Redemption arcs are the best because I truly believe they make for the most human characters possible. After all, in this life we will all will need to face ourselves eventually. This means reckoning with our demons, making peace with our pasts, and letting go of the things that were never meant for us in the first place. And that is exactly what these television show characters do in their own stories. 

Here are four TV show characters with the best redemption arcs of all time. (Do be warned, spoilers ahead.)

1. Fleabag (Fleabag)

Fleabag is a portrait of grief, of family, but mostly it is a story of redemption. Fleabag is a funny, angry, and grief-ridden woman trying to make her way through life in London. Having recently lost both her mother to breast cancer and her best friend to suicide, Fleabag copes with the pain through meaningless sex and other self-sabotaging behaviors. 

In season 2, Fleabag begins to turn her life around after landing a small business loan for her cafe. She befriends a Very Hot Priest, finds acceptance in the fact that her father is getting remarried to her Godmother, and helps her sister leave her shitty husband. Fleabag is tragic, it is hilarious, but it above all else, it is hopeful.

2. Alexis Rose (Schitt’s Creek)

Schitt’s Creek follows the Rose family from a life of luxury to a very…different existence after Johnny Rose becomes a victim of fraud and loses everything overnight. However, the Rose family does have one remaining asset: The town of Schitt’s Creek, where Johnny also still owns a motel, which is where the family ends up living.

While the entire Rose family goes through a positive personal transformation, Alexis Rose’s has to be my favorite. When we are first introduced to Alexis, she is spoiled, flighty, and selfish, not to mention a little vapid. This changes throughout the series as Alexis earns her degree, gets her first job at a veterinary clinic, goes through a major heartbreak, and repairs her relationship with her family and therefore herself. A little bit Alexis, a lot of personal growth! 

3. Spike (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)

On Buffy The Vampire Slayer, we get to witness the redemption of Spike. Spike is first introduced to viewers in season two as the show’s main villain. And he was a great villain at that. As evil as they come, Spike is determined to see Sunnydale “burn.” 

Then Spike falls in love with none other than vampire slayer Buffy. Buffy helps change Spike’s mind on humans. In the end, Spike ends up sacrificing himself, proving he has changed his vengeful ways.

4. Schmidt (New Girl) 

When we first meet Schmidt in season one, he is, for lack of a better word, a total douche. His deep-rooted insecurity manifests in the form of overcompensation, competitiveness, and incessant womanizing. Schmidt’s bad behavior slowly begins to change after he meets his new roommate’s best friend Cece, whom Schmidt eventually marries later on in the series. The couple end up having two children together. By the series’ end, Schmidt goes from a power-hungry marketing professional to a stay-at-home dad.