>>114170161>>114170192>>114170410>>114170666All of these people and more are basically reaching the same point, in that the main thing you have to do with an asshole character for your audience to like them is have them constantly have this fact thrown back in their face. When they eat shit regularly, it takes away that sense of superiority they give off to the viewer and brings them down to a more human level. You can then humanize them or try and redeem them or what have you after the fact.
The Gang in It's Always Sunny is a good example of this; you set a foundation of them being shit people and can then play around with their characters in less malicious or even generally endearing ways after that (Mac's dance, Charlie and Dee going out and just being normal people for an episode, any instance of The Gang just winning), since you're so used to the universe hating them that you don't really feel the want or need to hate them too. This is why, when Master Shake sacrifices himself to save Meatwad out of unconditional compassion for him, it's a good moment.
I don't think Rick sucks in general -I like him in the other three seasons, since he's much more fun and has nice moments (come here ya little goofball!!)- but the reason he sucks so much dick in S3 is due to how they both ramp up his cuntiness and because the season treats him just as great as he now treats himself. Every instance of Rick losing is so menial and forgettable in S3 that it never brings him down from that podium (therapist gives him a speech that he clearly did not register on any meaningful level, he was sad to himself for a minute after the Unity episode?). He just gets to make stupid fucking god-complex speeches and spew pseudo-intellectual garbage about morality and Jerry being a predator and shit. They fixed this in S4 by essentially reverting him back to his more likable S1/2 self, and also having him get shat on in the toilet episode to make dues.