5 TV Male Characters We Were Gaslighted Into Liking

These iconic male characters may have been praised by the writers, producers, other characters on the show, and even by ourselves when we were younger, but now we've been shaken from this bad illusion.

The characters we once thought were lovely and great now seem utterly awful. Let's take a closer look at these 5 TV men that the show kept pretending were great, and we fell for it.

1. Ted from How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother's protagonist is often portrayed as a hopeless romantic, but his actions and decisions throughout the series make him quite frustrating.

His relentless pursuit of love and his constant self-centeredness make it difficult to root for him as a likable character.

And his high standards for women...how about you start doing the bare minimum yourself first, Mr. Nice Guy?

2. Ross from Friends

Ross Geller — one more representative of the romantic nature of the sitcom, but his possessiveness, jealousy and infantility make him a problematic character. Ross always put himself above his friends and even his love interest, Rachel.

He never really supported her and often let her down. And what about his "I'm always right" attitude? Looks more like Mr. Gross Geller.

3. Stefan from The Vampire Diaries

This one tricked us so badly. We were forced to believe that Damon was the bad brother, but guess who killed more innocent people out of these two Salvatores? Right, Stefan.

And what about that scene where he threatened to drive off Elena from the bridge (where her parents died!) just to play with Klaus. With humanity on or off, he will always be the drama for us.

4. Jack from Lost

Mr. "I'm so important I can save everyone." Jack was so obsessed with his sense of self-importance that it seemed he never cared about anyone but himself.

Like flying back and forth hoping your plane crashes and everyone on board dies and you're the only one who survives — sounds selfish, doesn't it?

And if he loved Kate, why did he make her come back to the island that literally destroyed her life?

5. Mike from Stranger Things

Even though Mike is still a teenager and not a grown-up man, he already seems to lack some important traits of a good person.

We'll skip his and El's relationship , as judging some teen drama doesn't sound mature, but we have a lot to say about Mike being a terrible friend to Will.

He literally left his best friend behind as soon as El appeared, never noticed Will's pain even though he was the one who was trapped and traumatized in the Upside Down.

And what about that car scene in the last season where Will opened his heart and Mike didn't even comfort him? Puberty really hit him hard, probably right in the head.