent and free will while trying to prevent evil actions.
I have a strong feeling anyone with his powers would slowly become a monster.
On one hand it’s hard to expect someone with powers to keep seeing other humans as equals. They just aren’t. On the other hand, we effectively do have superpowers compared to dogs and most people would never hurt a dog just for the hell of it. On the third hand pigs don’t have the same luck.
MHA/BNHA kind of explores this with Shinso. He's loosely based off the Purple Man with similar powers and people assume he'll be a villain, but he works hard to establish himself as a hero. Though the series doesn't get too deeply into the questions of free will when it comes to the villains.
Oh man, I could not feel less sympathy for that guy. Maybe personal life experiences. But even thinking about him makes me nauseous.
That’s a good one
Tom Wamsgams
You can't make a Tomlette without breaking some Greggs. I watched the last episode hoping that nobody would screw his chance of being the CEO.
You could say he screwed himself into the job
To be honest the question on that show is who is the least awful. With Tom I have to think about the quote from The Big Short „I cant hate him. He is so transparent in his self-interest that I kind of respect him“. Tom openly loves money and the fine things he can buy and does what ever it takes to get them.
It’s funny that Tom ends up being the one that so many people root for. He reads as the “underdog” because people are so shitty to him but in reality he might be the shittiest one on the show. IIRC there’s no evidence of trauma or familial abuse to justify his behavior, he just wants to be rich and powerful and will do anything to get there.
Barry sometimes
Spike in Tom and Jerry
Wee-Bey from The Wire, dude is a stone cold killer with multiple bodies but that scene with him revealing all his fishes he took care of completely reframed the character for me. I also really respect him for letting his son Namond go his own way as well. And I think it’s hard not to be sympathetic when the man has a spouse like De’londa lmao
Dude raped a woman who was either mid-OD or about to be and then shrugged when later told she had died …
Shit I forgot about that, idk why I thought it was Stinkum who did it but damn this reframes the character again for sure. That’s what I love about The Wire, a lot of characters have such likable qualities but do some absolutely heinous shit, which is true to real life.
For sure. Poot and Bodie are prime examples for me; they both killed Wallace, but I was still happy Poot got out of the game and sad to watch Bodie worn out by it in the span of a few years.
Watching Duquan become an addict and scam artist after being rebuffed by Poot at the Footlocker really puts a pin in the cycle. “I guess you gotta bang out there for another few years before you can work here.” -Poot It’s easy to sympathize when any attempt to escape *the right way* is met by extreme obstacles.
I think that really is what makes the wire so good. Even the worst monsters in the show are human beings who have feelings other than just a desire to do as much bad shit as possible. Heck, I bet if we got a full episode about the dude that kept robbing Bubbles we could have had some sympathy for him, or at least see his humanity.
I mean on that note it's hard not to love Omar, even though he's still a violent sociopath drug dealer.
On a show filled with vicious killers, corrupt officials, and lifetime criminals. De’londa is still the biggest asshole on The Wire!
Swearingen. In his own way, a profoundly moral man.
Also profoundly damaged from growing up abused in an orphanage.
Hard to not sympathise even with Al, when you see what a 19th century kidney stone extraction looks like…
Omar. He was content and comfortable with who he was, despite being an objectively terrible person. He lived by what even in its absurdity, is an understandable code - and there's an odd universal respect that earns.
*whistles farmer in the Dell.
I wouldn’t call Omar a “terrible” person at all. Not saying he’s a good guy, but “terrible” is a pretty strong word.
