Why Was Claire Novak So Darn Annoying on Supernatural?
Supernatural has such a wide array of supporting characters that there is no doubt fans will have their loves and loathes.
It is impossible to please everyone, and opinions will inevitably differ for each character. But one has stood out as irritating fans beyond all others. Claire Novak.
When we first meet Claire in Season Four, she is a sweet, innocent child. It was almost impossible to dislike her due to her timid nature and limited screen time.
But when she returns in Season Ten, she has undergone several changes that make her far less likable. Despite these differences being understandable given what she has gone through, fans did not like Claire's character development.
She becomes a troubled teenager, who further evolves into a hunter. While her wanting to fight evil makes sense considering she lost both her parents to supernatural forces, the changes in her personality had fans wanting to see less of her.
Comments vary on the reasons for this, with some people commenting that it could be a case of bad acting, or perhaps just poor writing.
The general mood among fans is that it is simply not convincing when Claire behaves like a tough hunter. Fans are uncertain whether the limited material the actress had to work with was the problem, or perhaps she simply needed more practice with the character.
But on one aspect they all agree; that the character did not develop effectively.
It seems that viewers are frustrated with Claire being an angsty teen at the beginning of every episode, hating everyone, learning a valuable lesson, and changing her view by the end, only to repeat this process in her next appearance.
There seems to be no explanation for her personality being completely reset every time she shows up. The learnings she gains from earlier appearances are always lost as if they never happened.
Overall, Claire feels like a missed opportunity. She had the potential to be an amazing character, with fans pointing out that more of a slow-burn development would have been more enjoyable.
The criticism is that they try to cram a ton of character development into every episode she appears in, which then leaves the writers no choice but to start her over again.
And the result of that is fans scratching their heads and feeling as though their time has been wasted when they are greeted with the same old angry Claire whenever she pops back up.