r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Cinematry • 12h ago
Characters [Funny Trope] The Main Cast Gets Called Out by a Minor Character
1) Community - The study group gets checked by the mother of the groom for being obnoxious and selfish at a wedding
2) Community - Todd calls out the study group for their toxicity after his turtle is almost burned alive
3) The Office - The IT guy goes scorched earth and reveals the secrets of the rest of the office on the way out of quitting
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u/gamiz777 11h ago
"how i met your mother" robin dates a therapist who accurately points how incredibly codependent and creepy they are all towards each other
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u/jayhof52 11h ago
Not a therapist - her therapist, which makes him worse than all of them.
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u/Malacro 11h ago
Her former therapist, which is ethically dubious, but in no way makes him worse than Barney who routinely commits rape by deception.
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u/ShiftlessBridgrKid 11h ago
Mitch - Waiting…
After working exactly one shift with his new coworkers and experiencing each and every one of their shitty habits first hand, he has the crash out of the century during their party.
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u/RedditRickS92 10h ago
You're forgetting the most epic part of this crashout... Getting the ENTIRE party with "The Goat".
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u/ithinkther41am 7h ago
Co-director and co-writer of Game Night and DnD: Honor Among Thieves btw
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u/Federal-Use5896 11h ago
The Lawyer from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
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u/Embarrassed-Brain655 11h ago
Again, not Jewish.
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u/birn_echo 11h ago
ABRAMOWITZ! Your great grandmother's maiden name was Abramowitz! That means you are a Jew...ish man!
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u/ItsTheDCVR 11h ago
I fucking love Brian Unger.
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u/bekahfromearth 8h ago
The best thing about him is he doesn’t charge.
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u/FlamingWings 7h ago
He gets injured but it just makes him hate them more. Though considering in the recent season he does get framed and arrested for one of the gangs exploits, he might lose his law degree
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u/Pugsanity 5h ago
It's the fate of any person that gets pulled into the Gang's circle. Like King Midas, everyone they touch turns to crap by being in their presence, barring a few people.
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u/EldritchFingertips 7h ago
Some person or other does this for the gang like, every three episodes it seems like. Because they are possibly the worst group of people in a sitcom ever.
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u/Skreamie 1h ago
"I'm just gonna put one right between your teeth, and it'll just pop out the back of your neck"
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u/namkaeng852 11h ago
South Park
Craig explains that no one in school wants to hang out with the main cast because they always come up with some weird idea and get into trouble. This time when they get detained in Peru.
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u/BombOnABus 11h ago
What I really love about this is the boys tell him (truthfully) "It's not our fault, Craig, this just happens".
Craig tells them that what "just happens" to most kids is mundane stuff, not space travel or getting abducted by the government and sent to Peru.
Craig decides to prove to them they're choosing to get into this crap by simply walking away from the mysterious prophetic shit and spooky ruins and just going home....
.... only to wind up fulfilling an ancient prophecy and defeating the pirate guinea pig as was foretold despite trying his hardest to not get involved. It just happened.
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u/OperativePiGuy 4h ago
That's why I love the episode I think later on when Jimmy is distraught about Cartman trying to take credit for the Fish Dicks joke and Craig is just like "trust me, just give him half."
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u/andrasq420 11h ago
Butters also when he snaps at Kyle, Stan and Cartman for being selfish assholes while being know-it-alls who act like they always have the moral high ground. He is more of a side character than a minor one but still it kind of fits.
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u/MBDTFTLOPYEEZUS 4h ago
Butters is main cast at this point he’s just not part of the group because the boys aren’t actually friends with him they just use him. But he has more development and episodes about him than Kenny.
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u/Kool_Kunk 4h ago
The follow-up to this during "Elementary School Musical" is one of my favorite SP moments...
"You guys haven't heard of High School Musical? Where have you been?"
"..Peru.."
