Toby From "The Office" Did Nothing Wrong And 12 Other Characters Who Deserve To Be Defended Because They Were Simply Correct
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Watching a TV show or movie that I loved as a kid is such a different experience as an adult. I always find myself defending characters I used to boo back in the day. I guess all it takes is a fully developed frontal lobe to impact the way I feel about characters that I spent my childhood beefing with on the regular. Here are 13 characters that I think were wrongfully depicted as the buzzkill because truthfully, they were totally in the right:
1.Squidward from SpongeBob Squarepants
The day you start relating to Squidward more than SpongeBob is the day your childhood dies and back pain begins. Squidward had it rough, so he wasn't wrong for being constantly bothered. He had to deal with annoying neighbors that he lived directly between, and one of them even worked with him at his job. There was never an escape for him to chill out, take a bath, or spend some time wailing on the clarinet. SpongeBob and Patrick endlessly irritate him by intruding on his private time, causing property damage, and oftentimes, bodily harm. I'm still haunted by the "firmly grasp it" scene.
2.Patty from School of Rock
This queen right here was so annoying...but at the same time? So correct. First off, she was advocating for her boyfriend who was being taken advantage of by his freeloading friend, and that's what any good partner would do! Dewey owed Ned months worth of rent, and then took it up a notch when he stole Ned's identity and worked at a school without so much as a background check. When I watched this as a kid, I couldn't stand Patty's nagging voice of reason when she called the police. But let's be for real. If this movie actually played out in real life, the story would be on the news every day for a month with a true crime documentary in the works. I still love School of Rock emotionally while logically knowing that you should pay rent and should not kidnap children.
3.Mr. Moseby from Suite Life of Zack & Cody
Imagine trying to run a fancy hotel and having to deal with demanding customers every day while children endlessly run in your lobby (no matter how many times you tell them to stop). Putting on a suit, driving to work, and clocking in only to be met with not one, but two teenage nemeses sprinting all over the place on a daily basis would have me aggressively scrolling Indeed for new jobs while on my lunch break. Mr. Moseby deserved better than this. He wasn't a killjoy for wanting structure at his place of work, he was just correct.
4.Rosalie from Twilight
Rosalie from Twilight was the only member of the Cullens who was vocally hesitant about Edward bringing home an entire human as a date. You know, a human? Like, the kind with blood? I know the Cullens were considered "vegetarians" of the vampire community by only feeding off of animals, but a human casually hanging out with vampires who have the capacity to hurt her is a risky game to play. The only game they should be playing is baseball.
5.Shrek from Shrek
I know Shrek ended up having a happy ending, but this bro had a NICE setup at his place before it was infiltrated by strangers. When the fairytale creatures show up uninvited, he's not in the wrong when he gets visibly annoyed and yells at the sea of storybook freeloaders to get out of his swamp. I just know his swamp would be outrageously expensive on Zillow nowadays, so he was right to try and enjoy his alone time there. Are they gonna split the rent? Are they gonna chip in for groceries when Shrek cooks swamp toad soup or fish eye tartare for dinner? I doubt it!
6.Toby from The Office
Okay, I know this is a controversial take but I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm a Toby defender. I know it's a comedy, so I get that it's all super unserious, but I always secretly felt bad for Toby when Michael would berate him for doing his job. When Toby, in true HR fashion, tells Michael that he can't make fun of anyone for race, gender, or sexual orientation, Michael tells Toby, "You are a waste of life and you should give up." He does try to save face by adding, "...is what I would say, but I won't." So like, partial credit to Michael. But Toby lets Michael get away with so many instances that would warrant signing disciplinary action forms in real life.
7.Ms. Darbus from High School Musical
High school drama teachers do NOT play when it comes to putting on a school play. The week before a performance is such a life-or-death experience that it's literally called "hell week." We can see from the beginning of the movie how the students make fun of the theater program (put some respect on the twinkle town musical, you guys) so she wasn't really wrong to suspect a jock like Troy was infiltrating the musical as a ploy to turn what should be a dazzling performance into a joke. Was Ms. Darbus really trying to kill the vibe, or was she just a seasoned performer who lives to protect the sanctity of the theater?
8.Mr. Fulton from High School Musical 2
Speaking of High School Musical, in High School Musical 2, after Mr. Fulton warns Gabriella that she needs to take breaks and lunches on time because she left her lifeguard post early, the cast breaks out into song and sings about how "they didn't know the boss was such a creep." Your manager wants you to...clock in and out on time?! And do your job?? Unbelievable. Like, I get that it's a summer job, everyone wanted to have a good time, and no one likes working...but was the guy in the wrong for expecting people at a job to do their job? No, he really wasn't.
9.Jennifer from Cadet Kelly
Watching this as a kid had me furious, like what do you mean Miss Hillary can't accessorize her boring uniform? Not even if it slays? And why is Ren from Even Stevens wearing camo and yelling? Anyway, I don't think her role as the antagonist character, Jennifer, was incorrect for taking charge and asserting her dominance after Kelly would constantly challenge the rules. She was in charge and she was simply correct!
10.Josh from Drake & Josh
🎶 It's gonna take some time to realize, but if you look inside I'm sure you'll find 🎶 ...that Josh was a responsible king. He tried his best to be a good person, but we were expected to believe he was just some big nerd and Drake was the cool one?! Uh, no. Being responsible IS cool. Josh was right in trying to keep his grades up and be professional at work, but Drake was always pushing his limits and getting him into trouble. The most notable of offenses was when Drake grabbed the wheel while Josh was driving and Josh ended up hitting his idol, Oprah Winfrey, with his car.
11.Agent Bubbles from Lilo & Stitch
We all know as the audience that Nani was trying her best to raise Lilo, but the social worker, Agent Bubbles, never got that impression. From his perspective, it always seemed like Nani wasn't able to hold down a job, the living situation was a mess, and Lilo was always in some kind of treacherous situation. He's trying to look out for the safety of Lilo. I was screaming at the TV as a kid, wondering why he was threatening to take her away directly after he literally witnessed her almost drown, but I get now that he was in the right.
12.King Triton from The Little Mermaid
The first time The Little Mermaid is watched in adulthood is a momentous occasion and a coming-of-age experience because you'll likely see it completely differently this time around. There's one quote in particular that reallyyy drives this point home: "I'm 16, I'm not a child anymore!" Oh, Ariel. You are so a child. King Triton is just a single dad trying his best, so, of course, he doesn't want his daughters to risk their lives with humans who he describes as "fish eaters." How does he know they won't eat mermaids? Was the scene where he destroys all of Ariel's stuff highly dramatic and lowkey traumatizing? Yes! Was he just trying to keep his child safe? Yes.
13.Ken from Bee Movie
Justice for this man. A bee stole his girl and everyone gaslit him like he was the one who lost his mind. Ken may have been over the top when had a full-on fight scene with a bee, but there's really no rulebook for how to handle a situation like this. Usually, a bug in the house = a rolled-up newspaper death. Talking bug in the house = calling 911 or maybe like, the Vatican. He wasn't wrong for being the only one to push back about how illogical it was that a bee with the voice of Jerry Seinfeld was hanging around and talking about jazz.
