# Name a television character hated at first, but who grows on you over time (SPOILERS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689 "2016-11-21T22:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/1 "2016-11-21T22:52:21Z")
Who is a character from any show that you hated or that was a bad guy for a long time, but that–over another long period of time–slowly grew on you or turned into more of a good character or, at the very least, a bit more sympathetic? Obviously there will be SPOILERS, but spoil any HUGE revelations in any shows. Two examples I can think of are Ben Linus from Lost and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer…at least IMO. Spike was an out and out bad guy Buffy fought, but eventually became one of her team mates. Ben had a much, much slower turn. In fact, I’d say Ben was fairly evil/bad from his introduction in season two all the way up to the last season (season 6), but he did wind up being redeemed somewhat and ending as a fairly “on the side of good, moreso” character. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/2 "2016-11-21T23:02:34Z")
Pete Campbell from **Mad Men**. In the early years of the show, I so wanted to see him get shoved out a window and fall to his death. Even as late as the fifth season when Lane Pryce slugged him, I was thinking “YEAH!!!” But by the end of the series, I couldn’t help thinking he was the only character to have actually grown up. In the final episode, Pete leaves the firm to take a job far away from the glamorous NYC hubub (well, OK, he took a private jet there), and his ‘farewell’ lunch is just Peggy (who can’t make it) and an annoyed Harry. Pete takes it all in good humor and even wishes Peggy well, assuring her that she’ll be a huge success. That’s a far cry from the Pete Campbell of the early seasons who demanded the whole world recognize what a genius, man among he (thought he) was. Meanwhile, everybody else is just as hopelessly mired in drama of their own making. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/4 "2016-11-21T23:28:00Z")
I didn’t like Amy Farrah Fowler on _The Big Bang Theory_ at all when she was first introduced. She felt awkward and interfered with the Sheldon loner dynamic. But she grew on me and now she’s my favorite character. Her and Sheldon’s interactions are the best thing about the show nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/5 "2016-11-21T23:35:19Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Pete Campbell from **Mad Men**. In the early years of the show, I so wanted to see him get shoved out a window and fall to his death. Even as late as the fifth season when Lane Pryce slugged him, I was thinking “YEAH!!!” But by the end of the series, I couldn’t help thinking he was the only character to have actually grown up. > > In the final episode, Pete leaves the firm to take a job far away from the glamorous NYC hubub (well, OK, he took a private jet there), and his ‘farewell’ lunch is just Peggy (who can’t make it) and an annoyed Harry. Pete takes it all in good humor and even wishes Peggy well, assuring her that she’ll be a huge success. That’s a far cry from the Pete Campbell of the early seasons who demanded the whole world recognize what a genius, man among he (thought he) was. Meanwhile, everybody else is just as hopelessly mired in drama of their own making. Nothing to add at the moment, but your summary totally makes me want to watch the entire series again. Now. mmm ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/6 "2016-11-21T23:37:58Z")
Merle Dixon on The Walking Dead. HATED him at first, but as his character grew, I liked him. He had some of the best one liners of the show. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/7 "2016-11-21T23:55:47Z")
Al Swearengen on _Deadwood_. It was a weird combination of him growing slightly more sympathetic as the story developed and other characters appearing who were far more detestable than he was. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/8 "2016-11-22T00:01:41Z")
Chloe on 24. At first she was just annoying, but pretty soon she became one of the best characters besides Jack himself. I didn’t really care so much for how they changed her for the 1/2 season revival, but it at least made sense given the backstory they gave for what happened to her after the show proper ended. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/9 "2016-11-22T00:03:33Z")
Schmidt on New Girl. Found him insufferable at first (douchebag jar!), but he totally has grown on me (we’ve been binging it over the last few weeks). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/10 "2016-11-22T00:11:53Z")
When Star Trek The Next Generation was on the air I really disliked the character of Dr. Pulaski, partly because I thought she was rude and partly because she replaced my favorite MILF. Having recently re-watched most of the episodes, the older me found her behavior and opinions more understandable than the younger me did. She’s also a good deal more interesting than Dr. Crusher, though not as easy on the eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/11 "2016-11-22T00:27:56Z")
