Jerkass Woobie/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

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** Also, Sawyer, at least for the first three seasons. After that, the jerkass part tones down.

* Topher from ''[[Dollhouse]]'', by the series' end. Especially after {{spoiler|Bennett, the only girl, he could have truly loved, was killed right in front of him}}

* ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]''

* ''[[Doctor Who]]''

** Turlough is this, at least for his first few episodes.

** No one saw it coming, but in ''The End of Time'', {{spoiler|the ''Master'' evokes this response during the confrontation with Rassilon. At first, he's being all megalomaniacal-whackjob as usual, and then Rassilon wipes out the Master's control over humanity with a flick of his finger. The Master then finds out that he's been manipulated his entire life by Rassilon, been knowingly driven insane and used as a tool for the rest of the Time Lords who followed Rassilon to "ascend to a higher state of being". The Master was not invited, but don't worry, he [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|teaches Rassilon a fun counting game]].}}

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** [[The Baroness|Tess Mercer]] is an even better example. She may be a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], [[Dark Action Girl]], and [[Misanthrope Supreme]], but her brutal childhood, manipulation by Lex and Zod, and {{spoiler|the recent revelation that she was one of Granny Goodness' orphans}} earn her a lot of sympathy. Unlike Lex, she never crosses the [[Moral Event Horizon]], and remains in [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] territory.

*** And, of course, {{spoiler|this is thanks to her abusive childhood due to abandonment by her father, Lionel.}}

** Even Lionel qualifies. Born and raised in the slums, where his mother was an alchoholic and his father was a thief and murderer, he has to claw his way to the top of the financial spectrum (which he starts by [[Self Made Orphan|murdering his parents]]). Loses his younger infant son, Julian when (he thinks) Julian's older brother Lex accidentally kills him. Loses his wife, Lillian, who dies while Lex is still a pre-teen. Than Lex is rendered permantly bald by the meteor shower. When an adult Lex discovers what Lionel did to his own parents, Lionel's forced to drive Lex into insanity and erase his memory. This would normally make Lionel a [[Complete Monster]] except he actually feels [[Even Evil Has Standards|a great deal of remorse about it.]] He then learns, long after it's too late to do anything about it or make it up to Lex for it, that Julian was {{spoiler|actually deliberately murdered by Lillian.}} He undergoes a [[Heel Face Turn]] right around the same time Lex does a [[Face Heel Turn]], ensuring that he and his son will always be at odds. Falls genuinely in love with Martha Kent (and she even [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|seems to return some of that affection]], even if she's a bit freaked out by it), but can never fully win her over because he has to reveal to her that he's indirectly, unintentionally responsible for her husband's death<ref>Details:Lionel staged a meeting with Jonathan Kent to reveal he knew Clark's secret. Lionel's intention was to form an alliance with the Kents, but his arrogant demeanor combined with Jonathan's quick temper resulted in Jonathan physically attacking Lionel. While Lionel didn't strike back, the strain of attacking Lionel brought about Jonathan's fatal heart attack.</ref>. After being knocked out while trying to help Clark defeat Bizarro, is then kidnapped and tortured for several weeks by Lana Lang. He meets Grant Gabriel, the adult clone of his dead son Julian, and starts to bond with Grant...only to witness Grant being murdered on Lex's orders. He can never fully let go of his manipulative tendancies, so when he gets several cryptic threats about Clark, resorts to kidnapping him to keep him safe. Clark shuns him for this, since Lionel's not [[Creator's Pet|Lana]] [[Protagonist-Centered Morality|Lang.]] Patricia Swann tells Clark that Lionel killed her father, further deepening the rift between them.<ref>And the very fact that Patricia's accusation makes no sense since her father died sometime after Lionel's [[Heel Face Turn]], only makes Lionel even more sympathetic than was perhaps intended.</ref> Lionel desperately tries to warn Clark and Chloe about the looming threat of Lex and the coming Apocalypse, [[Reformed but Rejected|but they'll now have nothing to do with him.]] Is finally cornered by Lex, and when he refuses to divulge Clark's secret, is murdered by his own son, dying friendless and alone.

