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Protagonists
Patricia "Patty" Bladell
- Age-Gap Romance: She tries to initiate this with Bob Armstrong at first (an idea which he is vehemently against), though once she captures Christian's interest, she appears to have moved on to boys her age.
- But We Used a Condom!: She has a pregnancy scare after having protected sex with Christian. It turns out to be a fluke, but she finds out she has a teratoma instead.
- Destructive Romance: She has this with Christian. As it turns out, Christian was domestically abusive to his past girlfriends, so chances are Patty could have ended up a lot worse off than she did.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father's not in the picture, and her mother isn't exactly willing to pick up the slack. It's implied that her lack of a paternal figure is the reason behind her obsession with her pageant coach, Bob Armstrong.
- Fat Best Friend: Was this to Nonnie before her weight loss.
- Even the Girls Want Her: She attracts not only the attention of both Brick and Christian, but her closeted best friend Nonnie harbors a crush on her as well.
- Formerly Fat: Patty was severely overweight until she got punched in the face by a homeless man and forced to adhere to a liquid diet.
- Freudian Excuse: Years of bullying and severe self-esteem issues didn't do wonders for her mind, turning her into a revenge-driven borderline psycho who can only barely hide it on her best days. She also seems to suffer abandonment issues from an absent father and neglectful, alcoholic mother, explaining her sudden attachment to Bob Armstrong
- Hair-Trigger Temper: She's aggressive and prone to emotional outburst, which often doesn't bode well for the people around her. At the end of season two, she doesn’t realize that the difference between villain and simply a killer vigilante is despite the fact that her hair trigger is only triggered by those who hurt her loved ones.
- Horrible Judge of Character: As one would expect of a hormonal teenager, Patty doesn't have the best understanding of who to trust, enthusiastically letting Christian, Stella Rose, and her father into her life (though they all turned out to be very dangerous).
- It's All About Me: Most of the main plot revolves around her crush on Bob and her wanting revenge on those who have wronged her. Nonnie later states she was like this even before her weight loss.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She appears to have this realization numerous times over the course of the show, but it's rarely punctuated by an actual change in morality. This eventually leads to her Heel Face Realization at the end of season two, when she discovers that she genuinely enjoys murder and will make no attempt to curb these urges from now on.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the aggressive Red to Nonnie's more thoughtful and rational Blue.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the beauty queen Girly Girl to Nonnie's less feminine Tomboy.
- Unkempt Beauty: She's always shown as physically attractive (bar flashbacks), even in the scenes where she's covered in blood or straight-up manic.
Robert "Bob" Armstrong, Jr.
- False Rape Accusation: He was on the receiving end of this (at the hands of Dixie and Regina Sinclair), an allegation which has made it very difficult for him to get a coaching job since.
- The Fashionista: Bob is shown to have a good grasp on fashion and clothes, at one point stating the following when questioned about his bisexuality:Bob: "The only labels I understand are designer."
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He's blond as well as one of the more reasonable adult figures on the show.
- Interrupted Suicide: This happens to him twice, both times interrupted by one Patty Bladell. It's implied that this is one of the reasons why he's reluctant to abandon her, even as her actions get progressively more twisted and her morals defunct.
- Parental Substitute: After she gets over her initial crush on him, Patty comes to see Bob as this. It doesn't work out well for either of them.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: He's usually too busy focusing on pageants and his work that his relationship with Brick becomes strained. He appears to try to make amends in season two, and their dynamic improves significantly from then on.
Supporting Characters
Coralee Huggens-Armstrong
- Parental Substitute: Suggested by Bob to be a mother figure for Patty during the mother-daughter pageant. Didn't start off right, but ended up becoming close and winning the pageant. However, Coralee ends up blowing her off. But after Patty outed Bob, they both made up and Coralee decides to help Patty lose ten pounds before regionals.
- Southern Belle: She's a beautiful Southern woman who adheres to most Georgia stereotypes. Averted in that she was "trailer trash" throughout her entire childhood, and has had to work genuinely hard to achieve the social position that she has today.