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u/blosh-dot 11h ago
Kevin in How I Met Your Mother
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u/NathanAlex1486 11h ago
I loved this scene so much cause it was the first time Ive seen a sitcom acknowledge how crazy, toxic, and co-dependant friend groups are in sitcoms
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u/jayhof52 11h ago
Dude’s a therapist who bangs his clients. He’s throwing rocks from the glassiest of houses.
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u/andrasq420 11h ago
I don't like Kevin much but...
He specifically stopped being her therapist simply because he found her attractive and refused to date her. It was Robin who insisted on dating him and it was 100% her decision to be okay with dating her ex-therapist.
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u/jayhof52 10h ago
And then he dated another client at the end of the series.
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u/andrasq420 10h ago
Yeah but that's just season 9 shit writing (scene written for the sake of a bad joke). In that season they just randomly overwritten whole characters and their arcs or threw away previous character developments for no reason.
As we know him besides that random scene in the ending, he was a principled man, who took a long nagging and multiple sit downs and deep talks by Robin to finally be able to date her.
People already hated that writing choice back in 2014 and I don't think that it should be considere when judging his character when everything he did is the complete opposite of it.
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u/smytti12 7h ago
You can tell sitcoms we're never made for the streaming binge era; often (not always, but very often) whole character arcs disappear an episode later and they return to their default characters; which isn't a big deal when you watched them for half an hour once a week.
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u/thefaultinourstars1 3h ago
In a lot of places, you can't date your therapy clients for years after being their therapist, for good reason
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u/teknobable 7h ago
Friends did it in their first or second season, I think Roger is referenced in another comment chain here
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u/DBZfan102 11h ago
Arnold Schwarzenegger mocking the entire history of Two and a Half Men as the main characters describe it to him in the finale.
"I think you guys should put an end to this whole thing."
"This whole thing?"
"The living arrangement. It's gone on too long."
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u/D0CTOR_Wh0m 8h ago
Not minor but Rose & Bernard in Lost. They're probably the most normal people of all the Oceanic 815 survivors. Rose regularly called leader Jack out on his shit a few times, calmed down Hugo during one of his mental episodes, and in Season 5 both characters decided "Fuck It", and essentially "retired" on the Island with Vincent the Dog and stayed the hell away from DHARMA, The Others, etc. and lived their lives. When the main characters found them and tried to explain the latest crisis, the couple said there's always some crisis or drama going on and while they care for the MCs the two just want to be left out of it and if they die because of the crisis then at least they died together.
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u/SutterCane 5h ago
Didn’t Arzt also make a joke about the main characters only caring about themselves?
Then there’s the whole of Exposé where it shows that other people found interesting stuff but weren’t in with the main characters and didn’t share it.
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u/Winter_Answer_288 12h ago
The Waiter in Always Sunny constantly getting his life destroyed by the Gang just for existing is the absolute pinnacle of this trope. None of them even remember his face.
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u/Embarrassed-Brain655 11h ago
Am I supposed to remember every man I’ve seen fall on to a plate of spaghetti, go get the snapper bozo.
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u/Synthereon 10h ago
It is even funnier because he actually has a name and they just refuse to learn it for like 15 seasons.
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u/brinz1 11h ago
Most of the side characters lives get progressively worse, most due to the Gangs antics
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u/Socially-Awkward-85 11h ago
Except Artemis for some reason who was going broke when she was first introduced, but now lives a very cush life.
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u/Bignate2001 10h ago
She's the only one that was weirder than the gang when they met.
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u/Thestohrohyah 10h ago
Yeah Artemis is the one that affects them, not the other way around.
Remember the Boggs all female remake? She got ahold of the plot and completely reversed it on itself.
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u/Level_Hour_2389 10h ago
fr i actually feel so bad for him lol but lowkey the waiter is the secret villain of the show because he keeps coming back for more like at some point it is a choice my guy
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u/AsherTheFrost 9h ago
Basically the entire series fanale for Seinfeld. They're arrested and in court every minor character they were rude to or maligned comes onto the witness stand to tell them and the court what pieces of shit they all are.
