10 TV Characters Who Completely Divided Their Show’s Audience

Just like certain storylines, episodes, and overall series, characters from TV shows have the potential to divide audiences. At its heart, the issue of divisive TV characters comes down to whether the audience thinks the character is worthy of their time. Arguments arise over whether they should like or sympathize with a character, contrasting with cases where the debate centers around whether they are well-written. Some of these characters are among the main cast of the most divisive TV shows ever; others hail from generally liked shows and are divisive all on their own.

People will argue that certain TV characters are “annoying,” while others will say they are misunderstood, or that their initially irritating persona is the point of their character. Long-running shows are rife with redemption arcs; because there are so many episodes, the character has plenty of time to do as many good things as it takes to make up for the one bad thing they did. However, some fans will inevitably maintain that what they did was unforgivable. These are just some examples of scenarios where an audience can become polarized over one character.

10

Archie Andrews (KJ Apa)

Riverdale (2017-2023)

Jay Snow argues (via Collider) that “Since the beginning of The CW’s Riverdale, Archie Andrews […] has been a relatively divisive character,” due to being true to the comics half the time and making objectively harmful decisions the other half. Archie is doubtlessly a character who cares about his friends and family and would do anything to protect them. However, the show can’t seem to decide what methods of achieving this will be characteristic of him.

Among the worst decisions Archie makes in Riverdale is everything he ever does to aid Veronica’s father Hiram Lodge. Archie does other things that are completely self-serving and only cause drama among the main cast, making it impossible for some of the audience to truly like him. Riverdale takes Archie’s character arc in several directions before figuring out what it actually wants to do with him. Then again, Riverdale did a lot of weird things with the story in season 3 and beyond.

9

Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester)

Gossip Girl (2007-2012)

Most characters from Gossip Girl can be considered divisive since they all spend their time manipulating each other and who any given viewer decides to like is at least partially influenced by their fashion sense. Leading the way is Leighton Meester’s Blair and Blake Lively’s Serena, alleged best friends who betray each other more than once. However, throughout the ups and downs of Blair and Serena’s friendship, Blair narrowly comes out as the more terrible of the two.

One of the harsh realities of watching Gossip Girl is that Blair is generally a horrible person who cares more about her image than her friends or family. She is introduced as the ultimate queen bee and proves exactly what she will do to hold on to that title. However, partially because she is one of the show’s protagonists, there are still people who will love Blair as a glamorous anti-hero.

8

Skyler White (Anna Gunn)

Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

On the surface, there is reason to sympathize with Walt White’s wife Skyler in Breaking Bad. Finding out that her husband is cooking and selling meth and trying to stop him for the safety of their family seems reasonable enough. However, a large part of the Breaking Bad fandom viewed Skyler as a nagging wife because of how she acts both before and after finding out about Walt’s double life. They later called her a hypocrite for switching lanes when she was unable to persuade her husband and enjoying the wealth the drug business brought them.

This in turn gave rise to many fervent defenders of Skyler, who argue that she is judged by how she does not conform to the stereotypical ideals of a devoted housewife. Among Skyler’s defense is Anna Gunn herself, who wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in response to people calling her Breaking Bad character “a ball-and-chain, a drag, a shrew.” Gunn had this to say: “I finally realized that most people’s hatred of Skyler had little to do with me and a lot to do with their own perception of women and wives.”

7

Gabi Braun (Ayane Sakura/Lindsay Seidel)

Attack On Titan (2013-2023)

A surefire way for a character to become instantly disliked by the audience is for them to kill a long-standing fan-favorite character within their first few episodes. Such was the case for Attack on Titan’s Gabi. Raised to believe that the inhabitants of Paradis Island are all irredeemable monsters, 12-year-old Gabi does not hesitate when she has the chance to ambush the Survey Corps after the attack on her home. As a result, she shoots and kills series regular Sasha.

Gabi isn’t easy to like when she is committed to killing most of the show’s main cast. However, the point of her character is that she realizes that they are just regular people. Characters including Armen, Mikasa, and Jean are protective of Gabi even though she killed their friend, not blaming her because she is a child. However, Gabi is still a complex character who proves that she is capable of admitting when she is wrong.

