32 "Unlikeable" Characters Who People Actually Really Like

    Maybe they're just misunderstood.

    Jasmin Nahar
    by Jasmin Nahar

    BuzzFeed Staff

    We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which "unlikeable" characters are better than people think. Here are some of their responses!

    1. Nurse Rose from Grey's Anatomy.

    ABC

    "The only reason she was disliked in the show was because she wasn’t Meredith and she was dating Derek. Rose was very respectful towards Meredith, and never really made her feel 'less than' or that she was completely irrelevant to Derek. She always knew that he was going to be madly in love with her and never blamed him or Meredith, and she also never tried to sabotage their friendship or relationship. She honestly would’ve been a great character – she just wasn’t Meredith."

    —mgirl05

    2. Dawn Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

    The WB

    "She gets so much hate. Yes she's a bit whiny and annoying at times, but she went through so many traumatic events including losing her mother and then her sister, not to mention her entire identity being turned upside down when she finds out all her memories never happened.

    "In the later series she comes into her own, especially season seven when she's acting as Watcher Junior and taking over the research role Giles used to fill. She also has a very dorky sense of humour that I appreciate!"

    —5864rl

    3. Mona-Lisa Saperstein from Parks and Recreation.

    NBC

    "Sure she's terrible, but easily one of the funniest characters."

    —c48a4d893e

    4. Karen Filippelli from The Office.

    NBC

    "She was immediately the bad guy because we were all rooting for Pam. But in reality she just wanted to find love like the rest of us!"

    —jillianmccabe3

    5. Petra Solano from Jane the Virgin.

    The CW

    "She was made the villain in a lot of the plots but I always really liked her. She was willing to do whatever it took to be on top and I can respect that work ethic. Also, she was bisexual and that made me feel seen."

    —e-i-e-io

    6. Andy Bernard from The Office.

    NBC

    "He is my favorite character from The Office for so many reasons. He is clearly damaged from his upbringing, which explains his need for attention and his occasional problematic behaviour. He’s passionate, devoted, and absolutely hilarious. It makes me so sad that everyone hates him!!"

    —kirstieorozco

    7. Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

    Nickelodeon

    "Yes she was introduced as the typical villain, trying to thwart the Gaang’s plans and take over the Earth Kingdom, but as the show progressed, we learned more about her past and the reason why she acted the way she did. She was put under so much pressure by her father and she knew she had to maintain her status as the favourite child so she didn’t end up hurt and banished like Zuko did."

    —elizabethhahn

    8. Wilhelmina Slater from Ugly Betty.

    ABC

    "She was treated like a villain for not wanting to give the magazine up to the boss’s son, when she basically created it! Also, her lines are the best part of the show."

    —aglover

    9. Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother.

    CBS

    "I mean, I GET why so many people find him insufferable and I agree that he’s problematic. And yet...I have this weird soft spot for him. He just seems like a realistic person, with some flaws, yes, but also a decent sense of humour and basically a good dude. If he were a real person, I would probably be friends with him – NEVER romantically, but in an 'old friend from college' kind of way who I like catching up with."

    —lumos47

    10. Piper Chapman from Orange Is the New Black.

    Netflix

    "She goes on a journey and the point is that she is a middle class, well-off, self-obsessed woman. That’s who she was supposed to be! She was amazing and I won’t have it any other way."

    —bubbles1344

    11. Paris Geller from Gilmore Girls.

    The WB

    "She was smart, determined, and had no time for your bullshit. A true queen."

    —shrivercircus

    12. Ann Perkins from Parks and Recreation.

    NBC

    "A lot of people find Ann Perkins boring, but I genuinely loved her on Parks and Rec, she was a wonderful friend to Leslie and has some of the most underrated gems in the series."

    —mythrip

    13. Thomas Barrow from Downton Abbey.

    ITV

    "So many people hated him for numerous different reasons and there were moments when I did too, but by the end of the series I was truly a fan of his. He grew so much over the series, and while a lot of people say he was sly and manipulative, he was also hard-working and cared about people.

    "He saved Edith from the fire in her room, helped James when he was being mugged, and was excellent with the children. And let’s not forget that all the while, he was as trying desperately to 'change' his sexual desires. He may not have ever been the nicest or sweetest character on the show, but he always gave you a reason to root for him."

    —megana459810788

    14. Emily Gilmore from Gilmore Girls.

    The WB / The CW

    "She is the actual best, yet for some reason Lorelai constantly makes her out to be the most awful self-indulgent person on the planet. I lost count of how many episodes where Emily was meant to be ‘the villain’, but honestly she is great. Emily tries so hard to connect with and be there for both Rory and Lorelai but has it thrown in her face time after time – pretty much all because she tried to make Lorelai wear dresses when she was younger. Get over it Lorelai and embrace your mum for the queen she is."

    —beth_leigh94

    15. Susan Bunch from Friends.

    NBC

    "Yes she was 'hostile' towards Ross but I can totally see why. He was so entitled just because Carol was his first love. I wouldn’t have put up with him constantly feeling sorry for himself, especially as he moved on with plenty of other women, whereas Susan and Carol were consistently committed and were great mums to Ben."