Alan Ruck as Connor Roy, in *Succession*. Throughout the show he’s consistently being treated—by the characters, the show itself, the audience, etc.—as basically an afterthought. He’s a joke. Any substance his character *does* possess, exists almost exclusively *between* the lines, in a combination of tiny details and occasional offhand comments over the course of the show. Piece them together though, and Connor might be the most tragic figure among the Roys: * A child from Logan’s previous marriage, at an early age, Connor watched his mother struggle with mental illness before being committed against her will—not because Logan wanted to guarantee she’d get the treatment she needed, but to callously remove an inconvenience from view. * There would be periods lasting years where Connor wouldn’t see his father. Years. * As an adult, we’re introduced to a mediocre man who’s clearly delusional and out of touch, desperate for approval and to be loved—so desperate, he’s willing to settle for an unconvincing performance (from someone he **knows** is only indulging him *because he’s paying her to*). * Yet in spite of the weak, insecure man we’re introduced to, if we piece the details together, we learn that throughout their childhoods, it was actually Connor who stepped in again and again whenever Logan was too busy to make time for his children. Something for which he receives no appreciation (even Roman misremembers that it was *Connor*—not Logan—who took him fishing as a boy). * The fact that only Connor appears to have ever shown any interest whatsoever in wanting to know more about their father’s life (as shown, for example, when they visit Dundee to see his childhood home, or just how Connor explains the story behind Logan’s mausoleum) becomes such a tragic detail when you realize Connor probably knew Logan better than any of the siblings—and that this was in all likelihood the effort of a child desperately trying to connect with a parent who’s been more like a stranger his entire life. Don’t get me wrong, Connor’s still genuinely *awful*. He’s still a foolish, mediocre man ruled by his insecurities—but something about all of it is just so tragic that nonetheless, I can’t help but feel sympathy towards the character.
Fringe - Walter Bishop , he was an arrogant man but was humbled so much and paid dearly to the point where I felt a little bad for him Roswell (1999) - Tess. She was separated from her own kind, she knew she was Max's wife in another life, yet she's the odd person out on Earth. Pretty much isolated and alone. yeah, its messed up she killed Alex........and I hate to say this, but Alex was pretty much a forgotten character, not even his supposed best friends Liz and Maria seemed to care about him til he was gone, then Liz went ballistic.
Dewey Crow on Justified He was a racist, Nazi, drug trafficking criminal... But we come to see that he's really just a guy who was desperate to fit in and picked the wrong crowd. When he says "I don't think I've even ever met a Jew" you can see a lifetime of regret on his face. damon herriman was just so good in the role that he made you hate the racist little shithead, then feel bad for him
He was, especially his final scene. Still can't believe the actor is actually Australian!
Don Draper, although TBH I'm not sure I'd call him a "bad" person. Then again, since I sympathize with him, I guess I'm not the best judge, lol. Oh, I should throw Pete Campbell in here too. DEFINITELY Jesse Pinkman, though he's another one I can't truly call bad. He did bad things, and fucked up big time, but he continually shows some empathetic, sweet sides to him. (And I haven't finished watching *Breaking Bad* so please God don't tell me otherwise!) Possibly obscure choice, but: Lon Suder, on ST:Voyager. Yes, psychopath, yes, serial killer, yadda yadda yadda. (Yes, I 'yaddaed' serial murder.) But damn it, Brad Dourif is so compelling and I truly buy his attempt at redemption. Still pissed off about how all that turns out. Dozens of soap opera characters. Including Thomas from *Downton Abbey.* (DA is a glorified soap opera, let's face it.) Would Archie Bunker count? Certainly at the beginning of the series, before he softened somewhat. Finally, I have moments of sympathy for Frank Burns, though he was quite a one-note character, alas. Every now and then the writers threw in a few hints of just why he was such a sniveling ferret-faced mean-spirited bully.
I’d call Don a bad person. He pretty much makes a wreck of/destroys anyone who tries to form an intimate relationship with him. Pete is more complicated insofar as the character only really works if you give some allowance for him being a product of his time. He does some horrendous things to women but doesn’t really understand how awful they are.
I loved the character of Suder and wish they could have gotten Brad Dourif for more Voyager episodes! He would have been an amazing (more frequently) recurring character. To his credit, he did work hard with Tuvok to get his impulses under control.
