spoiler Who's the most hateable non-villain of the series? (WARNING! Early-episode spoilers!)

[Dark Qiviut 22,447]

WARNING! This thread contains tagged spoilers of episodes yet to air in the U.S. Proceed with caution!

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FIM has its hosts of very likeable characters. At the same time, you'll see characters who are complete hate sinks, a character explicitly created for the audience to hate. Examples from other media include Akihiro Kurata from Digimon (a genocidal megalomaniac and Data Squad's primary villain), Draco Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge (the latter reviled much more than Voldemort), PPG's Dick Hardly, and Pacifica Northwest's parents from Gravity Falls.

However, despite listing a villain, I'm focusing on non-villains for this thread, and there are many. Some of FIM's biggest non-villain hate sinks are the following:

1. Prince Blueblood: Vain, arrogant, and selfish. When food flew his way, he used Rarity as a shield and never apologized.
2. Garble: Self-explanatory.
3. Diamond Tiara: Written explicitly to make the CMCs miserable, until Lost Mark aired.
4. Spoiled Rich: Arrogant, classist, and emotionally abuses Diamond Tiara out in the open without remorse.
5. Svengallop: Classist asshole who shoots down everyone, from AJ to Coloratura to Pinkie and manipulated Coloratura to do his bidding. When outed and fired, he never apologizes.
6. Chancellor Neighsay: Leader of the EEA who holds really deep racism towards other species other than his own and honed that racism by accrediting FU after seing Star Swirl study and (finale spoilers!)…
   Spoiler

   Take over Twilight's school after she and the RM6 leave Equestria to search for the culprit who's draining away Equestria's magic.

7. MAJOR Father Knows Beast spoiler!
   Spoiler

   Sludge: A lazy slob who manipulated Spike into believing he was his father and continued to treat him like he's a servant until Smolder got involved.

So, here's the question: Who's the most hatable non-villain of the series? Please answer below. If your answer's related to an early-release episode, contain them under the spoiler tag.

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So far, my two candidates are the easiest (early-ep spoiler):

Spoiler

Spoiled Rich and Sludge. But I currently lean more towards Sludge. Spike thought he reunited with his biological father, only to be lied to and manipulated by an intelligent freeloader.

 

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

I'm not familiar with many of those characters, but I'm putting the hammer down on Spoiled Rich. It always feels disappointing seeing someone with great wealth and influence, yet they cannot do anything else other than abuse their connections and family members.

[RulesofRarity 493]

Definitely Diamond Tiara. 4 years of doing nothing but bullying the CMC(the most heinous of that mocking was laughing at scootaloo’s inability to fly). Despite the Lost Marks’ best effort to make her a sympathetic character by giving her a difficult home life, I fail to feel sympathy for a character whose only purpose was to torment the CMC, characters who I actually care about. 

And unlike other reformed antagonists, the writers have failed to do anything interesting with Diamond’s character so overall the reformation was rather pointless in it’s self. Silverspoon is just as bad being complicit in the bullying of the CMC.

[EQ_Theta 463]

I'd say Neighsay comes off as a very dislikable neutral jerk. Sure, that racism/speciesism is really what should get people to hate him, his actions can be somewhat justified. He accredited Flim and Flam's school because they conformed to EEA standards, but not Twilight's school is understandable. Flim and Flam's scheme aside, their school probably operated on the standards other pony schools (supposedly) conform to. Twilight's school is open to other creatures and likely wouldn't fall under the exact same standards. 

His attitude towards other species was likely caused by the unfortunate first impressions they had on him. The dragon billowing smoke, the changeling invasion, the Storm King enslaving Canterlot... Those fueled his actions but he still technically didn't break any law despite being malicious about it.

Same with the finale. Twilight and her friends being called away, and Starlight captured and kept away from the public, meant there were no other members of the school staff who could look after the school. Him taking over was justified, though blaming it on the Student/Young Six was again fueled by racism and also on Cozy Glow. 

[Iam 525]

From the experiences of 5 full seasons, Episodes 1 to 14 from S6 and chosen ones from the rest of S6 to 8 (first half) I can say, that the top 5 characters I really don't like (hate is unconstructive criticizm, take it in mind) are [not in order]:
-> Neighsay: untolerant person, who really don't like going out of schemats, creativity is zero in those EEA standards and the blindness in the name of rules is unacceptable for me.
-> Diamond Tiara: how she had never got really punished for her actions? Why that CMC was so psychially weak to not tell about the problems? About the CMC: they got overwhelmed by that bad and again bad social pressure. About Diamond Tiara: her arrogance came with well-wealth family, she doesn't understand, what work means and overall it's a social crap in my eyes.
-> Silverspoon: she's playing up only to be looked good in eyes of DT. Overall it's the same lame type of personality, as DT.
-> (how he was called, a dragon, ah, thanks for recalling) Garble - it's a person, who has completely different morale backbone, it'll be not understandable to us for ever.
-> Pinkie Pie (!?) - somehow I can't stand anymore of her annoyance, visible like in S7 E4.

