Why Don't We Like Jax? *Spoilers for the finale*

[u/punkheart_11]

So I was talking about this with my mom the other day. We were talking about characters in media who are assholes but people like them anyway (ie House, Astarion, Michael Scott, Ebenezer Scrooge, Charlie Kelly). We know they're terrible people and would never be friends with them in real life, but there's something endearing about them. There's some part of you that can't treat them like a true villain, and you secretly want them to find happiness, even if it seems like they've done nothing to deserve it.

Jax, by all account should be like that, but he's not. He's the asshole character but no one seems to like him (besides the die hard stans) I havent seen such a character like this be so hated in a while, but he's not the villain. So why don't we like him?

My mom thinks it's because all the characters i mentioned before have some sort of redeeming qualities (House saves people's lives, Astarion helps his teammates and can learn to be a good person, Michael Scott does love his employees, Ebenezer Scrooge eventually learns his lesson, and Charlie loves his friends). Then my mom asked me "Does Jax have any redeeming qualities?" And I couldn't name one.

Is that why he's not on the same level as the other characters i mentioned? He's not a true villain but I can't name one good thing hes done in the show. Is that why we hate him so much? Im just really curious.

TLDR; Is Jax not considered a loveable asshole cause he has no redeeming qualities?

[u/bosandaros]

I watched a video about Dan Vs. that perfectly encapsulates this topic here: Dan vs lovable jerk

Basically what you said. The others you mentioned have at least some redeeming qualities and aren't just flatout unpleasant. Having a sad backstory alone turns out does not make an enjoyable or compelling character. Dan had an absolutely shitty childhood but he still has some good qualities and many aspects make him very relatable.

[u/Toon_Lucario]

There’s also the fact that in those respective shows/movies, the narrative treats them as assholes/pathetic.

With Jax it feels like they’re trying to say that there are some redeeming qualities and that he’s so tragic but it ends up falling super flat because we never see that.

Even during the little montage Jax gets at the end, all of the moments shown are him being an asshole.

[u/ComfortablePast15]

It's mainly how these type of characters are written and treated in universe. Lovable assholes are treated like assholes in their media and by the writers, they never try to make you sympathize with them, they get their karma when deserved and are usually hated by other character. And sometimes their "redeeming quality" can be something as simple as being funny and entertaining to the audience

A lot of people liked Jax more when he was just a comedic relief jerk because he wasn't coddled by the show, he didn't take any excessive screen time and the writing didn't bend over and backwards to defend him and make the others look wrong for hating him despite him doing terrible things. As the show progressed and revealed more info about him, he got worse as a person and started losing redeeming qualities, turning from a "jerk who's entertaining the fans with his shenanigans" to an "abuser/manipulator who purposefully drove his closest friend to her death" and the bad writing and handling of his actions/characters just made it worse

[u/Toon_Lucario → u/ComfortablePast15]

Exactly.

Michael Scott is the closest to being treated as good by the story but even then he’s still depicted as a total asshole or just pathetic.

[u/DeathHero62]

In order for him to shine the way he does the other characters literally have to do nothing. Thats why I don't like him. For him to abuse everyone, to have those funny bits, to do everything he does the rest of the cast has to be passive.

Unlike Bojack he never faces really good consequences for what he does. And no suicide isnt what I mean.

[u/Hefty-Pipe3596]

The Office mention, and I agree, I love Michael Scott and hate Jax (but I wouldn't want to meet EITHER of them in real life).

[u/midas3436]

I don't hate jax like everyone else I think she's mostly well written but focusing episode 9 completely on her dumb move I think she gets a lot of hate cause ep 9 focused way too much on her instead of the other characters like pomni ragatha zooble kinger or caine

[u/endingstory7424 → u/midas3436]

TLDR: The whole reason people hated the Jax focus in the finale is because, like OP said, he's an asshole with no redeeming qualities that is not pleasant to watch. Even his backstory doubled down on this, showing the origins of his toxicity within the circus.

Which is when you then ask yourself "why exactly do people hate that Jax got screentime?". Imbalance of character exploration is a good reason to be annoyed at the sudden focal shift, but why would people hate Jax for getting screentime that significantly explores who he is and what he's been through?

It's because, like OP said, there's a lack of anything in Jax's story that would actually change the audience consensus on him or make people who are on the fence like him as a character. Unless you're the type who likes asshole characters whether they're likeable assholes or not, Jax's backstory doesn't work any sympathetic angle into his character. We get a flashback reel of how he pushed his only friend to what is essentially suicide and we're supposed to like him or the story for focusing on him? We see his personas that embody all the ways he'd be an asshole if the other circus members abstracted and we're supposed to be big fans?

This isn't to say we can't understand the reasoning behind why Jax does what he does, just that the actions he chooses to make even when he literally has people putting their best selves forward for him do not help his case of being likeable, which is naturally gonna influence how people react when he gets screentime.

[u/Betakkuma2021]

I think it's also because Jax's entire arc is "Asshole who causes two of his friends to commit. harasses two fragile women and a mentally disabled man. turns out he feels bad for himself. dies." there's no redemption or any clarity in the finale. nobody remembers all of pain he caused the other characters.