Which Character is Actually ‘The Worst’ on You’re the Worst?

You’re the Worst isn’t back until the fall, but Season 1 is now available on Shomi in Canada for your binge watching (or rewatching) pleasure. If you haven’t watched it yet, do yourself a favour and see why it deserves every single bit of praise that it’s received from critics and fans alike.

Now that I’ve had a chance to relive all of Season 1’s brilliance over the span of 36 hours, I have some thoughts as to which character is actually “The Worst” on this show. The result may — or may not — surprise you!

Jimmy

From the very first episode, we are told that Jimmy Shive-Overly is “the worst”, mostly by his ex-girlfriend Becca and initally by her sister, Lindsay. Jimmy’s a straight-talker that doesn’t dwell on sentiment and emotion. He actually heckles his ex at her wedding. But the more we learn about Jimmy, especially through his relationship with Gretchen, the more we see that on the scale of best to worst, he may actually lean toward “the best”.

Gretchen

Gretchen Cutler is jaded, doesn’t do relationships, and may very well be afraid of being an adult making adult decisions. She makes bad decisions (like drinking while driving), isn’t always there for her best friend, and even steals a wedding gift hoping to make some coin from it. Once she hooks up with Jimmy, we start to see her vulnerabilities surfacing. She may not be “the best” but in the grand scheme of this show, she’s also not “the worst”.

Edgar

Edgar Quintero is the one person on this show that I would classify as “The Best” without any questions whatsoever. He’s a vet that’s suffering from PTSD, and the only real friend to Jimmy. He’s kind and sweet and is always looking out for others. Yes, he may be trying to win the admiration and approval of Jimmy and a growing circle of friends created by the addition of Gretchen and Lindsay (as we see in the episode “Sunday Funday”), but that’s just human.

Lindsay

Lindsay Jillian is Gretchen’s best friend, and realizes she’s in an unsatisfying marriage to the nice yet bland Paul. Her cries for help increase throughout the first season as Gretchen is preoccupied with Jimmy, until she is caught in a spiral of alcohol, drugs, and “cockoholism”. Lindsay may do some bad things, but I still wouldn’t call her “the worst”. If anything, she’s someone who has tried to soak up just a bit of sunshine that’s usually bestowed on her older sister, Becca — even going as far as getting married because she knew it would make her parents happy.

Becca

Oh Becca. Becca Becca Becca. Narcissistic, holier than thou, and preoccupied with appearances. She’s the first to rub anything good that happens to her into other people’s faces. She thinks she’s a martyr for dealing with a sister like Lindsay. She sees Lindsay getting married before her as “an act of aggression”. And she tries to beat every inch of happiness out of her husband. That, my fair readers, makes me conclude that Becca is “The Worst” on this show … the absolute worst, especially because she thinks she’s the best.

I’d love to know what all of you think. Do you agree with me that Becca is “the worst” on You’re the Worst, or do you think another character is more deserving of the title?

Photos Courtesy of FX