Midnight Mass: 10 Best Characters Ranked

Town drunk Joe Collie is the most tragic character in Midnight Mass, which is saying something considering just about every character oozes tragedy.

Joe is a man who, through his wallowing in his own self-loathing, monumentally f***ed up both his life and the lives of those around him. In a drunken fugue, he accidentally shot and paralyzed young Leeza Scarborough, forcing her to live the rest of her life in a wheelchair. The man is a mess of epic proportions, but it's through this messiness where the quality of his character comes into play.

Collie had so much potential for growth and self-betterment. He was going to AA, he stopped drinking, and there was even the beginnings of a change in his attitude. The man, for once in his life, saw that he could turn his life around, and tried to do just that. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to fully realize his potential, as Father Paul brutally murdered him.

The tragedy of Joe Collie is not that he was killed, but that his untimely demise came right at the same time when his road to redemption started. That's just great dramatic writing right there.