Lists: Bottom 10 Least Favorite Characters

We all have them. We might have tried to like them at the beginning of a period drama, but there's just something about them that is really vexing! Or maybe they just vexed us from the moment of their appearance on the screen. Either way, here are the bottom 10 of my least favorite characters in period dramas.

Now keep in mind, this list is just my opinion. You can disagree with me (I'll publish your comments :-P), but keep it respectful.

Thanks a lot, Fisher Bloom! You took a very good character
and made her annoying in her own show!

10. Laura Timmins after Season 1 (Lark Rise to Candleford)
Notice how I said after Season 1. During Season 1, I really liked Laura. She was innocent (maybe a little naive) and while she made mistakes, she learned from them; it was almost like we were learning with her. Overall, in Season 1 (and even half-way through Season 2), she was really likable. Then after half-way through Season 2, she got really dislikable (I mark the fifth episode in Season 2 as the point where she began to get dislikable). Mainly, when Fisher Bloom came into the picture, Laura was never the same again. After he left, she became this know-it-all, which got old fast. I'm very sorry that her character developed that way...

Another example of a character gone bad.

9. Evie Eliott after Season 1 (The House of Eliott)Just like with Laura, I didn't always dislike Evie. I always preferred her sister Bea over her since Bea was a lot more sensible than the emotion-driven Evie, but during the first season, Evie was likable. She was mostly innocent which worked for her. Things started to go awry once she stayed in Paris for a couple of years. Suddenly, like Laura, she became a know-it-all. They tried to make her more "worldly" and she became a bit of a snob. In addition to that, she also began to make really immoral decisions. She just got more and more dislikable as the show went on.

Just simply irritating.

8. John Thorpe (Northanger Abbey)
John Thorpe is just irritating. Period. He's arrogrant, loud, and vulgar. Period. That pretty much sums it all up.

I know, there was a little rant about him above,
but c'mon! he did ruin the main character's personality!

7. Fisher Bloom (Lark Rise to Candleford)
Thanks a lot, Fisher, for changing Laura: Now she's this dislikable know-it-all. But seriously, it was because of Fisher that Laura had this unfortunate transformation. He insulted her pride, so she changed herself to be like him. Then he leaves and leaves his damage on Laura's character. Ever since his first appearnace, her new personality stays with her. *Sarcastically* Way to go, Fisher!

Irresponsible... and just flat out irritating.

6. Nora Helmer (A Doll's House)
I mainly dislike Nora because of the decision that she made at the end of A Doll's House (though she wasn't all that great in the beginning and middle of the plot either). She abandons all her responsibilities and her children because she needs to find herself. Really? That's one of the characteristics that I don't like in characters: not accepting responsibility or abandoning responsibilities and obligations. I also didn't like that she didn't at least try to work things out with her husband: she just left him.

Simply could not take her seriously.

5. Nan St. George (The Buccaneers)
There are a couple reasons that I've never liked Nan. First of all, I could never take her seriously. Her, her sister, and her friends for the first half of the movie were rolling down hills like they were five. Nan also seemed to be too naive; if a character is a little naive, it's not a bad thing (like with Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey: she was naive, but it was a sweet naive), but there's a certain point where characters can be too naive and Nan crossed the line. Secondly, I also didn't like the decisions that she made towards the end of The Buccaneers. Her decisions were becoming more and more immoral that any relatableness (if any) she possessed was gone. Definitely not a good role model.

HOW DARE YOU LIE ABOUT MR. DARCY!

4. George Wickham (Pride and Prejudice)
Wickham is a liar, scandalous, and a fortune hunter. He lied about Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth in order to get her to sympathize with his situation. He tried to elope with Mr. Darcy's sister, Georgiana, in order to get her money and to take revenge on Mr. Darcy. He started a scandal with Lydia Bennet which would have damaged all the Bennet daughters chances of getting married. Mr. Darcy pays off his debt. And then after the scandal, he's welcomed at Longbourn with open arms? (Okay, those open arms were probably only Mrs. Bennet's).

Even at the end, I still had no pity for him.

3. John Willoughby (Sense and Sensibility)
What really irritates me about Willoughby is that he doesn't accept his responsibilities. He gets involved in a scandal and then leaves. He made Marianne Dashwood think that he loved her and then leaves. Then we find out that he married a Miss Grey only for her money due to the scandal, breaking Marianne's heart. I will say that at least he got what he deserves when he finds out that he could have married Marianne and not have been disinherited.

How did these employees manage to not get fired during the first season?

2. Sarah O'Brien/Thomas Barrow (Downton Abbey)

I lumped both these characters together because they mostly work for/with each other. They are always in everything for themselves. Plus, they've been trying to get Bates fired since he started working at Downton (like trying to frame him for stealing matchboxes and wine). I don't know why these two were not fired from Downton; definitely not model employees. Though O'brien improves slightly in Series 2, I still cannot like her.

I'm sorry, I just can't stand him!

1. Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre)
Okay, I know there are a bunch of girls ready to throw tomatoes at me. *Ducks for cover* I know a lot of girls really like Mr. Rochester, but, in my humble opinion, I don't see how. He does not behave like a proper gentleman: he's rude, he messed with Jane's feelings, and nearly gotten Jane involved in a huge scandal. Despite all this, him and Jane end up married at the end? The quality that people like about him is that he's passionate, but I see that as his problem. He doesn't control his emotions. He doesn't practice self-control. He flies off the handle over anything. I found him most disagreeable and dislikable and cannot understand why he is the hero of Jane Eyre.


God Bless,