PICKING OUT OUR FAVOURITES

​

**SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers for Watch Dogs 2 and the Bloodline DLC for Watch Dogs: Legion follow.

​

​

I don’t know about anyone else, but my friends are always able to predict who my favourite character will be when I read or watch or play something they recommend for me. This is a skill that has developed over many years of knowing me and talking about various pieces of fiction with me, but it has become very clear to everyone I know that I have a “type” when it comes to fictional characters. I think it’s quite possible that everyone has a certain type of fictional character that they are drawn towards. 

Now, people who think they know me will tell you that my favourite character is the “tragic, brooding white boy who hates women and justifies his toxic, immoral behaviour with his sob story of a life”. Listen, maybe I’m just defensive (I think I have the right to be, I’ve been mocked relentlessly for this), but I genuinely believe that that character isn’t what I gravitate towards. 

In the effort of trying to figure out what exactly I do gravitate towards, I’ve come up with a list of traits that my favourite characters tend to have. I would say, on average, all of my favourite characters possess at least two of the following characteristics:

Morally grey. Now, the key here is that they’re not actually a bad person. Okay? I love villains with ambiguous morals (because they’re fun), but those don’t typically fall under the “favourite” category because they still tend to lean towards being evil or unredeemable. The best morally grey characters, for me, are characters who are more likely to be good people than bad people. They end up doing bad things because it’s the only option they have or the only option they’ve been left with. Characters like this are especially good if they try to take the route with the least collateral damage; they’re willing to do bad things, but try to avoid it if they’re able. 

Charismatic, confident, or cocky. This can look like a lot of things, but this usually looks like characters who command attention, maybe by talking about how great they are, or flirting with everyone around them, or just projecting confidence in some way. This also might look like a character who is good at reading people; deceiving them, conning them, getting what they want out of an interaction. This is especially good when it’s combined with a secret struggle — I love characters who project confident glibness, even when that’s not what they’re really feeling. It’s also especially good when it’s combined with a rare show of vulnerability, because it creates a really beautiful (and often uncomfortable) contrast between the person they present to the world and the person they really are. 

Disliked by other characters or frequently at odds with other characters. Yes, I am talking about huge jerks here. I’m not talking about characters who are hated because they’re bigoted. I just mean the kind of character who might be really popular with one crowd but hated by another, or a character who people respect or are afraid of but are unable to get close to, or a character who has done things that make other people dislike them or turn against them even if they had no other choice. I guess I just like characters who only have themselves to trust, or just have a few friends or allies with them as they face off against the rest of the world.

Struggling with some kind of personal issue, internal conflict, unfavourable circumstances, or trauma. Again, you might think this is any kind of tragic backstory, which in fairness, is often true. But I tend to gravitate more towards characters who are actively struggling with some kind of issue that is outside of their control. To me, there’s a huge difference between a character who uses the excuse of “something bad happened to me once” to be rude and withdrawn but still expect things from other people, and a character who is struggling to overcome the lasting effects of a previous or ongoing traumatic experience. 

Gives a rare show of vulnerability. Again, this typically goes with the confident, cocky character who doesn’t typically show any vulnerability. Or the character who is struggling with unfavourable circumstances or trauma. Generally, the reason I like this so much in a character is because it creates that uncomfortable contrast between the person they present to the world and who they really are. I find that generally, toxic sad-boy characters don’t actually fulfill this trait; they’re mopey and broody and just use that as an excuse to be an asshole. This applies more to characters who you think are fine because they seem so self-assured, but are secretly struggling to hang on. 

Okay, you might be thinking that all of this really sounds a lot like “tragic, brooding white boy who hates women and justifies his toxic, immoral behaviour with his sob story of a life”, and maybe you’re right. I will definitely agree that it is possible for a character like that to fit into these traits. And maybe you’re thinking that I’m lying to myself, but I genuinely don’t think I am. I truly believe that there is a nuanced difference between this trope (which I actively dislike!) and my favourite type of character. 

