Amanda’s Top 10 Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror TV Characters of 2020

2020 certainly has been an unusual year for TV from beginning to end.

With sets shutting down and the 2019-2020 television season abruptly ending, most viewers of week-to-week television waited and waited, holding onto binge favorites such as Dark, The Boys, Lucifer, and The Umbrella Academy to fill in the gap as they waited for a late 2020, but realistically, a mostly 2021, television season.

Science fiction brought in a lot of viewers, including myself, this year as the worlds of science fiction, fantasy, and horror brought people out of the dark world of COVID and into a new one, even if it wasn’t any less bleak.

These are the genres that embody escapism, and with the loudness of everything lately, these genres hold a special place in the online and television programs this year.

Here’s my collection of characters that hopefully embody the spirit of these captivating genres from all across the spectrum of style, dynamic, and tropes.

1. Caleb Nichols (Westworld)

Aaron Paul joined the cast of Westworld in its third season as Caleb Nichols, who is chosen as the new world leader because… he didn’t take advantage of a host. Standards, people.

All jokes aside, Aaron Paul knows how to pick the projects he participates in.

Whatever he decides to work on is thoughtful and respectful. His name brings excitement, but oddly his gritty roles show the darker and more confusing side of humanity and its society. Aaron Paul? Sign me up. Naturally casting him onto Westworld makes sense.

When it comes to the character, Caleb’s heartbreaking story is carefully put together, and just as carefully deconstructed, leaving the audience questioning their own intelligence as his first arc in this story plays out.

Westworld seems to expand each season, and its world and lore grow almost exponentially, and it’s through the eyes of the unreliable narrator, Caleb, that world goes to shit and the fact that it does — actually feels a little bit good.

And there’s also the fact that I, too, love Dolores.

2. Claudia Tiedemann (Dark)

Dark is filled with surprising plot twists and includes its fair share of tormented players (to put it lightly), but when it finally came down to breaking the loops and restoring Winden to what nature intended, Claudia devoted her life, reliably.

Even plagued by her own mistakes, Claudia continually sacrificed as she tracked down the root cause of time travel and the tragedy that plagued her town.

Dark gives its viewers extra in the sense of characters to invest in, many times providing three different characters in one as the show explores the different times of their lives and how the loops manipulate them.

Not only is Claudia a child in a small town and a woman tasked with healing the fabric of space-time, but she’s also a woman of power in the 80s with a child, representing a struggle very real beyond the fantastical devices of time-travel, conspiracies, and science fiction.

Claudia may not be a star-crossed lover, but she was a mother who spent her life dedicated to finding a way to save her daughter, and consequently, made it possible for the heroes to take the final action to set nature back to its fated course.

Claudia is able to achieve a happy life for her daughter, even if she never exists to see it. Some may call that heartbreaking, and others may call that beautiful, but nevertheless, Claudia is striking.

And pretty badass.

3. Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)

Klaus Hargreeves is just pure fun.

In a show with as much dramatics as The Umbrella Academy, Klaus is the glue that holds everything together, rounding out the cast with that special ingredient. But Klaus isn’t impressive just because of his comedic timing and tension-breaking one-liners.

Klaus also carries the weight of Ben on his shoulders, existing as Ben’s only connection to the real world until the end of the second season. While their dynamic is close and kiddingly antagonistic, it’s through Klaus that the audience sees Ben and empathizes with him. Well, until that cliff hanger.

Klaus’s heartbreaking story with Dave adds a softer layer to the character, as he struggles with the helplessness that he feels as he tries to save the only person he loved more than himself as he reenters his life once more.

All of these different but melded conflicts make Klaus the perfect example of a well-rounded character. He deserves the hype that the internet gives to him, evident with each subsequent episode.

4. The Weeping Monk (Cursed)

Cursed may have fallen prey to off-putting visual effects and clunky tropes, but sometimes these tropes work. Played by Daniel Sharman, The Weeping Monk began Cursed as the antagonist with a wounded soul, just waiting to be redeemed. Think Zuko.

He hasn’t quite made it there yet, which is promising, because nothing can kill an arc-like his faster than rushing it along.

But Season 1 does invest in what ends up being its saving grace — the budding relationship between The Weeping Monk and Squirrel. This relationship will inevitably teach him about himself and be his path towards redemption. It’s all there, waiting to happen.

And that’s why sometimes these tropes work. With the right chemistry, that spark happens. That spark happens with The Weeping Monk.

He and the role he fills is familiar, and sometimes that’s all we need — a bad boy on his way to becoming good. The same type of story people have been immersing in time and time again. Something that the audience can trust.

Cursed and The Weeping Monk fit that formula. They let the audience relax. Between all the murdering, but that’s beside the point.

5. Lu Wang (Away)

Away may have not gotten a Season 2 renewal, but the stories told within the first season are poignant enough on their own. Going into the new series I did not expect Lu Wang’s story, but it’s one that I definitely needed.

Not every lesbian love story should be a tragedy — there’s a time and place for everything. But at the same time, the realities that LGBTQ+ people face must also see the light of day.

Even if Lu’s story is rooted in repression, her story is inspiring as her love for Mei gives her strength to not only just stand up for herself, but to stand up for humanity as a whole.

Past her unique representation as a queer woman, Lu, like many of the other crew members on Away, has an amazing capacity for growth as she grows from her mistrust.

