24 TV Characters Who Changed Dramatically

People change. They grow up, are deeply impacted by the events of their lives, and partake in destructive behavior. It all happens in life, so naturally it all happens on television too.

Television shows take characters, and their viewers, on a journey. Over the course of a series characters can become unrecognizable from who they were when the show began, for better or for worse. A great character journey can be the best thing about a TV show.

Here are 24 TV characters who changed dramatically:

1. Rip Hunter, Legends of Tomorrow

Disgraced Time Agent Rip Hunter went to the past to recruit a team of heroes and villains to take on supervillain Vandal Savage. He pleaded and manipulated the members of the original team for his cause, thoroughly excited about the opportunity to save all of time.

Rip believed in the legends and encouraged them to be the very best that they could be. Along the way, Rip forged friendships with the legends and they with him.

Fast forward two seasons and Rip Hunter has had quite the change of heart.

The former leader now considers his team to be too out of control and created a new organization to take over the work. Rip even forbade the legends from helping save time and catch anachronisms.

Creating a new team similar to the one he fled and tossing his friends aside is not like the Rip we met at the beginning of the series at all.

2. Summer Roberts, The OC

When Summer Roberts was introduced on The OC, she was the stereotypical popular girl.

While Summer was originally attracted to series star Ryan Atwood, her feelings quickly changed when she learned what part of town he was from. She came across as unintelligent and selfish, but by the end of the series, she made a complete 180.

Summer was smart enough to get into Brown University. She fell in love with the nerdy guy from high school and went on to become an animal rights activist. She defied everyone’s expectations.

It was the type of character transformation that’ll make your head spin.

3. Quinn Perkins, Scandal

When Scandal began, Quinn Perkins was a nice lawyer who was just excited to work for the legendary Olivia Pope. She was our eyes into this hectic world and someone viewers would sit down with for coffee.

Soon we learned she was in hiding after being framed for a bombing, and absolutely everything changed. That revelation set her down a dark path where she was less trusting of her colleagues and actually became a highly trained operative at a secret spy agency.

A far cry from the warm and wide-eyed lawyer we first met, Quinn is now the head of the firm, a mother, and can also kill you with her bare hands.

4. Octavia Blake, The 100

Octavia Blake was ecstatic to be back on Earth as one of the hundred. As the second child in a society where parents can only have one, Octavia lived in hiding then was put in a jail cell when she was caught.

Needless to say, she was happy to set foot on Earth and be free for the first time in her life. Her first days on the ground were spent exploring her newfound freedom, which included spending time with boys, much to her brother’s chagrin. 

Where many suffered and died on the ground, Octavia thrived. She learned to fight and was no longer asking guys to save her.

After losing the man she loved, Octavia took a dark turn and became a brutal killer.

Octavia’s still trying to come back from the darkness, but stepping up as a leader and uniting grounders and skaikru has helped her. She’s even quite good at it.

It hasn’t been easy by any means, but Octavia is unrecognizable from the vibrant teen yelling, “we’re back bitches,” that viewers met on the pilot.

5. Willow Rosenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Willow Rosenberg was an exceptional high school student who wouldn’t hurt a fly when Buffy Summers walked into her life.

Being the best friend of the slayer meant Willow was immersed in a world full of death and the supernatural, so it’s no surprise she changed. Willow went from regular teenager to all-powerful witch.

The loss of the woman she loved sent her down a dark path, which almost resulted in the end of the world. By the end of the series, Willow’s incredible optimism shared space with an awareness of the true horrors of the world and exactly what she’s capable of.

6. Gannicus, Spartacus

Initially, all Gannicus cared about was winning fights as a gladiator, women, and alcohol. Unlike Spartacus, he had no feelings about a rebellion or fighting his way to freedom.

Gannicus valiantly fought and won until he was awarded his freedom. Then, the proof of his freedom was stolen.

The former gladiator found himself back with his old friends — other former fellow gladiators who became freedom fighters — looking for a place to live out his days in peace.

Inspired by Spartacus and his old best friend O, Gannicus found himself ready to make a change. He still loved women and drinking, but now he fought for a cause.

Gannicus went into battle and became the hero no one thought he’d become.

7. Peggy Olson, Mad Men

Peggy Olson was the innocent and quiet assistant to Don Draper when Mad Men began. Over the course of the series, she rose from assistant to copy chief at a time when women did not have many opportunities.

While it is true she fought hard to get the career she dreamed of, it was the change in her personality that stood out. She may have began as a quiet assistant, but in the end she was tough, outspoken, and bold.

Many fans will remember the incredible scene where she walked down the hall with a cigarette in the mouth oozing swag on Mad Men Season 7 Episode 12 “Lost Horizon,” which is the perfect example of just how much she changed.