In fact, there’s one other aspect that I’ve slowly realized is absolutely crucial for a character to fall into the “favourite” category. I really need to see some part of myself represented in them or be able to project an aspect of my identity onto them. Most commonly, this ends up being my anxiety. If a character has anxiety, or engages in behaviour or thinks about things in a way that is familiar to me because of my anxiety, I instantly gravitate towards that character. I see myself represented in them, so I like them more and I’m more invested in their story.

With all of this in mind, let me break down one of my favourite characters of all time: Wrench, from Watch Dogs 2 and Watch Dogs: Legion’s Bloodline DLC. In Watch Dogs 2, Wrench is introduced as one of the members of the San Francisco branch of DedSec, which is an anonymous hacktivist group found all over the world. He’s a very intelligent engineer and hacker, but has a relatively extreme persona compared to the other members of the group. He wears an electronic mask that hides his face and communicates his facial expressions with a digital display, as well as alters his voice with a voice modulator. He’s prone to aggressive, anarchistic behaviour, favouring explosives and heavy weapons in combat. He’s loud-mouthed, crude, and somehow manages to make it seem like he doesn’t take things too seriously, while simultaneously being so intense that it’s obvious he cares deeply about the people around him and their mission. 

Wrench is the perfect example of my favourite type of character. He’s morally grey, like the other hacktivists in the group. He commits crimes and does damage, but targets individuals and corporations who have exploited vulnerable people; often white-collar criminals who believe their money and power make them above the law. Despite being violent and destructive, he never does anything that will harm bystanders or innocents. He is unbelievably charismatic; he’s clever and quick and confident in his beliefs and abilities. He’s flirtatious and always has a quip ready. He’s disliked by other characters, although this mostly refers to authorities and rivals. Many people find him irritating or infuriating. 

Wrench is also struggling with some personal issues, although not always clear what exactly; in Watch Dogs 2, he refuses to take off his mask, and at one point he is taken into custody and it is taken from him (also fulfilling the rare show of vulnerability). In addition to the strategic use of a mask to disguise his identity from facial recognition software, many characters believe that there must be a deeper reason. In-game, the FBI speculates that he had a troubled or traumatic childhood and struggles with expressing his emotions, so he uses the mask. Other characters wonder why he hates the corporations they’re fighting so much, and don’t understand exactly who or what he’s hiding from. It’s evident that there’s something he’s struggling with. 

In Bloodline, which takes place about thirteen years later, he returns to the persona of Wrench after seemingly giving it up to live a relatively normal life. In voicemails, his friend refers to him by his real name — Reggie — and it is revealed that he was married, then divorced. Throughout the game, he willingly takes off his mask and discloses his real name, suggesting that Wrench and Reggie have become two aspects of his identity. He might work and live as Reginald Blechman, but after being betrayed and mistreated by a malicious corporation, returns to the persona of Wrench to get his revenge. In this game, there is a clear balance between the extreme, glib persona of Wrench and the more sincere, vulnerable Reggie without the mask. He fulfils the traits of my favourite character type perfectly. It’s also speculated that he suffered from debilitating shyness in his childhood, and much of his behaviour reads as socially anxious to me, so it’s easy to imagine that he does or could have social anxiety. He’s also implied to be bisexual in Watch Dogs 2, and it’s confirmed in Bloodline, so there’s yet another aspect of his character that I feel represented by. 

Nothing about Wrench screams “tragic, brooding white boy who hates women and justifies his toxic, immoral behaviour with his sob story of a life” to me. He’s the perfect example of a morally grey character with a potentially tragic past who isn’t brooding or toxic; he has a well-developed and nuanced personality, is fun and likable, cares deeply about his friends and cause, and consistently does what he believes is the right thing, even when acting primarily in his own best interests. Everything about him checks every box when it comes to my favourite type of characters. 

Naturally, this list of traits and my love of this character in particular is very specific to me. But when we fall in love with characters, there must be something that we gravitate towards. What quality do you look for in a character? What do all of your favourite characters have in common? What do you feel represented by, and do those traits exist in your favourite characters? It’s easy to simplify our favourite characters into basic, easy tropes, but let’s build our own tropes. Let’s give this some critical thought and wonder why exactly we love the quiet, lovable nerd or the badass, female assassin or the morally grey, cocky asshole who offers us a rare glimpse into their struggles. 

Who do you call your favourite, and why?