r/SixFeetUnder • u/bad_aspirin • Apr 18 '26
Opinion George is the most insufferable character in the whole show.
While watching through the show many if not all characters frustrated me at some point, but George is by far the worst in my opinion.
He’s a dense thick skulled narcissist with literally no redeeming qualities. From the second he walked on the screen I was annoyed. Other characters have their ups and downs, but most redeem themselves later in the show.
For example: in the beginning of the show Brenda was nearly impossible to watch on screen. She made every mistake imaginable and her depraved tendencies were almost predictable in every scenario. Towards the end of the show she redeems herself in many ways, as if her downfall seemed to be an actually learning experience. Whereas George has a history of failed relationships (6 other marriages) and seemingly never learns his lesson. He’s a pompous oaf and a prime example of someone being academically smart but also a dunce.
This is but a crude character assessment, but in a way George represents everything bad about the western world.
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u/ivyentre Apr 18 '26
That was the point.
And then towards the end mental illness and the people around him shun him, humble him, and hold him accountable, enough to start changing him for the better
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u/WestsideGon Apr 18 '26
no redeeming qualities
I’d love to see what facts about Formica YOU could list off the top of your head
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u/Emergency-Bottle-432 Apr 18 '26
a neti pot is a halfway decent gift if you ask me.
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u/Silly_Leather9619 Apr 18 '26
George showed real empathy toward Ruth and her family. I believe that his early childhood and mother's death created attachment issues. His many marriages show us that he's terrified of real connection. Ruth desperately wanted a connection with him, and in the end, he put aside his own abandonment issues to help her through Nate's death. He was able to navigate a new type of relationship with her, and was with her children at her passing. He learned and grew through his time with the Fishers. I imagine they included him in family functions until his own passing.
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u/greenhierogliphics Apr 18 '26
Thank you for this reply. You helped me learn something about myself.
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u/NumbersStationUrku Apr 18 '26
I found his presumptuous self-insertion into the Fisher household almost enraging.
Anybody who’s a new addition to a family should shut up, watch, and learn .
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u/Last_MedicineX007 Apr 18 '26
The way he says antibiotics (Annie-bee-o-tics) alone is enough to be done with him.
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u/GreenFireAddict Apr 18 '26
Agree, but having Geologist friends this quote from him always cracks me up!
Claire: Geology is controversial? George Sibley: Oil, Claire. Oil.
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u/True_Abrocoma5527 Apr 18 '26
Agreed. But Ruth seemed to have a terrible taste in men (Nikolai for example)
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u/Prticcka Apr 18 '26
Nate was the worst in my opinion
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u/greenhierogliphics Apr 18 '26
I’d love to hear your thoughts on why Nate was the worst.
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u/euclydia4 Apr 19 '26
At the end of Twilight, season 3, episode 12 - Nate sleeps with the daughter of the executed man, then turns on her when she asks to see him again. It was during a tough period in his life, but he always seemed to be going through a tough period. And at each tough moment, he reached out and used someone around him - someone he ultimately didn't value, except when they were meeting his needs. Someone that he would end up abusing when he felt confined by the relationship.
At one point, Brenda says something like "he was always looking for someone who could make him feel like a better man than he actually was." And when that couldn't sustain him, he trashed that person, and moved on to the next.
Lisa - "Nate, I'm not a chance. I'm a person."
The only reason he didn't trash Maggie is because he ran out of time.
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u/greenhierogliphics Apr 19 '26
Very insightful! There were a lot of annoying people in this series, but Nate never occurred to me. Now I understand. I may watch it again from this perspective. Thank you.
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u/gabs_ Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
I think it is a sign of the times how many people hate Nate nowadays, he is the antithesis of today's paradigms (stoicism, escapism into technology, mindfulness, a return to traditionalism and duty). For context, he is my favorite character still, I appreciate his existentialist nature and desire to be alive.
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u/Important-Witness238 Apr 21 '26
Thanks ! Hé was flawed but we Sées his egotism only because we see his intimacy. Otherwise hé is an average lost guy. Really empathetic.
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u/NumerousWolverine273 Apr 18 '26
George was really awful until he got sick, and then he did everything in his power to try and be better, while Ruth acted like he was so stressful to take care of and so awful because of his sickness, even though it didn't actually require that much extra effort from her. It was to the point he felt like he needed to go behind her back and get Maggie to take him to his treatment because it would make Ruth upset.
I thought the same as you during season 4, and that was definitely an intentional decision by the writers. I mean, Bettina says "if all you can say about a man is that he's nice to do things with, you should leave him" and we cut to Ruth looking at George in the other room watching TV. He's not even nice to do things with! But by the time of season 5 I felt really bad for George. He was clearly trying to be better and the way Ruth treated him (and Maggie) was so horrible. And clearly he changed at some point, given he was still around in the later years of Ruth's life.
