History Characters / MyNameIsEarl

* LaserGuidedKarma: In the episode "Harrassed a Reporter," after Earl convinced Nicole Moses, a reporter they got demoted to the "Up Before Dawn" newsbriadcast following a meltdown she had on live [=TV=] after they pranked her, to do a story of he was trying to be a better person by crossing things off his list, as a way to get off the the pre-dawn shown, they tell Randy he won't be part of the story because the story is about Earl. After Randy interrupts her weather report, she allows Earl's story to include Randy, [[ManipulativeEditing but Nicole edits it in such a way]] that makes Earl seem like a caring affectionate man trying his best to care for his younger, mentally challenged brother. When Randy calls her out for humiliating him on live [=TV=], Nicole responds that's how she felt when he and Earl were pulling their stunts while she was filming a report. When Earl tells Andy they should file a complaint to the station, Randy says not to because "karma noticed me," and added an entry to Earl's list that he crossed off himself.

* LaserGuidedKarma: In the episode "Harrassed a Reporter," after Earl convinced Nicole Moses, a reporter they got demoted to the "Up Before Dawn" newsbriadcast following a meltdown she had on live [=TV=] after they pranked her, to do a story of he was trying to be a better person by crossing things off his list, as a way to get off the the pre-dawn shown, they tell Randy he won't be part of the story because the story is about Earl. After Randy interrupts her weather report, she allows Earl's story to include Randy, [[ManipulativeEditing but Nicole edits it in such a way]] that makes Earl seem like a caring affectionate man trying his best to care for his younger, mentally challenged brother. When Randy calls her out for humiliating him on live [=TV=], Nicole responds that's how she felt when he and Earl were pulling their stunts while she was filming a report. When Earl tells Andy they should file a complaint to the station, Randy says not to because "karma noticed me," and added an entry to Ealr's list that he crossed off himself.

%%* CryCute

Characters in ''Series/MyNameIsEarl''.
----

* HiddenDepths: Earl is a beer drinking, rock music loving and flannel shirt wearing redneck...who is also surprisingly insightful, intelligent and open-minded, making a genuine effort to help others and be more accepting of people he previouslu looked down on and made fun of, especially minorities.

* CosmicPlaything: Earl led a life of hedonism and selfishness; when he got a winning lottery ticket, he was hit by a car while celebrating. If he turns away from his path of redemption, karma punishes him in order to reign him in and keep him on his path.

* CoolHat: Sports a nice cowboy hat.

[[folder: Officer Stuart Daniels]]

[[folder: Liberty Washington]]

[[folder: Little Chubby]]

[[folder: Sweet Johnny]]

[[folder: Sheila]]

Sweet Johnny's ex-girlfriend, who left him because of him singing the same song repeatedly. She was cheating on Johnny with Earl. Year's later, she became a cop with a very huge butt.

%% Administrivia.ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* [[NiceGuy Nice Girl]]: She's one of the sweetest, most cooperative citizens in Camden County, which is a breath of fresh air for the browbeaten [[ButtMonkey Earl]].

* OnlyKnownByHisNickname: He earned the nickname "John the Artist" for his paintings.

* HollywoodNerd: Somewhat. [[spoiler:His entire social life is online, but his internet friends still cared enough to attend his funeral]].

%%* HollywoodNerd

* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: He earned the nickname "John the Artist" for his paintings.

** In the past, he ended up kicking Little Chubby [[GroinAttack right in the balls]]. This was before his {{Heel Face Turn}}, and he only did so because Joy nagged at him to do it, but Little Chubby was an {{Ax Crazy}} {{Jerkass}} who repeatedly tormented and threatened people for fun, so it comes off as Karma using Earl long before he even knew of it.

Earl's ill-tempered, promiscuous ex-wife

* AnimalMotif: Downplayed, Joy used to compare herself to a Queen Bee, which reflects her quick temper and promiscuity.
%%* AntiHero: Type IV

* HotBlooded: ''Very'' hot blooded.

* JerkAss: Cheats on Earl, verbally abuses and even hits him, leaves him for a mutual friend while he's hospitalized, and tries to kill him to get his lottery winnings. She also bullies Randy and Catalina, and isn't the best wife to Darnell either.