** Even Lionel qualifies. Born and raised in the slums, where his mother was an alchoholic and his father was a thief and murderer, he has to claw his way to the top of the financial spectrum (which he starts by [[Self-Made Orphan|murdering his parents]]). Loses his younger infant son, Julian when (he thinks) Julian's older brother Lex accidentally kills him. Loses his wife, Lillian, who dies while Lex is still a pre-teen. Than Lex is rendered permantly bald by the meteor shower. When an adult Lex discovers what Lionel did to his own parents, Lionel's forced to drive Lex into insanity and erase his memory. This would normally make Lionel a [[Complete Monster]] except he actually feels [[Even Evil Has Standards|a great deal of remorse about it.]] He then learns, long after it's too late to do anything about it or make it up to Lex for it, that Julian was {{spoiler|actually deliberately murdered by Lillian.}} He undergoes a [[Heel Face Turn]] right around the same time Lex does a [[Face Heel Turn]], ensuring that he and his son will always be at odds. Falls genuinely in love with Martha Kent (and she even [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|seems to return some of that affection]], even if she's a bit freaked out by it), but can never fully win her over because he has to reveal to her that he's indirectly, unintentionally responsible for her husband's death<ref>Details:Lionel staged a meeting with Jonathan Kent to reveal he knew Clark's secret. Lionel's intention was to form an alliance with the Kents, but his arrogant demeanor combined with Jonathan's quick temper resulted in Jonathan physically attacking Lionel. While Lionel didn't strike back, the strain of attacking Lionel brought about Jonathan's fatal heart attack.</ref>. After being knocked out while trying to help Clark defeat Bizarro, is then kidnapped and tortured for several weeks by Lana Lang. He meets Grant Gabriel, the adult clone of his dead son Julian, and starts to bond with Grant...only to witness Grant being murdered on Lex's orders. He can never fully let go of his manipulative tendancies, so when he gets several cryptic threats about Clark, resorts to kidnapping him to keep him safe. Clark shuns him for this, since Lionel's not [[Creator's Pet|Lana]] [[Protagonist-Centered Morality|Lang.]] Patricia Swann tells Clark that Lionel killed her father, further deepening the rift between them.<ref>And the very fact that Patricia's accusation makes no sense since her father died sometime after Lionel's [[Heel Face Turn]], only makes Lionel even more sympathetic than was perhaps intended.</ref> Lionel desperately tries to warn Clark and Chloe about the looming threat of Lex and the coming Apocalypse, [[Reformed but Rejected|but they'll now have nothing to do with him.]] Is finally cornered by Lex, and when he refuses to divulge Clark's secret, is murdered by his own son, dying friendless and alone.

** Really, being a [[Jerkass Woobie]] seems to be a {{spoiler|Luthor family trait.}} You want to hug all three of them, Lex, Lionel, and Tess, then slap them in the face and say, "Stop being such bastards, guys! Even being [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]] doesn't make up for all the crap you go through for being bastards!"

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''

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** And from [[Angel (TV)|the Spin Off]], we have several, but one of the most noted is Connor. This is the kid that grew up in a hell dimension, his father figure lied to him about the nature of his real father, he was driven mad with revenge, and was seduced into the service of an [[Eldritch Abomination]]. Sometimes, you just want to give the little guy a hug, but he was also known for being ''unbelievably [[Ax Crazy]]...''

* Mini from the third generation of ''[[Skins]]'' is turning out to be this. Yes, she is the [[Alpha Bitch]] with major [[Manipulative Bastard|Machevellian]] tendencies and is bitchy, passive aggressive, and very [[Sugar and Ice]]. On the other hand, she has an insane longing for control and stability in her unstable life, eating disorders (and probably some sort of anxiety problem), her best friend slept with her boyfriend, her boyfriend took her virginity (painfully), and she generally just seems like a sad, sick girl playing at confidence. On top of it all, her friendship with Franky - the one truly authentic person in her life - has gotten complicated because {{spoiler|Mini has developed a [[Les Yay|crush]] on her}} while Franky [[All Love Is Unrequited|only has eyes for Matty.]] YMMV, though. [[Alternate Character Interpretation|Some people]] just see her as a jerkass.

