Someone said: it’s a thin line between love and hate. And as much as we love love, hate is a pure emotion that can be as destructive as love.
Hate must usually be checked; otherwise, it can become someone’s downfall. But sometimes, it can be a driving force that helps someone better themselves.
Characters hate each other on TV all the time, and it’s what makes for good drama and storyline.
We have compiled twenty characters who hated another character or each other so much that it had our hearts racing every time they interacted.
20. Ray Donovan vs. Mickey Donovan on Ray Donovan
Some people have no business bringing new life into this world, and if there was ever such a person, according to Ray, it was his dad, Mickey.
Mickey was the walking definition of a bad father. He was abusive, promiscuous, and a total deadbeat grifter.
All these qualities affected his children so much that each one had a huge tragedy befall them. What irked Ray the most was how he was forced to grow up quickly to protect the other children.
It would escalate quickly when they were near other Ray had to be stopped multiple times before he killed Mickey.
19. James St. Patrick vs. Kanan Stark on Power
Both characters were not good people by most means, but James hated Kanan passionately.
Growing up together in Queens, they were boys, but it all went south when Kanan was arrested because of James.
James hated that Kanan was impulsive and very casual about committing murder.
It all came to a head when Kanan tried to recruit James’ son into their trade — drugs.
18. Benji vs. Rahim on Love, Victor
This was just a classic tale of romantic rivalry.
Both were in love with Victor, but Benji felt like he had a bigger claim because he was there first. He once saw Rahim kiss Victor, which was the nail in the coffin.
Although they made up later, it was fun to see Benji reach the end of his rope every time he saw Rahim or he was mentioned.
17. Leonardo Da Vinci vs. Michelangelo on Leonardo
Yes, it is those people. A few shows have featured these characters, but we will focus on Leonardo (2018) because it highlights the rivalry perfectly.
Leonardo and Michaengelo existed in times when art was the thing.
It didn’t help that society was constantly comparing them, and with Michangelo being younger, Leonardo felt like unfair standards were judging him.
16. Hope Mikaelson vs. Malivore on Legacies
Hope was one of her kind. In the show’s universe, no one like her had existed. She was a hybrid who was also immortal and a living weapon of mass destruction for all factions.
Malivore was some aberration that could destroy Hope without dying.
Effectively, Hope’s prerogative was to make sure Malivore didn’t exist. It required some fear and a lot of hate.
15. Villanelle vs. Eve on Killing Eve
Villanelle’s thing was that she was an assassin, and Eve’s thing was that she was a really good cop.
Eve had foiled multiple assassination attempts by Villanelle, which was bad for business.
With all the hate she could muster, Villanelle went after Eve but found the tables turned when she fell for her.
14. Bruce Wayne vs. The Joker on Gotham
Bruce had designated himself the resident vigilante in Gotham. The Joker had designated himself the resident villain.
Bruce had spent his entire life trying to find out who murdered his parents, and the joker knew that was a sore spot. He kept pressing on it.
This resulted in hate developing organically in Bruce, and his hunt for The Joker was a tale that spun multiple seasons.
13. Saul Goodman and Hamlin on Better Call Saul
Saul was a lowly lawyer whom the more upscale lawyers didn’t like. Hamlin was one such upscale lawyer.
Hamlin took every chance to embarrass Saul, whether in front of colleagues or Saul’s brother.
Saul developed a lot of hate for Hamlin, and it was almost satisfying when Hamlin was murdered right in front of his eyes.
12. Baba Voss vs Tamacti Jun on See
Set in a world where sight was deemed an abomination, the world set these characters on an epic collision course.
Tamacti Jun’s life’s work was finding and killing sighted people. Baba Voss’ children were some of the most famous sighted children.
Although the universe later aligned their cause, the hate Baba Voss had for Tamacti Jun and the witchfinders, in general, couldn’t be quantified.
11. Uncle Clifford vs. Hailey on P-Valley
Uncle Clifford must have a rule number somewhere for the girls who betray them.
And no one betrayed Uncle Clifford more than Hailey. She wanted to sell the inheritance their mother had left them.
That was reason enough to hate the heifer, and chile did Uncle Clifford read her the house down.
10. Nicky Shen and Zhilan on Kung Fu
Nicky had fought many bad people before, but none were as powerful as Zhilan.