Eventually, she begins to open up to her crewmembers, even when her personal life is compromised, and everything she had sacrificed for Mars (Mei) may be the thing that compromises her position.

Lu Wang is a compassionate, yet strong character, breaking all types of stereotypes throughout her short run on the Netflix series. However, her story will continue to resonate with me, and perhaps other LGBTQ+ women as they go on a short binge on a random Sunday afternoon and happen upon Lu Wang.

6. Gabriel Santiago (The 100)

Gabriel Santiago, bless his heart.

He only came into the series in the penultimate season, but he quickly became a fan-favorite with his witty lines and stand-out romance with an antagonist, Josephine Lightbourne.

Not only did Gabriel have an interesting story and role within the plot, but he had seamless chemistry with many of the central characters such as Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia, not to mention his proclaimed soulmate, Josephine.

But Season 7 was a much different story, with very different writing, vastly different character pairings, and a lot less cohesion. With much of the plot confusing and hard to follow and with characters that a significant portion of the audience disliked, Gabriel was the saving grace of much of the plot that took place on Bardo.

Gabriel was the voice of reason. Chuku Modu portrayed Gabriel with perfect comedic timing, sometimes being the only thing that kept the audience present because sometimes Gabriel agreed that the plot on The 100 went pretty far.

Underrated, he symbolized everything that the protagonists of The 100 wanted to be, even if never vocally thanked or recognized for his efforts to grow and help. Gabriel was funny, honest, caring, and loyal. A character that The 100 needed way sooner than it got him.

But honestly, he earns his place on this list for destroying the flame, alone.

7. Michael Burnham (Star Trek: Discovery)

Having been named Michael Burnham, the Commander continues to break molds and barriers not just in the Star Trek franchise, but in the science fiction genre as well.

A stand-out due to her early action in Star Trek: Discovery and backstory, she continues to excel and grow with Discovery as it adapts and changes as well — even as its setting jumps nine hundred years ahead of its original timeline by season three.

Michael’s current arc is especially poignant, as she earnestly tries to find out who she is — it’s not easy to consolidate who you were in the past with who you are now. Also moving is her relationships with the crew, especially Saru and Tilly, as Michael’s heart before head tendencies put her most important relationships at risk.

But even through this wandering, Michael is still an incredible protagonist and leader for the new era of Star Trek. She’s compassionate, but she’s confident. She’s raw and undeniably unconcealed as she emotionally processes the situations and losses around her.

Star Trek is about inspiration and compassion, and like Janeway and Uhura before her, she’ll spread plenty of that as even more little girls stare in on their parent’s binges in the weeks of stay-at-home orders to come.

8. Jared Vasquez (Manifest)

I know what you’re going to say.

It’s true — Manifest did a convincing job of making the audience distrust and dislike Jared for the majority of its second season, which is why he was in my top ten.

Jared may have made clench in distaste as he collaborated with the terrorists, but somehow, Manifest seamlessly made everything right once he revealed his true intentions, and how his goal was always to protect Michaela.

In fact, Jared is at his best at the end of Season 2 when he remains completely platonic with Michaela. He’s only her partner and her friend. It’s rare that a couple actually works well platonically after a muddy romantic past, but something about this partnership just works.

We may not have liked Jared a lot this year, but that’s what makes him one of the best characters — Manifest took a risk with Jared and it paid off. 

9. Kimiko Miyashiro (The Boys)

Kimiko had a rough time on The Boys Season 2. After Stormfront murdered her brother, she went to a dark place, but eventually, she was able to pull herself out.

The Boys even achieved the rare feat of Frenchie apologizing for his toxic behavior towards Kimiko for the sake of “helping her,” allowing the two to move on in a healthier manner, something not exactly expected of this genre. Regardless, it was impressive.

But, Kimiko lands on this list for instigating probably one of the most iconic television scenes of 2020 — the girls get it done fight scene.

I love forgiveness and all, but after seeing the gore of The Boys there was nothing sweeter than a bisexual woman, a feminist, and an immigrant getting their retribution of a nazi on. Seriously satisfying. Girls do get it done.

Even though the hardships and absolute madness of The Boys, this year Kimiko still got the chance to open up and continue on, which honestly wouldn’t be a bad idea for this unpredictable time either.

But this is what makes Kimiko stand out — her ability to stand on her own, but her decision to forgive and even open up the deepest parts of herself anyway. When I think about it, it’s not something I could do. 

But, we can beat up some nazis, right?

10. Grogu (The Mandalorian)

Out of every show I watch, which is a lot, the one that always makes my heart rate skyrocket (I have a watch) is The Mandalorian. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of my favorite shows, and I even put time into watch youtube videos and reading about the episodes.

Still, there’s nothing more stressful in watching with bated breath for 35-50 minutes and waiting to see if anything happens to Baby — Grogu. And then spending the next six days wondering what’s going to happen when you do it all over again. 

I love Baby Grogu. You love Baby Grogu. Everyone loves Baby Grogu.

At the end of the day, Baby Grogu brings people together — that’s what phenomenons do (and make Disney a lot of money and spin-offs). Baby Grogu is joy, and mainstream or not, the presence of new The Mandalorian content makes a discernable difference in the disposition of the people around me. 

Give that boy some fish eggs. 

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Who were your favorite sci-fi, fantasy, and horror TV characters of 2020? Share your favorites with us in the comments below.

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