15 TV Characters Who Became Harder to Root For

Every long-running television show has at least one character who makes you wonder how they keep getting themselves into the same mess. Sometimes that's exactly what makes them entertaining. After all, a perfectly behaved character who never makes a bad decision probably wouldn't be very interesting to watch. But there's a difference between someone who's entertainingly flawed and someone whose storylines start testing your patience.

Whether it's a relationship that never seems to move forward, the same bad decisions repeated season after season, or a character who refuses to take responsibility for anything, even popular TV personalities can become frustrating. And sometimes, the problem isn't the character at all. It's the writers continuing a storyline long after it has run its course.

Of course, these opinions are subjective, and plenty of viewers still love the characters on this list. That's part of the fun of television. Here are 15 memorable TV characters whose questionable decisions, complicated personalities, or increasingly repetitive storylines made them harder to root for as their shows went on.

Rory Gilmore starts out as the kind of teenager almost every parent would love to have. She's smart, hardworking, and determined to make something of herself. But as Gilmore Girls progresses, some of her decisions become increasingly difficult to defend. Her affair with Dean while he's married to Lindsay is an especially disappointing turning point, and her romantic choices remain complicated well into adulthood. In the Netflix revival, A Year in the Life, Rory is involved with Logan even though he's engaged to another woman. Her struggles with work and relationships are realistic enough, but they're a far cry from the ambitious teenager viewers first met in Stars Hollow. Rory certainly grows up over the course of the series. The frustrating part is that growing older doesn't always seem to make her any better at recognizing the consequences of her decisions.

Will Schuester begins Glee as an enthusiastic teacher trying to give his students something meaningful through music. That's a pretty good foundation for a television character. Unfortunately, his competitive streak and questionable decisions occasionally make him seem more interested in winning than supporting the teenagers he's supposed to be mentoring. One particularly uncomfortable example comes during the fifth-season episode "A Katy or a Gaga," when Marley refuses to perform in a revealing Lady Gaga-inspired costume and wears a Katy Perry outfit instead. Will suspends her from the glee club for failing to follow the assignment. Whatever his intentions, punishing a student over that decision isn't exactly inspiring behavior from an educator. Matthew Morrison brings plenty of energy to the role, but Will's tendency to put the competition ahead of his students can make his inspirational-teacher routine a little difficult to take seriously.

Kelly Kapoor is one of those characters who's hilarious in small doses but would probably be exhausting to work with in real life. Played by Mindy Kaling, who also wrote for The Office, Kelly has an extraordinary talent for turning even the most ordinary workplace situation into personal drama. Her endless arguments, gossip, and complicated relationship with Ryan Howard provide plenty of memorable moments. The problem is that she rarely seems to learn much from any of it. Even after leaving Dunder Mifflin and entering a relationship with a successful pediatrician, Kelly ends up running away with Ryan during the series finale, leaving her boyfriend behind. It's a fitting conclusion for two characters who repeatedly make terrible decisions together. Kelly was never intended to be a model employee or a particularly mature person, but her refusal to move beyond the same relationship drama could wear thin.

Chuck McGill is an interesting case because his frustrating personality is one of the things that makes Better Call Saul so compelling. An accomplished attorney and Jimmy McGill's older brother, Chuck is intelligent, respected, and deeply committed to the law. He's also capable of being remarkably cruel to someone who desperately wants his approval. Chuck repeatedly undermines Jimmy's attempts to build a legitimate legal career, convinced that his younger brother will never truly change. Considering the person Jimmy eventually becomes, Chuck's concerns aren't entirely without merit. Still, his willingness to manipulate situations and withhold affection makes him difficult to sympathize with. Michael McKean delivers an outstanding performance, particularly as Chuck's health and personal relationships deteriorate. His storyline concludes in Season 3, so he doesn't literally overstay his welcome. But he certainly makes his time on the show uncomfortable for everyone around him.

