17 Awful TV Characters Who The Show Kept Pretending Were So Great

The bar is on the floor for TV men, it seems!!!

There's always that one character that a TV show keeps telling us is a good guy. Maybe they're the moral compass of the show, or maybe they serve in contrast to a bad boy character, or maybe the show just wants us to see them as the boy next door.

Adult Swim

But no matter how much the other characters applaud his virtues, sometimes the show just can't quite hide that one of their male leads is absolutely insufferable. Here are 17 infuriating examples!

1. Lucas Scott from One Tree Hill

The CW

Lucas is practically the poster boy for this phenomenon. He's framed as the "good one" from the start, and yet, beyond the first few episodes, he's consistently a FAR bigger fuckboy than Nathan, who literally gets married in Season 1 and has an overall healthy marriage for nine seasons where he doesn't cheat once. Lucas is constantly blaming his problems on others and refusing to take accountability, and he seems addicted to cheating and proclaiming a woman is "the one" before changing his mind the next day (Ted Mosby, is that you?). He also thinks he's so deep and profound because he likes reading. Lucas Scott, you're the worst.

2. Jim from The Office

NBC

Jim is supposed to be the lovable prankster and romantic lead of the show, but honestly, he kind of just comes across as an asshole. He takes things WAY too far with Dwight, he leads on multiple women while he's obviously in love with Pam, and then he's a super bad father and husband to Pam. I honestly didn't get why people loved him when I started the show. 

3. Ted from How I Met Your Mother

CBS

Ted is the epitome of a Nice Guy. He thinks he's owed female love and attention, and gets bitter and butthurt when he doesn't get it, despite the fact that he has wildly unrealistic and high standards and is constantly hung up on someone he isn't dating. 

4. Ross from Friends

NBC

Ross always thought he was so much better than the other friends, especially Rachel, which really irked me because he was so "in love" with her. This continued throughout the show, and IMO, is part of why he was jealous of Rachel's coworker. He never supported her career because he didn't truly believe in her, and he consistently put her down. He also just ALWAYS thought he was right when he very rarely was. 

5. Stefan from The Vampire Diaries

The CW

Like with One Tree Hill, the good brother/bad brother dichotomy was set up early in TVD. But as soon as the show revealed Stefan had been a ripper, the whole "good guy" thing was shattered for me. It's implied Stefan killed more people than Damon ever did, and yet, the show continues to suggest that he was so much more virtuous than Damon. But really, the scene where Stefan (with his humanity on, btw!!!) threatens to drive Elena off Wickery Bridge — where her parents died — takes the cake for me. It also makes all his comments about her being able to choose if she wants to be a vampire or not meaningless, because he almost took that choice away from her.

6. Mike from Stranger Things

Netflix

Mike was fine at first, but he got progressively worse as the show went on. He's such a horrible friend to Will, and he continues to prioritize El above him despite the fact that he got into this whole mess to save Will. It's like he forgot Will existed when he met El, and after Will was saved, he forgot that Will had been horribly traumatized by the Upside Down. When Will gave that speech to Mike about how he's the heart of their group, I was like...wtf? In what way has Mike ever been the heart except maybe in Season 1, which Will didn't see? It felt like the show was trying to push that he's a good character when in reality he just sucks. I don't get why Will likes him.

7. And also Jonathan

Neflix

I'm still annoyed that Nancy is with Jonathan (not that I think she should be with Steve — what's wrong with being single?). He was such a creep toward her in Season 1 and basically stalked her, and I feel like that just got glossed over. He's had little character development since then, and his character now is basically just getting high with Argyle and being a bad boyfriend. I will give him a few points for finally at least trying to be a good brother, which he's forgotten about for the last few seasons.

8. Clay from 13 Reasons Why

Netflix

Clay is another Nice Guy. He acts like he's so far above everyone else on the tapes, and then ends up friends with half of them...which in itself is fine (a lot of them were flawed people who made mistakes), but it's the superior attitude I hate. He was a horrible friend/brother to Justin, and he had such a savior complex that meant he enabled sooo many bad things to happen because he thought he could handle them himself. 

