In The Dark Fans Bond Over Their Shared Hatred Of Josh Wallace
Though the CW's police drama "In The Dark" may be off the air for good, fans still can't help but harbor fierce feelings for one of its worst villains. Josh Wallace (played by relative newcomer Theo Bhat) was a controversial character who debuted in a recurring capacity during the show's second season before joining the core cast for its final two outings. While he meets a tragic — if fittingly gruesome — end at the hands of his former lover, some fans felt his demise couldn't have come soon enough.
On the r/InTheDarkCW subreddit, user u/Reasonable_Ad_9133 started a thread titled "Josh is trash" — and as of this writing, the post has received over one hundred upvotes. "I literately cannot stand him ..." they wrote. "He's so obsessed with Murphy and the only reason why he hates her so much is bc she doesn't want to be with him, so he's out to ruin her life." Murphy Mason (Perry Mattfeld) ultimately murders Josh after he gets her boyfriend, Max Parish, killed. "He is crazy obsessive and annoying lmfao," u/Reasonable_Ad_9133 continued. "He's so bad that I had to come to this group just to complain about him."
He's not even a real cop...
Lucky for them, plenty of other Redditors were ready and willing to rip Josh Wallace to shreds. "He's the actual worst," said u/tvererie, "i can't think of another character on any show or movie i hate more. truly terrible." u/Navy_Vet843 compared him to Ozark's unlikely and unlikable criminal mastermind, writing, "Wendy Byrde is right up there ... almost [sic]." Some seemed to be especially incensed by the fact that Josh resembles those in real life who lash out in violent, unpredictable ways when the world doesn't turn in their favor. u/ANONOMOUSEND, for example, shared, " ... the scariest part is that Josh is real like there are a good bit of people with this trait that can't handle rejection and set out for revenge, total nut jobs."
Others, however, were merely confused by how he operates in the world of "In The Dark." "He's not even in law enforcement [and] he doesn't technically have a job [sic]!" exclaimed u/Lauritalagatita. u/Exciting-Art-6301 felt the same way, questioning "like why was he even allowed access to actual police data base? [sic]" This same user went on to call "In The Dark" as a whole, "horrible." u/katavia14 was emphatic in their agreement, writing "THANK YOU" in all caps. They continued, "he out here openly impersonating an officer. ... he out here ruining lives because somebody slept with him and didnt wanna stick around [sic]. he should have been shut down long ago. also as I've seen someone point out, him working the case should soil every bit of it because of his agenda."
Clearly, the character struck a strong negative chord with fans, which — especially for a villain — could be seen as a testament to Theo Bhat's performance.