6

Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards)

Arrow (2012-2020)

Arrow’s Felicity is a fan-favorite TV character with a forgettable introduction, originally intended to appear in only one episode to provide Oliver Queen with some tech support. Felicity’s instant popularity led to her becoming a regular character as the show’s go-to tech genius and later Oliver’s partner. However, despite there being enough people who like her to keep her on the show, there are still Arrow fans who hate Felicity.

Some comic book fans were upset by Felicity apparently usurping Black Canary’s role as Arrow’s love interest. On the other hand, some viewers appreciated this distinction between the show and the comics. While there are also some complaints about the way the relationship is written in the later seasons — which might just be symptomatic of Arrow coming to its end — most people still find Felicity a worthy addition to the show.

5

Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor)

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)

Ted’s divisive character is inevitably tied up with the controversial ending to How I Met Your Mother. He is, of course, the unreliable narrator who somehow never mentions throughout nine seasons that the woman he is speaking of has passed away, which completely changes the meaning of the story he is telling. Audiences will never forgive Ted for not moving on from Robin or the show for convincing them that this is what needed to happen.

There are reasons not to like Ted without considering the ending. Despite being on a mission to find his soulmate, he makes bad decisions in his relationships based on the slim possibility of ending up with Robin. He does some other bad things in his years of sitcom shenanigans, which he is usually remorseful about. However, there are doubtlessly some people who still enjoy Ted’s wide-eyed romantic persona — How I Met Your Mother probably wouldn’t have gone on for so long if there weren’t.

4

Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone)

Grey’s Anatomy (2005-Present)

After starring in Private Practice for several seasons, Derek’s impulsive youngest sister arrived at Grey Sloan Memorial to shake things up for the rest of the Grey’s Anatomy cast. Amelia annoys a lot of people — her sister-in-law included — with her indecisiveness and erratic behavior. In more recent years, this includes her stating that she wants absolute commitment from Link and then backing out of the relationship herself.

However, Amelia Shepherd’s most heartbreaking moments put her in a more sympathetic light and highlight her resilience. She has survived the devastating loss of several loved ones and faced things like her drug addiction and brain tumor head-on. Amelia will likely always be a divisive Grey’s Anatomy character, but she at least deserves respect for always doing what is best for herself and, by extension, those around her.

3

Ross Geller (David Schwimmer)

Friends (1994-2004)

Ross will always be beloved to some degree because of the famous Ross and Rachel storyline and his place in the Friends cast as a whole. However, his character has probably aged the worst out of the main six friends. Regardless of whether they were “on a break,” most of the relationship’s problems can in fact be traced back to Ross.

Some harsh realities about Ross’ character in Friends include his superiority complex, his dismissiveness of Rachel’s career, and his inability to trust any of his girlfriends. Ross is saved by the fact that he is in a sitcom and most of his shortcomings are framed comedically, even if more people point them out now than when Friends was in its heyday. Ross has moments of being a protective brother, loyal friend, and loving partner. However, his character is still rightfully criticized.

2

Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)

The Walking Dead (2010-2022)

The ultimate question that divides an audience over a character is whether they should be forgiven for their past actions. At this point, Negan has appeared in more episodes of The Walking Dead than Glenn (not counting The Walking Dead: Dead City). In that time, he has earned the begrudging trust of most of the core cast and the respect of some of the audience for being a flawed and compelling character. However, some fans are resolute that what Negan did is unforgivable.

The debate over Negan’s character is given more fuel by Dead City, in which he shares the spotlight with Glenn’s widow Maggie. Maggie affirms in the Walking Dead finale that she will never forgive Negan for Glenn’s murder, which would have been a fine way to end her story. However, Dead City drags things out by showing them forced to work together, prompting more analysis of Negan’s character.

1

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

Game Of Thrones (2011-2019)

The defining facet of the critiqued Game of Thrones’ ending is Daenerys’ decision to burn down most of King’s landing to cement her power. This conclusion to Dany’s character arc is controversial because it is incongruent with how the rest of the series frames her as a benevolent if vengeful queen who is meant to liberate Westeros from its scheming nobles. Dany once locked up her dragons because they killed one child; it doesn’t make sense for her to demolish an entire city.

However, the finale still inspired part of the fandom to rewatch Game of Thrones for clues and come to the conclusion that Dany was always the “mad queen.” For example, her violence towards those who betray her and her hunger for power is indicative of her future. Of all the most divisive TV characters, Dany is unlikely to escape this status anytime soon due to the status of Game of Thrones’ finale in pop culture.

Source: Collider, New York Times