Loathesome!: Characters We Hate

[andromeda331]

On 7/24/2024 at 10:22 PM, Annber03 said:

Mind, I haven't seen this show, but based off my time watching true crime stories about polygamous cults, or what's his face in the commercials I see for that "Sister Wives" show, or whatnot,  this detail seems like a fairly accurate portrayal of those kinds of relationships. 'Cause that's the exact same question I have when I see those shows, or commercials for them - "What the hell kind of pull does this guy have over these women?"

That's what I want to know. All the wives of Sister Wives were so into Kody. I could never figure out why? Same with all the others on shows or that were on Sister Wives.

[BlueSkies]

I have very fond memories of Garfield.  But in retrospect he was way too mean to Nermal

 

 

[Ambrosefolly]

From over a decade ago on the show Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, Steven, June Colburn's ex-fiancé, especially after told June he cheated on her because she was "boring" and she was the reason their relationship ended .No, that is why you dump someone, not keep dating and get engaged to them. June was delightfully quirky & wholesome who was open to going out of her comfort zone if it didn't violate her moral code.  I would wager that some of the perceived "boringness" was because her working on her Masters and her personal responsibility to that goal, since her parents were funding the degree. I wanted to punch his stupid face through the screen, especially after he took that sigh of relief. I fanwank deep down he couldn't handle that June said she dumped him for being a cheater (which was true) so blaming her removed his culpability for being a shitty person. If June being boring was true, then the only person he would be cheating on her with was the nurse, but he had others, including the nurse's sister. (I wonder the mental gymnastics he went through the justify that). I believe he would have liked nothing more than to be married to June, because she was charming & smart and would pause or even give up her career to take care of him and their kids, while he screwed around behind her back.

What I liked about the show is it showed why people liked someone like Chloe & hated someone like Steven, even though they both could be labeled as sociopaths. Chloe rarely lied to herself about who she was or even blamed others for her behavior (except for her parents) while that is all Steven did.

Edited August 13 by Ambrosefolly

[kathyk2]

I thought of two other characters I hate because they never faced consequences for anything they did. Frank Burns from MASH and the Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files. Frank was always complaining about order and discipline while he was cheating on his wife with Margaret. Adultery is illegal in the military. 

The Cigarette Smoking Man tried to kill Mulder and Scully and experimented on his former wife and son.

[partofme]

3 minutes ago, kathyk2 said:

thought of two other characters I hate because they never faced consequences for anything they did. Frank Burns from MASH and the Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files. Frank was always complaining about order and discipline while he was cheating on his wife with Margaret. Adultery is illegal in the military.

I recently started binge watching MASH for the first time ever ( I had seen some random episodes in the past but the only thing I remember from it is Klinger).  Frank may be an asshole and I would hate him in real life but Hawkeye and his sidekick (whether it be Trapper or BJ because they’re interchangeable to me) are such bullies to Frank who comes across as so pathetic that I can’t bring myself to hate him and actually root for him against Hawkeye and even though it’s hopeless I root for him to become a better person and live happily ever after with Margaret.  

[kathyk2]

On 8/11/2024 at 6:37 PM, partofme said:

I recently started binge watching MASH for the first time ever ( I had seen some random episodes in the past but the only thing I remember from it is Klinger).  Frank may be an asshole and I would hate him in real life but Hawkeye and his sidekick (whether it be Trapper or BJ because they’re interchangeable to me) are such bullies to Frank who comes across as so pathetic that I can’t bring myself to hate him and actually root for him against Hawkeye and even though it’s hopeless I root for him to become a better person and live happily ever after with Margaret.  

Frank was incompetent and was mean to everyone. Did you see the episode where he claimed he earned a Purple Heart? Margaret was a better character once he left. Charles was a better character because he had depth.

[partofme]

17 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

Frank was incompetent and was mean to everyone. Did you see the episode where he claimed he earned a Purple Heart? Margaret was a better character once he left. Charles was a better character because he had depth.