Enough of complaining. Why I even complain instead of taking happiness in bunches? :v

[Sunny Fox 5,952]

Suri Polomare. Taking advantage of Rarity's gift of cloth and passing Rarity's designs off as her own, then lying about Prim Hemline being mad at Rarity to cover up her lying about the fact that Rarity actually won the competition. No pony, I mean, NO PONY, takes advantage of my girl that way... at least not without getting a bucketful of hate to the proverbial face. 

[RDDash 19,206]

For me Neighsay feels like over the top at times. Sometimes he would insult non ponies, and it just not funny how he is borderline speciest at times. Sometimes he would insult Princess Twilight for what he thinks she is being irresponsible at school that he doesn't approve in the first place. He is basically what Salazar Slytherin would be like if he was a pony

Edited September 3, 2018 by R.D.Dash

[PoisonClaw 8,166]

Neighsay is pretty hateable, given he's one of the only characters we've seen so far (that I can think of anyway...) that have displayed such blatant racism. For me though...

Spoiler

... I still say Lightning Dust is most hateable, given her uncaring and sociopathic attitude towards others. Almost killed a group of ponies, damaged Academy equipment and frequently endangered her Wingpony and fellow recruits? Who cares as long as she looks good! Keep in mind that I have yet to see The Washouts, but I refuse to believe she can be realistically redeemed without needing to force it.   

 

 

[MangoFoalix 25,038]

Chancellor Neighsay is probably the worst out of all of them. I haven't seen the last 3 episodes of Season 8 so I don't know exactly what he does but so far he has been pretty awful.

[Here No Longer 5,277]

Wait a minute... wasn't Neighsay technically the villain of the S8 premiere? After all, he was the one keeping the school from opening and trying to shut it down after it did. 

 

I have a couple of unpopular opinions on this subject, and I'm not counting Neighsay because I count him as a villain.

 

1. Diamond Tiara. For reasons already stated in the thread. She's an a** just for the sake of it, and written literally just to be hated. I count Silver Spoon here as well.
2. Garble. He's just like Diamond Tiara, except he's a dragon. At least that makes it a TAD better, considering dragons are like that in general.
3. Spoiled Rich. His name itself is an explanation. HE'S SPOILED RICH.
4. Prince Blueblood. I feel like it goes without saying that he's just atrocious as a pony, let alone as a character.
5. Scootaloo. Yes, I hear the complaints here already. She's self-centered, rude, and most of the time annoying. Honestly, she's RD but much worse. Not saying that RD is a terrible character (which she isn't), but Scootaloo is basically a worse version of her in more ways than one, and that in itself is insulting.
6. Suri Polomare. I just can't tolerate the way she treated Rarity in "Rarity Takes Manehattan." It's DESPICABLE that she lied to Rarity Just so she could claim first prize in a freaking fashion show. That is downright pathetic, low life garbage. She's lower though because this exclusively impacts only one episode.

[Steve Piranha 29,442]

Well, it’s surprising the hate Neightsay receives. Sure, he’s cold, stick to the rules to the letter, seemed petty about not getting his ways, and his racism being the main reason for hating him. However, it did bothered me how his racism, while not supposed to be applauded, his prejudice has some merits, something the show didn’t bother addressing on. So I thought it was building up for a villain who is a villain because for being on the opposite end of Protagonist Centered Morality. 

Spoiler

However, I think it worked in the end, because Neightsay wasn’t build as a villain, but a red herring  

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Steve Piranha

[Truffles 2,033]

I talk a bit about this over at the "Father Knows Beast" topic, so anyone who has seen that knows my top pick for who I find the most hateable is still Suri Polomare. Several of the new unlikable characters come close to dethroning her, but if I'm picking on the basis of "love to hate," her sliminess and sociopathic ability to feel nothing when she took advantage of Rarity's generosity. Add to that she knew Rarity when they were younger, and instead of rekindling a friendship and working together, she throws Rarity under the bus to get ahead.

Seeing her get comeuppance at the end of "Rarity Takes Manehatten" is one of the best feelings in the world.

I do wish she had more appearances - just as long as they don't include a redemption. She's one of the few characters who's bad that I want to stay that way because she's so good at being evil without being overblown with world domination schemes and such.

As for some of the runners up in no particular order:

• Spoiled Rich. She's equally as bad with her privileged demeanor and horrendous verbal child abuse toward her daughter. (She needs to be locked up.) The only reason I didn't pick her is because she's a bit of a stereotype. Suri is more interesting in that she's not rich or privileged, but manages to make other characters feel like they are less worthy than her, anyway. Spoiled's antics are also a little more obvious in her characterization, too, than Suri.
• Flim an Flam. They're not character's I love to hate - they're characters I just plain hate. I can't really forgive how stupid they were in their original episode, and despite their plans being better-conceived in their return appearances, my distaste for snake oil salesmen in general makes watching them an unpleasant experience and puts a major drag on any episode they appear in.

Spoiler

The upcoming DVD Christmas special is going to be strange for me, perhaps, since they are apparently a part of it....

