Random TV Antagonists Who Are Genuinely Relatable (13 items)

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  (#1) Negan

  • The Walking Dead

  Negan seems to enjoy his fair share of aggression, but let’s be honest, so does Rick. Negan’s methods as leader of the Saviors may have been extreme at times, but he did what he felt he had to in order to lead his people into the future. To be fair, Rick did attack the Savior outposts before Negan took a baseball bat to Glenn’s head.

  As Rick’s antagonist, Negan is formidable, funny, and smart; he is the twisted jester of the zombie apocalypse. As a potential ally, Negan is engaging, funny, and smart. Negan is a perfect example of TWD portraying moral ambiguity at its best.
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  (#2) Toby Flenderson

  • The Office

  As much as we love Michael Scott’s constant belittlement of Dunder Mifflin's human resources representative, the reality is that poor Toby’s life sucks. He may stifle Michael’s inappropriate fun, but he still always treats Michael like an adult and seems like a genuinely nice person, for the most part. Toby is the kid who is picked last for teams, never gets invited to parties, and has no luck on dating apps. His life is every Office fan's worst nightmare: working at Dunder Mifflin and never contributing anything meaningful to the story. But it is his pathetic nature that makes him relatable.

  For anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of bullying, or had a bad day, or a bad year, Toby is there to make you feel better about your life as you marvel at the unhappiness in his. 
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  (#3) Lucifer

  • Supernatural

  Everyone knows the biblical story of Lucifer, the archangel who was cast out for disliking his father’s creation/worldview. In early seasons, Supernatural saw the Winchester brothers battling antagonists from both Heaven and Hell, making biblical labels irrelevant in regard to good and evil.

  During this time, Lucifer preached his position as a misunderstood outcast and victim of an indifferent father on more than one occasion. Mark Pellegrino’s emotional yet irreverent take on the character made him particularly entertaining up until his demise. However, recent Supernatural storylines could easily make the argument that Lucifer was not only right all along, but that he is the most relatable antagonist in the Supernatural universe.
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  (#4) Boyd Crowder

  • Justified

  When introduced to Boyd Crowder in Justified's pilot, “Fire in the Hole,” he is portrayed as a white supremacist who likes money and destruction. Thus, at first glance, he is not the most relatable character. But thanks to his chemistry with series protagonist/anti-hero US Marshal Raylan Givens and the complex history of Harlan County, KY, Crowder is depicted as a product of his environment.

  After being shot, Crowder turns to religion to redeem himself; however, given the unforgiving nature of his world, he is driven back to his life of crime. Walton Goggins’ masterful performance paints Crowder as a character who uses his charisma and intellect to survive the only way he knows how: as an outlaw who isn't so different from his best friend, just on different sides of the law.
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  (#5) Al Swearengen

  • Deadwood

  When the proprietor of the Gem Saloon is first introduced, he is quite possibly the most amoral person in the Deadwood camp. The antithesis of Montana marshal Seth Bullock (who is best described as the show's protagonist), Al Swearengen is set up to be the villain of the series. He’s abusive, greedy, manipulative, and willing to take lives to get what he wants. However, as the show evolved, Swearengen was written as more of a protagonist than his introduction suggested, motivated by an irreproducible code of honor and morality. He protects the vulnerable and genuinely cares about the people in his camp... in his own way.

  The character of Al Swearengen, played to perfection by Ian McShane, is not only one of the best to ever grace the small screen, but also a reminder that people contain multitudes.
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  (#6) Tywin Lannister

  • Game of Thrones

  Tywin Lannister might have been the most self-aware character in Westeros; cold, calculated, pragmatic, and effective, Tywin is exactly the type of person one has to become in order to survive the Seven Kingdoms. You could even go as far as saying that Tywin is the fictional embodiment of a disillusioned viewer who has been tasked with winning the Game of Thrones.

