The Bullies Who Went From Bad To Good

It’s hard to deny that sometimes, the villain in a movie or tv show is one of the best characters. They have fiery come-backs, are always full of schemes and generally just spice things up a bit. But, usually we also like them because, ultimately, the best bullies turn around and find the good - kind - light. So, here’s our rundown of some of the best bullies who went from bad to good. With some honourable mentions from you...

Sue Sylvester

Glee just wouldn’t be Glee without tracksuit-clad cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, roaming the halls. She’s a ruthless bully to anyone who steps in her way - most particularly, the Glee kids, and teacher, Will Schuester. As the cheer team and glee squad fight for limited funding, Sue’s wrath leaves no stone unturned. However, her ruthlessness also has a soft side that we occasionally see, and makes her character more personable and likeable. She takes a shine to student Becky, who lives with Down’s syndrome and protects her at all costs (we later find out that Sue’s sister also has Down’s syndrome) especially in the episode ‘Shooting Star’. Becky has a gun and it is shot by accident, causing everyone to think there is a school shooting. Sue takes the blame, protecting Becky, and ultimately leading to her getting fired. As the series progresses, Sue’s bullying and softer side play together and Sue becomes a likeable - but mean-in-a-funny-way - character. 

Jaime Lannister

It’s fair to say that Game of Thrones has quite a few questionable things going on, one of the most apparent is from the get go, where we see Jaime and Cersei Lannister in an incestual relationship. And, when they’re caught by Bran Stark, Jaime doesn’t hesitate to push him out a window...all in the name of ‘love’, apparently. And although at first he appears to be unscrupulous and immoral, he later proves to be far more complex, honourable, and sympathetic. He loses a hand protecting Brienne, then returns to Harrenhal to save her from getting mauled by a bear. He arranges for Tyrion to escape a death sentence. And he eventually parted ways with Cersei when she chose not to aid Jon and Daenerys in the north.

Blaire Waldorf 

From the get go, Blair’s lifestyle was both aspirational and a source of her downfall in Gossip Girl. Money, ambition, power, endless new expensive clothing. And the full on need to be the literal ‘queen B’ at her high school. And bullying was the way to get there. She even had a troupe of ‘minions’ who followed her every word, and desired to be liked by her, whatever it took. But Blair’s main victim was Jenny Humphrey - a native of Brooklyn (which, to the Upper East Side is essentially the lowest of the low) who she bossed around, bullied, threw frozen yoghurt on, and sent many a blast to Gossip Girl herself. But, over time, Blair’s bullying ended, as she started to find herself in the world, grow up, and put more time into her friendships (especially with Serena) and ultimately, her career as a designer for her mother’s clothing company. 

Louis Litt

In Suits, Louis is the man we love to hate and hate to love. He’s a legal weasel - cunning, dishonest and ready to take anyone down. His friendship with Harvey is similar to brotherly love - and brotherly fights. They fight, bully and even punch each other to get ahead and get one up on each other. But through all of this, Louis does try and get help for the way he is - he has a therapist, Dr Lipschitz, who often reminds Louis to focus on friendship rather than rivalry. And, throughout the seasons, he sees the error of his ways. Take season two for example - Louis gets vicious when cross-examining Donna during a mock trial, but afterwards in the bathroom he confronts Harvey with real hurt and anger about putting him in that position and forcing him to publicly tear Donna apart. So y’know, he’s kinda human after all…!

Paris Geller 

In her first appearance in Gilmore Girls, Paris is introduced as an Academic Alpha B**** - a TV trope used to identify characters who are very concerned about their education and what they can gain from it, will fight to be the best but is somehow still popular. When she first meets Rory, Paris is worried that she may lose her top of the class standing, and feels that Rory could be the one to challenge that position, after sneaking a peek at her grades. Throughout the first season, Paris was a bully to everyone - especially Rory. However, over time, we start to see more of her story and her home life - her parents ignore her, she feels neglected by them, she’s just a lonely girl with ambition to make her life better. And it’s this kind of thing that makes her seem more human and vulnerable - yes, it doesn’t excuse her bullying, but shows that there may be more personal reasons behind her behaviour. Eventually, over the series, Paris and Rory become good friends, and Paris’ early ways are redeemed. 

And now it’s over to you! We put an ask out for your favourite bully-turned-good, and you came up with some good ones! From Angelica in The Rugrats to Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter; Finn, Santana and Quinn from Glee; Eric Cartman from Southpark; Regina George from Mean Girls (ugh, so fetch!); Marcel and Klaus from The Originals; Berlin from Money Heist and Buford from Phineas and Ferb.

So what do you think? Do bullies really turn over a new leaf or is it in their nature (and ours) to love the way they are? Were your favourite bullies on the list? Let us know over at @NCS!