Robert "Bob" Barnard
- The Ace: Barnard is rich, successful, happily married ( at least at first sight) and looks significantly younger than his childhood friend, Bob Armstrong. He turns into a Broken Ace once he begins a romantic relationship with the other Bob, and word gets out about his homosexual orientation.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: He's a parody of this trope, as he's always taking his clothes off in order to flex his muscular physique. Though, as he's later revealed to have a crush on Bob Armstrong, there might be a reason for him showing off his body.
Nonnie Thompson
- Butch Lesbian: Not precisely, but she's significantly more masculine than either Patty or Dee, and often makes references to how "dykey" some of her aspirations are (for instance, wanting to become a cop).
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She's a platonic version of this to Patty, getting overly possessive when Magnolia and Bob try to earn her friendship as well.
- Daddy's Girl: In the scenes she's shown interacting with her father, the two are implied to have a close and friendly relationship. Serves as a contrast to Patty, who's never even met her father until season two.
- Hidden Depths: According to Patty, Nonnie is an incredible singer, and at Roxy's funeral, it's shown that she can write pretty good songs as well.
- Only Sane Man: Clingy feelings for Patty aside, she's normally the one calling everyone out on their more absurd actions.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the smart, rational Blue to Patty's temperamental Red.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Downplayed, but Nonnie appears to be significantly more sensible than her peers (especially Patty, who's antics she often has to put a stop to).
- With Friends Like These...: Patty isn't exactly the most supportive or reliable friend, which Dee later helps her realize.
Brick Armstrong
- Jailbait Taboo: He has sex with Regina, who is essentially old enough to be his mother. That being said, she does get arrested on account of statutory rape.
Magnolia Barnard
- Academic Alpha Bitch: She's portrayed as a stereotypical Alpha Bitch - at least, in the earlier episodes of the show - as well as a straight-A student.
- The Ace: She's a classic Alpha Bitch, a straight-A student and she's never lost a single pageant. This is subverted later in the show, when her drug addiction and unstable mental state come into light, and she becomes more of a Broken Ace than the former Trope.
- Betty and Veronica: Magnolia is the clean-cut, preppy Betty to Patty's more dangerous and seductive Veronica.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: She appears to be the Gentle Girl to Christian's mysterious Brooding Boy. Of course, their romantic relationship is nothing but a sham to seduce Brick and Patty respectively.
- Child of Two Worlds: Magnolia is confused when she's asked to consider attending an all-black college, as she's mixed race and doesn't feel as though she fits in with either black or white people too well.
- Daddy's Girl: She's shown to be close to her father - Bob Barnard - but it's downplayed considering she has an affectionate relationship with her mother, too.
Angie Bladell
- Alcoholic Parent: She's explicitly suffering from an addiction to alcohol, an issue which puts a strain on her relationship with Patty.
- Parental Neglect: Angie isn't the most attentive mother, often ignoring her daughter's needs and going missing for weeks at a time in order to cope with her own issues.
Dixie Sinclair
- Asian Airhead: She's an Asian girl who's not the brightest, but for most of her life, she's gotten by fine using only her looks and the influence of her mother.
- Beta Bitch: Subverted. She wants to be one to Magnolia, but the latter makes it clear she can't stand her.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Every one of Dixie's attempts at ruining Patty's reputation are revealed.
Regina Sinclair
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Regina is easily one of the more scatterbrained characters on the show. However, the end of season 2 reveals that she is the mastermind responsible for the death of five pageant girls, all for the sake of framing Bob for the murders.
- Evil Is Petty: Blames Bob for Dixie's ineptitude and does everything in her power to make his life miserable.
- The Hypocrite: Accuses Bob Armstrong of assaulting Dixie, which isn't true, yet she had sex with his son.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Those accusations end in Regina getting thrown in jail for having sex with a minor, also getting caught trying to frame another person for sending out explicit photos of her daughter, and losing both her home and her job.
- Mrs. Robinson: Was this towards Brick, and got arrested. Then she attempted it again with Christian, which wasn't successful.
- Sore Loser: Despite her daughter's horrid performance in the pageant Q&A section, she blames Bob for Dixie's loss.
