I recently watched Geek Girl on Netflix and couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the main character’s trio of bullies. Of course, the show was following a very well-known trope. If the main character is unpopular and average, then they have to have a bully to drive these ideas home.
This post is about the stories where the bully or bullies are minor characters with the sole purpose of popping up every now and then to remind the reader that the main character is relatable and/or a social outcast. We can talk about enemy-to-lover romances later, but those are entirely in their own category. These types of bullies tend to be forgotten as the main character comes into their own. It becomes less about the obstacles the main character has to endure and more about what they can accomplish. Can’t showcase that with a bully still in the way, right?
And to this I say, we’re missing out. Why should we care about these bullies? Well, because I think we could use more valuable lessons in life, and why shouldn’t we come to an understanding of why the bully targeted the main character in the first place. Heaven forbid we get a little growth. Take the show I watched for example: the bullies torment the protagonist until she gains popularity when she’s scouted to become a model. Then the bullies miraculously try to get in the protagonist’s good graces by being nice to her and pretending like everything that transpired before, well, didn’t. Que the exact same thing that happened in The Princess Diaries. But instead of apologizing for being raging douches, they simply forget about the past and move on. Consequences? What are those? I don’t remember if the bully got their comeuppance in The Princess Diaries, but they certainly didn’t in Geek Girl.
Instead, the bullies were around being annoyingly chipper and friendly. The protagonist chose to ignore them rather than acknowledge them or make them feel bad for how they treated her before. Basically, they were reduced to forgettable side characters even though they supposedly played a major role in the protagonist’s life by making it a living hell. I feel like if you’re going to give your bully that much credit, then when you do make it to the top it should be more impactful on them the way you decide to treat them later on. What I mean by that is I don’t think bullies should be allowed to get off the hook that easily in these dramas. They should be confronted, they should be impacted, and they should show growth (or at the very least, remorse.) I’m not saying they have to suddenly become besties with the protagonist and vice versa, but there should be some level of mutual respect being shown here.
I may be one of those few writers that believe even minor characters should be allowed to experience a three-dimensional personality. To me, if they’re important enough to be named, then they’re important enough to the story to warrant some kind of memorable moment no matter how small of a gesture it may be. Not to mention there are some unique opportunities here. Picture it: a romance series where the bully grows along with the protagonist in the first book and then gets their own story somewhere in the series. I’d read that. Who says a bully can’t have a happy ending too?
Author Lauren Eason 