My Ten Favorite ''Unlikable'' Characters

October 27, 2022

Hello! I hope you're all having a good day. Today I thought I'd talk about a few of my favorite ''unlikable'' characters. It's hard to explain what my reasoning is, but I'm including characters who are more mean or grumpy or stabby [shhh, that's a word] than their teammates, but do the right thing in the end. Does that make sense? Great, let's get started.

#1: Spencer Hastings, Pretty Little Liars

I debated whether or not I wanted to include Spencer on this list because, first of all, Pretty Little Liars isn't the most well-written show, and, second of all, I'm not sure if she's morally ambigious enough to include, but I eventually decided to include her anyway, because all the Liars would count as anti-heroes in my opinion. Spencer is the intelligent overachiever of the group, the leader of the Liars and sort of the lead detective in finding A, plus the only one who stood up to Alison. I greatly admire her intellect and ambition, even if she does take it a bit too far, and I think she is the most well-written character on the show [plus, Troian Bellisario is a fantastic actress]. She's the least soft, I guess, of the Liars. She's not especially friendly and she doesn't always make the best decisions, which is why I count her as an anti-hero, but I still think she's an interesting character, and I always enjoyed the Spencer-centric episodes.

#2: Mazikeen, Lucifer

Maze is, hands-down, one of my favorite Lucifer characters. In Season One, I didn't think much of her-----she was sort of just Lucifer's sidekick, but I quite like her, starting in Season Two. I love her tough demeanor and stabbiness [look, I know it's not really a word, but she constantly wants to stab everyone who makes her mad, so I think it fits], and her hedonistic tendencies make her fun to watch. Plus, she has great fight scenes, and I love her sense of style. I also love when we get to see Maze's more vulnerable moments-----her friendships with Linda and Trixie, as well as her romance with Eve, for example. It makes her a more complex character, and I think it makes her more interesting, and it gives her more layers.

#3: Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I love Spike for similar reasons for why I love Maze. He's always an entertaining character to watch----again, hedonism, fight scenes, and just a great sense of humor, and I love his character development. I think he does regress a bit in Season Six, but, as a whole, I think he's complex and interesting and entertaining.

#4: Ronan Lynch, The Raven Cycle

I wasn't sure if I'd like Ronan when I first read the Raven Cycle----and, while Blue and Gansey are still my favorites, I like Ronan so much. I love him for most of the same reasons I love Maze and Spike------he has a tough exterior, but he's actually a caring person-------he adopts a baby bird for crying out loud! Also, he's kind of impulsive, and I get a kick out of impulsive characters.

#5: Melinda May, Agents of SHIELD

Again, I wasn't sure if I wanted to include May because I think her morals are too strong, but, while she is ultimately a good person, she's a lot less friendly and personable than most of the SHIELD team, and she's always there to make the hard calls, which I love. Again, she's very reserved and serious, but is actually a very compassionate person, deep down. She's just the best.

#6: Faith Lehane, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Again, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has amazing antiheroes. Faith is one of those characters who I also didn't think I'd like as much as I do. Much like Spike, she has a lot of flaws and makes a lot of bad decisions, but she does develop a lot as a character and I'm kind of interested in seeing her backstory-----I feel like there are some hints that she might have a traumatic past, but it's never really expanded on.

#7: Lucifer Morningstar, Lucifer

Lucifer is......something. He's always causing trouble and ignoring rules, but, like Faith, he clearly has an interesting backstory, which is responsible for the way he acts----which, if you're a psychology nerd like me, is fascinating, and he does develop a lot as a character, and I like him as a character.

#8: Veronica, Heathers

I talk about her a lot, so I'm not going to expand upon it here, but I had to include her anyway. If you want to know why I like her, read my posts about my favorite fictional heroines.

#9: Emma Woodhouse, Emma

Emma is not your traditional anti-hero, but she is snobby and can be a bit rude and a meddler, so I think I can include her. She's my personal favorite of Jane Austen's heroines, because I think she's the most interesting, and I really like her character development.

#10: Jim Hopper, Stranger Things

Hopper is another character I didn't think I would like as much as I do. He's kind of gruff and grumpy, but he's actually a big teddy bear on the inside. I love how deeply he cares about the people he does love-----like Joyce and El, and how he's ultimately a good person.

#11: Santana Lopez, Glee

Santana is just so interesting. She's a bit of a mean girl at first, but she develops a lot and we see her more vulnerable side, and see that she can be kind. Also, her singing voice is just incredible.

So, these are some of my favorite ''unlikable'' characters. Who are some of yours?