  One can’t help but respect the man. He does what he has to and, while ruthless, his cruelty is almost always with a purpose.  
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  (#7) Benjamin Linus

  • Lost, Lost: Missing Pieces

  The soft-spoken, shy leader of the Others and a resident of the island, Ben Linus is driven by his insecurities. Molded by his abusive father, Linus came to the island not by choice, but by chance. He then goes to extreme lengths to protect the island as it's really the only home he has ever known. Linus truly believes he is special, which gives him the confidence to make horrible decisions. When we meet him under the guise of Henry Gale, he seems pretty innocent. 

  Originally only set for a three-episode arc, Linus is a testament to Michael Emerson’s performance as the character evolved into a series regular, a big bad, and then eventually, a possible protagonist. 
• 

  (#8) Newman

  • Seinfeld

  Newman is the main antagonist of Seinfeld; he’s friends with Kramer but does not get along with his other neighbor, Jerry Seinfeld.

  Okay, this guy is “pure evil,” but he’s friends with Kramer. Who doesn’t want to be friends with Kramer?
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  (#9) Jerry Smith - ‘Rick And Morty’

  As the son-in-law of Rick Sanchez and the father of Morty Smith, Jerry's relationship with the characters of Rick and Morty deeply affects the show’s narrative. His marriage to Rick’s daughter, Beth, is rocky at best, as Jerry is often pitted against Rick in the family dynamic.

  In turn, Rick has no respect for Jerry, viewing him as a simple man of limited intelligence. However, Jerry does try to do what is best for his family. This one redeeming quality makes him relatable to the uncool, put-upon loser in all of us. 
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  (#10) Hugo Habercore - ‘Bob's Burgers'

  As the guy who continues to attempt to put Bob’s Burgers out of business, health inspector Hugo Habercore is not exactly likable. His ongoing efforts to close down Bob’s burger joint can be seen as petty and part of a desperate plea for ex-girlfriend Linda to come back to him. However, Hugo does take his job as a health inspector very seriously, after all, it’s all he has... besides Ron.

  That said, he’s looking out for the welfare of consumers. It is an important job, and someone has to do it. In the end, he is protecting the good people of the Garden State from improperly prepared food.
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  (#11) Roman Roy

  • Succession

  In all honesty, it is difficult to relate to anyone in Succession, except, perhaps, for cousin Greg. The world the conglomerate Roy family operates within is not one most people know or want to know. Roman is arguably the most relatable Roy of the bunch, fully submerged in his awfulness. He is as funny and dramatic as the show itself; a spoiled “visionary” aware of his and his family’s ghastliness that uses wit to say what everyone is thinking in almost every scene.

  Roman Roy is so far gone, he doesn’t even pretend to be "normal" like his siblings. Roman will offer a child bystander a million dollars to hit a home run in his family’s baseball game and then tear the check right in front of him when he fails. He is heartless for the sake of being heartless, but he is keenly aware of his faults. He is relatable because he uses humor to hide the horror of his situation.  
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  (#12) Pete Campbell

  • Mad Men

  Not everyone can be as cool or as powerful as Don Draper. Pete Campbell is just a schmuck trying to play the game and get ahead; the character’s feeling of dissatisfaction and under-appreciation fuels almost everything that he does. He always appears sunny and optimistic, but inside he is sad, insecure, and desperately seeking approval from his family and peers.

  Really, Campbell is just insecure about his existence and yearning to make a mark on the world. He is a failed version of Draper, embodying the worst parts of him. Mad Men’s creator, Matthew Weiner once said, “we all want to be Don, but actually, we are all Pete.” 
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  (#13) Chuck McGill - ‘Better Call Saul’

  Chuck McGill respects the law while his brother Jimmy McGill (AKA Saul) does not. When Jimmy gets into serious legal trouble, Chuck bails him out of jail on the condition that he abandon his life as a con artist and work in the mailroom at Chuck’s firm. What Chuck didn’t see coming was Jimmy’s tenacity to go legit as Jimmy takes night classes at the American Samoan Law School and eventually passes the bar. But Chuck never saw Jimmy as a real lawyer and does not allow him to work for his firm, believing Jimmy will always be bad, attempting to catch him breaking the law to win cases.

  While we root for Saul/Jimmy, we understand Chuck, given his parents’ favorable and undeserved affection for Jimmy, as well as the foreboding sense of who Jimmy will become: Saul Goodman. 

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