While audiences love a good, old-fashioned hero, they also sometimes root for a morally deviant protagonist. Enter, the anti-hero. Not as wholesome and "good" as heroes usually are, these main characters do questionable things, break the unspoken code of decency, and generally love glossing over the rules and doing whatever they feel like, irrespective of whether it's the right thing to do or not.
Television is full of anti-heroes, and they seem to be having a moment especially right now. From Dexter, here are the anti-heroes that Redditors love.
Dexter Morgan — Dexter
With one of the most shocking opening scenes in television history, Dexter introduced the world to perhaps the most lovable vigilante who happened to be a serial killer. As the pleasant, average blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro PD, Dexter was not someone whom anyone would suspect.
Fans loved him right from the start: He was great at his job, kids enjoyed him, he was respectful and people liked being friends with him. SanderSo47 said the main reason why people rooted for Dex was that "People who escaped justice and thought they were lucky in avoiding punishment, he was going to follow them..."
Fiona Gallagher — Shameless
Shameless was a show that went off the rails a lot, but mainly because it had characters who were willing to be, well, shameless. Fiona was the matriarch of the Gallagher family, and her arc was a rollercoaster ride, mainly because Fiona wasn't afraid of getting her hands dirty to survive.
She stole and conned people to make a living, then sold out an old lady for her laundromat. It didn't stop there. Fiona cheated on her boyfriend with his brother, accidentally made her baby brother overdose on cocaine, and cheated (again) on her fiancé. Yet, people loved her as the protagonist. Dead_Starks summarized that she was "Literally shameless but she's always trying to be the hero for her family and do what's best for them whether they agree with it or not."
Dr. Gregory House — House
On paper, Dr. House was a great guy. He was hugely knowledgeable, cured people of rare diseases, and saved lives overall. However, upon closer look, his personality made him quite the anti-hero. The good doctor had unorthodox methods, to say the least, and unethical most times.
He nursed a Vicodin addiction, did self-surgery, and had a narcissistic personality disorder. Fans loved to see him save people but destroy relationships with his train wreck of a personality, but as SanderSo47 said "In other words, if the show was on real life, then House would have been fired from the hospital after a few days. I don't know how would you feel if you got assigned to House's office."
Fleabag — Fleabag
While unpopular opinions abounded about Fleabag, it has more or less been hailed as a masterpiece, and the titular Fleabag, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge was an anti-hero who resonated with so many women because of her authenticity.
Fleabag was raw and blunt, and she didn't bother covering her mannerisms with niceties. Getting with a priest, sending nudes in an office bathroom, stealing from your stepmother, and crashing your sister's award felicitation is pretty irritating, but Waller-Bridge made it endearing and relatable. Losthedgehog said "She managed to subtly convey so much and felt truly real. Objectively her character was pretty horrible but damn was she charismatic and intriguing" and also appreciated her fantastic breaking of the fourth wall.
Daenerys Targaryen — Game Of Thrones
Worldwide phenomenon Game Of Thrones features many flawed and villainous characters like Arya Stark and Cersei Lannister, but according to Stumpy_Arms, "I always considered Dany the antiheroine of Game of Thrones." She was the mad queen who started as an entitled princess, demanding her kingdom back.
Fans rooted for Dany as she went about getting pieces of it back and gaining on her enemies, but it's easy to forget that she wanted to reinstate a corrupt and incestuous monarchy back in Westeros, and if people disagreed with her, she burnt them alive. Her army was made of sellswords who raped and pillaged whole cities, but it didn't matter because her die-hards were sold on her charismatic personality and ambition. Many think she deserved a better ending on the tv show.
Tony Soprano — The Sopranos
Easily one of the most legendary anti-heroes of television, Tony Soprano stole hearts when he portrayed a mafia boss who balanced his familial duties with the duties of his criminal dealings. Through his therapy sessions, fans came to cheer for the crime boss and his nefarious activities as well.
Mrnicegy26 said in awe "Two decades ago HBO aired a little show called the Sopranos that completely changed the landscape of television." With The Sopranos, viewers learned to empathize and even sympathize with an evil-doer.
Damon Salvatore — The Vampire Diaries
The vampire with a penchant for snapping necks, torture, and draining bodies of blood shouldn't be a fan favorite, but Damon Salvatore was a rage back when the show was airing and continues to have fans worldwide.
The Vampire Diaries, but I'm gonna go with Damon Salvatore." Both brothers were happy to kill, maim, and plot through the show, but viewers always wanted to creatures of the night to win, even if it meant murder. While Damon went on to redeem himself in a way, his "compelling" and evil deeds couldn't be forgotten.
Eve Polastri — Killing Eve
When people think of Killing Eve, the mind strays to Villanelle, but audiences love Eve Polastri for her nuanced and often manipulative ways on the show. She toed the line to get her heart's desires, which included killing, lying, cheating, and leaving innocents for the dead so she could get her girl.
The end justifies Eve's means, and that manages to keep audiences hooked. MadamMighty puts it succinctly "It's refreshing that Eve isn't a wholly likable character, it can be quite discomforting watching her sometimes. But I can't take my eyes away. The struggles and obvious internal conflict she goes through is much more interesting to observe than your standard fare."
Bojack Horseman — Bojack Horseman
Animated imaginary celeb Bojack Horseman is a favored anti-hero, as Ancient-Arival3412 says "You will come to like BoJack a lot and want to root for him, but he will make many bad choices."
Sabotaging and betraying his friends, lying during charity shows, getting others drunk with him, and doing abhorrent things is a routine for the horse, but fans take one look at his flawed childhood and comic timing and root for him. Throughout Bojack Horseman, fans pendulum between loving him and detesting him, but they always give him the benefit of the doubt.
Joe Goldberg — You
The latest television craze is Netflix's You, with a protagonist so chaotic and dichotomous that fans hate to love him. Joe Goldberg is the perfect white knight, who has an ugly face when love doesn't go his way.
Burdened with childhood trauma and a skewed idea of companionship, Joe stalks, kills, collects gruesome trophies, and publicly masturbates. Fans should hate him, but his compulsion towards finding "The One" is gripping, just like his disturbed psyche. 1890s-babe reaffirmed the following for the killer by saying "This is the one I was hoping would be here."