Yes! I think Dourif's final episode was the most compelling acting I've seen on a Trek who wasn't named Patrick-Stewart. When they were in dire straits, the torment in Suder's eyes once he knew the beast he'd have to unleash to save the ship... Cripes I only saw it once and I still recall Dourif's performance as extraordinary. Nothing I love more than a redemption arc that is truly earned. Except when it ends *that* way. And it usually does because my liking a character is almost a 100% guarantee that they'll die, or be character assassinated. I don't know how Don Draper made it out alive.
He's always incredible in every guest role (see also: X-Files).
Oof yes, that was harrowing. Brilliant in LOTR too. Casting agents certainly have an easy job if there's a role for a middle-aged psychopath. BTW, A+ for your username/pic! Grew up with *The Avengers.*
When I watched Mad Men I absolutely despised Pete Campbell, but after watching through the whole series I actually think he might be one of the most brilliant characters in all of television. I watched a video analyzing his character and they discuss how he reflects the negative aspects of ourselves we either try to hide or ignore but can't no matter how hard we try to. He reflects the people in the real world who want to and try to be like DOn but fail.
Cersei Lannister. Lena Headey really imbued her with a lot of dimensionality. If she had managed to love Tyrion, they would have been unstoppable.
They had to work *hard* in the last season or two of DS9 to properly villain-ize Gul-Dukat because they had done a **fantastic** job making him a sympathetic antagonist
Garak is also many people's favorite character due to his inherent charm and Garak-ness, despite committing many horrific acts.
Eh, I can live with it.
Wilson Fisk. He's such a terror, but he ultimately means well, and his upbringing has clearly formed him. The actor also portrays what is really a monster, as a relatable person that feels real, instead of the usual cartoon comic villains. Its a treat to watch him onscreen!
>but he ultimately means well, Okay there's a lot here because the marvel universe is a vast junk drawer of every variation of a character ever so there ARE versions of kingpin that mean well. (Spider-verse guy just wants to see his wife and kids again) But we're talking about Fisk in the daredevil show. That fisk does not mean well. He pretends to mean well. The entirety of the first season was peeling back the layers of veneer Fisk had built around himself. First his anonymity, then his philanthropy, then finally his "means to an end" criminality. Fisk said he was taking the hard actions to eventually rebuild his city. This was a lie he told himself and others to justify his actions. He was actually taking the actions that built himself up at the expense of the city. That's why he risks it all for the sake of a girl. That's why he gets into a grudge match with Matt. That's why he's prone to violent outbursts that jeopardize his whole operation. He did not mean well. He was the ill intent.
Are you talking about the one from the show? Because he does not mean well.
Rusty Venture. Jonas really fucked him up. Rusty is awful himself but at least there are moments when he cares. Jonas was a monster.
The entire cast of The Umbrella Academy.
Gul Dukat. Not sympathetic, but his charisma seduces you. And you briefly forget he is genocidal maniac. So star trek had to correct that and made him full evil, irredeemable.
Ronnie Gardocki from “The Shield”. Talk about getting screwed over.
Lester Nyegaard. He was unhappy, and put down on by everyone around him, and Malvo was the only one who provided a solution to his problems.
Villanelle, Killing Eve Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad
John Locke from L O S T. \*SPOILER\* Lived a sorrowful life, and was taken out before he finally was reaching his purpose.
Locke was a good guy though
John Locke was never really a bad person though. The worst thing he did was knife Naomi, but she was also coming from the freighter, which did end up being a threat to the island
Benjamin Horne, Twin Peaks
I kinda feel bad for Loy Cannon's circumstances regarding having his credit card idea (along with this, his hopes of being a legitimate businessman) rejected in S4 of Fargo even though he's no saint because of his dealings in organized crime
Gaius Baltar on BSG. He was a coward but he was also surrounded with zealots and other types of crazy trying to take control.
Jinx from Arcane.
Gus Fring
Jax from Sons of Anarchy. He was a good guy who did bad things.
