I don’t think the show is trying to convey that point, no, but Carol is definitely a self-centered, hypocritical asshole. Thing is, though, a whole lot of people (maybe even most people) are self-centered, hypocritical assholes. I quite like the fact that the main protagonist of the series is someone who was very much not cut out to be a hero, and who does what she does for completely ignoble reasons. I think it grounds the story and makes for complex characters; this isn’t “Twilight” or one of the other YA fictions. It’s convincingly real people put into a really fucked up situation and trying to understand it and deal with it to the best of their ability.
It’s fair enough if that’s not your bag, but I really like that about the show.
That’s true – it definitely is a more enjoyable watch, especially if I dislike her at the beginning but watch her grow into someone who’s motivations aren’t just prompted by anger and grief.
I’m currently enjoying Manousos’s character, since he has a very clear set of principles from the beginning that put him at violent ends to the reality around him. I like watching him let his guard down ever so slightly
Yeah you don’t hear this kind of criticism about unlikeable characters in a lot of fiction, like say Walter Sobchack from The Big Lebowski. He is legitimately terrible, selfish, and controlling. He tries to steal the Big Lebowski’s money and then lies to his face at the end of the film saying “as if we’d ever try to steal your dirty money!” What makes Walter such a good character is because of how disarmingly real that is. He’s not a person who is actually very likeable at all, but you don’t usually get people saying they don’t like The Big Lebowski because they don’t like Walter.
To be fair to the person I originally responded to, though, Walter’s not the main character. It’s a lot more common to have unlikable sidekicks who provide a foil to the main character than it is to have unlikable main characters.
I don’t think the show is trying to convey that point, no, but Carol is definitely a self-centered, hypocritical asshole. Thing is, though, a whole lot of people (maybe even most people) are self-centered, hypocritical assholes. I quite like the fact that the main protagonist of the series is someone who was very much not cut out to be a hero, and who does what she does for completely ignoble reasons. I think it grounds the story and makes for complex characters; this isn’t “Twilight” or one of the other YA fictions. It’s convincingly real people put into a really fucked up situation and trying to understand it and deal with it to the best of their ability.
It’s fair enough if that’s not your bag, but I really like that about the show.
That’s true – it definitely is a more enjoyable watch, especially if I dislike her at the beginning but watch her grow into someone who’s motivations aren’t just prompted by anger and grief.
I’m currently enjoying Manousos’s character, since he has a very clear set of principles from the beginning that put him at violent ends to the reality around him. I like watching him let his guard down ever so slightly
Yeah you don’t hear this kind of criticism about unlikeable characters in a lot of fiction, like say Walter Sobchack from The Big Lebowski. He is legitimately terrible, selfish, and controlling. He tries to steal the Big Lebowski’s money and then lies to his face at the end of the film saying “as if we’d ever try to steal your dirty money!” What makes Walter such a good character is because of how disarmingly real that is. He’s not a person who is actually very likeable at all, but you don’t usually get people saying they don’t like The Big Lebowski because they don’t like Walter.
To be fair to the person I originally responded to, though, Walter’s not the main character. It’s a lot more common to have unlikable sidekicks who provide a foil to the main character than it is to have unlikable main characters.