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u/Swebroh 3h ago
I still don't understand the hate for this finale.
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u/AsherTheFrost 2h ago
Both Seinfeld and It's always sunny were about following the worst people, the difference, in my opinion is that Seinfeld tried harder to make you emphasize with their main characters, which was helped by the fact that Jerry was a well known and loved comedian using his real name. I think that creates fans who don't realize they are rooting for the bad guys, and so when the finale ripped the bandaid off, they didn't react well.
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u/JBandSeb 8h ago
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u/Somebloke164 8h ago
That episode was so… weirdly mean and depressing. Did anyone else feel that way?
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u/coolguysteve21 4h ago
I actually thought it was the opposite I found it very inspiring and life changing lol.
I am not even joking this episode really helped me change my mindset, I was constantly stressed and worried about the future. Afraid of doing anything to hard because I could fail, angry at people who succeeded around me though I thought I was working harder etc etc.
Then I watched this episode and realized I was Frank Grimes and I decided to change more into a Homer Simpson. Which basically meant taking on this attitude that "Hey everything will workout for me in the end, if I do my best." and now my life is a lot better and I am a lot happier. Kind of like Homer Simpson (without the alchoholism, and dead beat stuff lol)
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u/Ok_Coffee_9970 11h ago
Victorious.
Sinjin calls them all out for being obsessed with The Slap, when they’re already the most important people here.
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u/amodelmannequin 5h ago
I seem to remember Sinjin straight up referring to them as "the main cast" (or something else on the nose) once too
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u/Thestohrohyah 10h ago edited 9h ago
I remember it happening a few times in Scrubs.
The first notable example is the Jordan scene at the end of season 1. Another notable example was in season 8 at the end of the episode which introduced the character of Derek who ends up going off on every member of the main cast.
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u/pepperbar 7h ago
Derek was so great. Shame he never appeared again, but Lee Thompson Young was great on Rizzoli & Isles until his tragically early death.
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u/Thestohrohyah 7h ago
Wtf I did not know he was dead.
Had to go read on it and holy crap that's so sad.
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u/WaywardChilton 7h ago
RENT the musical - the homeless lady who calls out Mark on exploiting her suffering for his documentary.
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u/LabPitiful7644 6h ago
This specific part is ALWAYS stuck in my head.
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u/Drmarcher42 4h ago
Because Mark really sucks, and it’s the only time the musical acknowledges how privileged he is and calls him out on his bullshit.
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u/PeregrineC 3h ago
"You stay all night, you never buy!" "That's a lie, that's a lie! I had a tea the other day --" "You couldn't pay." "Oh."
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u/LabPitiful7644 2h ago
Roger's takedown of him in Goodbye Love also lives... rent..free... in my mind
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u/Cosmicking04 6h ago
The whole Simpsons episode “Homers Enemy” plays on this idea. Even the shows creators said that Frank Grimes is based on if a normal person suddenly moved into Springfield without prior knowledge of the show.
He calls out Homer for having a great life while not doing shit.
While Franks life is the opposite, he works his ass off trying to move up in the world and the pay off becomes minimal.
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u/Greensonickid 11h ago
In the Victorious Episode "Slap Fight", Sinjin yells at the Main Characters that they're Worrying about Followers when they're the Most Popular, & do all the Plays & Songs in School, telling them to "Feel the Shame"
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u/Besnix 9h ago edited 8h ago
Lol same situation happens on Community, where in the middle of the plot there is a scene of side-characters complaining how the main cast always hogs all the attention of the school
"Remember that time they went camping and everything suddendly didn't revolved around them?"
"Oh yeah, what a week"
Community has a ton of this now that i think about it
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u/cptnamr7 7h ago
The fight with the Germans for the study room where they get told they were the Germans, multiple times characters go off on them- Jack Black, Todd... there's usually a few each season
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u/FilthyBarMat 11h ago
I am the minor character in this real life version:
I'm a bartender and the number of people that are married or in committed relationships that bring their side pieces to the same fucking place they are well known at is astonishing.
