The Truth-Telling Anti-Hero Asshole with a Heart of Gold
Posted by Maggie
June 21st, 2006 at 12:01pm
In All Things TV Buffy Veronica Mars
Much like the Persnickety Hero-Genius, except with a far more complicated name, the Truth-Telling Anti-Hero Asshole with a Heart of Gold is one of my favorite subsets of television character. The TAAHG is that character you know you're supposed to hate. In fact, you probably did hate him, vehemently, the first dozen or so times you laid eyes on him. He's just so mean. And not just mean — he may actually have done bad things. Very bad things. Everyone else is pulling toward a common goal, but he's arrogantly standing in the opposite direction, making terrible choices, mocking our heroes, and lashing out at anyone who gets close.
But then, ever so slowly, you start to realize that all that bickering is actually kind of hot. There's something refreshing about all his brutal honesty; why won't anyone else tell it like it is? And maybe he lashes out not because he's inherently evil, but because he's sensitve. Suffering, in some way. He's too proud to admit it, but dammit, you know he just wants to be loved.
So you do. You fall in love with him. You're so predictable.
Of course I'm primarily talking about Logan Echolls of Veronica Mars and Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Don't they look like a couple of smug assholes? ….Exactly.
There are others, of course, but these two present the distilled, ideal version of the TAAHG. Let's break it down:
- The "Badness." Logan organized bumfights, burned public pools, made racial slurs, slept with people he shouldn't, and was generally, as Veronica introduced him, a "psychotic jackass." Spike murdered, raped, and pillaged his way across the world for over a hundred years.
- The Suffering. Logan's girlfriend got murdered, and he has a lot of other personal family issues that I won't repeat right now because Cristin borrowed my DVDs and isn't done yet. Suffice to say, his life kind of sucks. Spike's chip in the brain didn't cause much actual suffering, but falling in love with Buffy and then regaining his soul certainly did.
- The Irresistable Appeal of Truth. They may be mean, but what they're saying wouldn't be nearly as cutting if it weren't essentially true.
- The Doomed Love. It may keep them from being bad for a while, but it's too dark and dangerous to maintain.
- Not So Much Thinkers, These Guys. They tend to act from their hearts rather than heads, and they're not exactly known for their deep philosophizing. Understanding emotions come naturally to them — understanding other things is more of a challenge.
- The Redemption. Thanks to the Doomed Love and all the constant Suffering, the Anti-Hero eventually gets his chance to become Hero, generally by saving people's lives (Buffy, Veronica, the whole world, etc). Usually, he overcomes his inner demons and does the right thing. But will it stick?
Of course, now I'm constantly on the lookout for these guys in every show, so I tend to skip the original hating-him stage. I started Lost (being only five episodes into the first season, I am still new to this whole thing, so forgive me if I'm wrong) and immediately saw Sawyer and thought "This guy's a TAAGH. I love TAAGHs!" and now I giggle helplessly at every asshole thing he says as opposed to maintaining some sort of critical distance until I figured out who he actually was.
Any other good Truth-Telling Anti-Hero Assholes with a Hearts of Golds out there? Alex Karev of Grey's Anatomy? Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice? Once you start noticing them, they're everywhere.
Now that you mention it, that seems a lot like the hunky con man Sawyer from Lost.
I knew it!
I’m telling you, all the best shows have a TAAGH.
Patrick on Coupling (although since he’s on a comedy, his jackassery is always played for laughs); Benton on the early seasons of ER, before he became Lame Daddy; Barney on How I Met Your Mother (again, the comedy rule); Toby Ziegler! How did I forget about Toby? He’s like the proto TAAGH. Or TTAHAWHG, although that is much more difficult to say.
Why are they always men? Is it because female characters who initially act like assholes and sleep with unsuitable people are never given the chance to be redeemed by their emotional wounds and incisive right-ness?
I considered calling it the T-TA-HAwaHoG, but that’s hard to type. (Not bad to say, though: pronounced ta-HA-wah-hog.)
Patrick and Barney are great examples, but I think the thing that makes the comedy ones hard is the lack of Point #2, Suffering. Which makes their Redemption less interesting, too.
Some women: Lucy Lui on Ally McBeal, Paris on Gilmore Gilrs (both comedies, both not exact fits). How about Rayanne on My So-Called Life?
I thought of another woman — Brenda Walsh, 90210. My memory of this show is hazy at best, but she totally seems to fit the bill.
I know this dates me as ‘old as dirt’, but does anyone else remember David Clennon as ‘Miles Drentel’ on Thirtysomething. He was malevelence personified as the feared truth telling demanding advertising boss - A role he reprised for Herskowitz and Zwick on Once and Again at the turn of the century.
I think Anya from BTVS fits the bill:- she even
*spoiler*
died saving the world there at the very end.
Oh, yeah, Miles Drentel–excellent choice in both series!