History Characters / Wilfred

Kristen is Ryan's older sister who resents his responsibility-free lifestyle. Her crass personality comes from her general unhappiness with her job and failed marriage.

* HeroesWantRedheads: When he was with Amanda.

* AmbiguousDisorder: It's not specified what's wrong with Ryan, though he's obviously anxious and depressed. He's also probably schizophrenic as well. [[spoiler:Eventually, it's confirmed that he inherited his insanity from his mother Catherine, and his ''biological'' father Charles, as all of them hallucinated that animals were talking to them.]]

* TheStoner: Spends a majority of his time getting high in his basement, though in his defense he ''does'' have a medical marijuana recommendation.

* TheLadette: Jenna enjoys drinking beer and yelling at sports on TV.

* {{Jerkass}}: Borders on this. He's never seen doing anything worse than getting overly-enthusiastic at competitions, but the things he's claimed to do would put him in this territory. For example, he once explained to Ryan that when he encountered a person from a rival beer company at a bar who had been fired thanks to Drew stealing his clients, Drew bought him a Sheboygan Lager (his company's brand). Later he admitted that he actually bought the beer for himself and told the other guy to lick his nuts.

* ManChild: Throws tantrums at losing competitions, and flipped a lawn chair in Ryan's yard to rub it in after beating him in ping-pong.

* AmbiguousDisorder: It's never outright stated what's wrong with her, but it's heavily hinted she suffers from schizophrenia.

* MemeticMutation: Happens in-universe with the "Squishy Tits" viral video, which almost destroys her career.
** To elaborate: One morning, Jenna was hungry and unwittingly ate a piece of pot-laced candy that Ryan left lying around. While doing a live newscast, Jenna was stoned out of her mind and began fondling her breasts, saying "My tits are so squishy!". This embarrassing video clip went viral on the Internet, and was even [[StupidStatementDanceMix remixed into a song]].

* HotScientist: She's a biochemist with an edgy personality and a self-described addiction to sex.

* CompositeCharacter: [[spoiler:In-universe example; as "Wilfred" is [[ImaginaryFriend a creation of Ryan's mind]], he is actually based on a few different characters:]]

** [[spoiler:Most of his personality is actually an alter-ego of '''Ryan''', his secret dark side who says and does things that Ryan wishes he could get away with. But also doubling as a sort of conscience to reflect on his life choices.]]

* TheUnfavorite: During childhood. Her parents essentially saw her as the root of their marital problems, though her mother acknowledges that Kristen herself didn't do anything wrong.

* MissingMom: She was absent for much of Ryan and Kristen's childhoods due to her mental illness and being committed for many years.

* WalkingSpoiler:

-->'''Played by:''' Chris Klein

-->'''Played by:''' Mary Steenburgen (seasons 1-3, pictured left) and Mimi Rogers (season 4, pictured right)

-->'''Played by:''' Allison Mack

** Henry and Ryan both [[spoiler:entered relationships with crazy women that ended poorly]].

** [[spoiler:Not all of his controlling behavior was just in Ryan's head, however, as it's revealed he asked Anne to spy on Ryan when he feared he was mentally unwell, and then set up hidden cameras in his house.]]

[[/folder]]

* CompanionCube: Wilfred has [[ADogNamedDog a teddy bear named Bear]], which he has sex with a lot (not surprisingly, as dogs are known for humping stuffed animals). [[NotSoDifferent Ironically]], Wilfred talks to Bear in the same way that Ryan talks to Wilfred. [[spoiler:Wilfred even sees Bear as a female bodybuilder wearing a teddy bear costume.]]

-->'''Played by:''' Fiona Gubelmann

* {{Adorkable}}: He's handsome and charming, but also incredibly awkward and neurotic.

* YourCheatingHeart: He cheats on Bear with a stuffed giraffe.

* YourCheatingHeart: Has an affair behind her husband's back, and in "Identity", [[spoiler:Ryan threatens to tell her husband if she doesn't assist him in committing fraud. She ultimately comes clean to her husband anyway, leading to her divorce.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Implied by Wilfred at the end of "Stagnation" to have had sex with Anne while she was living with Ryan, but [[AbortedArc it's never explored]].]]

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Catherine had an affair with Charles Smith, the leader of the Flock of the Grey Shepherd, out of which Ryan was conceived.]]

* AmoralAttorney: [[spoiler:He earned the nickname "The Archaeologist" at his old firm, due to his ability to dig up dirt on the opposition and blackmail them. But this is one of the reasons he hated his job and ended up quitting.]]

* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:The Flock of the Grey Shepherd believed that a Chosen One (Ryan) would be "led to happiness" by their dog god Mataman. But it's subverted when the cult's founder (who is Ryan's real father) admits that it's all just a bunch of crazy bullshit.]]

** [[spoiler:He spends the whole series in love with Jenna, only to realize in the second-to-last episode that he was LovingAShadow the entire time, when Jenna ultimately chooses the safe route with Drew instead of risking a chance to find true happiness with him.]]

** [[spoiler:Finally, Ryan projects the image of Richard (wearing a dog suit) on the ''real'' '''Wilfred''', who is actually a completely ordinary dog.]]

* InvisibleToNormals: Ryan is the only one who notices anything different about Wilfred, with a few exceptions. [[spoiler:The human side of Wilfred, however, is only a figment of Ryan's imagination, and any other human interaction with Wilfred is further hallucination by Ryan, such as Bruce.]]

* BiTheWay: Is not afraid of rooting other dogs to establish dominance.

* GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: After Kristen gives birth to Joffrey.

* YourCheatingHeart: Has an affair with her husband, and in "Identity", [[spoiler:Ryan threatens to tell her husband if she doesn't assist him in committing fraud. She ultimately comes clean to her husband anyway, leading to her divorce.]]

-->''"[...] Everyone in the office already knows I am a total sex addict. And see, I have this edgy sense of humor, which sometimes crosses the line-- like right now for instance."''