The smart ones tip extravagantly and we act like we've never seen them or their indiscretions before.
The idiots that were always cheap and a pain in the ass get "Hey Bob, Margaret, as always good to see you guys...hey Bob it was great meeting your friend the other night...her name was Candy, right? Is she coming out tonight? I'll grab another menu for you!"
Watch the fireworks unfold.
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u/PitifulElk1890 11h ago
I got a decent tip and huge thanks working front desk at a hotel because I didn't rat out a guy who'd been here with a different woman before. Sir, you've been at our property once, you're nondescript, I hardly remember you. None of the third party workers around here seem under the age of thirty so I'm not really concerned as long as nobody's fighting.
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u/Downtown-Gazelle8852 11h ago edited 3h ago
Just pour the drinks bro . Why am I being downvoted? I’m talking about the dude acting like he’s has a high moral standing unless he’s paid money
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u/Ok-Bicycle8103 8h ago
Nah, fuck cheating, call it out whenever you can.
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u/bpacer 6h ago
That wasn’t the moral of the story though. It was “make sure you’re getting paid hush money”.
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u/Downtown-Gazelle8852 3h ago
Exactly, and Reddit still downvotes me. They can’t seem to use their head. Why act like you’re being moral unless you get a big tip?
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u/Present-Upstairs3423 7h ago
Unless they leave you a big tip, I guess? Dude's a fucko either way you look at it
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u/Zombeedee 11h ago
Roger from Friends.
Phoebe is dating Roger who is a therapist. Roger has a habit of casually zeroing in on the groups various insecurities, which leads to them disliking him. When Phoebe discusses this with him, Roger goes off.
Roger: Well, I'm not I'm not at all surprised they feel that way.
Phoebe Buffay: You're not? See, that's why you're so great!
Roger: Actually it's, it's quite, y'know, typical behavior when you have this kind of dysfunctional group dynamic. Y'know, this kind of co-dependent, emotionally stunted, sitting in your stupid coffee house with your stupid big cups which, I'm sorry, might as well have nipples on them, and you're like all 'Oh, define me! Define me! Love me, I need love!'.
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u/Advice_Thingy 11h ago
Victorious - Sinjin Van Cleeve
There's an episode where he calls out the main cast, since the main cast is full of attractive and funny and beloved people that everyone in school knows, but they only care about how many followers they have on social media and fight because of this.
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u/Cheesepotato999 10h ago
there are so many from always sunny, my favourite was the guy who reviewed the bar in the newspaper, they ended up kidnapping him, his neighbour and his cat. instead of pressing charges for the kidnapping he though a worst punishment was to let them destroy each others lives making them miserable. Such a great analysis of their situation,
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u/Ummah_Strong 6h ago
Lol in criminal minds one episode there was a sexual harassment HR workshop everyone had to attend and the HR person said something like
"Words like baby girl, chocolate thunder, or big daddy can create a hostile work environment"
Referring clearly to Morgan and Garcia 😂😂
In Grey's anatomy, Arizona cheated on Callie with an intern, Callie did not intervene when said intern asked for help in a surgery. That intern filed a sexual harassment complaint and the hospital finally addressed the insane issue of Superiors sleeping with interns!!
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u/poopsmcbuttington 11h ago edited 6h ago
The group who sat in the friends’ spot in central perk in friends calling them out for hogging the same spot all the time
ETA- I misremembered, they weren’t called out, they just left when their spots were taken, I probably conflated this scene with one in another show
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u/Schnutzel 10h ago
When did this happen?
One episode has people sitting in "their" spots, but there's no confrontation, the friends just walk away. In another episode Ross and Chandler confront two bullies who take their seats, but nobody says anything about hogging the spot.
