Pop culture can be divisive- one person’s favourite character could be someone’s most hated one. These characters make you question everything, with their issues driving up your blood pressure. The thing is, these are often not the traditional “villains” of the story. Sometimes even the lead protagonist’s personality can be a turn-off. A lot of the time, it could be minor or recurring character who turns out to be extremely irritating, to the point where we relish disliking them. And slowly, you will figure out that you are not a lone hater. While scrolling through Twitter, you will find people joining the hate club.
I will probably be labelled a hater, but Ross Gellar’s character from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. made me stop watching the world-famous show. His personality traits convinced me he was a terrible boyfriend.
We have listed some of the most recent shows where some characters made us wanted to hurl something at our screens.
1. Belly from The Summer I Turned Pretty
The Summer I Turned Pretty, or more like the summer Belly ruined a family. Belly might be irritating in the books, but she is unbearable in the show. She is selfish and resentful most of the time. I was taken aback when she faced Conrad at the end of season 1, declaring her love for him and then labelling him selfish and awful for not feeling the same when he practically had a girlfriend. Belly really doesn’t deserve him, and Conrad, who is considered a bit rude, gets the most depth and arc out of all the characters in the later episodes.
2. Devi from Never Have I Ever
One of the messiest main characters in Netflix originals Devi actually takes the cake for the worst character of this messy teen drama, which introduced us to a whole bunch of new terrible people to make the main character not seem so bad. Devi is a lousy friend, an even worse partner, and a self-sabotaging queen. She’s selfish, damages everyone around her, always makes the worst judgements, and it’s just plain insane to watch her get past it. While I sympathise with Devi as she mourns the loss of her father, emotion does not absolve you of any responsibility. Devi used the possibility of travelling to India as a reason to be a nasty person at the start of Season 2, so it’s not like she has no idea what she’s doing. In Devi’s universe, however, only Devi is permitted to be a mean person without repercussions.
3. Ted from How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is the story of Ted’s quest to find ‘the one’. Though he may believe himself to be ‘the good guy’, that wasn’t always the case. Ted may be the show’s main character, yet he has some questionable characteristics. Some of his more serious and visible defects never go away or take a long time to disappear. Ted had been unlucky in love for a long time in the show; in fact, with the exception of Robin, there were no serious romances that ended on good terms before he met Tracy. He is, however, to blame for much of this. He entered and remained in relationships that were poisonous, did not work, or that he did not desire. Jeanette was mad, Zoey and Ted were useless, as were he and Robin, and Karen was the worst of the worst, and he knew it but refused to accept it. This pattern lasted until he met Tracy.
4. Ginny from Ginny and Georgia
I’m not sure whether they wrote her that way on purpose, but they made their point. Ginny is always contradicting herself and being a jerk to her other Georgia, though all she has ever done is defend and protect her. Ginny’s constant hatred for her mother is disturbing and obviously bothersome. She blames her for everything. Ginny was a terrible child to her mother, who revealed the worst tragedy to her. She didn’t care and was still horrible to her mother, not bothering to understand her and then using it against her.
5. Jules From Euphoria
I absolutely love Hunter Chaufer, but Jules from Euphoria is quite questionable. I tried to be in love with Jules. But it turned out to be very frustrating for everyone. I don’t think she’s a bad person, but the way she’s been treating Rue has been difficult to watch. She does so many things that a partner should never do: leaving Rue on the train when she knows how vulnerable Rue is, getting upset with Rue for making a new friend (Elliot) when she herself slept with another girl and Elliot as well.
6. Bunny from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
If overrated characters had an example, it would definitely be Bunny. His character is the literal translation of the painful age-old ‘men will be men’ axiom. He’s a charming womaniser who flirts with every woman he meets. Bunny is a man-child who causes harm to everyone around him in the name of his desires and self-discovery. He is bitter to his stepmother and isolates himself from everyone who cares about him (his father, Naina, and closest pals Avi and Aditi). His ambition and desire to travel are extolled to the point that the story revolves entirely around his job without showing any character development. His career is his most essential priority so other people don’t really matter to him until his heart is on the line.
7. Toby from The Office
Toby Flenderson is one of the most despised employees at Dunder Mifflin Scranton. Because of Michael, few people respect, listen to, or take Toby seriously. How could they be expected to respect HR if their own boss did not? Specifically, in the incident when the office workers were locked out of the parking lot after working late one night, the group waited in the lobby for the security guy to arrive and open the parking lot. Toby enjoyed it when Pam laughed at his joke after they had shared a few. Instead of just joking with Pam, he brushed her leg and lingered a bit too long. It wasn’t just Pam and Jim who found it uncomfortable; fans found it uncomfortable as well, with one user calling the moment “goosebumps down the spine creepy”. After that stunt, Toby‘s image changed for a lot of fans.
8. Bella from The Twilight Saga
There’s a long list of things people love and hate about The Twilight Saga. Many people tell Bella that she is giving up everything to be a member of the Cullen family. But what is she exactly giving up? To begin with, she had no life objectives. She has no interests, no obligations, and no desire to make a contribution to society. The only thing she truly desires is to live happily ever after with Edward without caring about her friends or her father, who were always there for her. She is also self-centred at times. Bella sees glimpses of Edward while she is in peril in New Moon after Edward abandons her. As a result, she becomes motivated to put herself in dangerous circumstances in order to see him (obsessive much?).
9. Ron Wesley from Harry Potter
Ron is well-known for his lack of sensitivity. He frequently sticks his foot in his mouth and hurts other people’s sentiments. And frequently says unpleasant and insensitive things to Hermione, hurting her. But she isn’t the only one; he also insults Luna, Nearly Headless Nick, and others. It was incredibly unpleasant to watch his relationship with Lavender and then refuse to break up with her while leading Hermoine on. He also acts entitled and expects to be looked after- the stereotypical mama’s boy.
10. Park Jae Eon and Yoo Na Bi from Nevertheless
K-drama romances are often comforting, but this friends have benefits/stituationship K-drama ain’t the one. The lead character’s (Park Jae Eon and Yoo Na Bi) storyline and writing are just frustrating. To viewers, it kind of seemed like a woman who had been traumatised by their really terrible ex didn’t have a great relationship with her parents, accepting more toxic love when they deserved better. Nabi’s character is like a mirrored version of Bella. Because the storyline just revolves around her focus on this guy who is using her emotionally, the story and all of the leads are toxic and borderline unwatchable.
Also, read The Pick-Me Girl Trope Undoes Years Of Feminism But Hating On It Doesn’t Work Either