9. Ben from The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Freeform

Yet another Nice Guy who feels he's owed female attention!!! It's like he feels ownership over the girls he dates, too. He also only asks Amy out in the first place because he thinks she's an easy target, and he wants to lose his virginity. And then, I feel like he kind of takes advantage of her fear and uncertainty by proposing.

10. Otis from Sex Education

Netflix

Eric is right; Otis is selfish and consistently puts Maeve above Eric, though he's no saint when it comes to Maeve, either. I feel like he's one of those guys who decries the friend zone — and then he dates Ruby despite still having feelings for Maeve. He's also way too hard on his mom, who's only trying to do her best.

11. Zack from Saved by the Bell

NBC

Zack is a self-serving misogynist who consistently gets away with taking advantage of his friends for his own gain. He seems to care about no one but himself, and I have no idea why we're supposed to sympathize with him or find him endearing. Check out Zack Morris Is Trash — it'll change your whole view of the show.

12. Phil from Modern Family

ABC

He's definitely not the worst character on this list, but I always thought his attraction to Gloria was so inappropriate and awkward. He's pretty honest about it, and I feel bad for Claire that she has to deal with it. It's like he's incapable of not objectifying Gloria. And besides that, he's clearly the "fun" parent that always puts Claire in the position of having to lay down the law. He may not be awful, but he's not this quintessentially perfect TV dad that he's made out to be.

13. Will from Glee

Fox

Do I really have to go into this one? The man's basically a predator. He's always crossing lines with students, and yet, we're supposed to love and root for him as their leader. The show also makes it seem like Will is treated horribly by Sue, when in reality, Will can be cruel back to Sue (like when he pretended he was into her) and cruel WITH Sue (laughing at Coach Beiste) — sometimes Sue is actually the voice of reason (like when he wanted to put on and act in Rocky Horror).

14. Barry from The Flash

The CW

Cisco's right on this one. Barry was so selfish to mess with time, and his apology feels more to assuage his own guilt than anything else, and STILL focuses on what he got out of this whole experience (getting to spend a few months with his mom). He also kept it from his friends for way too long. Honestly, I couldn't watch the show much after this — it really ruined Barry for me. I felt like we were supposed to sympathize with him, but I just couldn't. 

15. Jack from Lost

ABC

Jack was so whiny and had an inflated sense of self-importance. Like Clay, he was obsessed with saving people, even if he knew he actually wasn't capable of it. He was also obsessed with the island, and asking Kate to go back was a new low. He was honestly kind of a simp for Kate, too, and I hated the way he led Juliet on when he still loved Kate. And then, to make Hurley guardian at the end without actually asking if he wanted it...WTF? I feel like Jack was supposed to be the hero when really he was constantly messing up and being shady.

16. Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The WB

Xander definitely gets better in later seasons, but his whole hangup on Buffy in earlier seasons is so gross. It's like he's hanging out in the friend zone, and any man Buffy even talks to is taking a chance away from Xander — when it's clear she doesn't want to be with him anyways. The only boyfriend of Buffy's he likes is Riley, and he even encourages Buffy to go back to him, literally siding with Riley after Riley tries to gaslight Buffy into thinking it's her fault he's letting random vampires feed on him (for sexual gratification it seems, so basically cheating). He's also a jerk to Willow in early seasons, and I hate that in the comics, he ends up with Dawn, who he's known since she was a kid. He also doesn't tell Buffy that Willow's doing the spell to restore Angel's soul. Ugh, this guy.

17. And finally, Archie from Riverdale

The CW

THE ABOVE SCENE INFURIATED ME SO MUCH. He and Veronica hadn't even broken up! He said he was leaving town, she said "we're endgame," and he was like, "I love you," and then, like, 12 hours later, he's kissing this girl...and when he stops it, we're supposed to be like, oh, virtuous, sweet Archie! He couldn't go through with it, which proves what a good guy he is! Nope, he's literally just cheating. Also, the dude's an idiot who consistently makes things worse by following his own ideas instead of listening to others. Like the Red Circle? Pleading guilty to a crime he didn't commit? It was all so dumb.

What "good guy" or moral compass character on a TV show infuriated you? Let us know in the comments!