Donald Choi
- Put on a Bus: In episode 4 of Season 2, his family moves after losing ownership of the Weiner Taco restaurant. He is not seen or mentioned again.
Christian Keene
- Jerkass Victim: Considering the fact that he was an abuser, it's hard to feel bad for him when Patty manically beats him to death.
- New Transfer Student: Patty notices him immediately after he moves to their school, due to his mysterious demeanor and exceptional good looks.
- Stalker with a Crush: It's revealed that he abused and stalked his ex-girlfriend back in Brazil, and that he might have intentions of doing the same thing to Patty.
Pastor Mike Keene
Sheriff Hank Thompson
- Good Parents: Despite being a single-dad and a police officer, he is always there for Nonnie and supports her, especially in her romantic relationship with Dee.
- Open-Minded Parent: He's supportive - if a little awkward - when Nonnie comes out as gay and begins dating Dee.
Deborah "Dee" Marshall
- Artists Are Attractive: It's implied that Nonnie starts being attracted to her after she hears her sing.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She's an overweight, beautiful girl who's confident in her body and looks (though she admits it took her some time to get there). Overlaps with Fat and Proud.
- Functional Addict: If Dee is a food addict (she's said to be a "compulsive overeater", but the show never specifies a diagnosis), she qualifies as this Trope.
- Nice Girl: Dee appears to be a genuinely good person (even giving up a seat for Patty at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting). If she's shown to be rude or aggressive to someone else, there's almost always a pretty good reason for it.
- Only Sane Woman: Seems to be the most rational character in the show, pointing out Patty's Toxic Friend Influence on Nonnie and taking the 12 Steps really serious.
- Twofer Token Minority: A triple minority, to be precise. She's overweight, black and a lesbian.
Gail Keene
Minor Characters
Etta Mae Barnard
- The Ace: Etta Mae is beautiful, successful, married to one of the most attractive men in the neighborhood, and often elicits jealousy from the other socialites (most notably Coralee).
- Parents as People: She's a caring mother to Magnolia, but works many jobs and is frequently traveling for work.
Stella Rose Buckley
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When Stella came back near the end of season two, it appeared as if maybe she had started to have a Jerkass Realization, after being saved by Coralee. But right after, she goes right back to trying to kill Patty.
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Jerkass Woobie: Losing a person you love to somebody else is difficult, but it's hard to sympathize with Stella Rose's anger when she goes to ridiculous extents in order to pursue her revenge. - Revenge Myopia: So Stella Rose comes back at the end of the second season to try and kill Patty as revenge for Patty trying to kill her. Of course Patty did so in self-defense because Stella tried to kill her first. Patty even calls her out on this, but Stella outright brushes it off.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: She got so badly broke with Bob Armstrong, when the latter chose to remain faithful to Coralee, to go to bed with Bob Barnard just to spite him, abandon her daughter Roxy (with Bob B.) in an orphanage because she still suffered for Bob A. and, at some point in her life, she even ended up in a psychiatric hospital. Once she has gone out and rejoined her grown daughter, they plans to destroy and annihilate the career (and even the marriage) of Bob A. in all possible ways and imaginable only to see him suffer as he has made her suffer. Also coming to kidnap Patty in the finale and plan to kill her just to tear her former lover apart.
- Yandere: In spite of her preaching that she's forgotten all about her relationship with Bob Armstrong, she's still furious and out for revenge. In the season one finale, she straight-up tries to murder Patty.
Roxy Buckley
- Beauty Contest: After giving up on modeling (as she claims "all the girls were dumb"), she's become quite a successful beauty queen, winning Miss Bareback Buckaroo and even beating out Patty in a pageant at the beginning of season two.
- Disappeared Dad: In season one, it is revealed that Bob Barnard is her biological father - and that Stella Rose had deliberately kept it from her for years.
- Southern Belle: Roxy is charming, beautiful and stereotypically Southern to boot, an angle she often uses to give her a leg up in the beauty pageants she enters.
Robert Armstrong, Sr.
Father Schwartz
