- A leading character can make or break a show — for example, the insufferable character Oliver Queen makes the show "Arrow" hard to watch.
- Piper Chapman, Ross Gellar, and Hannah Horvath are some of the worst leading characters on television.
- Eleven, Dolores, and Walter White are a few leading characters that make their show great.
Few things are more important to a television series than its leading character. A show’s lead provides a foothold for the audience to become involved in the storyline and grows attached to as the show progresses. If a series is written correctly, its lead character can commit some of the worst sins and still have the support of loyal and involved fans.
However, sometimes, something interesting happens. A show can be dramatic, investing, and completely amazing, but still have one problem: its main character, of all things. Some of the best shows ever produced have pulled fans in with their incredible storytelling but made them suffer horrible lead characters.
Whether these protagonists are annoyingly self-involved, completely clueless, or just plain boring, some lead characters end up being the worst parts of their outstanding television series.
Meanwhile, other shows owe their successes all to their incredible lead characters. These protagonists are often flawed, but have some aspect that makes them vulnerable, empathetic, and human. It’s these qualities that can make or break a main character.
This list will look at both ends of the spectrum, breaking down some of the most insufferable lead characters together with some of the most memorable protagonists of all time.
Worst: Oliver Queen - "Arrow"
"Arrow" is considered by many to be the CW’s strongest comic book series. With its flashy action sequences and entertaining plot lines, this might just be the case. However, "Arrow’s" main character, Oliver Queen, certainly isn’t one of its best qualities.
Plainly put, Oliver Queen is just insufferable. As rich kid turned hero, Queen is extremely patronizing to everybody around him. He’s also overly controlling and assertive, especially to the women in his life.
Perhaps the worst aspect to Oliver Queen is his constantly flip-flopping moral code.
In season 2, he took a stand and claimed that he wouldn’t take another life, but he never really followed through. The show never presents this as some kind of moral conflict. Instead, it just makes Queen seem non-committal and confusing.
It’s difficult to watch a superhero parade around with such narcissistic qualities.
Worst: Rick Grimes - "The Walking Dead"
Even though "The Walking Dead" is one of AMC’s strongest series, it still has some flaws. Perhaps its biggest issue is its very protagonist, Rick Grimes.
All Rick has done in the series’ eight seasons is prove that he probably shouldn’t be the group’s leader anymore. Impulsive, controlling, and even scary at times, Rick is constantly leading his group into the same old life-threatening drama and issues season after season.
His temper has grown worse over time, often causing him to escalate already bad situations and make them even worse for the people he is responsible for keeping alive.
All of these qualities would be bad enough in a normal situation, but during a zombie apocalypse, they definitely aren’t the types of characteristics you want in your leading man.
Worst: Ted Mosby - "How I Met Your Mother"
"How I Met Your Mother’s" leading character, Ted Mosby, achieves something special with his role on the series.
Even though Ted is literally telling the show’s story and his retelling of how he met his kids’ mother is the only reason the show even exists, he still manages to be the most boring, irritating character on the show.
Put aside the fact that he takes way too long to tell his story, which is mostly just Ted recounting all his different hook-ups when he was younger to his own kids.
Ted is usually whiny, self-absorbed, and completely inconsiderate to those around him, whether they be women or just his best friends.
Many were sad to see "How I Met Your Mother" end, but seeing Ted go certainly wasn’t a bad thing.
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