10 Once Hated TV Characters That Made You Love Them

7. Luke Ward - The OC

Why He Was Hated

You knew what we were in for with Luke Ward (Chris Carmack) right from the pilot, when he uttered the immortal line "welcome to the OC, bitch!" He was an arrogant, trumped-up bully who cheated on Marissa and beat up Seth and who was high on his own supply.

As the romantic rival to Ryan, we were always going to have to hate him and boy did he make it easy to do.

But Then...

There's always two options for on-screen bullies: either they end up ostracised and given a taste of their own medicine (or defeated if they blossom into a full-blown villain) or they end up redeemed and turning into some of the most complex characters on their respective shows. The latter is what happened with Luke.

Eventually, Luke's character became more fleshed-out and as Ryan was forced to spend more time with him, he was contextualised. When his father was outed and his homophobic former friends turn on him, Ryan and his friends were there for him and all of a sudden he became relatable and even likeable. He still has his moments, but he's more self-aware and way less of a sh*tty person.