Some character developments are very unexpected. You begin the show thinking that some evil characters will not change but then they surprise you. That is the case for most of the characters in this list. Obviously, the following list includes lots of spoilers.
- Nathan from One Tree Hill
Nathan began off as the biggest jerk. He jumped his half-brother, Luke, wanted to use Haley to get back at Luke, drove and crashed a school bus while drunk driving, was his dad’s puppet, used steroids, and cheated on his girlfriend, Peyton, all the time. But he changed after he began loving Haley. He let go of the childish resentment he had towards Luke, made friends with Peyton, and stood up for himself to his dad. He stopped tormenting everyone else and started to be the good guy (even more than Luke at times).
- Alex Karev from Grey’s Anatomy
Many of us hated Karev at the beginning. I really REALLY thought he’d get killed off in the first season. I didn’t see it coming that he’d become a main character. He was the biggest jerk, especially to O’Malley, a very loved character in the show. So, when I saw his soft side, I was stunned. I haven’t finished the show, I am on season 13 so I don’t know the fate of his character but from what I’ve seen he is still a good guy though he does have some bad anger issues.
- Rachel from Friends
Rachel came into the show like a spoiled, daddy’s little girl that didn’t know how to do anything for herself. When Monica told her that she needed to get a job, Rachel felt like she had hit the all-time low. And maybe that’s why she was never my favorite character. At the start all she did was complain about not being rich anymore and be ungrateful. Luckily, she changed. She became more independent and started off at the Central Perk café and then worked her way up to an executive position at Ralph Lauren and a job offer in Paris from Louis Vuitton. She also co-parented Emma. Rachel was probably the one with the biggest character development in the show.
- Petra from Jane the Virgin
Petra at the beginning was, wow, I don’t know how to explain it. She was an evil character. And it stayed that way for the longest time. I mean she impregnated herself with Rafael’s last saved sperm behind his back! I really didn’t think she could be redeemed from that. But later in the show, you could see how sorry she was for everything. She redeemed herself and became good friends with Jane, something that was really unexpected. And just like that, she became a favorite character (even more so than Jane).
- Pennsatucky (Tiffany Doggett) from Orange is the New Black
This one sneaks up on you. I really hated Pennsatucky. She wanted to kill Piper just because of a disagreement. She was hot tempered, homophobic, transphobic, and killed a doctor at an abortion clinic for judging her. She began changing slowly though, after a very traumatic event at the prison with a correctional officer, Boo (who was one of the most known lesbians) and her became good friends. There was an especially heartwarming moment between them when Boo made her feel better about her remorse regrading her abortions. Later in the show, Pennsatucky escapes prison and then right after she turns herself in, she was completely a changed person by then. She also worked really hard to better herself in the new prison by trying to finish her GED. Although she had a tragic ending (I cried RIVERS, let me tell you), she was the character with the biggest character development in the show.