8. Arya Stark, Game of Thrones

Arya Stark was one of the youngest Stark children on the HBO saga Games of Thrones. As her family began to get torn apart by circumstance and tragedy, each of the Stark children went on their own unique journey.

Arya’s took her from quiet young girl to lethal assassin, a journey that makes her one of the series’ most fascinating characters. Many of the characters were vicious from the start, but for Arya it was something to be learned the hard way.

9. Caroline Forbes, The Vampire Diaries

When The Vampire Diaries first began, Caroline Forbes was living her best high school life as one of the popular girls in the town of Mystic Falls.

While she was very unaware of the vampires and werewolves she living amongst, that all changed when an evil vampire turned her because she could. Caroline quickly went from vapid teen to a vampire with new urges.

Not only did she make it her new normal, but she thrived while many new vampires became monsters. Over the course of the series, she fought for her friends, fell in love, became a mother, and became unrecognizable from the shallow teen we first met in the process.

10. Lydia Martin, Teen Wolf

Lydia Martin walked through the halls of Beacon Hill High with confidence because she was young, popular, and completely unaware of the supernatural world around her.

When Lydia started having visions, she used them to help her friends and save her town. Lydia stepped up and that was before she discovered she was a banshee.

Lydia began to show her heroic side by using her powers and not hiding her intellect anymore, which was a surprising move for the Lydia Teen Wolf viewers met many moons ago. She found her place in Scott’s pack, and she put her own life on hold to ensure her pack’s and her town’s safety.

11. Sawyer, Lost

When flight 185 crashed on a deserted island, Sawyer was an ass. He accused a fellow passenger of causing the crash and kept items of value for himself.

He wasted time battling for the affections of a fellow passenger, Kate. Sawyer was selfish in a situation where that could have cost lives.

The second half of Lost included Sawyer’s journey to becoming a full-fledged hero. At one point, he gave up a chance at freedom to save his friends, a move that cemented his switch from selfish to selfless. On the back of that move, Sawyer and several of his friends found themselves trapped in the past.

In a surprising turn of events, Sawyer stepped up into a leadership position.

12. Ellen Parsons, Damages

Ambitious and naïve, Ellen Parsons walked into the office of formidable attorney Patty Hewes to become the best lawyer she could be.

Getting into the muck with Patty sent Ellen down a very dark road, hardening her. She became ruthless and obsessed with besting Patty, who went from mentor to adversary.

Having gone through the death of her love and a series of other obstacles, Ellen came out of the other side a lot more like Patty than she ever intended.

In the end, she had a family she loved and a happy life, but there was no turning back. Ellen Parsons was forever changed.

13. Zuko, Avatar: The Last Airbender

When Avatar: The Last Airbender began, Prince Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation and set his eyes on tracking down Ang. He was ruthless, hard, and unflinching in his pursuit because it was his only way he could get home and take his rightful place as next in line for his father’s throne.

Over the course of the series, Zuko’s feelings towards his father, and his actions, changed drastically. Viewers watched him as he made the brave decision to switch sides, which required him to prove himself to be the good guys.

Zuko’s redemption was earned the tough way, and it was a wonderful character arc for viewers of the animated series.

14. Walter White, Breaking Bad

Walter White was a family man and high school teacher before he was diagnosed with cancer. Then he became a drug dealer.

Walter’s life took a dark turn, but it was the change in his personality that accompanied that lands him on this list. While he initially just wanted to leave his family with some money, Walter became vicious and ruthless as Breaking Bad progressed.

He completely lost sight of what started him on his path in the first place. The journey he took from nice teacher to drug kingpin is one of television’s most beloved character transformations.

15. Barbara Kean, Gotham

Barbara Kean and James Gordon were happily engaged when Gotham began. During the first season, the couple had their share of typical issues people have in relationships, but then Barbara’s life took a major turn.

After a murderer manipulated Barbara into killing her parents, she snapped. Now she is a full-fledged villain who has gone head-to-head with her former fiancé and the new woman in his life.

16. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Angel

Buffy The Vampire Slayer threw Wesley in as a major complication in its third season. He was weak and scared of the supernatural world, a trait he still had when he left for the drama’s spinoff, Angel.

During his time on that series, Wesley went from failed watcher and hunter to being a major asset on Angel’s team. The goofy, aspiring do-gooder finally got his wish to fight, but he hardened as a result.

Trading in his stammering and lack of confidence for conviction made for a truly incredible character arc. By the end, he was a hero people could love and root for.

17. Morgana Pendragon, Merlin

Morgana Pendragon was the optimistic and privileged ward of the king Uther Pendragon. She got everything she wanted, but also occasionally advocated for the magical community when it was being discriminated against by the land’s rulers.