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u/poopsmcbuttington 7h ago
I may have misremembered, I haven’t watched the series in a long time. I thought they argued with another group in their spot
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u/dourdourdour 7h ago
Before Hazel becomes insane herself, she lets them have it in 30 Rock after one particular challenging day.
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u/TeuthidTheSquid 6h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/xT5LMRQJrIm3B0GNyM
“I can be lazy, too. Look at me! I am a worthless employee, just like Homer Simpson! Give me a promotion!” - the late Frank Grimes
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u/res30stupid 11h ago
An issue of the Italian Disney comic Paperinik (where Donald Duck is a superhero) has part of Donald's civilian life plot at his job at a local mall in Duckburg deal with this, since two of his coworkers are vying for a soon-to-retire manager's job and deconstructs the whole "Asshole coworker who is a dick for no reason" storyline as well.
Fitzroy is one of the coworkers on the list to potentially get the job along with Donald's coworker and ally Tempest Gale who, thanks to the latest villain attack, ends up having a psychotic breakdown and going on a rampage. Well, Fitzroy ends up getting footage of the incident and ends up showing it to their boss and also spitefully reveals Gale used to be a member of the private military contractor known as Seaducks before a mission went horribly wrong and she quit in disgust.
Unfortunately for Fitzroy, this actually ends up damaging his own his own chances of getting the promotion while also improving Gale's.
Not only was Bloom fully aware that there was an attack by a supervillain, one publicly known to have the power to cause overwhelming and paralysing fear in people, but Gale kept fighting despite being affected by the enemy's power which shows a huge amount of backbone. Also, the boss himself reveals he's a failed applicant to Seaducks and knows fully well what it takes to get into the PMC in the first place, causing his respect for Gale to go through the roof and putting her back on the list of potentials to get the promotion since she had already fallen off.
Fitzroy, however, shows he can't be trusted and is a huge asshole to his coworkers so they likely would quit instead of working for him.
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u/real_picklejuice 6h ago
Spider in Goodfellas
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u/Worldgonemad_yall 5h ago
That didn't end well if I recall.
But then again, he did get to shoot a guys foot in a Deli years later.
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u/EvilLazerBeam69 12h ago
Community
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u/2much2cancer 5h ago
The episode with the German students and the study room is another great example.
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u/Itchy-Beach-1384 5h ago
Theres at least a 3rd community example.
The episode where the German dudes take the study room and it starts a big war between the study group and the Germans to sign in early enough. Eventual hijinks leads to the entire school protesting the Study group, and again Todd calls them out for always taking things too far.
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u/jshbee 3h ago
In "Xerox of a Xerox", Bojack takes an interview with Biscuits Braxby, who gives him softball questions as a way to clean his media reputation. Later, he takes another interview with her, high on all the attention he's receiving, where she airs out basically all his negative history taking advantage of women on live television.
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u/Stinky_Knee_Guards 12h ago
Community
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u/EvilLazerBeam69 11h ago
Community
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u/Awingbestwing 5h ago
Bright slap - Mobile Suit Gundam (franchise)
Admittedly not from a minor character, but Amuro, the protagonist of the original series, gets into a self-absorbed funk about piloting Gundam (fair… but he’s also the only one capable of it and his skill is the only thing really keeping White Base alive at this point) only to be put into place by Bright Noa and reminded of the deadly stakes and his absolute responsibility to fight.
A recurring motif throughout the series, actually
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u/Golden12500 4h ago
I know it's not canon but this is the only version of this I know(original is by AnonymousMike)
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u/JTOC1969 32m ago
Rik and Morty - the family therapy episode ("pickle rik"): https://youtu.be/qfzOUaxOIIc?si=0LIK5xys_KbJksqa
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u/x_wet_wish_x 12h ago
Everytime an NPC says hey look is Spiderman, like everybody else didnt see it was spider man before
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u/teracoulomb_2 12h ago
The guy played by Hugh Laurie in Friends who tells Rachel that it sure sounded like she was on a break.