• Neighsay. He's definitely hateable but he lacks dimension. I've gleaned only a snippet or two regarding the finale, so there may be more to say about him after I see it over the weekend during the Australia release.
• Cozy Glow: She's supposedly evil, but I can't say for sure since I've only seen hints she's up to no good. She's brilliant at covering her tracks - perhaps the best of any of these characters in this list, including Suri - turning a situation where she's suddenly at a disadvantage into one that is beneficial.
• Garble. Also a bit too one-dimensional. When he respected Spike (briefly) in Dragon Quest after the lava belly flop, I kind of understood how his head worked and that gave his character something interesting to glom on to. But then they had to go make him and his friends despicable and he's never really shown much else beyond being a bully, except that he's also a perennial loser. I guess he gets points for being Spike's nemesis, except now Spike seems to have two. Which brings me to:
• Spoiler

  Sludge. Spike's fake dad who is the complete opposite of Garble. He (as far as we know) isn't a bully, and is also quite intelligent (unlike Garble). His cunning in how devious his scheming is is right up there with Suri, but not as good as Cozy. The funny thing about Sludge is I can't say I totally hate him. I hate how he broke Spike's heart, but he at least seems to have some semblance of a conscience and he did make Spike happy for one day - until he showed his true colors.
  He may also be the Harvey Weinstein of the show in that he sexually harassed the Princess of Friendship. I mean, c'mon - if you know the scene I'm referring to and the pose he struck, it is for certain that was no accident on his part. (No pun intended, lol.)

   

[Singe 2,111]

4 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

Well, it’s surprising the hate Neightsay receives. Sure, he’s cold, stick to the rules to the letter, seemed petty about not getting his ways, and his racism being the main reason for hating him. However, it did bothered me how his racism, while not supposed to be applauded, his prejudice has some merits, something the show didn’t bother addressing on. So I thought it was building up for a villain who is a villain because for being on the opposite end of Protagonist Centered Morality. 

  Reveal hidden contents

However, I think it worked in the end, because Neightsay wasn’t built as a villain, but a red herring  

 

Sometimes, shows will add a villain representative of their current times that has to be booed no matter what. Neighsay is one of those characters.

Neighsay is a grey in a black and white morality show.

[Steve Piranha 29,442]

14 minutes ago, Singe said:

Sometimes, shows will add a villain representative of their current times that has to be booed no matter what. Neighsay is one of those characters.

Neighsay is a grey in a black and white morality show.

Spoiler

Exactly, but I was concerned he was going to be treated like a villain just for that

 

Edited September 4, 2018 by Steve Piranha

[FlareGun45 2,221]

I hated that fat cabbage for what he did! 

Nobody does that to Spike! If Ember found out.... ooooh, there'll be HELL to PAY!

[Will Guide 21,362]

FATHER KNOWS BEAST SPOILERS

Spoiler

Sludge is just a lazy bastard of took advantage of Spike. He makes a great foil to Smolder who's much better at teaching Spike dragon stuff.

And for those of you interested in my Head Fanon...

Spoiler

After I as Will Guide the Unicorn/Changeling reincarnation of Spike's real biological father remember what's important about being there for Spike, and as Sludge leaves, I would give the dragon jerk some comeuppance. I imagine Shapeshifting into the Dragon Father I once was and give him a fright.

 

[Steve Piranha 29,442]

16 minutes ago, FlareGun45 said:

I hated that fat cabbage for what he did! 

 

  Hide contents

Nobody does that to Spike! If Ember found out.... ooooh, there'll be HELL to PAY!

 

If Ember doesn’t do it, I will, as soon as I play Megaman X8   

 

 

[O-78 28,607]

If I said any of the minor antagonists that have already been mentioned several times in this thread, I'd basically be beating a dead horse (no pun intended). Here are a few more characters I'd like to mention as being hateable:

Snips - He's just stupid, ugly and annoying. Snails isn't much better, but at least he was of some use in "Buckball Season".

Braeburn - Everypony else may be gay for him, but I'm not. In my opinion, he's just an overly talkative, arrogant idiot.

Flash Sentry & Timber Spruce - Of course the waifu thieves have to be on this list. They're both equally pathetic and overly cliche excuses for love interests.

Reformed Discord - He was cool as a villain, but now he's just creepy and annoying, and not endearing in the slightest.

[O-78 28,607]

Also, this may sound a little selfish, but if a character gets shipped with Fluttershy all the time, there's a limit to how much I'm going to like him.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

For me it's Svengallop all the way.

Other characters may have been more vile or manipulative, but Svengallop's way to demand the Appaloosan oats is completely despicable, and he proved time and again that it had not been a one time only behavior.

[Singe 2,111]

Pretty much with any of the Mane 6 are acting like jerks, cause a problem, or behind some level of mayhem, but they don't face any consequences.for it. They set standards on everyone else, but it can be annoying when any of the Mane 6 slip away from accountability.

Edited September 9, 2018 by Singe

[Megas 27,785]

Spoiler

Sludge is a lazy fuck, but the thing I hate most about him is that they wasted Master Asia's VA on him :p

But in all seriousness, I'd probably say Suri Polomare and Sven Gallop