Callie Adams Foster has been through more than most teenagers should ever have to experience, which makes her impulsive behavior on The Fosters understandable, even when it's frustrating to watch. After struggling through the foster care system, she finally finds a loving family with Stef and Lena. But Callie has a habit of making complicated situations even more complicated, particularly when she becomes determined to help someone without considering how her actions might affect everyone else. Her relationship with Brandon also creates serious problems as the family works toward adopting her. Still, it's important to give Callie credit for eventually growing beyond those early mistakes. Her story continues in the spinoff Good Trouble, where she builds a career in law and advocacy. She's not a character who never learns anything. She's someone whose road to maturity involves an unusually large number of questionable decisions along the way.

Derek Shepherd didn't earn the nickname "McDreamy" by accident. Patrick Dempsey's charming neurosurgeon was a major part of what made Grey's Anatomy so popular, especially during its early seasons. But the longer Derek and Meredith Grey's relationship continued, the more difficult some of his behavior became to overlook. Their marriage faced serious problems after Meredith interfered with his Alzheimer's clinical trial, and Derek's decision to separate from her complicated an already difficult adoption process involving their daughter, Zola. To be fair, Meredith's actions created legitimate professional and ethical problems, and Derek wasn't wrong to be upset. Still, his tendency to become distant during conflicts and the later tensions over his career ambitions made their relationship feel increasingly exhausting. He remained an important character until his death in Season 11, but the romantic appeal of McDreamy didn't always survive his actual decisions.

Owen Hunt arrives on Grey's Anatomy as a talented trauma surgeon with a military background and considerable emotional baggage. His struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder are an important part of his character, but some of his relationship decisions are harder to excuse. His marriage to Cristina Yang becomes particularly painful because the two have fundamentally different feelings about having children. Cristina makes it clear that she doesn't want to become a mother, yet Owen repeatedly struggles to accept her decision. Their conflict over her abortion becomes one of the show's most uncomfortable relationship storylines, and Owen later admits to being unfaithful. His subsequent relationships also involve plenty of difficult decisions and emotional turmoil. Kevin McKidd gives the character considerable depth, and Owen certainly has his admirable moments. But watching him repeat complicated relationship patterns can make even longtime viewers lose patience.

Ross Geller is responsible for some of the funniest moments in Friends, and David Schwimmer deserves plenty of credit for making the character so memorable. But Ross also has a habit of turning relatively ordinary problems into major personal crises. His relationship with Rachel Green is the obvious example. Ross becomes increasingly jealous of Rachel's coworker Mark, and their arguments eventually lead to the infamous "we were on a break" situation. What follows is an argument that somehow manages to hang around for years. Ross can also be competitive, insecure, and surprisingly controlling, particularly when he feels threatened or embarrassed. None of that means he isn't funny. In fact, many of his worst moments are also among the show's most entertaining. But if you've ever watched Friends and wondered why Rachel keeps giving him another chance, you're probably not alone.

Katherine Mayfair arrives on Wisteria Lane with plenty of secrets and a personality that doesn't exactly make her the easiest neighbor to get along with. Played by Dana Delany, Katherine is controlling, competitive, and frequently determined to maintain appearances even when her personal life is falling apart. Her complicated relationship with Mike Delfino becomes especially difficult to watch, particularly after he reunites with Susan and Katherine struggles to accept that their relationship is over. But Katherine's story also includes genuine hardship and emotional growth, something the original criticism of her character tends to overlook. She eventually moves to Paris, and when she returns in the series finale, she's running a successful frozen-food business. That doesn't erase her earlier behavior, but it certainly gives her story a more satisfying conclusion. Katherine could be frustrating, but she was also considerably more complicated than simply being a difficult neighbor.

Hannah Horvath is practically a master class in making everything about yourself. Played by series creator Lena Dunham, the aspiring writer at the center of Girls spends much of the show navigating friendships, relationships, and career problems while displaying an impressive lack of self-awareness. She can be needy, dismissive, and quick to explain why everyone else is responsible for her latest problem. Of course, that's largely the point of the character. Girls isn't supposed to present a group of perfectly mature adults making responsible decisions. It's about people struggling to figure out their lives, often while making things considerably worse. Still, Hannah's tendency to repeat the same mistakes can become exhausting. By the series finale, she's a new mother facing responsibilities she can't simply talk her way out of, offering at least a glimpse of the personal growth viewers have been waiting to see.

