The Character That Ordinary Joe Fans Find Absolutely Insufferable
NBC's recently-canceled dramedy "Ordinary Joe" has a whole lot of conceptual flash. The show takes a peek into the life of a young man named Joe Kimbreau — played by James Wolk, who you might recognize from "Watchmen" and "Zoo" — who stands at a crossroads as he graduates from college.
Will he become a resolutely single but incredibly dedicated police detective, following in his father's footsteps? Will he choose to follow his dreams into semi-dissolute rock stardom? Or will he shun the spotlight and become a loving father, husband, and nurse? Joe and the viewers have many different paths to walk, and it seems that only a twist of fate will help him decide between riches, glory, or charity.
Fans of the program gather down at the "Ordinary Joe" subreddit to discuss the latest ongoings connected to the show. Some of them have figured out which character they dislike the most across Joe's many futures — and thankfully, it's not Joe himself.
Fans hate Uncle Frank
Uncle Frank (David Warshofsky) has multiple possible storylines ahead of him depending on which reality the "Ordinary Joe" episode features. In the Cop Joe timeline, he's the one who pressures Joe into following in his father's footsteps. In the Nurse Joe timeline, he's homeless, estranged from the family, and an alcoholic, and in the Rock Star Joe timeline, he's Joe's tight-fisted handler.
But the character has one thing in common across the multiple continuities — many of the show's fans can't stand him. "Uncle Frank needs to give it a rest," opined u/Navitach in their post to the "Ordinary Joe" subreddit, which is titled "Uncle Frank is insufferable." "It bothered me how he brought up his dad so much at his graduation party," said u/Icy-Sun1216. U/karafans disliked the "blue" reality version (Cop Joe timeline) of Frank, especially in Episode 5, while they had sympathy for the "red" reality version (Nurse Joe timeline) of Frank, saying, "he was so oppressive in the latest ep, he basically forced Joe to [become] a cop. In the red timeline I think he [is] just looking out for him."
At least one fan was willing to give Frank the benefit of the doubt. "It's because he feels so guilty. As he explained earlier, he took the tickets to the football game, so Joe's dad ended up working on 9/11, when he wasn't scheduled to," said u/EponymousRocks. They came to an even more sobering conclusion about Frank's behavior: "Frank's obsessed with trying to replace Joe's dad."
Sadly, in light of the unexpected conclusion of "Ordinary Joe," fans will likely never find out if Frank and Joe ever come to accept each other as-is. But it's fun to speculate.