I’ve seen the episode, I know what Frank is like, I never agree with the things he does, but I can’t abide bullying and Frank is bullied mercilessly and he comes across as so pathetic and needy and it has made me team Frank.  I can’t help but wonder if he’s on the spectrum, he’s so rigid and by the book and refuses to ever bend the rules.  He desperately wants to be liked but doesn’t seem to understand human interaction.  I can’t help but feel bad for him and if I’m the only member of the Frank Burns fan club I’m okay with it. 
 

And as far as cheating goes, they all do it.   Henry Blake and Trapper were always cheating on their wives with anything that moved.  Even Hawkeye hooked up with married women.  

Edited August 13 by partofme

[Mabinogia]

18 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

Charles was a better character because he had depth.

Charles also could hold his own against Hawkeye and BJ. Frank was a weasel who had no problem going behind their backs but really couldn't spar with them. Charles was also a better doctor. He might have been pompous, arrogant, sometimes insufferable, but they respected his work. I think they wouldn't have been as hard on Frank if he was at least competent. 

I feel bad for Larry Linville because Frank Burns was a tough character to make likable. But he's the perfect example, for me, of a love to hate characters. We were meant to dislike him, but Larry was a good enough actor to make him watchable. So I didn't hate him in that "get this asshole off my screen" kind of way I do others, but in a "OMG I can't believe this idiot, but he's entertaining" kind of way. 

[Palimelon]

The problem with Frank was that they needed to let him "win" every once in a while against Hawkeye/Trapper/BJ, which I don't think he ever did. When it's always that one sided, it becomes boring after a while. I think that's another reason why Charles worked a bit better too, for me.

[kathyk2]

1 hour ago, partofme said:

I’ve seen the episode, I know what Frank is like, I never agree with the things he does, but I can’t abide bullying and Frank is bullied mercilessly and he comes across as so pathetic and needy and it has made me team Frank.  I can’t help but wonder if he’s on the spectrum, he’s so rigid and by the book and refuses to ever bend the rules.  He desperately wants to be liked but doesn’t seem to understand human interaction.  I can’t help but feel bad for him and if I’m the only member of the Frank Burns fan club I’m okay with it. 
 

And as far as cheating goes, they all do it.   Henry Blake and Trapper were always cheating on their wives with anything that moved.  Even Hawkeye hooked up with married women.  

Frank can't be by the book if he's willing to cheat on his wife with Margaret. 

[Dimity]

I didn't like Frank Burns but I thought Larry Linville did an awesome job with his character.  At the end of the day I did feel sorry for Frank, he was weak and often came across as pathetic, but he was also not a very good surgeon, he cheated on his wife and he was often trying to get others in serious trouble.  Like trying to get Henry court martialed as one prime example.  

[andromeda331]

I hated Frank. He was annoying weasel, pathetic, and terrible to everyone. I didn't like Henry and Trapper cheating on their wives either or Hawkeye sleeping with marrid women. I get it happened but it never felt like it happened because they were at war. It did feel like we were suppose to hate Frank for cheating on his wife while ignoring the others. 

But the one thing I do feel bad for Frank is when Margaret returns suddenly married. She's so happy and actually expects Frank to be happy for her. Why would he be happy for her? They've been together for a long time and it was out of be the blue. When she left they were still together. He was devastated. Of course he would be. 

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, partofme said:

Frank is bullied mercilessly and he comes across as so pathetic and needy and it has made me team Frank.

Frank was a bully too.

[Chaos Theory]

4 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

 

But the one thing I do feel bad for Frank is when Margaret returns suddenly married. She's so happy and actually expects Frank to be happy for her. Why would he be happy for her? They've been together for a long time and it was out of be the blue. When she left they were still together. He was devastated. Of course he would be. 

Frank was also married with no intention of leaving his wife.  On the couple occasions when his wife seemed to question him about his fidelity he always threw Margaret under the bus.    His fantasy was to return home to his wife and keep Margaret on the side.    So yeah maybe when Margaret comes back to camp all happy with a man who appears to actually want to  make a life with her she is kind of blind to how hurt Frank actually is but he never intended to do right by Margaret so I only have a little sympathy for him.    They both snip at each other but it is on them both.

Edited August 14 by Chaos Theory