Most TV shows have one. That particular character created simply for the purposes of stirring the pot and rubbing viewers the wrong way. For every sweet, handsome, and honourable Jon Snow, there has to be a bratty, aggravating, and abhorrent Joffrey Lannister.
After an intense debate amongst our entertainment team, we decided to round up some television's most hated bit players. It didn't take us long. Everyone has passionate feelings about their favourite characters and sometimes, we feel even more strongly about our least favourite characters.
So read on. Warning: You may walk away from this slideshow feeling vexed, irritated, and...well, annoyed.
Brian Krakow on My So Called Life.
It seemed like Krakow's sole existence on this show was to try to stop his neighbour, Angela, from being cool — and from being with her one true love, Jordan Catalano. We constantly wanted to yell at the screen: "Find another goal in life, Brian!"
Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
Debra on Dexter.
With every episode of this show, we wished we could gently tell Debra: "Okay, okay, we get it. You're desperately in search of the attention you never got from your late father, so you're searching for it from your bro, Dex." But come on! Enough with the moodiness and bad attitude, already!
Photo: Courtesy of Showtime.
Henry on Once Upon A Time.
We hate to call a kid annoying, but Henry is pretty insufferable. When he was younger, his constant need to push people to action was cute. But as a pre-teen, Henry just comes across as whiney. Showrunners, we beg of you: Tell this child to take it easy.
Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
Anika on Empire.
Anika — or Boo Boo Kitty, as she was christened in season 1 by Cookie — is just plain evil. And stuck up. And bougie. Even as a mom in season 3, we still can't get past her conniving ways.
Photo: Courtesy of FOX.
Andrea on The Walking Dead.
We must admit that [alert: spoilers ahead!] Andrea was the WD character that we loved to hate. She made some pretty questionable decisions that risked everyone getting killed — she even trusted The Governor, for heaven's sake! So when she met her end, we can't say we were too disappointed (though the way she went out was pretty sad).
Photo: Courtesy of AMC.
Ana Lucia on Lost.
So yes, we know every Lost character had their moments, but Ana took the cake for her constant overreacting and the way she somehow always made every situation about her. Everyone was trying to survive on this deserted island, Ana. There was a bigger picture than your constant eye rolls and self-centredness!
Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
Dean on Gilmore Girls.
Dean and Rory's love story started off super-cute and innocent, but then, Dean morphed into a dead weight holding Rory back from her dreams. He basically freaked out any time Rory mentioned her dreams of Harvard (and eventually, Yale). Ugh. What did he expect? Rory staying behind with him in Stars Hollow forever? While their teenage love was adorable, we were glad when Rory finally moved on.
Photo: Courtesy of The CW.
Healy on Orange Is The New Black.
Yes, he has mommy issues. And a bad marriage. But he's still racist, homophobic, and overall pretty darn bad at his job. Sorry, Healy, but we can't think of anyone less fit to be inmate counsellor at Litchfield.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
Grace on The Good Wife.
We don't want to pick on a teen Christian, but we needed our own glass of red wine whenever Grace pestered her mom, Alicia, about her faith. Last time we checked, Grace, Alicia wasn't the parent sleeping with escorts!
Photo: Courtesy of CBS.
Kevin on Bloodline.
Netflix's thriller is one edge-of-your seat adrenaline rush after another — slowed down by the coke-snorting Kevin, who continues to make one idiotic, self-destructing decision after another. And don't even get us started on those headbands.
Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl.
Jenny's storyline on GG became pretty minimal by the last few seasons, but that didn't stop homegirl from getting on our Last. Dang. Nerve. First, it was her wide-eyed, innocent naivety that often landed both she and her brother in trouble. Then, it was her faux-punk gloomy attitude that started getting to us. We were all too happy when Jenny "moved to London" in season 5 and didn't return until the season 6 finale.
Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl.
Xoxo, Gossip Girl didn't have just one uber-bothersome character, but two. Georgina truly did nothing for us in this series but create problems for everyone else to deal with — and in the end, we found out she wasn't even Gossip Girl! So what was the point, CW? Or did you just enjoy grating on us?!
Photo: Courtesy of The CW.
Dawn on Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Speaking of Michelle Trachtenberg, it seems like the actress is pretty freaking good at playing obnoxious characters, because Buffy's younger sis was also pretty irksome. Buffy had real problems — like, ya know, killing demons — yet all Dawn could focus on was her teenage angst and high school drama. Oy.
Photo: WB/UPN.
Jess on New Girl .
We just cannot take her whole still-in-love-with-my-ex-but-pretending-not-to-be thing for one more episode. It's time to move on, Jess. And while you're at it: Do you have to continue to be so incredibly twee?
Photo: Courtesy of FOX.
Holly on Power.
In the world of Power, all fans want is for Ghost and Tommy to use their bromance to take over the world. But Holly just would not let that happen. We know it sounds pretty horrible, but [major spoiler alert!] when Tommy finally got rid of her this season, we did the happy dance. A few times.
Photo: Courtesy of Starz.
Julie on Friday Night Lights.
