The 7 Most Toxic TV Characters Of All Time (Who You Can’t Help But Love)
To be sure, absolutely no one likes dealing with a toxic person in real life, requiring us to use our respective social skills to deescalate a tense situation and distance ourselves from the problematic party in question.
As stressful as it is contending with toxicity in our daily lives, watching a toxic character on our favorite TV shows provides a surprisingly entertaining experience for the average viewer at home. From perverse Midwestern librarians to power-hungry medieval queens, here are some of the most undeniably toxic characters we’ve seen on television yet.
Tammy Swanson II (Parks and Recreation)
Any character whose sole goal is the complete corruption of her romantic partner can only be described as “toxic.” But even then, Tammy II takes her role as Ron Swanson’s demented ex-wife to entirely new heights. Adopting a variety of insidious tactics to manipulate, control, and seduce her weary ex-husband, Tammy’s ultimate goal in life is claiming Ron as her own. Rather than being motivated by love or romanticism alone, however, Tammy II simply wishes to control Ron, expressing avid delight at the prospect of breaking down a man as self-dependent as Nick Offerman’s grizzled outdoorsman. A match made in hell, indeed.
Pierce Hawthorne (Community)
Nobody likes being excluded from things, but there’s a healthy way to contend with that feeling of disappointment. Alternatively, there’s the Pierce Hawthorne strategy for dealing with that heartache: namely, antagonizing those you feel are responsible and blowing every mundane situation completely out of proportion. From honing in on his friends’ secret trampolines to mentally torturing them while recuperating in a hospital, Pierce is the kind of guy who will bully a fellow student over a game of Dungeons & Dragons just to illustrate a point – ironically proving the study group’s reluctance to invite him to join their personal activities.
Jan Levinson (The Office)
Michael Scott has had many dysfunctional relationships throughout The Office, but few seemed as downright disastrous as his co-dependent relationship with Jan. While things might have initially seemed normal enough in this strange interoffice relationship, Jan’s gradual transformation from a level-headed executive into a self-obsessed, erratically unstable woman drastically sours their romantic connection. Sure, Michael may not have always been the best boyfriend, but he never came close to matching the constant demands, irresponsible spending, and vengeful anger of his former supervisor-turned-embittered lover, Jan.
Tate Langdon (American Horror Story)
Evan Peters’ very first character in American Horror Story might seem like an angsty, likable, thoughtfully sympathetic teenage outcast. But as Murder House gets underway, it slowly becomes apparent that this Kurt Cobain-loving high school student is anything but normal. Influenced by the Devil to perform monstrous acts against his friends and family, Tate’s list of nefarious deeds knows no bounds, from his bloody rampage at his local high school to his twisted relationship with Violet during the events of Murder House.
Dennis Reynolds (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
At this point, the question isn’t “Is Dennis a psychopath?” (We know, for a fact, that he definitely is.) Instead, all we can wonder is if Paddy’s main bartender is secretly a serial killer – a pastime he continuously alludes to throughout It’s Always Sunny’s 16 seasons on television. An egotistical narcissist incapable of experiencing basic human emotions, Dennis’s utter lack of morals allows him to develop a wide array of troubling schemes, many of which are rooted around seducing women far younger than himself. In spite of his bloated sense of self-importance, it’s Dennis’ irrational anger and insecurities that makes him such a dangerous person to be around, as evidenced by his violent alter ego that he routinely calls “the Golden God” inside him.
Joe Goldberg (You)
Admittedly, the entire point of Lifetime’s You hinges on Joe Goldberg’s inherently toxic approach to love and relationships. A sweeping romantic in his mind only, Joe’s stilted view of love typically leads him to develop an increasingly problematic obsession with his unsuspecting significant others. In spite of his persistent attempts to avoid the mistakes of the avoid, however, it isn’t long before Joe inevitably falls back into his old, unhealthy habits, triggering his relationship’s descent into a web of jealousy, overprotectiveness, possessiveness, and – ultimately – murder.
Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones)
As her father Tywin Lannister once put it, “I don’t distrust you because you’re a woman. I distrust you because you’re not as smart as you think you are.” Such is certainly the case for Queen Cersei, a vicious, merciless, self-obsessed tyrant who believes her position within House Lannister entitles her to limitless power within the Seven Kingdoms.
While there’s no question she loves her family, Cersei’s complete inability to discipline her children (especially Joffrey) makes her one of the absolute worst mothers in her fictional realm – a fact routinely pointed out by Tywin, Tyrion, even her twin sibling/secret lover, Jaime. She might claim to carry out monstrous acts for the sake of her family, but deep down, Cersei’s cynical views of the world dampens the personal relationships she holds with each of her family members, resulting in the deaths of her three children and the all but total collapse of House Lannister by Game of Thrones’ final season.