Nicky was dedicated to saving people’s lives in her community, whether literally or otherwise. And Zhilan was an assassin who murdered her Shifu.
A Shifu is important to their student, and the act Zhilan committed rocked Nicky’s world.
She developed so much hate for Zhilan it nearly consumed her.
09. Layton vs. Wilford on Snowpiercer
Class was the definitive divider in this epic tale set inside moving trains.
Layton was the leader of the lower class, while Waterford had lorded himself over everyone. Wilford was an awful person who made an even worse leader.
Layton could not stand most of the things Wilford did, and he developed so much hate for the man. It was what pushed him to try and bring equality to the classes.
08. Bette Porter vs. Carrie on The L Word Generation Q
Everyone knows it. It’s Bette and Tina forever. And subconsciously, Bette and Carrie knew it.
Bette was not perfect by any means, and it hurt her when Tina divorced her and was engaged to Carrie. Carrie could feel hate emanating from Bette every time she was around.
On being confronted about it, Bette made her feelings known. But was it Carries fault she couldn’t be a better wife to Tina?
07. Major Stanislaus vs. Frank Sobotka on The Wire
Some hate comes from a stupid place, and Major’s hatred for Frank was so childish it was almost hilarious.
Catholics take their offerings seriously; no one did it more than Stanislaus. He donated a gift to the church only to discover Frank had donated a much more expensive gift.
He was angry at why a mere dock worker could afford such an expensive gift than a police major, and he developed some hate for Frank.
He channeled that hate into uncovering where Frank’s irregular wealth came from, and even when Frank wasn’t associated with corruption at the docks, Major still wanted him arrested for something.
06. Sam LaRusso vs. Tori Nichols on Cobra Kai
Many characters in Cobra Kai are driven by hate. It started as a subtle rivalry between dojos and escalated to bullying.
Sam and Tori were viewed as the Queen Bee of their respective dojos, but there could only be one queen in the valley.
Hate started developing between them when boys came into the mix, and every interaction resulted in a small fight or an epic brawl.
Sam had a point to make, and Tori was not one to back down.
05. Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin on Joe Vs. Carole
Joe’s hate for Carole could also not be quantified.
Based on the true story of Joe Exotic — a big cat owner — and Carole Baskin — an animal rights activist — is something anyone with a Netflix account knew of in the 2020s.
Joe hated Carole so much that he would make up stories about her killing her husband and broadcasting it to the internet.
Hate was his undoing when he hired someone to murder Carole and was caught red-handed.
04. Miguel Diaz vs. Robby Keene on Cobra Kai
The hate between Miguel and Robbie was a complicated affair.
Like Sam and Tori, it started as a dojo rivalry that escalated with each season until it became hate.
In one of the many fights between the dojos, Robbie broke Miguel’s backbone resulting in an injury that set Miguel back years. Miguel developed a lot of hate for Robbie, who reciprocated the feelings, and to hash it out, they fought.
Even though they became half-brothers later on, their hate for each other will always blemish their relationship.
03. Beth Dutton vs. Jamie Dutton on Yellowstone
It always seemed unfair how much Beth hated Jamie.
Her hatred stemmed from many reasons, but the primary one was how Jamie had her sterilized without her knowledge.
Apart from ruining lives, making Jamie’s life a living hell might be the only reason Beth got up in the morning.
02. Bobby Axelrod vs. Chuck on Billions
There was always something about billionaires that rubbed Chuck the wrong way. And having a political office behind him, he made it his mission to throw Bobby behind bars.
Bobby couldn’t stand Chuck’s holier than though attitude, and he also sought to uncover skeletons in Chuck’s closet.
This gave birth to an epic rivalry spanning years as each tried to best the other.
01. June Osborne vs. Selena Waterford on The Handmaid’s Tale.
Even in a world that sought to ensure women were powerless, some had more power than others.
June was the maid to the Waterford, and with Selena’s little power, she ensured that June knew her position. She oversaw multiple atrocities committed on June and was even the instigator of some.
June developed a hate for Gilead but particularly for Selena, who stole her child. Words cannot quantify how much June wanted to see Selena and Gilead burn to ashes.
•••••
What do you think? Are there some characters whose behavior annoyed you?
Did we leave out some juicy ones?
Let us know in the comment section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.