-->'''Earl''': [[PhraseCatcher "Hey, Crabman!"]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: At least in the beginning, before becoming a complete JerkAss, and finally becoming a [[NiceGuy genuinely nice person.]]

* JerkAss: To Earl when he [[spoiler:burned down Pops' hot dog cart.]]

%%* CloudCuckoolander

* DyingAlone: Her biggest fear

The son of a local business man and the richest man in Camden. He was once a huge JerkAss who constantly abused his power to bully Camden's citizens until he was kicked in the balls, which left him laying on the floor while everyone laughed at him. After realizing that he was despised by the townsfolk, he pulled a HeelFaceTurn. Later, it turned out that was just because the damage to his testicles cut off his flow of testosterone and the reason his entire family were such enormous jerks is because of congenital overproduction of it. After having reconstructive surgery, he went back to his JerkAss ways and graduated to BigBad of the series finale.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Is not too happy, when Earl accidentally [[spoiler:burns his father's grave.]]

* JerkAss: Basically his whole persona before his HeelRealization.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Didi is implied to have a couple of screws loose in her head.

--> Played By: Crestor/EthanSuplee

--> Played By: Crestor/EthanSupplee

--> Played By: Ethan Supplee

** Ultimately subverted however, as a throw-away line from Earl in one episode mentions that a doctor once called Randy [[{{Mondegreen}} "borderline artistic"]].

* SmartGuy: Often the Brains involved in Earl's operations.

* KidsAreCruel: In his younger days he was already a {{Jerkass}}.

* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: [[spoiler:After Earl uses the rest of his money to throw him a prom in prison and gave him his title as Prom King, John still held a grudge against his parents for petty reasons. When Earl calls him out on it, John tells him "Hey my parents treated me like crap so now I treat other people like crap, it's out of my control Earl!". In response to this, Earl burns all of John's paintings and throws the same excuse at him. This act made John realise that the more he blamed Earl for what happened, the more he had to admit to being responsible for the fire, and he apologised to his parents by recreating the pictures he burned in the fire.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: He vindictive towards his parents and finds any petty excuse to hate them and stay angry with them.

* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The sensitive guy to Earl's manly man
* TheStoner: So much so that his parents refused to let him go to his high school prom because they were worried about his behind-the-wheel safety

[[caption-width-right:297:Just your average bum looking to make amends - with a BadassMustache.]]

%%* BadassMustache

** Another time, when Earl himself got sent to jail, he helped a former junkie who accidentally set fire to his parent's house with his meth lab have the prom he never got, only for him not to reconcile with his parents, which would've allowed Earl to get enough time off his sentence to leave prison. When the guy threw it back in Earl's face, Earl went berserk and torched his cell, destroying all his paintings he made, then punched him in the face and gave him a taste of his own medicine- which finally taught him a lesson.

* RevengeIsNotJustice: Earl has hurt many people and has often acted on thoughts of revenge, as an adult, he knows what he did was wrong and to atone. In ''Stole an [=RV=]'', he decides to help an old man called Jerry because he stole his [=RV=]. While Earl does help him get all his stuff back and helps bring him out of his depression, he immediately turns against him when he learns that Jerry wants revenge on his old army buddy, Joe, for abandoning him during the war and letting him get captured as he fled the scene.

* AntiHero: Earl is on a redemption quest to balance his karma after losing everything (from his fortune to his wife to another lover). While Earl is trying to better himself, he will occasionally do nasty things when he's at wit's end with people he's trying to help, or gets pushed the wrong way. Usually, it results in an appropriate karmic response:

* AntiHero: Earl will occasionally do nasty things when he's at wit's end with people he's trying to help, or gets pushed the wrong way. Usually, it results in an appropriate karmic response:

* BadassMustache: His signature trait, grown from a desire to have once since he was a kid.
%%* BashBrothers: With Randy.

** When Earl found out that Joy cheated on him again and gave birth to Earl Jr., he was set on abandoning them until Carl berated him for attempting to abandon 2 kids who had nothing to do with Joy's infidelity and were just products of it. It took Carl throwing Earl's gerbils out the window for Earl to finally concede and return to Dodge and Earl Junior.