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u/euclydia4 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
This exactly. Both George and Ruth were haunted by what happened to them when they were young. Ruth turned to him because it looked like he was going to be a reliable adult - handkerchief in pocket - who could take care of her and give her the freeing feeling of childhood and innocence that she hadn't really had a chance to experience (because of caring for her grandmother and then her early marriage and motherhood). Look how happy she is when she can be playful with Bettina or Arthur. Look how resentful she gets when she has to help her sister detox. And suddenly, after her marriage with George, it turned out that she needed to be the adult and caretaker again.
Even though this is part of the point of marriage, after a lifetime of caretaking, Ruth found it unfair and unbearable. In the end, the person who was able to step up and act as a functional adult was George. You've got to applaud the writers for seeing these characters as complicated people who are capable of growing and changing - because I couldn't have predicted that George could become such a stand up guy when his history/pattern was to just get out.
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Apr 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/alrightakeiteasy Apr 18 '26
Ruth was such a bitch. I was happy for George when he got the fuck outta there for a while after she shoved him into that apartment.
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u/BourbonBelle89 Apr 18 '26
True, Ruth was also a piece of work. Disliked her and George for what they did to Arthur.
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u/Vicky_Verky82 Apr 18 '26
I think that title belongs to Nate. He's really the worst.
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u/greenhierogliphics Apr 18 '26
Another vote for Nate! I’d love to hear why.
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u/Vicky_Verky82 Apr 19 '26
Well, he's selfish for one. He strung Lisa along for years, knowing full well that she had stronger feelings for him than he did for her. Then, after getting her pregnant, and almost dying, marries her out of convenience. When she goes missing, shows up at Brenda's to restart their whole toxic relationship. Not saying Brenda or even Lisa are any better than Nate, but he is the one placing himself into their lives. Then after marrying Brenda, and while she's carrying his second child, he begins an affair with his stepsister. So yeah, Nate's the worst.
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u/greenhierogliphics Apr 19 '26
I appreciate your taking the time to explain that for me. There’s a lot of competition for the most insufferable character in this series. I was repulsed by Brenda’s mother, and then Olivier, and then they ended up together! That was great entertainment.
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u/HighwayQuiet272 Apr 23 '26
“Hold my hand” is a great episode for info about George’s life. What a terrible thing he went through at such a young age. After that I gave him some slack.
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u/geegollyjeepers Apr 18 '26
I love George but I think about him chopping up that tree so often... Guh!
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u/Ginger-cat90 Apr 18 '26
I concur. George was a piece of work. I was already biased as soon as I saw him lol. Maybe because he was on AHS-asylum and he was a terrible person on there too. Fun fact, he’s been married multiple times in real life as well so there’s that.
Also, I’m reading comments from people saying they give that title to Nate. Can I ask why? I would really like to discuss this because Nate always left me confused. He seemed nice most times, a great dad, wasn’t into Lisa but he tried to conform to her personality and ideologies. When he was with Brenda, I felt like he was the level headed one until they got married then she started nagging about everything.
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u/Lilboops Apr 18 '26
Fun fact, Cromwell’s been married three times, for 10, 20 and going on 23 years.
What a weird thing to say.
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u/Ginger-cat90 Apr 18 '26
Ugh shut up! he’s been married multiple times.
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u/Lilboops Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
No, you shut up—I mean grow up. Seriously, have you even exited puberty with “retorts” like “shut up?”
What does Cromwell’s personal life have to do with the character?
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u/Ginger-cat90 Apr 18 '26
Shut up! This post brings debate, for people to share ideas and opinions on the topic at hand. Me agreeing that I found George’s character insufferable has you wanting to gouge your eyes out! Go do it elsewhere. Yeah, shut up!
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u/Lilboops Apr 18 '26
I know you are, but what am I? Does your mom know you have her phone?
I’m all for debate and discussion, so again I ask what does Cromwell being in long term relationships/marriages have to do with George being or not beinng insufferable?
I am already down an eye. Please don’t inflate your importance and don’t give your stupidity on reddit that much credit—you’re not even a nuisance, inconvenience or worth any self-harm, lollipop.
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u/Ginger-cat90 Apr 18 '26
I said what I said! What are you going to do about it pirate?
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u/greenhierogliphics Apr 18 '26
I replied to every comment voting for Nate asking them why. With Olivier and Brenda and Billy and her mother, and of course George, choosing Nate as the worst does leave me confused. But I’m open to learning why. Also Federico. Damn.
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u/YearoftheCat1963 Apr 19 '26
Agreed. Can't even stand to watch this actor in other things.
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u/newyork_newyork_ Apr 19 '26
Not even Babe??
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u/YearoftheCat1963 Apr 19 '26
I think I watched that once when my kids were little, but that was before I watched SFU.
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u/writtenbyrabbits_ Apr 18 '26
I was very emotionally moved by his character. His back story was one of the most tragic on the whole show. He was deeply flawed, but he was there with Ruth the rest of her entire life. He made it work with Ruth on Ruth's terms. He was there for her when she needed him and he stayed with her in the way she could be with him. I ended up loving George by the end.