Five Netflix characters who deserve better
Netflix characters may be born out of imaginative spaces. But they are undoubtedly confined to none. In fact, they’ve seeped into our realities in more ways than one. They influence the way we talk, act, carry out, or even style ourselves. While popular culture is not short of Netflix characters who reign supreme, here are five who honestly deserve better.
They may not be real, but their impact is both substantial and tangible. They may not come with life lessons. Yet, if you observe, they gradually become one themselves.
Their life is either a clockwork of trauma and despair or it’s a paradox of systemic injustice, societal bias, gendered commodification, or political foul play. These Netflix characters don’t always feel relatable. If they do, we really hope it gets better with time.
But in case you feel life has been unfair to you, these Netflix characters will make you look like a rainbow in the storm.
Five Netflix characters who deserve better
Seong Gi-hun – Squid Game
Seong Gi-hun was not without his evolution. Originally framed as a character who’s infamous for his gambling addiction, he joined Squid Game to leave his life of debt and end his financial struggles. Although he had no clue what he signed up for, if not for his irresponsible choices, his fate wouldn’t have come to this cliffhanger. While he’s definitely a victim, he’s just as complicit. Then what exactly makes him deserve any better than what season three had in store?
Gi-hun may be responsible for his shortcomings. But he’s not the only one to blame. He’s part of a broken system that works to make the poor poorer while feeding the rich. He’s from a society that pushes him ten steps behind when he stumbles one leap. Even if his actions are questionable, they come from a place of love for his family – the one he wants to protect at all costs. He may not be the “good guy” of Reddit fan theories.
But Gi-hun is made of his choices – one that is driven by determination to provide for his mother and estranged daughter. His fatherly instincts may not raise the bar of fatherhood. However, he’s surely a benchmark on his own who chooses to let Jun-hee’s baby live when the final hurdle comes to it. Although players succumb to deception and brute force to survive the games over the course, Gi-hun thinks of others throughout. In essence, he might be flawed, but he deserved better.
Janiyah Wiltkinson – Straw
A woman has to undergo multi-dimensional struggles just to exist. Straw’s Janiyah Wiltkinson is proof. Whether it’s workplace mistreatment, racial profiling, or the financial strain of single motherhood, Janiyah is a victim of everything that comes before and after. Tyler Perry’s emotional drama doesn’t explore her life through the lens of years, but a single day. And that’s enough to capture the perils of simply living in this world.
Nobody is indeed born a criminal. But the society and its most prestigious institutions have a way of turning a good heart around, just with the ammunition of selective discrimination and gendered bias. From being accused of complicity in theft to losing the war with child protective services, every failure for Janiyah is reflective of a failed system.
But even with the inference from people of her tribe, Straw brutally shatters her sense of purpose with Aria’s death, the only person she was ready to forget everything for. It’s not a question of whether she deserved better; it’s a question of whether she deserved all this.
Eddie Munson – Stranger Things
There are many such Netflix characters who hit home since their arrival on the screen. But we cannot really say the same about Eddie Munson from Stranger Things. The series made use of an intimidating metalhead trope to introduce Eddie, who has long shed his initial reputation to become one of the most fan-favourite characters of all time.
Initially, brought to life as the dangerous new leader of the Hellfire Club, a D&D group of enthusiasts disliked by the community, he even ends up being the prime suspect in Chrissy Cunningham’s death. And since he loves to play opposites with conventions and norms, Eddie is inherently seen as an outsider. But what many fail to see originally is that he’s truly just himself.
While he may come across as a bully to many at first, his series arc ends with a life lesson: don’t judge a book by its cover. Instead of living his friends in the face of death, he becomes a force to reckon with – the one who sacrifices without a flinch. Although fans were just relishing the taste of his softened arc, Stranger Things pulled a rug from under, giving him one of the most terrifying deaths of all time. Ask whoever you may, everyone believes it in their hearts that if anyone deserved better, it was Eddie.
Hannah Baker – 13 Reasons Why
13 Reasons Why was one of the eye-opening offerings of all time on Netflix. The series sparked conversations that people were afraid to speak off. At the centre of the show is Hannah Baker, who leaves a collection of tape recordings that reveal the reason behind her taking her own life. Hannah was a victim of systemic bullying, sexual harassment and assault, which day by day led to her societal seclusion, expanding her fear of helplessness.
The narrative captures incidents that have real-life semblances, which may come across as minor, but gradually contribute to the breakdown of a living human. In a world of digital insecurities, hers was palpable and routine. While there are moments that make her look self-centred, 13 Reasons Why doesn’t go overboard to portray her as perfect. But just because she’s imperfect, it doesn’t mean she deserved them at all.
Not to underestimate the chain of trauma that left her schoolmates reeling in various ways. From the lack of support to the absence of empathy, Hannah’s case is one that leaves you overwhelmed about who to point fingers at.
Ruby Matthews – Sex Education
Netflix is nothing without its characters. And the one we definitely felt deserved better from Sex Education is Ruby Matthews. We get what you’re thinking. Wasn’t she the shallowest person in the school? The uber popular kind who looks down upon others? Well, that’s correct. But by the time the curtain fell on the beloved series, her transformation arc started ringing in every ear.
Regardless of how we received the character, Netflix played against our expectations with the tragic backstory of her father’s illness. Not to forget, her financial situation was also a complete shocker. This turnaround from comprehensively cruel to acutely compassionate was definitely not on anyone’s syllabus. Fans were also a bit corny with her growing intimacy with Otis Milburn, although it was mostly physical.
But the fact that Ruby ultimately fell in love with the school outsider, and he didn’t reciprocate, despite the time they spent together, was the humbling we didn’t need. It was not just heartbreaking. It was straight-up shattering.