In turned out her defense of the magical community was not for nothing because she ended up having magic herself. Up against a royal family that hated her and her kind, Morgana became an evil practitioner of magic and became one of the series’ biggest villains.

18. Roland Pryzbylewski, The Wire

Roland Pryzbylewski was an absolute mess when The Wire began. He was the incompetent police officer who shot up his own police car then called in a false report to cover it up.

For a majority of his time on the force, his colleagues didn’t respect him, which was apt because he only kept his job because of his marriage to a senior officer’s daughter. During the series, he traded in his gun for a clipboard, becoming a math teacher.

The job change was nice, but it was the change in his personality that was impressive. Gone were the days where he messed up on a daily basis. He was competent, passionate, and effective.

Pryzbylewski was not breaking rules. Instead, he was setting a great example for his students.

In a series where many characters met a dark or tragic ending, it was nice to see someone come out the other side better than he started.

19. Daisy “Skye” Johnson, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Skye spent her days using her fingers to hack her way into systems, all in an effort to fight against the establishment. She hated S.H.I.E.L.D. and was irate when she found herself captured by them.

While she began as an angry hacker begrudgingly working with this secret agency, Skye went on to become one of its most loyal agents.

That doesn’t even take into account the superpowers she discovered she had! The discovery of who she really is and where she comes from have not only changed Skye but given her purpose. Skye, or Daisy as she goes by now, is now strong, able, and unwavering in her pursuit of justice.

20. Chloe O’Brian, 24

Unlike many of the characters on this list, Chloe O’Brian’s change was abrupt in addition to drastic.

During the original run of 24, Chloe was a social awkward analyst and an ally of Jack Bauer. She broke the rules for him, didn’t know how to interact with people, and was cool under pressure, which are traits she kept through the end of the series.

Then the revival season, 24: Live Another Day, premiered, and she was a whole new Chloe.

The events that transpired after the original series finale changed Chloe. The computer whiz had a new look and a new attitude. She was harder, darker, and changed at her core, which was sad to see.

21. Dan Scott, One Tree Hill

Dan Scott was the father to two young boys but dad to neither. He ignored one and treated the other as a trophy in his case.

When One Tree Hill began, it was clear as that Dan Scott was the villain of the story. That was never more clear than when he used the small-town tragedy of a school shooter as cover to kill his beloved brother.

That shooting changed the series forever, but eventually Dan Scott turned himself into the police.

After getting released from prison on parole, Dan spent the rest of the series seeking redemption. Piece by piece he rebuilt enough trust for his family to be in the same room as him.

Dan earned each of those pieces the hard way. The previously selfish Dan became a motivational speaker at one point and also saved the lives of members of his family.

In the end, Dan rescued his son, but it cost him his life. The full circle moment came when he was met in the afterlife by the brother he killed, who was there to help him one last time.

22. April Kepner, Grey’s Anatomy

Dr. April Kepner showed up at Seattle Grace when the hospital merged with Mercy West. She tried too hard, irritated her new colleagues, and made a huge mistake, which got her fired.

When there was a change in management, she was given a second chance. She worked hard and made it through her residence only to fail her exam, but she came back again. Then Kepner fell in love, risked her life in war zones, and lost a child, all bringing out a more resilient and harder Kepner.

All the Grey’s Anatomy veterans have grown up, but Dr. Kepner’s transformation has been amazing to watch.

23. Kate Fuller, From Dusk Till Dawn

Before getting kidnapped by Richie and Seth and stumbling into the world of culebras, Kate Fuller was a preacher’s daughter who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Her focus was on high school, boys, homecoming, and her friends.

After stepping foot into the Titty Twister, Kate was forever changed. She still kept her bible, but she picked up a stake, a gun, and a crossbow. Kate could hold her own in a dangerous situation, and she found herself in those a lot.

She’s a long way from the innocent high schooler we first met in that RV. Instead of spending her days in school, she’s off robbing banks with Richie and Seth.

24. Chris Argent, Teen Wolf

Chris Argent began his stint on Teen Wolf as a hunter of supernatural beings.

From his perspective, all supernatural entities were bad, and it was his job to hunt them down. He never got as dark as the various villains that popped up over the course of the series, but he was committed to his life as a hunter.

The problem was his daughter fell in love with a werewolf named Scott, and that relationship pushed Chris into a grey area. He still believed that werewolves should be hunted, but he loved his daughter and learned the truth about Scott.

Once he discovered that Scott and his friends were saving their town from supernatural villains, and Chris found himself on their side. Eventually, he became a member of their team, and they became his family.

What are your favorite character transformations? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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