There are characters we love, characters we hate—and then there are the ones who deserved better. You know the ones: the overlooked sidekick, the morally grey icon, the quiet one who saved everyone but never got the spotlight. This post is a love letter to those underappreciated legends who made us feel everything and got… crumbs.
If you’ve ever paused your binge-watch to yell “HEAR ME OUT!” at the screen in defense of a fictional character, this list is for you.
🥀 1. Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Okay, hear me out. Rory didn’t fall off—she was written into a corner. Yes, she made some questionable choices, but she was also a product of immense pressure, privilege confusion, and a constantly shifting moral compass. Her fall wasn’t a flaw; it was realistic character unraveling. And maybe she didn’t need redemption—just space to grow.
🐍 2. Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
Yes, Zuko got a redemption arc. But did we ever get to see him process the depth of his trauma? He spent years chasing someone else’s honor, only to learn it was never about that. We stan the character growth, but part of us still wants an entire spinoff series where he actually heals.
🕰️ 3. Ben Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)
Dead before the story even begins and yet somehow one of the most loved characters. Ben is kind, loyal, emotionally intuitive, and severely underwritten. Season 3 gave us a glimpse of his alternate self, but OG Ben? He deserved more screen time, more sibling love, more everything.
💄 4. Effie Trinket (The Hunger Games)
Effie went from Capitol caricature to emotional anchor with stunning grace. She represents complicity, denial, transformation—and yet she’s constantly reduced to comic relief. Let’s talk more about how she subtly fought the system in stilettos.
💡 5. Annalise Keating (How to Get Away With Murder)
Viola Davis gave a masterclass in complexity, and the world should’ve bowed harder. Annalise was brilliant, broken, bisexual, and unapologetically raw. Her story is a cautionary tale about the price of survival—but people only seem to remember her mistakes, not the war she was constantly fighting.
🧪 6. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)
Luna isn’t just the quirky side character. She’s proof that imagination and kindness are radical forms of resistance. While other characters were busy seeking revenge, Luna offered truth, acceptance, and healing. And let’s be real—she saw through everyone long before they saw her.
🔫 7. Finn (Star Wars Sequel Trilogy)
Let’s talk about how Finn was marketed as a Jedi in the making—only to be reduced to yelling “Rey!” in 90% of his scenes. He defected from the First Order, risked his life countless times, and had one of the most powerful origin stories. The potential was there, but the screen time wasn’t.
🕶️ 8. Christina Yang (Grey’s Anatomy)
Christina is the blueprint. She chose career over romance, ambition over guilt, and still carried so much heart. And yet, her journey is often overshadowed by more “emotional” arcs. Let’s normalize calling her the real main character.
🧠 9. Reid (Criminal Minds)
Spencer Reid deserved soft things, long naps, and a break from being kidnapped every other season. He was brilliant but always lonely, loved but never chosen. Protecting the world with genius-level intellect shouldn’t cost you your peace.
💀 10. Marceline (Adventure Time)
Not just a vampire queen—an icon of vulnerability and emotional depth. Her songs carried more pain and beauty than most adult dramas. She explored queerness, grief, friendship, and memory through subtlety and art. And yet? Criminally under-discussed.
🐺 11. Isaac Lahey (Teen Wolf)
Quiet strength. Tragic past. Loyal heart. Isaac had all the ingredients of a fan-favorite arc and yet… the show forgot him. After being built up for emotional depth and possible romance plots, he just vanished? No closure, no proper goodbye. We deserved better—and so did he.
🎮 12. Ellie (The Last of Us Part II)
Polarizing? Yes. Powerful? Also yes. Ellie wasn’t written to be liked—she was written to be understood. Her rage, grief, and vengeance weren’t pretty, but they were painfully human. In a world built on loss, she showed us the darkest corners of survival. That’s not failure—that’s storytelling.
🐉 13. Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)
Say what you will about the final season—but Dany’s arc deserved more time. Her fall into madness felt rushed, not earned. She was a liberator, a strategist, a survivor. Instead, she became a plot device. If the show gave her the nuance she deserved, the ending might’ve actually landed.
❤️ 14. Andi Mack (Andi Mack)
This Disney Channel show gave us groundbreaking representation—from Asian American family dynamics to coming-out storylines—but the character of Andi herself was often the least explored. She carried emotional labor for everyone else and rarely got to process her own.
🕰 Final Thoughts: It’s Not Just Fiction—It’s Reflection
When we say “hear me out,” we’re not just being dramatic (okay, maybe a little). We’re asking people to look closer. These characters echo parts of ourselves—our contradictions, our complexity, our need to be understood.
Sometimes the “side character” speaks to us more than the lead. Sometimes the villain has more truth than the hero. And sometimes, the quiet one carries the whole story in their silence.
So go ahead. Defend your favorite. Write the fanfic. Make the edit. Wear the merch. Because some characters don’t need saving—they just need someone to say, “I see you.”