The coach's daughter wasn't just childish — she was whiny. And she also made some incredibly bad choices, i.e., when she chose to cheat on the sweetie pie that was quarterback Matt with "The Swede." Come on, girl. His name was The Swede!
Photo: Courtesy of NBC.
Lady Isobel on Downton Abbey.
She means well, we know she does. But Lady Isobel's help-the-people agenda actually puts her on an even higher horse than the rest of the Crawleys. Luckily for us, Dame Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess was always there with quick one-liners to put her earnest friend in her place.
Photo: Courtesy of PBS.
Kaitlin Cooper on The OC.
Some may argue that Kaitlin was stylish and fun, but in our opinion, she was pretty much the definition of melodramatic. Her vexatious ways began when she was a young kid obsessed with her horse, but unfortunately for us, that peevish personality lasted well into her teenage years.
Photo: Courtesy of FOX.
Susan on Desperate Housewives.
Ya know, Susan Delfino could've been likeable. But her theatrics, pot-stirring, and occasional ditziness left us constantly eye-rolling her character during DH 's eight seasons on ABC. There was a bright side to her existence, though: Her sweet, easy-on-the-eyes husband, Mike. We could almost forgive your annoying ways for that, Susan.
Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
Paige on Pretty Little Liars.
Emily's only real partner on the show just could not let her girlfriend live. Every move Emily made, Paige questioned. She even ended up unnecessarily getting involved in the whole "A" situation — behind Emily's back. Geez, Paige. Couldn't you just be there for Emily?
Photo: Courtesy of Freeform.
Paige Jennings on The Americans.
Okay, we get it. Finding out that your parents are Russian spies is kind of complicated and maybe a little confusing. But ratting them out to creepy Pastor Tim was beyond foolish. They're your parents! If you're not interested in a cool life of international espionage, fine. Just quit the whining, kid.
Photo: Courtesy of FX.
Rachel Berry on Glee.
Rachel was one of the show's greatest talents, of course. But that doesn't make up for the fact that she was super- bratty and self-absorbed. You were in a glee club, girl. Diva antics like that should've been saved for auditions on The Voice.
Photo: Courtesy of FOX.
Kimmy Gibler on Full House.
The Tanner family's next-door neighbour was created simply to annoy them and the showrunners succeeded in not just that, but also annoying us viewers. She was irritating, wore ridiculous clothes, and ate all the Tanners' food. And where the heck were her parents?!
Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
Ross on Friends.
Obviously, this is a controversial one, because Ross Gellar is beloved by many. But in reality, Ross was kind of the worst. The neuroses. The whining. The temper tantrums. The judgement! If it wasn't for his love story with Rachel and his pet monkey, Marcel, we would've hated him completely.
Photo: Courtesy of NBC.
Marnie on Girls.
Oh, Marnie. We wanted to like you, we did. But it's hard to like the kind of friend that only cares about themselves — and whatever person they're dating. We had brief hope for you and Charlie last season, but we're sorry to say that he's probably better off without your selfishness and narcissism.
Photo: Courtesy of HBO.
Quinn on Scandal.
We can't be the only ones who find this gladiator completely and totally bothersome. She was sweet and ambitious in the beginning, but in a post-Huck world, she's testy, dislikable and, well, obnoxious. We'll cut her some slack, since she's seen some pretty dark stuff working for Pope and Associates, but still, we want that old Quinn back.
Photo: Courtesy of ABC.
Carl on The Walking Dead.
We really don't like to talk badly about children, we swear. But in an apocalyptic world where everyone's just trying to survive and stay quiet to avoid, oh, being eaten by zombies, the fact that Carl is always off getting into trouble and then essentially luring the zombies to his crew's home base gives us intense eye rolls almost every single episode.
Photo: Courtesy of AMC.
Dana on Homeland.
If teenage moodiness could be personified, it would be living and breathing in Brody's daughter, Dana. Brody had enough to worry about, living a double life as a traitorous sergeant recovering from years as a prisoner of war (and, oh yea, that extramarital affair) without the woes of his dismal daughter. Dana goes down in history as one of our top three most annoying, because...well, she's simply dreadful.
Photo: Courtesy of Showtime.
Skyler White on Breaking Bad.
And just when we thought we couldn't think of anyone more unendurable than Dana Brody on Homeland, we remembered: Skyler White on Breaking Bad. That's right, the wife to Walter White, who was constantly complaining, grumbling, and clocking Walter's every move — despite the fact that that man had cancer! And was a full-grown adult! Sheesh, couldn't you just let the man run a meth empire in peace?!
Photo: Courtesy of AMC.
Joffrey Baratheon on Game of Thrones.
Finally. We have arrived on the person whom we're sure viewers can collectively agree is the most mean-spirited, spoiled, and loathsome television character of all time. [SPOILER] Thankfully, Thrones redeemed itself for making us sit through Joffrey's brief stint as ruler of King's Landing by having him poisoned, whereafter he died a slow, painful death. Sorry, Joffrey, but you asked for it. Winter is coming — and you won't get to see it.
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