* ''[[~~Battlestar Galactica Reimagined (TV)|~~Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' (new series):

* ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'' (new series):

** Admiral Cain could possibly be considered this; she fits the "simultaneously want to punch her and feel really sorry for her" part, at least. She witnessed the genocide of her entire species and then found out that [[Honey Trap|her girlfriend was an artificial construct created by the genocidal robots who were responsible]]. She was [[Revenge Before Reason|about to sacrifice what, as far she knew, was the last surviving human community in the entire universe in a pointless, essentially impotent gesture of revenge]], [[Bad Boss|killed her own second in command for questioning her tactics]], was a fan of [[Cold-Blooded Torture|questionably ethical interrogation techniques]], and generally [[Ax Crazy|appeared to be a few cards short of a full deck]], but under the circumstances, [[Freudian Excuse|it's sort of understandable]]. Particularly, [[Rape As Drama|what she all but says she wants the interrogators to do to Gina]] takes on new dimensions when you consider how she probably felt about finding out that she'd been (presumably) [[Rape Tropes|unknowingly]] sleeping with somebody who was willingly aiding in the attempted and nearly successful genocide of her entire species (not to mention the [[Squick]] factor of her having every reason to think that Gina is closer to a robot that happens to be made out of flesh than what we'd consider human).

** A MUCH less extreme example is Kara Thrace, aka "Starbuck" (at least in the [[Jerkass]] department, in [[The Woobie]] department she easily matches anyone in the show). She can be a real bitch a lot of times but seeing her backstory and what happens to her, it's practically impossible not to want to give her a hug MANY times throughout the series.

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* GOB from ''[[Arrested Development (TV)|Arrested Development]]''. He's a total ass to everyone in the family, selfish, and aggressively stupid, but his parents hate him and nothing ever goes right for him. As much of a [[Jerkass]] as he is, it's hard not to feel sympathetic towards him. Pretty much every single awful thing he does is done in an attempt to make someone love him, appreciate him, or even ''notice'' him.

* Charlotte on ''[[Private Practice]]'' is a horrible, thoroughly unpleasant person. And then she was {{spoiler|brutally beaten and raped}} and it became impossible ''not'' to feel sorry for her.

* Avon of ''[[Blake's Seven ~~(TV)~~|Blakes Seven]]'' acts like a [[Jerkass|complete git]] for much of the time, refuses to trust anyone and points out ''repeatedly'' that anyone who trusts ''him'' is stupid. Then we learn that his lover died under torture, protecting him. Still later, it turns out that {{spoiler|she wasn't actually dead, but had been working for the authorities all along.}} At the beginning of Season 4, {{spoiler|the woman he maybe even ''liked'' a bit, who liked him back, dies.}} He spends two years searching for his {{spoiler|lost leader}}, going through failure after failure and [[Sanity Slippage|gradually losing his grip on sanity]]. ''This man needs a hug.''

* Avon of ''[[Blake's Seven|Blakes Seven]]'' acts like a [[Jerkass|complete git]] for much of the time, refuses to trust anyone and points out ''repeatedly'' that anyone who trusts ''him'' is stupid. Then we learn that his lover died under torture, protecting him. Still later, it turns out that {{spoiler|she wasn't actually dead, but had been working for the authorities all along.}} At the beginning of Season 4, {{spoiler|the woman he maybe even ''liked'' a bit, who liked him back, dies.}} He spends two years searching for his {{spoiler|lost leader}}, going through failure after failure and [[Sanity Slippage|gradually losing his grip on sanity]]. ''This man needs a hug.''

* Jonah of ''[[Summer Heights High]]''. He's undeniably a Jerkass (just look at the way he treats a lonely kid assigned to be his buddy for confirmation), but one can't help feeling at least a little sympathetic for him in the final episode when he {{spoiler|is humiliated in front of his entire class by his ''teacher'', and expelled from the school.}}

* ''[[The Colbert Report]]'': Stephen Colbert (but not [[Stephen Colbert]]) is a delusional [[Small Name, Big Ego]] type who takes his own vanity and arbitrary biases to [[Insane Troll Logic|absurd extremes]]. It becomes difficult not to pity him during his more delusional moments.