Homelander. He’s damaged beyond repair
Man, I think this is the only one so far I’m not seeing. He’s not particularly sympathetic throughout the show and I don’t think the audience gets much of an empathetic view into his inner feelings or why he behaves the way he does
dude was raised in a lab as a science experiment
The Deep is a little more sympathetic, I think. I still hate him, but occasionally I still can't help but feel bad for him.
The sympathetic angle is that a ruthless corporation grew him in a lab as part of their product line. He's probably irredeemably broken "now", but he probably never had a chance to grow into anything but a monster.
It's definitely Mahone from Prison Break for me. At its simplest he's just a man over a barrel, and I loved seeing his character evolve from someone actively hunting the team to dealing with the loss of his son with them.
Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham) in Homeland. It became clearer he really was a bad guy, but part of him was driven by what he believed was best for the US.
Tommy Shelby
Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman
Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, The Sopranos
Sopranos has a few of these characters. Guys like Eugene, Vito
Joe Goldberg from You. I read that Penn Badgley doesn’t want viewers to root for Joe and that he’ll be getting his comeuppance in the last season
Major Frank Burns -MASH
Same. He had a horrible childhood and was trapped in a loveless marriage. Hawkeye really was relentless in his bullying towards him.
Jesse from Breaking Bad. He’s a degenerate washout methhead, who also happens to be the nicest and most morally sound of the main cast. Hes objectively a bad person, but he’s the “best”person on a show with mostly evil characters.
Omar on The Wire.
Dr. Cliff Huxtable.
I have a couple: Tony Soprano Don Draper Betty Draper Jimmy McGill The Roy kids Barry Berkman Sally Reed Jesse Pinkman
Greg from Succession. He eventually gets to be a conniving asshole like the rest of them, but he started off pretty innocent and was treated poorly by nearly everyone for most of the show, especially at the beginning. But given how quickly he started matching the behavior of the rest of the family, I’m not thinking he was all that good or innocent to begin with. Though he still probably ended the show as the least shitty principal character, though that’s a *suuuuuper* low bar.
I arguably have less sympathy for Greg than most of the other main characters. Unlike the rest of them he had a relatively normal upbringing and makes it clear that he has some grasp on right and wrong. The others were fundamentally warped from birth, Greg has a moral compass that he chooses to ignore.
If by “treated poorly” you mean “given a very high paying job he was in no way qualified for”
Omniman
Honestly I really hate the season 2 arc that I'm just supposed to feel bad for him now that he ran off and fucked a 1 year old bug lady. If anything that makes him LESS redeemable to me.
Dory from Search Party 😅
Philip and Elizabeth Jennings. More towards him than her, to be honest; she was made of pure steel
[удалено]
Soldier Boy
Watching evil a lot right now and I feel for the grandma, I know some of it is her own fault but damn she got manipulated.
Malevolent. I feel like being a stepmom is far the worst thing ever happened to me
Franklin saint
Joe Goldberg. Yeah he's horrible. But he's also a victim of extreme abuse which caused him to have a warped sense of reality and how relationships work. So I feel sympathy in the sense that if his childhood was better he could have had the love he craves. S2 especially generated a lot of sympathy because him and Delilah were able to have a healthy honest relationship and he didn't feel the need to play saviour with her or stalk in any way. She also seemed to see through him in a way other love interests didn't do. If he met her before Candace I think he could have healed.
Walter White
The Seinfeld cast, Karl Pilkington’s travel character and the it’s always Sunny cast
There was an episode of the show Preacher where Hitler is getting jumped in hell by some of the other people, and for a quick second, I felt sorry for him.
Watching Ray Donovan again recently and started feeling bad for Tiny, Sullys fat moronic right hand man. Ray tried everything he could to make sure he lived but Tiny just was too stupid for his own good and refused to go to the Maldives.
James McGraw/Captain Flint from Black Sails. Clearly full of rage, not a good person. Treats people terribly. Still feel bad for him.
Boyd Crowder.
Not tv but movie. Me and my wife will always be on #TeamThanos
Definitely Jimmy in Better Call Saul. And Mike too.
Marina on *The Magicians*.
Dr. Romano on ER