** Right after this, the bumbling warden found him too valuable at fixing problems around prison, which made him look good by extension. So what does he do? Shred all of Earl's certificates for time off his sentence and snuff him when it comes time to leave, chuck him into solitary for 60 days to the point he goes cuckoo, and then threaten to ''add'' to his sentence. Not only does Earl kick him in the stomach and teabag him while in shackles on two separate occasions, with the help of his friends, both in and out of jail, he plans to bust out of prison. But after a mishap, Earl and Randy fall through a ventilation shaft right into the warden's office, take him hostage, and negotiate his release from the slammer. However, Earl questions the lack of karma kicking in and thinks after all he's been through, it's bogus. Finally, one last dose of ButtMonkey antics prompts the return of Bad Earl- [[spoiler: and karma deals him another car to the chest to punish him.]]

** The very worst instance was getting roped into a [[spoiler: top-secret spy mission with Darnell when he went back into action]], only to be given round-the-clock tranquilizers to block out everything he saw with absolutely no say in refusing them (while his life was constantly in danger, no less!), kept knocked out for so long he had to be put in a ''diaper'' so he wouldn't soil himself and woke up with side-effect-induced twitches.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: The birthday party episode. [[spoiler: It turned out to be a prank, and his friends really did give him props for the wrongs he'd righted thus far.]]

* HomelessHero: Technically, since he lives in a motel after Joy took the trailer in the divorce. It never occurs to him that he can use part of the lotto money to pay for a small apartment. [[spoiler: He ''does'' get an apartment halfway through the series, but that's using money he earned through working at Waddt Appliances. And Randy loses the apartment while Earl is in prison.]] The fact that Earl has no permanent residence is lampshaded when he goes to apply for a credit card.

* ShotGunWedding: When he married Joy, she was pregnant [[spoiler: the child was later found to be his]].

* YourSonAllAlong: [[spoiler: While for three seasons it was believed that Earl was not the father of Dodge and simply could not do it physically, the finale of the last season reveals that Earl is actually his biological father.]]

* NeverMyFault: Constantly blames Earl for things, that was because of her own doing. [[spoiler: Subverted in "The Bounty Hunter", where she stops Earl from blaming himself over leaving Jesse over her and takes care of the problem herself.]]

* ShotGunWedding: Tricks Earl into marrying her in UsefulNotes/LasVegas while she was pregnant with an unknown man's [[spoiler: (later found to be Earl's)]] child.

* BadassBookworm: He is the most intelligent of the group, as well as [[spoiler: an ex-government assassin.]]

* HitmanWithAHeart: [[spoiler: Was originally a government assassin, until one of his marks turned out to be a child.]]
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: [[spoiler: Was trained from childhood to be a government assassin by his father, which led to his being placed in WitnessProtection after he retired.]]

* TerrifiedOfGerms: Likely because [[spoiler: he is familiar with biological weapons]]. When Joy contracts a flesh-eating staph infection in her toe, Darnell makes her bathe in hand sanitizer, walk on foil, and remain isolated in a corner of the living room converted into a plastic "bubble" until she's finished her antibiotics and her toe gets better.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: After Randy confesses his love for her she tries to figure out a way to make him lose that feeling, Joy convinces her to [[PleaseDumpMe sleep with him while being as disgusting as possible]]. [[spoiler: This ends up backfiring when she realizes how good he is in bed but he ends up being disgusted with the smell and loses all feelings for her.]] Ouch.

* CitizenshipMarriage: Marries Randy to get back into the country [[spoiler: although she actually wanted to marry Earl]]. Because of the bad sex (see above), it doesn't work out so well. We are not told, however, if they ''are'' still (legally) married, or if they got a divorce at some point.

** Later averted when we see in a back-story [[spoiler: that the two of them fought to see who would go to America and who would wind up dying to give a kidney to the smuggler's sister]].

* ThePeepingTom: Earl paid him to peep on Joy back in the day, because (thanks to his bulging eyes) [[ExactWords "Even when he looked at women normally, it creeped them out."]] (A rumor was going around the trailer park about a peeping tom, and Joy was feeling unhappy about how she looked during her pregnancy. The "peeping tom" was actually [[spoiler: Earl, trying to steal a big-screen TV]].) Unfortunately for Donny, Joy got excited that the "trailer park pervert" was finally peeping on her, and her excited shouts alerted the other trailer park women. Donny was badly injured by a SassyBlackWoman with a potted fern.

