Let's face it: when most of us start a new series, we tend to get super invested in the lives of our fictional friends. We root for the good guys, bash on the villains, mourn when our favorites disappear, and cheer at the deaths of their enemies. However, not every writer plays fair when it comes to the fate of their characters. Sometimes, those who are least deserving of a happily-ever-after are the ones who end up winning. And honestly, more people are mad about it than you might think.
If you've ever paused and thought, “Why do they get to ride off into the sunset,” you're not alone. Plenty of people have been so affected by unfavorable endings that they've formed grudges over fictional beings who didn't rightly earn the glory they received. These begrudged netizens decided to call out the characters who didn't deserve the happy endings that they got! Are any of your least-favorites on this list?
Pinterest
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#37 Criminal Superhero
Scott Lang from Ant-Man. He may be a good guy deep down and even played by Paul Rudd himself, but Scott Lang is a criminal and should serve time before he gets any chance at a happy ending. A criminal superhero? That's a little problematic.
#36 Queen B
Regina George. She was pure evil throughout the entire movie, and at the end, it was like she got a free pass because she got hit by a bus. Nope. She needs to experience the same treatment that she gave to everyone else.
#35 Her Friends Must've Hated Her
Phoebe from Friends. She was supposed to be fun and quirky, but most of the time she just insulted her friends. In the end, she still got to marry Mike, who was super nice and was willing to give all his money to charity.
#34 Dwight Deserved So Much Better
Angela from The Office. She spends the series in a secret relationship with Dwight, even though she gets engaged to Andy and marries someone else. She cheats on her public lover the entire time and has the audacity to throw a fit when she finds out the Senator is cheating on her. She also lied to Dwight repeatedly about Philip. I don't care what she says her reason was; she should have known Dwight would want to marry her because he loves her, not because he thinks Philip is his son. That should have been obvious given how he was all over her for 75% of the series, long before anyone had started having kids.
From the Sprinkles incident to the end of the series, she remained standoffish and cold toward Dwight until she lost everything. After she gets a taste of her own medicine from the Senator and starts living in Oscar's closet, then she has the "epiphany" that she loves Dwight. I could have believed that in the early seasons, but after she spent a better part of the series pushing him away while simultaneously using him as a tool to cheat on whoever she was dating with, heck no. She knows Dwight has an enormous estate and a sizeable amount of money, and we all know he's extremely gullible because he believes everything Michael and Jim tell him. Angela used that to her advantage. Maybe she does still have some feelings for him, but if it were love that motivated her, they would have been married long before the final episode. For as devout as she is, it's ironic how unfaithful she is to everyone she dates.
#33 She Is A Loser
Sierra Burgess from Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, a recent teen rom-com on Netflix.
We are supposed to root for her because she's the poor girl with a good personality who's a little on the frumpy side, but she is a terrible person in the entire movie!
She catfishes a poor dude who thinks he's sharing these deep special moments with Veronica, the hot cheerleader who experiences positive character growth throughout the movie. If anything Veronica deserved the hot guy.
She pretends to be deaf when she has a random encounter with the hot dude so he won't recognize her voice. Horrible.
She embarrasses Veronica in front of the whole football game just because she saw the hot guy kiss her. You can't even blame him because he thought he was dating her all along!
Don't even get me started on the scene where the hot guy is forced to kiss Sierra when he thinks it's Veronica he's kissing. Disgusting.
None of this stuff would fly if it were a dude pulling all of these stunts, no matter how many insecurities he had.
Somehow she gets the guy at the end! Does he have no self-respect?
#32 I Mean, If We're Being Historically Accurate...
Paris/Orlando Bloom in Troy. He got his whole family, city, and soldiers on the other side hurt because he stole another man's wife. I am a big fan of love, but this guy was the worst.
#31 They Deserved To Rot In Azkaban
The Malfoys, specifically Lucius and Narcissa. They facilitated the return of Voldemort, and he lived in their house. Tons of deaths are on their hands, and lest we forget Lucius tried to kill Ginny with the diary in Book 2, just for fun. They both should have gone to Azkaban for life.
#30 Poor Tom Was Just Doing His Job
Jerry from Tom and Jerry. That mouse was literally torturing an innocent cat because he felt entitled to the food he didn't own.
Tom was just doing his job and protecting the food and property of his owner. She would regularly beat Tom because of the stuff Jerry pulled, and Tom got blamed for.
#29 So, This Guy Was Kind Of A Creep
The main character from Ready Player One. He's a creepy stalker who gets the girl by bombarding her with unrequested gifts and being incredibly skeevy throughout the story. Before the girl is even introduced, he spends at least a full chapter dedicated to how much he's obsessed with her.
#28 If We're Being Honest, They All Sucked
Don Draper. Pretty much any character from Mad Men.
