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Love Hate and Other Characters

Updated: Nov 2, 2021

5. Shaun, The Good Doctor, S5 Ep 5

Shaun is one of my favorite characters on tv because he is constantly being challenged and growing. This week's episode was no different. He was challenged when a nondoctor was working on a case with him. At first, Shaun didn't do well; he was rude and dismissed the guy because he wasn't a doctor. While Shaun is never malicious, just honest, he was pretty hard on the consulting Father trying to save his daughter; however, as we saw in this episode, just because Shaun is a doctor and honestly reacting doesn't make him right. In this episode, he realized he never really gave the consulting Father a chance because he wasn't a doctor, and it almost cost him. However, after Shaun opened his mind to what the consulting Father was saying, he was able to use his own knowledge to optimize the suggestion and save the patient. Shaun never stops surprising me, and it's why I keep tuning in. I love the evolution of Shaun.


4. Joe, You, Season 3 Ep5

I love Joe's dedication to his family. In season three, we get to see that Joe was abandoned by his mom. Family is really important to him. One of his biggest drives this season has been Henry. He has given up on Love you can hear it in his tone in the first episode. He has accepted that Love is not the one for him. He would have killed Love last season if she wasn't pregnant because Love killed Delilah and tried to frame Elle after making her an orphan. However, he can't leave Love because he can't give up on the idea of a proper family. So he helps when she kills Natalie, and he helps Love when she attacks Gil for Henry. Joe isn't even as violent. He resisted attacking Gil and sleeping with Natalie for Henry. I just find this dynamic of Joe fighting tooth and nail for this ideal of the perfect childhood for Henry very fascinating.


3. Dean, The Wonder Years, S1 Ep 4-6

Dean is awesome. The element of his character I want to highlight this week is how perceptive, and kind Dean is. I love how he, as a twelve-year-old was able to pick up on the troubles his mom had at the office. He was able to observe things his mom wouldn't tell him, like the fact that she was lonely at work and had to eat alone. She wasn't one of the boys or white women, and she was a mother who worked. Also, when Dean and his dad go camping, he can humble himself and realize that his dad had made a fool of himself for Dean. These are the same qualities that helped him get his second kiss from Charlene after initially hurting her feelings. Dean isn't just caring; he is also hilarious, and the cutaways highlight his humor in a major way.


2. Bill Williams, The Wonder Years, S1 Ep 6

I love Bill's representation. He is a successful black artist father who is present and attentive in his son's life. I really can't think of any of black artist fathers like Bill on tv. As a jazz magician, he is a naturally cool character, but he avoids being a caricature with authentic moments of vulnerability and guidance with Dean. Bill Williams, the man, is the most interesting part. We don't often see Bill at work, but the show lets us know he is good at what he does based on his validation from surrounding characters. However, most of what we see is just Bill being a dad and guiding Dean through his tough times. He is an excellent character cause he is a great father, and I think the scout leader episode shows that off the most. He had no idea what he was doing in the woods. He just knew doing it was important to his son, so he showed up and tried his best. It's why Bill Willams makes the love list.


1. Lilah Williams, The Wonder Years, S1 Ep 4

I love Lilah Williams. She is the heir to Vivian Banks's throne. Highly educated, caring, revolutionized black mother. I have loved her character ever since the sex education episode. To me, that's when she became three-dimensional because she revealed she is not just a wife and mother. She has her own interest and past and way of handling things. She is a cool mom. I fell more in love with her character during the take your kid to the workday episode, after seeing her be the most educated person in the office running the place basically but still having to navigate the patriarchy and racism boobie traps to success. All while still finding a way to care for all three of her children and her husband. In that last scene, Dean was all of us when he yelled at his family for asking too much of Lilah after walking in her steps for a day.


Hate

3. Salen, The Good Doctor, S5 Ep 5

I don't care that Shaun decided to keep the billboard up. Salen still put it up without thinking about how Shaun would react and without his permission. She doesn't own his image, and he might have decided he wanted to take it down, which would have been valid. I hated her attitude when Shaun asked her to take it down. She asked if he was ashamed of his ASD like those were the only options either put it on a billboard, or you are ashamed. I didn't see the billboard about her Adhd or her other medical diagnosis. I wonder why is she ashamed? Does she not want to inspire others? Also, her I did it without accommodations attitude is super annoying. Shaun and Salen are not the same; they don't have the same challenges, and they are different people with different jobs and personalities. People's experiences are different, and she should respect that like she always claims to. Also, she talks a lot about bias but doesn't see the bias in her running a hospital while not trusting doctors due to her own experience with different doctors.


2. Theo, You, S3 Ep5

I'm not a fan of Theo, and I have never been. Let's review when he first met Love. He came up to her in a parking lot while she was putting groceries in her car and told her it was okay because he was a women's studies major in college. So he was douche when we first met him. Also, he stole her alcohol, and Love told him that she was married, and he just kept pressing her all season.


1. Gil, You, S3 Ep 5

Gil was absolutely terrible. He let his kids go around infecting other children with measles, and then he had the gall to tell them they should be thanking him for immunity. Joe showed a lot of restraint when Gil said that BS to him in the cage. But let's not forget, as impulsive and wrong as Loves attacking him was, Gil really didn't do himself any favors. If he just would have apologized over the phone or at the very least given an earnest apology without all of the justifications, he might not have ended up in the basement. Also, let's not forget he knew his son was a predator but did nothing about it. He didn't know about the second attack, but he knew about the first. Although he never seemed big on accountability.


Other Characters


1. Sherry You, S3 Ep 10

I spent most of You Season three hating Sherry. When it started, she was the worst. She was the fakest character ever. She would insult people to their faces and pretend she hadn't and talk behind Love's back after pretending to be her friend. Worst of all, when Natalie died after talking shit about her for years, she made it all about her pretending they were besties. However, once Love became friends with Sherry, she somehow didn't seem so bad. She was a pretty good friend to Love in the latter half of the season. Also, when she was locked in the cage and stripped down to her bare bones as a character, she was a good person. She didn't kill her husband to escape and actually grew closer to him. Also, we saw a mother who was willing to do anything for her kids. I personally think, unlike Peach, there is a good side to Sherry. Do you agree?


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