There are fictional characters an audience unanimously hates. They could be awful people with sociopathic tendencies. They could be annoying as all get out. They could be boring drips that take up valuable screen time. But then something happens – something unexpected. One day, your feelings shift from loathing to lust. Did the actor have one hell of a glow up? Did the writing get better? Did a little thing called character development happen? Characters that unexpectedly made you swoon come out of nowhere and hit you hard.
Admit it: there are hateable characters you fell for. Who could resist Steve in Stranger Things 2? Andy might have ended Parks & Recreation as a beloved character, but he started out as a dirtbag ex mooching off his exasperated onetime girlfriend. And then there's Loki from the Thor movies. He's gone from bad to good and everywhere in between so many times that Thor: Ragnarok even makes a joke out of it.
Villains who became dreamboats get you all hot and bothered when you're least expecting it. Give in to the inconvenient swooning and vote up the fictional characters you wound up loving.
Talk about a character turnaround! When he's introduced in Season 1 of Stranger Things, Steve goes beyond irritating; he's douchey, rude, and kind of a bully. He even smashes Jonathan's camera!
Then, one year later, along comes dreamy King Steve in Stranger Things 2. Suddenly, he's obsessing over his college essays and proclaiming his love for Nancy, all while sporting that sweet hair. But his most swoon-worthy moments come when he ends up fighting the demodogs alongside the kids, swinging his nail-studded baseball bat and giving terrible dating advice. No wonder the Internet is swooning.
Loki should be eminently hateable by anyone's standards; he's the villain of the original Thor as well as The Avengers. He's the God of Mischief, but he seems a tad more malicious than mischievous. At first.
Something happens around Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. The audience kind of starts rooting for him. Maybe it's because he's played by charmer Tom Hiddleston, or maybe it's because Loki starts making jokes. Whatever the reason, Loki is looking good.
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At the start of Parks & Recreation, Andy is a mess. He falls into a pit while drunk and breaks both his legs, meaning he spends nearly the entire first season driving Ann crazy with his lazy entitlement. He's a schlubby manchild who would be an absolute nightmare to live with at all, let alone date.
But over the course of the next few seasons, Andy develops into someone totally crush-worthy. He gets himself a job at City Hall, and develops a friendship with April that later turns into a romance. He becomes incredibly giving, kind, and sweet as hell. Even his songs get better.
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Draco Malfoy is the worst from the moment Harry meets him. He belittles Hermione, torments Harry, and eventually even joins forces with Voldemort. Also, that hair!
But don't be alarmed if your feelings start softening towards Draco sometime around the middle of the sixth book/movie. He's so depressed that he begins talking to Moaning Myrtle, for crying out loud. He's less of an out-and-out villain than many of the characters in the Potterverse, and many readers love him for that. Even if J.K. Rowling doesn't get it.
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Rebecca Shortall