It was a show about horrible people. You could never feel bad for the people who were being wronged because they were wronging other people in turn.
#27 Yikes, She Needs Some Consequences
Felicity from Arrow. The Tumblr and Twitter self-insert queen survives bullet wounds to the spine and becomes the most insufferable, quality-degrading character. She nukes an entire city and gets off scot-free, even when they introduce a character from it.
The Flash and Iris finally have their wedding, and after ruining the reception by screaming at Oliver, she doesn't want to marry him. She interrupts Flash and Iris during their wedding vows to ask if she can marry Oliver, but no one calls her out.
The girl is literally Steve Urkel 2.0.
#26 His Relationship Skills Weren't Great
Scott Pilgrim. He cheats on his girlfriend, forgets almost everyone he meets, and doesn't change his act until he LITERALLY dies and goes to purgatory.
#25 Oh Yeah, She Was A Major Narcissist
Rachel Berry. She was supposed to be the outcast we were to feel sympathetic towards.
In reality, she was just a manipulative, self-involved narcissist who couldn't bear to allow anyone else to find any sort of satisfaction in their lives. Every problem she encountered was supposed to be this massive obstacle we were supposed to cheer her through, but she was the engineer of all of those problems.
She's insufferable to everyone in the show with whom she has a relationship.
She deserved none of the happiness she ended up having at the end.
#24 Couldn't He Just Be Happy For Her?
Anne Hathaway's boyfriend in The Devil Wears Prada. All he does is badger her for working hard to achieve her goals. He's pretty much a terrible person to her the entire movie. How dare she work hard toward the career she wants.
#23 I Can See Where They're Coming From...
Lady Elaine Fairchilde from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. She was always rude and scared the crap out of me as a child. I much preferred Meow Meow Kitty. I didn't care for that owl either...
#22 As Much As We Want To Love Him...
Bojack Horseman. It hasn't finished yet, but as it stands, the things he's done don't justify a happy ending for him.
I wish he could have a happy ending. He had such an awful childhood. But based on the person he is now, he just doesn't deserve a happy ending yet. He isn't even really capable of one.
#21 She Probably Should Have Died The First Time
Katniss is such a weak-willed wishy-washy character. I don’t understand how she made it out of her first Hunger Games, let alone become the symbol for a massive revolution.
#20 Oh God, This Sequel Will Be Wild...
The Dinosaurs at the end of Jurrasic World: Fallen Kingdom. That whole movie is a mess and that ending was just horrible.
I thought they were actually going to let the dinosaurs die and I thought, "Huh, that's a pretty mature and thoughtful ending for the movie."
Then, the little clone girl had to press the big red button and set them free into the CONTINENTAL US. What a disaster.
#19 Kill An Entire Planet? Gold Star
Anakin Skywalker. Maybe becoming an immortal force ghost was okay back in 1983, but now we know he murdered a bunch of children and indigenous people of Tatooine. Not just the men...
#18 She Was A Series Of Bad Decisions
Nancy Botwin from Weeds. The entire series is the story of her increasingly bad decisions, which put herself and her family in ever-increasing peril. I love that show, but MAN does she make poor decisions.
#17 Yeah, Her Morals Are Out Of Whack
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I don't think Piper Chapman from Orange is the New Black deserves any of the good luck she has had. I'm not saying she's the worst criminal ever; I'm just saying I think she's been a terrible person in general and doesn't deserve to be with Alex, or anyone. She's also needy and annoying on top of being morally questionable. Not my favorite.
#16 How Did He Land The Girl?
Jim Carey in Liar, Liar. Bad father, bad person, yet he beats out a good man who truly loves Maura Tierney and the kid.
#15 Wish We Never Met Him...
Ted Freaking Mosby! From start to finish, he was a terrible person. He kept telling us how much his wife meant to him, and then when she died, he got over it and ended up with Robin again. Forget that guy!
#14 This Fan-Fave Was A Total Sociopath
Ross Geller.I understand that they simply had to get Ross and Rachel together at the end of Friends, but over ten years, he became an unhinged sociopath hell-bent on keeping Rachel from achieving her success.
#13 Drama Queen Much?
How has no one mentioned Mary Crawley of Downton Abbey yet? She was ghastly. She was a total snake to both her sisters and only threw them a bone when they had an opportunity to tarnish her good reputation.
She was also horribly overdramatic. She seemed to enjoy making dinner uncomfortable. She only did "good" things when it was obvious she'd gone way, way too far in her sadistic game. She expected to be redeemed, even though it was her fault, to begin with.
I never understood why she was the focus of the show, and I never understood why her suitors liked her. She was terrible for them too.
#12 She Didn't Need A Revival To Be Awful...