* {{Yandere}}: [[MemeticMutation YOU SAID YOU LOVED ME!!!]] (While blasting a shotgun at Earl). In all fairness he ''did'' [[spoiler: steal her car and ditch her after sex]], but it's not like she couldn't have let the police deal with it.

* {{Expy}}: Deconstructed: She wants to get on the right path, but has very different ideas than Earl about what constitutes making things up to people. And she even [[spoiler: goes so far as to undo what Earl has done when she feels she isn't getting enough attention from him.]]

* CurbStompBattle: He tries to sucker punch [[spoiler: Earl.]] while CallingYourAttacks. It last two seconds.

* EveryManHasHisPrice: Can be bribed into committing any form of crime for the right price- such as [[spoiler: burning down a rival hot dog stand.]]

* JerkAss: To Earl when he [[spoiler: burned down Pops' hot dog cart.]]
* KarmaHoudini: Although Ralph generally does get punished for his actions (thus proving he's not a member of this trope), the fact that Earl believed he became one [[spoiler: due to not getting retribution for taking advantage of a senile old woman]] results in his forsaking The List.

* PutOnABus: After Earl [[spoiler: ends up in another coma after getting hit by a car]] in season 3, Ralph is never seen again for the rest of the series.

* NaughtyByNight: Went to the Crab Shack on Halloween dressed in [[{{Stripperiffic}} a slutty biker-chick costume]], and even took Earl home with her, but the next morning, even ''she'' is shocked by her actions. [[spoiler: In fact, she ended up losing her virginity that night!]]

* ManlyTears: [[spoiler: After finding out about the affair his wife had with a former neighbor of theirs... and that she had kept it from him for all those years.]]

* CovertPervert: is a regular customer of Patty.

* NiceGuy: Willing to help Earl

* DyingAlone: Subverted; it seems like he has no social life, but [[spoiler: All his friends are online.]]

* SecondActBreakup: When she sees that she's on Earl's list, she gets angry with Earl and leaves him. They get back together when Earl [[spoiler: takes the fall for Joy]], but it doesn't last long.

* PlayingTheVictimCard: He always finds an excuse to blame his parents for his crimes, ranging from; getting "two toilets" in his name, not getting him cargo pants, and not letting him go prom because he was too stoned to drive. [[spoiler: Even after everything Earl does for him, he still refuses to help him. In a fit of anger, Earl sets fire to his paintings and throws the same excuse at him. Learning the error of his ways, John apologizes by recreating the burned pictures.]]

* BeingGoodSucks: The reason for his final FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Being a nice guy meant he was too soft to run the family strip club.]]

* CloudCuckooLander: [[spoiler: When choosing a new pair for his ball transplant, he chooses BULL balls.]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: Apparently his answer to women claiming he knocked them up is [[spoiler: showing them both a bus ticket and his gun.]] Also, he throws a man in a freezing cold meat locker for accidentally scratching his car.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Is not too happy, when Earl accidentally [[spoiler: burns his father's grave.]]

* HeelRealization: After being left vulnerable for the first time and seeing everyone laugh at him, he realizes this. Happens again [[spoiler: when he goes back to his old ways.]]

** Despite being an [[TheAtoner atoning petty criminal,]] {{Jerkass}}, and a BookDumb hick, he has a real knack for getting along with people, is actively working hard to become a better person by righting all his past wrongs, in the process making his town a better place, and is willing to make great sacrifices for the people he cares about. Sometimes he relapses, but he brings up some interesting questions on morality and what makes a good person.

** At one point Earl felt guilty for indirectly ruining Mr Patrick's life while he worked in a fast food place. Randy reassured him that Karma could have borrowed Earl's fist to give him his comeuppance, as he was a horrible person who received no consequences for his actions. By punching Mr Patrick, all the people who suffered because of him have now received their respective karma.

** The two flaws end up correlating when Earl loses his temper and punches his boss, a cruel man who had it coming. He immediately tries to put him on the list but is told by Randy that he shouldn't need to apologise, as his actions punished the man for all the terrible things he did to others and the people who did suffer under him were being rewarded.