Vanessa Abrams starts Gossip Girl as something of an outsider, someone who can look at the wealthy teenagers of Manhattan and recognize just how ridiculous their behavior is. Unfortunately, she gradually becomes involved in many of the same schemes she once criticized. Her relationship with Dan Humphrey gets complicated, and her growing involvement in the Upper East Side's endless rivalries makes her increasingly difficult to sympathize with. One of her worst decisions comes when she joins Jenny Humphrey and Juliet Sharp in a scheme against Serena van der Woodsen. Juliet later takes things much further by drugging Serena, an action Vanessa wasn't responsible for, but Vanessa still contributes to the deception and subsequently tries to shift blame onto Jenny. The real frustration with Vanessa is the contradiction between her moral judgments and her own behavior. She spends plenty of time criticizing other people's games while repeatedly getting involved in them herself.

Serena van der Woodsen is supposed to be one of Gossip Girl's most glamorous characters, and Blake Lively certainly makes her entertaining to watch. But Serena's personal life can become a seemingly endless cycle of secrets, romantic complications, and questionable decisions. She often wants to leave her troubled past behind, only to find herself involved in another situation that creates problems for everyone around her. Her on-again, off-again relationship with Dan Humphrey is particularly exhausting, especially considering everything that happens between them over six seasons. The series finale reveals that Dan has secretly been Gossip Girl, the anonymous blogger responsible for exposing countless personal details about Serena and her friends. Despite that enormous betrayal of trust, the two eventually get married. It's an ending that some viewers find romantic and others find difficult to understand. Either way, Serena's decisions provide plenty of reasons to question her judgment.

Lucas Scott has just about everything you'd expect from a teenage-drama leading man. He's talented, thoughtful, and generally wants to do the right thing. Unfortunately, his romantic decisions don't always reflect those good intentions. His complicated relationships with Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer become a major source of drama throughout One Tree Hill, particularly when Lucas and Peyton begin a secret relationship behind Brooke's back. It's difficult to keep rooting for someone who repeatedly hurts the people he claims to care about, even when his feelings are genuine. The love triangle also continues to influence the characters long after its earliest conflicts. Still, Lucas does eventually grow up. He marries Peyton, and the couple leaves Tree Hill with their daughter following the sixth season. The frustration comes less from his ultimate destination and more from the amount of unnecessary heartbreak he creates along the way.

Shirley Bennett often sees herself as the responsible adult in Community's wonderfully dysfunctional study group. And compared with some of the people attending Greendale Community College, that's not an entirely unreasonable assessment. However, Shirley also has a habit of judging everyone else's behavior while overlooking her own shortcomings. Her religious convictions are an important part of her identity, but she sometimes uses them to pressure or guilt her friends rather than simply accepting that they have different beliefs. She can also be passive-aggressive when things don't go her way. To be fair, Shirley is frequently compassionate, loyal, and willing to help the people around her, which makes her considerably more likable than some of the characters on this list. Yvette Nicole Brown also gives the character plenty of warmth. Still, Shirley's tendency to act morally superior can make her frustrating, especially when she doesn't follow her own advice.

Robin Scherbatsky is one of the more independent characters on How I Met Your Mother, and her determination to build a successful career is certainly admirable. The frustration comes from the way her relationships are handled, particularly as the series gets closer to its conclusion. Robin's complicated history with Ted Mosby continues to influence the group even as she develops a serious relationship with Barney Stinson. After an entire final season built largely around Robin and Barney's wedding, the finale reveals that their marriage eventually ends in divorce. Robin then reconnects romantically with Ted, bringing the series back to a relationship many viewers thought had already run its course. That's not necessarily Robin's fault. In fact, much of the frustration comes from the storytelling rather than her personality. Still, after nine seasons of romantic complications, it's understandable that some viewers were ready for everyone to finally move on.