Best TV series characters with complex pasts

Jack Dawkins, known as 'Artful Dodger', is a character whose struggle for redemption and identity is intrinsically linked to his criminal past in London. His constant battle between his new life as a surgeon and his old habits makes him a deeply complex character.

Rue Bennett is a central character whose narrative focuses on her struggle with addiction and personal traumas. Her turbulent past and her constant battle for sobriety make her a profound study of adolescent psychological complexity.

Cassian Andor is a character whose evolution from thief to rebel hero is forged by a dark past and a life of survival in an oppressive system. His experiences force him to confront his morality and motivations, adding great complexity.

Margo is a young mother who, after making complicated personal decisions, faces a precarious economic situation. Her story focuses on how her past and present force her to question her morality and identity to survive.

Mo Dong-eun is a character whose life is defined by a past of brutal school bullying, which drives her to plan an elaborate revenge. Her story explores the emotional scars and the complexity of seeking justice after profound trauma.

Kimiko is a character with an extremely traumatic past, marked by experimentation and human trafficking, which has left her mute and with an internal struggle to control her violence. Her complexity lies in her search for humanity and her adaptation to a corrupt world.

Agatha Harkness is a witch with centuries of history, whose past is full of ambition, betrayal, and a constant search for power. The series is dedicated to unraveling her complex and dark past, revealing the motivations behind her current actions.

Ellie is a teenager who has grown up in a post-apocalyptic world, with a past marked by loss and violence. Her immunity to the infection and the burden of being a potential cure force her to make difficult moral decisions, forging a complex identity.

This new series explores the origins of Sherlock Holmes, presenting him as an undisciplined young man whose first case drags him into a global conspiracy. This formative event lays the groundwork for his complex future and iconic personality.

Asaf is a desperate father who is drawn into the criminal underworld to protect his family, forcing him to make morally ambiguous decisions. His past and present are intertwined with crime and family protection, creating a complex character.

The two main characters of this series live in constant flight, with secrets that threaten to destroy them. The narrative gradually unveils their past, exploring an emotionally complex and mysterious relationship that defines them.

Simon Petrikov is a character whose transformation into the Ice King is a tragic story of love, loss, and the erosion of his identity due to a magical crown. His human past and his present as a comical villain make him a deeply complex and moving character.

Old Man McGucket is a character whose madness hides a past of genius and regret, resulting from his own experiments with a memory-erasing machine. His story is a tragic exploration of the consequences of ambition and the loss of identity.

Kinger is a character trapped in a surreal digital world, whose mental fragility and erratic behavior reflect an unknown and traumatic past within this environment. His complexity lies in how his 'broken' mind is a direct product of his situation.