** When he discovers that it was actually Randy who caused the fire at the Right Choice Ranch, Earl blames Randy for ruining his chances at having a good life and forces him to complete his list. After interacting with Dodge and Earl Jr., Earl realises that he shouldn't hold it against Randy because he was genuinely apologetic about getting Earl in trouble all those years ago and because Randy was not responsible for Earl's actions after the fire.

* GoodIsNotSoft: He's willing to kick a person's ass if they sufficiently prove to deserve it. Despite being a reformed criminal, he is still willing to committ crimes if it will help balance his karma.

* {{Jerkass}}: Prior to starting his list, Earl was quite possibly the worst person in Camden County. [[CrapsackWorld Which is saying something]].

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Prior to the events of the series, Earl used to make fun of people with accents and he was initially freaked out by Kenny's homosexuality. As Earl himself mentions in one of his monologues; this was before the [=LGBT=] were more accepted in America, plus he lives in a small town and neither he nor Randy had any idea on how to conduct themselves around a gay person. Throughout the series, Earl does become more open-minded and accepting of people with different sexual identities, ethncities, and cultures. He does refer to transvestite/transexual prisoners as "Trannies" but this wasn't done maliciously; he still refers to them by their chosen gender identity and that particular episode was aired in 2007-2008, 9-10 years before "Trannies" was considered a slur in 2017. Judging by Earl's character, he wouldn't have used the word if he knew it was offensive.

* TookALevelInKindness: He initially begins his list out of a drug-induced misinterpretation of the concept of karma, but [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone seeing the result of several of his hijinks]], along with [[GoodFeelsGood feeling a sense of accomplishment in the first time in his life]] both lead to him becoming a legitimately good person, to the point of verging on an AllLovingHero.

* MamaBear: Lord have mercy on the poor bastard who hurts her kids, as shown by how she terrified her neighbours into moving away despite Joy being on anger suppressants.

* NiceGuy: Even after sleeping with Earl's wife, Earl can't stay mad at him and encourages him to stay with Joy after he found out she cheated on him as well. The home enviroment is also a lot less toxic for Dodge and Earl Jr. as Darnell was shown to be a better dad than Earl was.

* TeamMom: Up there with Darnell as the most reasonble out the group.

--> "I'm gonna die a virgin! *all look at her* I was saving myself for marriage...I hope [[{{God}} You're]] impressed! And that You exist!"

* AlmightyJanitor: Despite being just a hooker, she probably has lived a much fuller life than ''anyone'' in the series, and is surprisingly intellegent.

* CloudCuckoolander: Even after he gets out of prison, he's kinda...weird. For example, he consults with his crucifix tattoo, and thinks showing off [[TakeOurWordForIt a tattoo on his buttocks of Moses parting the Red Sea]] is perfectly normal. (He fails to understand why Earl doesn't want to see it.)

* CrazyCulturalComparison: Believes that when a stripper gives him a lapdance, he is legally married to her.

* GreenAesop: Teaches Earl about global warming...but also teaches him that he doesn't have to do anything monumental in order to make a difference.

* PlayingTheVictimCard: He always finds an excuse to blame his parents for his crimes, ranging from; getting "two toilets" in his name, not getting him cargo pants, and not letting him go prom because he was too stoned to drive. [[spoiler: Even after everything Earl does for him, he still refuses to help him. In a fit of anger, Earl sets fire to his paintings and throws the same excuse at him. Learning the error of his ways, John apologises by recreating the burned pictures.]]

* DumbMuscle: Strong enough to rip a phone cord out of a wall with little effort, and on shark adrenaline, mutilate a phone by slapping it into his head.

* TastesLikeFeet : Randy knows what a lot of things taste like, as he frequently licks things. "This chicken tastes like... zoo."

* SitcomArchNemesis: Has this kind of relationship with Joy, because the latter called her a whore at their first meeting.

* FanDisservice: She's middle-aged and not very attractive, which is actually a more accurate representation of RealLife prostitutes.

* HeelFaithTurn: Became a devout Christian while in prison [[spoiler: for a crime Earl committed]]

* GreenAesop: Teaches Earl about global warming...but also teaches him that he doesn't have to do anything monumental.

* ParentsAsPeople: Resents Earl, but also cares about him.