@akirachan's post on Artfol
︎ He/Him Random media critique that I am posting because I need to talk about it somewhere
You know the concept of sympathizing with a bad character? I wanna discuss two shows that did this in wildly different ways, and how one failed while another succeeded.
TW For mentions of S/A, Suicide, and Child Abuse, also spoilers for 13 Reasons Why and Bojack Horseman.
First, let me mention the show that failed. It’s called 13 Reasons Why, and the plot (or what used to be the plot when the show had any idea of what it was supposed to be) is about a girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide and sends out thirteen tapes: one for each person who was a reason for her death.
Now, this premise is problematic in and of itself, as this whole thing is portraying suicide as an act of revenge rather than an escape, which is what it most commonly is, but I digress.
There’s a character named Bryce Walker who receives a tape for raping Hannah. Long story short, it turns out that he raped several other women and ends up getting a ridiculously light sentencing. Now, it’s important to note that in seasons 1 and 2 of the show, Bryce is portrayed as an absolutely irredeemable monster. In season 3, Bryce is killed, and we essentially look back at some of his actions and learn more about his troubled relationship with his parents.
This is where I start having an issue with the way Bryce was written. He sucked in the first two seasons, sure, but that’s exactly what he was supposed to do. He was written as an awful person, and he consistently provided us with examples of him being such. Season three started trying to make us sympathize with Bryce because of his rocky relationship with his parents, but the issue is that we were already GOING to sympathize a bit with him based off of what we saw in seasons 1 and 2.
We already knew that he had a weird relationship with his parents, and because of that, we understood that that may be why he turned out so badly, but we weren’t going to excuse his actions because of a below average parental relationship. Where 13rw failed at making us sympathize and/or empathize with a bad character was trying to force us to forgive him because of something that didn’t excuse his actions.
Now, let me discuss the show that succeeded. It’s called Bojack Horseman, and the plot basically follows a washed up sitcom star named Bojack Horseman who’s been doing pretty badly ever since his show was cancelled. Bojack is a great example of a morally grey character, as he continuously does things that are questionable at best and morally reprehensible at worst. But what makes him a good character and one that many people still continue to root for is the show, and even Bojack himself, actively acknowledging that what he does is bad.
Bojack will do things that are bad, but he will face consequences, and we almost always get a sufficient reason as to WHY he did what he did. For example, we see that one of the reasons he refuses to be emotionally open and constantly pushes others away is because of his childhood wherein he was abused. He lashes out and does bad things, but he always has an actual reason. And the show doesn’t try to portray him as a character that “deserves” forgiveness or redemption, it simply presents Bojack as he is and lets the audience decide whether or not they want to continue to root for him.
That’s where 13rw failed; it tried to force the audience to sympathize with a character by throwing random exposition at us and basically screaming at us that “he’s not as bad as he looks,” and in the process it simply alienated him from the audience. Bojack Horseman succeeded because it didn’t force anything; it simply provided adequate reasons for why Bojack does these things, and then it left the audience to come to their own conclusions.
Anyways, rant over, I just wanted to get this out here somewhereApr 4, 2022
You know the concept of sympathizing with a bad character? I wanna discuss two shows that did this in wildly different ways, and how one failed while another succeeded.
TW For mentions of S/A, Suicide, and Child Abuse, also spoilers for 13 Reasons Why and Bojack Horseman.
First, let me mention the show that failed. It’s called 13 Reasons Why, and the plot (or what used to be the plot when the show had any idea of what it was supposed to be) is about a girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide and sends out thirteen tapes: one for each person who was a reason for her death.
Now, this premise is problematic in and of itself, as this whole thing is portraying suicide as an act of revenge rather than an escape, which is what it most commonly is, but I digress.
There’s a character named Bryce Walker who receives a tape for raping Hannah. Long story short, it turns out that he raped several other women and ends up getting a ridiculously light sentencing. Now, it’s important to note that in seasons 1 and 2 of the show, Bryce is portrayed as an absolutely irredeemable monster. In season 3, Bryce is killed, and we essentially look back at some of his actions and learn more about his troubled relationship with his parents.
This is where I start having an issue with the way Bryce was written. He sucked in the first two seasons, sure, but that’s exactly what he was supposed to do. He was written as an awful person, and he consistently provided us with examples of him being such. Season three started trying to make us sympathize with Bryce because of his rocky relationship with his parents, but the issue is that we were already GOING to sympathize a bit with him based off of what we saw in seasons 1 and 2.
We already knew that he had a weird relationship with his parents, and because of that, we understood that that may be why he turned out so badly, but we weren’t going to excuse his actions because of a below average parental relationship. Where 13rw failed at making us sympathize and/or empathize with a bad character was trying to force us to forgive him because of something that didn’t excuse his actions.
Now, let me discuss the show that succeeded. It’s called Bojack Horseman, and the plot basically follows a washed up sitcom star named Bojack Horseman who’s been doing pretty badly ever since his show was cancelled. Bojack is a great example of a morally grey character, as he continuously does things that are questionable at best and morally reprehensible at worst. But what makes him a good character and one that many people still continue to root for is the show, and even Bojack himself, actively acknowledging that what he does is bad.
Bojack will do things that are bad, but he will face consequences, and we almost always get a sufficient reason as to WHY he did what he did. For example, we see that one of the reasons he refuses to be emotionally open and constantly pushes others away is because of his childhood wherein he was abused. He lashes out and does bad things, but he always has an actual reason. And the show doesn’t try to portray him as a character that “deserves” forgiveness or redemption, it simply presents Bojack as he is and lets the audience decide whether or not they want to continue to root for him.
That’s where 13rw failed; it tried to force the audience to sympathize with a character by throwing random exposition at us and basically screaming at us that “he’s not as bad as he looks,” and in the process it simply alienated him from the audience. Bojack Horseman succeeded because it didn’t force anything; it simply provided adequate reasons for why Bojack does these things, and then it left the audience to come to their own conclusions.
Anyways, rant over, I just wanted to get this out here somewhereApr 4, 2022
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