    —jadeb4c39f7c03

    16. Mae Chung from Derry Girls.

    Channel 4

    "Okay, okay, she might have pulled a slightly grotesque prank, but I really liked how upfront and no-nonsense she was in the show. Plus, she WOULD have worn Jenny's dress better."

    —aglover

    17. Nellie Bertram from The Office.

    NBC

    "I absolutely hated her when she first arrived and I feel like first impressions are the ones that last with people who watch the show. She actually developed into a really sweet character when Andy came back. I loved the friendship she formed with Pam and her adoption storyline broke my heart!"

    —elexisgrace

    18. Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale.

    The CW

    "She did do some pretty mean things to other people but she was only doing them because she was hurting on the inside. Her dad killed himself, she was brainwashed into joining an organ harvesting cult, her brother was murdered, etc."

    —garlicbread20

    19. Ross Geller from Friends.

    NBC

    "YES, he is problematic and has a lot of issues BUT he is the character that made me laugh the most. Ross also has pretty iconic lines: 'Pivot!', 'You ate my sandwich', the ICONIC scene with the leather pants.

    "Every time it was a 'Ross' episode I knew I was going to enjoy it. Imagine Friends without Ross. He’s like the glue that holds the series together. Ross and Rachel are basically the leads of the show."

    —laneysux

    20. Danny Pink from Doctor Who.

    BBC One

    "I don't get why everyone hated Danny Pink – he was 100% right about the Doctor being dangerous!"

    —isabeldaly

    21. Marnie Michaels from Girls.

    HBO

    "Marnie from Girls is so unpopular, people tend to prefer Jessa or Shoshanna, but I really resonated with her. She clearly had control issues but that for me was something I sympathised with rather than hated her for! And most of her 'overly-controlled' plans were done from love. She did questionable things but still cared deeply for her friends and I think she gets a way worse rep than she deserves."

    —marthajamal16

    22. Cho Chang from the Harry Potter series.

    Warner Brothers

    "Cho Chang was done dirty in both the books AND movies. In Order of the Phoenix, she reveals the existence of Dumbledore's Army because she's FORCED TO DRINK Veritaserum. But even though it was against her will, Harry and Co. are mad at her."

    —isabeldaly

    23. Janice Hosenstein from Friends.

    NBC

    "Sure her voice was nasally, but she did nothing wrong. All of the friends were nice to her face, so she thought she was genuinely friends with them. She was nothing but kind to everybody in the group! #ohmygodjusticeforjanice!"

    —ashleyp459897ecc

    24. Soojin from Girls.

    HBO

    "She was still kind of annoying, but she was way less annoying than literally any of the protagonists, and she actually did stuff."

    —isabeldaly

    25. Skyler White from Breaking Bad.

    AMC

    "She reacted how anyone would in the impossible situation she was put in, and was actually really smart in her own right throughout the show!"

    —meghanb4efb79fb1

    26. Summer Finn from 500 Days of Summer.

    Fox Searchlight Pictures

    "The first time I watched this film I felt like I wasn’t supposed to like her, but as I’ve grown older I’ve realised that she wasn’t bad or unlikeable at all. She was quite clear with Tom that she wasn’t looking for anything serious and although they spent a lot of time together, she had made her intentions clear. It isn’t her fault that Tom didn’t listen and put her in a difficult position. I’m glad she finds happiness in the end, and I’m glad it wasn’t with Tom, who wasn’t really that great."

    —tashc4da81140d

    27. Andrea from The Walking Dead.

    AMC

    "A lot of The Walking Dead fans hated Andrea but I thought she was a badass! She stood up for herself, was a great shot, called people on their BS, and was a realistic character that grounded the series in those awesome early seasons. I think if she was a man, people wouldn’t have hated her and her decisions so much."

    —emilyz484272c42

    28. Kelly Kapoor from The Office.

    NBC

    "She was made to seem kind of ditzy and annoying, but she had way better goss than the rest of the office did! She also had the most underrated outfits in TV history IMO."

    —aglover

    29. Ashley Seaver from Criminal Minds.

    CBS

    "I know everyone hated her, but I feel like if she had been on the show longer she could have had a chance to grow as a character – she had such a short run that wasn’t able to happen."

    —isabellel456c681de

    30. Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl.

    The CW

    "She wasn't nearly as cruel as most of the other characters (i.e. Chuck and Blair) but people still think her actions were unforgivable and idolise those two. She's a young girl trying to navigate trauma (Chuck almost raping her in the pilot), big changes in her life (her mum leaving before the show starts and beginning high school), and the drama and cruelty she's pulled into by being one of Blair's minions. She certainly had some problems but she was my favourite character."

    —rmaxwellington

    31. Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

    The WB / UPN

    "You're supposed to hate her and she does some awful things but she's almost the id personified – she does what she wants and has fun but is completely tortured so you can have empathy for her. A really interesting character."

    —joanneb447c2e55a

    32. Trina Vega from Victorious.

    Nickelodeon

    "She was seen as annoying but I personally think she was hysterical! She provided so much in terms of comedy."

    —hanjfarmer

    Note: submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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