Rory Gilmore! Even before the recent revival show, she was the worst.
"Oh, I was raised by a single mom (who is magically financially secure unlike actual single teen moms) so I can't possibly be insanely privileged! Sure my rich grandparents buy me whatever I want, but it's those other rich kids who are really out of touch! Also, I'm just so special that I can work for any newspaper I want even though print media is dying! Instead of marrying the love of my life, I should just leave him because the media outlets in his area are not fancy enough for extra-special me to work for!"
Pinterest
#11 Too Much Pride And Much-Needed Prejudice
Mr. Collins is an obtrusive sycophant who imposed himself upon the Bennet family and demonstrated no guilt about the impact of his presence on the matter of inheritance. He did not deserve the modest, tolerant, and pragmatic Charlotte Lucas as his wife. It was only the impending misogynistic imposition of spinsterhood that compelled her to accept his proposition.
I admire her patience with his obsequious conduct toward Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I imagine Charlotte must possess some great courage to endure such absurdity. She remained Elizabeth's steadfast friend, always urging wariness and never exhibiting any kind of resentment.
I was a little annoyed at the end of Pride and Prejudice that Austen didn't elaborate on the state of Charlotte's marriage. I hope she attained some happiness with that oleaginous, Georgian neckbeard husband.
#10 He May Be Smart, But He's Also A Jerk
Sheldon Cooper needs to learn that being a genius doesn't excuse him from following basic human courtesies.
Also, Howard's only redeeming qualities are that he's employed and faithful, although the latter is probably because no one other than Bernadette would get with him. He should be the guy who is perpetually single and has no idea why women won't date him.
#9 Wow, So... What's Wrong With Everyone Else?
Uchiha Sasuke. Dude was the worst. He tried to end everyone who loved him and, for some reason, they still loved him to the point where a girl he tried to kill married him. Dude tried to destroy his village, yet he was welcomed back to the same village.
Naruto, remember when you and Kakashi said that people who abandon comrades are worse than scum?
#8 Being A Dinosaur Alone Doesn't Make You Cool
Cera from the first Land Before Time movie. She was a so mean to Little Foot the entire time, but she still made it to the Great Valley. Where's Sharptooth when you need him?
YouTube
#7 He Had A Major Jesus Complex
Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. He got to go out on his own terms and never had to square with his kids or be a real father. The whole time, he did all of this stuff for his kids, then abandoned them to fulfill his Jesus complex.
#6 Don't Be So Immature
Severus Snape. It wasn't really a happy ending, but most people liked him at the end. This guy bullied kids just because he didn't get the girl he loved. Grow up.
#5 Gotta Love Characters Who Learn Nothing
The lawyer played by Jamie Foxx in Law Abiding Citizen. The script should have allowed Clyde to win, but in the end, he didn't. Jamie Foxx's character learned nothing from the whole ordeal. The movie is practically set up for the audience to root for the main character, even though he technically is evil.
#4 The Means Don't Justify The End
This is probably just me, but I don't think Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors deserved the theatrical ending.
He didn't really have malicious intent, and he didn't directly end anyone. Yet, the ending still seemed forced and too good in my opinion. I believe the original ending is much better: the plant eats Audrey, other plants are sold around the world, and two of them attack New York City. I guess the original ending is more believable in a sense.
I would like to add, I know Seymour was going to end Orin, but it wasn't in "bad" intent. He wanted to feed the plant and get rid of Orin so that Audrey was safe.
#3 Come On, Titanic Ended Horribly, Give Leo A Break
I know part of the charm of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is that the characters represent the worst of human nature at that time in history. However, while Daisy was punished with living with the guilt of killing Gatsby, she still had her marriage, status, children, freedom, finances... She was able to go on and live her life the same as before.
Wolf of Wall Street's Jordan Belfort is based on a real person of the same name, who, despite some heinous crimes, is raking in money from the movie detailing the shady things he did in his career. The real Jordan is going to be okay financially, but what about every family he scammed along the way?
#2 Step-Parents Already Get Enough Hate
Mrs. Doubtfire. That movie makes step-parents sick. Robin Williams plays a loser who shouldn’t raise kids. He can’t hold a job and is a clown. He deserved to have been left. His kids got a stepfather that was a better man than him. The stepfather got put through hell for trying his best and taking the kids WHO ARE NOT HIS to nice places. The stepfather often gets treated badly in movies.
#1 He Couldn't Take Any Accountability
Blaine Anderson on Glee. He got mad when Kurt made a friend in college and stopped spending time with him. Then he cheated on Kurt with another guy and blamed Kurt for it!
He pouted for the rest of the show until everyone told them to get married even though Kurt didn’t want to because it was too fast.
They focused more on Kurt and Blaine on Santana and Brittany’s wedding day.