**Jane** on the original _Coupling_. She started the show spectacularly self-centered and annoying. She was kinda that way at the end, too, but there was one episode in which she was so funny that I could put up with the annoyance and even have some sympathy. She got fired from her job (as a radio traffic reporter) and wanted to audition for a new job as a children’s TV presenter. She wanted to practice in front of her friends so she put a sock puppet on her arm, which proceeded to insult everyone, including Jane. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/12 "2016-11-22T02:10:43Z")
Michonne on The Walking dead. She scared me silly at first and now I adore her! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/13 "2016-11-22T02:14:58Z")
I wouldn’t say I hated Gaius on Battlestar Galactica, but he started out pretty much one-dimensional. His development and the amazing job James Callis did with him really made him one of my favorite characters. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/14 "2016-11-22T02:19:04Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > She’s also a good deal more interesting than Dr. Crusher, though not as easy on the eyes. Those of us who were around to watch TOS will tell you that it was not always thus. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/15 "2016-11-22T02:41:19Z")
Jaime Lannister from GoT is the poster boy for this, isn’t he? Michael Scott started out unredeemably shallow and foolish, but became loveable as The Office went on. Dwight too, but it took longer. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/16 "2016-11-22T02:59:09Z")
Pennsatucky on Orange is the New Black…in the first season, I had to mute 90% of her scenes, since she enraged me in entirely the wrong way…by the end of season 3, she’d grown into one of my favourite characters, being entertaining even when she was awful. Healy had a similar arc, though he’s never moved to the favourite column, and he only moved past ‘barely tolerable, and a little bit pitiable’ in season 4, when he was dealing with Lolly. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/17 "2016-11-22T03:20:22Z")
Donna Noble on _Doctor Who_ is perhaps the poster child for this phenomenon. Brash, common, and whingey at first look, as the show progressed, we all came to see that she was smart, independent, brave and, ultimately, tragic. Now she routinely shows up near the top of _Who_ fans’ “Best Companions” list. Going back to the early Eighties, Margaret Houlihan on _M_A_S_H\* started out as a one-dimensional harridan and antagonist to the show’s heroes Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre; but as the show evolved into an ensemble drama, she developed into a rounded, interesting, and sympathetic character. The same thing happened to Charles Emerson Winchester. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/18 "2016-11-22T03:54:49Z")
> [@Sterling\_Archer](#): > > Jaime Lannister from GoT is the poster boy for this, isn’t he? Anytime I start feeling any sympathy towards his character I have to remind myself he was the one who pushed Bran out the window. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/19 "2016-11-22T14:00:49Z")
_Grey’s Anatomy_ has done this several times. Alex Karev started off as a selfish jerk and mellowed somewhat over time. Still had a few problems by the time I stopped watching. Addison Montgomery started off as the interfering, hated ex-wife and became a warmer figure in a fairly short time. Even became the center of a spin-off. And then there’s bad boy extraordinaire Mark Sloan. Stabbing in the back his best friend. Completely hopeless womanizer. Smug and self-centered. Also underwent a salvation story arc. As to Pete Campbell: Nah. He was still a jerk. His moment of self-examination is just a temporary thing. Underneath, he’s still the same guy. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/20 "2016-11-22T14:09:33Z")
Peter on FRINGE. He started out as a fairly cool rogue/spy\*/con-man type. Then after about 3 episodes in, he became a whiny little bitch with serious daddy-issues, and Walter was annoying but couldn’t help it, so it made it worse. It really doesn’t help to scream at a mentally ill guy. THEN you come to find out in the middle of Season 2 exactly what Walter did and all of Peter’s issues make complete sense and you realise…no, he’s not a whiny little snot with daddy issues, he’s a victim…and the character makes sense. Plus he (as a character) starts growing mid-season 1. I really loathed the character through most of Season 1 and by the end of the show, he was my favorite. \*in terms of talents ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/21 "2016-11-22T14:17:11Z")
Howard Wolowitz on The Big Bang Theory started off as a horndog nerd, but the character grew up and became quite likeable. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689.md?page=2)