Dexter Morgan from "Dexter"

 

(Credits: Showtime)

By this point, I think it has become increasingly clear I really enjoy certain anti-heroes of the early 2000s that ended up shaping a lot of what we now consider the evil or flawed protagonist in modern TV. Dexter, with its original premise being an evil man using his evilness against others he deemed bad, rather than direct personal gain, is one prime example of this. Although the story and character arc slowly declined in the later seasons, Dexter still serves as a testament to great presentation of an anti-hero and his motivations. 

What really adds to the experience is the new main "villain" each season, that not only presents a challenge for Dexter, but also puts on focus the hypocritical and inconsistent beliefs the main character has. I really enjoy when antagonists serve to not only challenge, but actively be a commentary for what the "good guy" stands for. This is mostly present in the first four seasons of the show. 

Now, I come back to Dexter after having the chance to watch the new series from last year, "Dexter: New Blood". The newer series attempted to fix a lot of the mistakes of the original and it largely succeeded. Sadly, like the original, "New Blood" also fell into the trap of writing a great story only to not be able to finish strong and instead leave the fans feeling cheated and disappointed. 

Glenn Rhee from "The Walking Dead"

  
(Credits: AMC)

With The Walking Dead's final season soon to be in full swing, and with the final story arc already in play, it seems fitting to revisit this long-standing TV universe that began all the way back in 2010. Back in those early days, one great character that stood out and quickly became a fan favorite in the first few seasons was Glenn. He portrayed levels of commitment, loyalty, and generally positive thoughts in the face of the horrors present in the world of the Walking Dead universe. 

Some of these positive characteristics are further highlighted because of actual environment Glenn operates in. Surrounded by other that tend to exhibit selfish behavior, ruthless murder, as well as cheaters and thieves, Glenn seems to serve as a positive role model and represents the good fight of survival and the better part of humanity. Of course, pure blame cannot be placed on the people around him: in many cases people are pushed to drastic measures when existing in a brutal world like "The Walking Dead". 

Ultimately, the biggest tragic, yet interesting, part of Glenn's character is his ending arc. He faces the idea that even when you are good to others, loyal to your friends, and generally a morally right person in a world of brutal survival, you still don't get to have a happy ending. At times, it even suggested that he could have fared better if he wasn't as selfless and loyal as he sometimes tends to be. For me, this is the most interesting part in his development and ultimate end, and one of the main reasons why I added him to this list on my weekly blog. 

Omar Little from "The Wire"

 

(Credits: HBO)

It has taken me about 7 weeks to finally come back to the "The Wire", one of my personal favorite shows from the last 20ish years. This has mainly been due to the fact that I have tried to diversify some of the source material I talk about in this blog. Yet, some shows really pack a number of interesting characters I can briefly explore, leading me to return to me now and most likely in the future as well. 

Recently, Omar Little, one of the main characters from "The Wire", was trending in the news again after the sudden passing of the wonderful actor Michael K. Williams. For many, this was a chance to return to the brilliance of characterization and exploration of humanity that is Omar Little, while others had a chance to get introduced to him for the first time. 

For me, Omar has always represented something more in the realm of crime and drama TV. His uniqueness shines in the role he plays and the way he is presented: a legendary stick-up man, almost picked from the pages of a fairy tale, put into the grim realism of the real world. This contrast is so highly evident yet is played smoothly with no faults. 

Additionally, I really like the highlighted hypocrisy of what it means to be a man defined by society clearly embedded in Omar's characterization. In many ways, Omar carries himself in the classic "machismo" fashion, with strong and aggressive domination of conversations and situations he finds himself in. Yet, his enemies and friends alike don't fully recognize this, since Omar is gay. To them, he cannot possibly represent masculinity because of such a fact. I believe that the show and Omar's character successfully criticized such thinking by creating an absolutely badass hero in a TV realm full of many stereotypes involving gay men.

Nucky Thompson from "Boardwalk Empire"

 

 
(Credits: HBO)

Boardwalk Empire has been a conflicting series in my mind for a number of reasons. Although its good in its portrayal of the Prohibition era and what it entails, my overall enjoyment for watching it declined as the seasons kept going, to a point where I needed to take a break from the show for a bit. I can't tell if this was purely on me, or if the show burned me out too fast with the characters and plots it was presenting, but it happened either way. 

However, one aspect of the show I really did enjoy was the overall portrayal of Nucky Thompson, the main protagonist that we follow throughout all five seasons. He shares a lot of characteristics I tend to really enjoy in characters and looking back on the many weeks of blogs and choices I have made, Nucky can easily be compared to some of the past characters, in terms of pure similarity. That's why I won't really focus on that this week. 

Instead, what really makes Nucky so interesting is the situation he is seen thriving in. He is a beloved politician, who is seen essentially living a double life between fighting for the affection and support of Atlantic City and trying to make as much money as possible with the underworld activities he participates in. This balance between worlds is sometimes challenged and tipped over and seeing Nucky's reactions to these obstacles are the more intriguing parts of the show, rather than simply Nucky as a character by himself. 

It would be hard for me to recommend Boardwalk Empire on its own. It has received praise in the past, but as I have mentioned I just can't find myself really enjoying the show that much. If it wasn't for Nucky and a few other great characters, I would have probably not even talked about this series at all. But I can say this: it's worth trying out, at least for some of the great performances from the main cast. 

Paulie Walnuts from "The Sopranos"

 

(Credits: HBO)

The Sopranos is definitely a one-of-a-kind and special show. It introduced us to Tony Soprano, who I would love to talk about more in a future post. He slowly became one of the first truly big antiheroes on the small screen. Up until that point in the late 90s and early 2000s, antiheroes existed, but they were never featured or seen as essential to the movement of the overall plot. This changed with "The Sopranos," which also paved the way to many other great antiheroes in the future, such as Walter White and Dexter. 

In this context, Paulie Walnuts exists as a supporting member part of the Soprano crew that attempt to run parts of New Jersey. In my view, he can be seen as a good example of criticism towards the portrayal of the "elegant mobster" that has existed ever since "The Godfather" came out in the 70s. Instead, he is aggressive, short tempered, and violent. His behavior and actions quickly demonstrate to us that the world he operates in together with the rest of the Soprano crew might be morally gray, yet he walks on the darker part of it. 

Yet, my favorite part about this character is his nature of opportunism. Over the series, Paulie proves time and time again that, although he is loyal, he has this opportunistic mentality of growth, and a survival instinct towards self-preservation. It's almost admirable to examine, although all the negative things Paulie ends up doing really stain that part of his moral character. 

Ultimately, I like him because of his survivalist nature and willingness to adapt and overcome. It's honestly a little inspiring, in a way. It was honestly a little disappointing seeing him and the rest of the cast as their younger selves in the prequel movie "The Many Saints of Newark" that came out last year. It didn't really add a lot to him or others as characters, but at least we still have the original series to look to.