10 Super Flawed TV Characters Who Were Never Redeemed (But Should Have Been)

Though they made lots of mistakes, characters like Shane on The Walking Dead and Olly on Game of Thrones, deserved to find redemption before the end.

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Redemption stories have always been fascinating and remain a huge feature in many of the biggest shows on television. However, there are certain characters who seem beyond redemption, like Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones or Homelander on The Boys. Then there are those characters who failed to find redemption but perhaps deserved it.

These characters had their obvious flaws, from battles with the protagonist to genuine evil deeds. But they were not as bad as they seemed and had the potential to be better people only for their stories to end before they had the chance.

10 Shane Vendrell (The Shield)

The brutal cop show The Shield is a series where the heroes are few and far between. Certainly, Detective Shane Vendrell earned his reputation as a villain on the show due to his many corrupt and illegal activities alongside his friend and partner, Vic Mackey.

However, by the end of the series, Shane was the one being singled out for his dirty deeds and the idea that he was worse than Vic was unfair. While Vic was able to find a way to escape justice, Shane was backed into a corner where he made some drastic decisions.

9 Mags Bennett (Justified)

Mags Bennett was responsible for some of the most intense moments on Justified but seemed like a fairly unassuming villain. She was the matriarch of an influential crime family in her community who was not above killing those who wronged her, even if she did so in a gentle way.

Mags was not a greedy person looking for power, but rather someone who wants to ensure the future of her family. She even took young Loretta under her wing and raised her as a surrogate daughter. Had she realized her mistakes earlier, Mags could have turned things around.

8 Lane Pryce (Mad Men)

Lane Pryce is one of the most overlooked characters on Mad Men. He is someone who came into the firm as an outsider and gradually finds purpose among its people. He is even responsible for allowing Don and the others to start their own firm free of overseers.

Sadly, most people only remember Lane for how he left the show. After being caught embezzling, things fall apart for him leading to a tragic end. It was sad to see a character who did so much good conclude his story in disgrace.

7 Chuck (Better Call Saul)

Though it started out as a Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul now stands on its own as a wonderful show. One of the many highlights of the series was the relationship between Jimmy McGill and his brother Chuck.

Chuck was easy to dislike as he rarely supports his brother and tries to keep him down, but his concerns for Jimmy’s ethics as a lawyer are hard to argue against. In the end, both brothers shared the blame, but Chuck took his own life before the two can reconcile.

6 Shane Walsh (The Walking Dead)

When it comes to some of the awful things humans might do in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, Shane Walsh didn’t seem so bad on The Walking Dead. After thinking Rick was dead, Shane took care of his family and seemed like a good guy.

The problem was that Rick came back which started a lot of drama. Shane didn’t see Rick as the best leader for the group and felt he was putting people in danger. His anger at the situation grew out of control and he was never able to regain the heroic nature that he showed in the early episodes.

5 Newman (Seinfeld)

Newman was often seen as the main villain in Seinfeld as he hated Jerry with a fiery passion. However, given some of the terrible things Jerry did throughout the show, including moments when he was mean to Newman, it’s hard to blame anyone for disliking him.

It’s true that Newman wasn’t exactly a good person either, but he proved himself to be a good friend to Kramer. Newman got a victory in the end as he got to see Jerry go to prison, but he never got to prove himself more than just Jerry’s evil nemesis.

4 Olly (Game Of Thrones)

Few characters on Game of Thrones faced as much hatred as Olly. After serving as Jon Snow’s steward, he betrayed Jon and killed him along with some of the other Night’s Watch brothers. However, few fans considered Olly’s motivations behind his treachery.

After seeing his family murdered by Tormund Giantsbane and the other Wildlings, Olly joins the Night’s Watch to fight them. So for him to see Jon welcome the Wildlings would be very distressing for him. Once Jon was resurrected, he could have taken this into account instead of executing the boy.

3 Frank Grimes (The Simpsons)

Frank Grimes is one of the most tragic characters on The Simpsons. He was a man who worked tirelessly all his life to make something of himself and eventually landed a job at the Nuclear Power Plant. However, he became infuriated to see how much Homer Simpson accomplished with no qualifications and total incompetence.

Some might see Grimes as jealous, but Homer was often recklessly irresponsible to the point of being dangerous. Ultimately Grimes died in a furious rant against Homer and is upstaged by Homer at his own funeral.

2 Selina Meyer (Veep)

Part of the fun of Veep was that it represented the darker side of politics. Selina Meyer was one of those very flawed politicians, but she was also someone who never got the respect she deserved and was mistreated because she was a woman.

Even with all of her immoral moments, it was easy to still root for her to achieve her goals. However, by the end of the series, she was able to get what she wanted by betraying all of the things she claimed to stand for.

1 Stringer Bell (The Wire)

In the drug world represented in The Wire, Stringer Bell was a powerful figure. Obviously, he rose to that position by getting his hands dirty, but he also had hopes of being a legitimate businessman.

Stringer put in the effort to learn about business and took it all very seriously. He recognized the danger of being a gangster and wanted to put that behind him. Even with the people he killed and the crimes he committed, it was somewhat tragic to see that the crime world wouldn’t allow him to grow beyond it.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/flawed-tv-characters-who-deserved-redemption/