When we divide all the characters in the television series Two and a Half Men based on the ones who were well-liked and those who were not, Evelyn Harper (Holland Taylor) would definitely fall under the second category. In many instances, she brought it upon herself with her self-centered and insensitive nature that significantly impacted her sons Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen) and Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) which lead to their poor opinion of her.
Thus, it was no wonder that no matter what she did, she was seen in a very skeptical point of view. While the other characters' judgments were right sometimes, there were also times when their judgments were wrong.
Overrated: The New Family
Returning from a funeral event, Evelyn came to Charlie's house and talked about how the event was a total disaster because no one there cared much for the person who died. Evelyn then said her funeral would be way better. For which Charlie pointed out that hers will also be bad because no one cares enough to come to her funeral in the future. Appalled by it, Evelyn went on to get herself a new family that made both Charlie and Alan jealous. While there is a tinge of loneliness where we feel sympathetic for Evelyn, she is only doing it to prove to her sons that there are people who love her.
Underrated: The Hospital Incident
Evelyn often complained to her sons that they never spent enough time with her. At one instance, she itted herself to a hospital and tried to guilt-trip them into thinking that something more serious could have happened to her. However, when her sons realized that she was playing tricks on them they immediately pretend that she had to get an operation. While her sons thought it would be easy to fool her, Evelyn turned everything to her benefit by changing the operation to a plastic surgery procedure.
Overrated: Her Multiple Roles
When Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) moved to Charlie's house, he mentioned to Evelyn that he was looking for an interior designer. She replied that she herself was one and also added that in fact she is not just a realtor, but she holds multiple positions.
While Walden found it impressive, we can not be sure if they are genuine because in an earlier episode she asked Alan to sign as the building inspector so she probably created some roles based on the signatures she put down illegally for her own benefit.
Underrated: Her Real Estate Career
Throughout the series, Evelyn was seen in a negative perspective, especially with her sons disliking her. Adding to it, she was also insensitive and self-centered on many occasions, which usually turned out to be an advantage for her to succeed in her real-estate business. For instance, she checked obituaries for new properties and listed properties at funerals. It is definitely inappropriate, but it turned out to benefit her professionally. The show does not give her enough credit for how good she is in her career.
Overrated: The People She Befriended
It is no doubt that Evelyn was a classist. She always tended to favor the ones who were rich like Rose, Walden, or the people she dated. Sometimes she was even partial towards Charlie in comparison to Alan. However, the people to whom she was nice never saw how prejudiced she was. She mocked the lifestyle of the poor, like the time she had to go for a family dinner at Berta's place because Alan started dating Berta's daughter.
Underrated: Wanting To Spend Time With Charlie
With the jingles industry going downhill and with Charlie not managing his spending properly, Charlie experienced a financial break down for a while. He eventually asked Evelyn to lend him some money to him temporarily.
She agreed to give it to him and only asked him to spend some time with her in return. For which, Charlie lashed out at her and did not accept the cheque. Evelyn just wanted to spend some time with him, but she was completely misjudged in that situation.
Overrated: Bailing Charlie Out Of Jail
Both Charlie and Alan did not have the perfect childhood and from the stories that the two tell about their past, we can be assured that Evelyn was not a great mother. She did not pay enough attention to them. For instance, she did not do anything about Alan being bullied. However, Evelyn mentioned bailing Charlie out of jail and weirdly she also had a picture of one of his court trials. While Evelyn was seen as being there for Charlie, she should have not adorned his behavior.
Underrated: Disrespected By Berta
As mentioned before, Evelyn was a classist which meant that she was not that nice to Berta and Berta wasn't nice to her either. With Berta only doing what she wanted to, there were times when Evelyn wanted to have a private discussion with her family but Berta refused to leave. With the two having a mutual disrespect for one another, Berta took no consideration of Evelyn's opinions. However, there is nothing wrong with Evelyn wanting to talk about a few things only to her family.
Overrated: Dating Jean
Looking at some of the people with whom Evelyn had a relationship, one can easily assume that she was a gold digger. For instance, it can be seen as a reason why she wanted to marry Marty pepper, a multi-millionaire who was on the verge of dying. However, that was not the case with Jean. Ignoring the fact that their children - Alan and Lyndsey - were in a relationship, Evelyn and Jean connected well. When it looked like Evelyn had no hidden intention, she probably saw Jean as someone whom she could influence. Previously, she tried to change Jake Harper the way she liked but failed.
Underrated: Helping Alan Earn Money
With Alan having a lot of financial responsibility and his chiropractic business failing, he continued to have monetary problems throughout the series. On one occasion, Evelyn gave him a job as her assistant to help him.
However, with her sons' judgments of her clouded with their preconceived notions, she was not appreciated enough for her effort. Moreover, it was unethical for Alan to have sex in the house she was going to sell and he did not thank Evelyn enough for the job either.