Supporting characters aren't always talked about when it comes to discussing film or television. Which is unfortunate because the film/tv show in question would feel empty with them. In this post, I'd like to discuss why the supporting players are just as important as the protagonists and why they shouldn't be treated as an afterthought.
The supporting cast in a film or tv show are often assigned to help the protagonist(s) on their journey or otherwise to help expand the world. Two of the most famous supporting characters in all of fiction are C-3PO and R2-D2 from Star Wars: A New Hope. In addition to being integral to the plot, they are also funny and well developed characters with C-3PO being the most relatable to the audience until Luke shows up.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 1 is often regarded as decent at best compared to the MCU movies at the time. Having caught up with the series recently on Netflix, I think I understand why. Outside of Coulson and May, the other cast members weren't as interesting in Season 1 as they would be later on. I understand the reasoning behind this as Season 1 was basically the audience being introduced to these characters through the perspective of Skye and as time went on, they grew on us like they did her. That said, it's still a tedious process having to live with basic supporting characters for almost a whole season.
For stories that aren't necessarily plot driven, it's crucial that the supporting characters offer more substance than their initial one quirk. I recently binged the first season of 12 Forever and while I like it as a whole, the characters on Endless Island held it back from being great. Most of the inhabitants range from dull to annoying and they didn't grow on me by the season finale. While I don't expect to fall in love with supporting characters right off the bat, I should at least like something about them. Otherwise, I might end up not caring about them at best or downright despising them at worst.
I understand making a character intentionally unlikable, that is if said character has some charm or relatability to them. Suffice to say, this is not an easy thing to pull off. Take for example Paul from Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl. He is a terrible trainor who doesn't care about his Pokemon and verbally abuses them when they fail him. Nothing about him is either charming or the least bit relatable. If it was the writer's intention for me not to like this character, why? He never learns to treat his Pokemon with respect, we don't get any backstory or explanation regarding why he treats his Pokemon like dirt and Jullien Rebolledo (English dub voice actor who plays the character) plays him too straightforward to be any fun to hate. Sure, some people are going to be like that, but that doesn't make for good entertainment in my opinion.
Supporting characters aren't just their to fill up the screen with more than one character, they're there to, well, support the main character. While 1 supporting character not being as interesting or well developed is forgivable, everyone else should at least have one redeeming quality.
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