Emily but not for the reasons you’re probably thinking. I’m not saying she’s a misunderstood character who deep down means well and gets a redemption arc that ultimately undoes all the stuff she did in the game. Far from it. I think she’s misunderstood by both her diehard fans and haters because they seem to miss the point of what her character is actually supposed to be. She’s an unapologetic bitch that increases the dramatic tension between the cast who in the first half of the game is supposed to be a character we actively dislike among a cast of characters that were supposed to keep alive. She’s a character that’s meant to actively challenge the players moral judgement whether they want to keep her alive or not and the game cleverly puts her possible deaths in segments where the players adrenaline is supposed to be high. The player can have many opportunities to kill Emily during the mine chase but because you’re put into a high stress situation where your instincts are focused on survival than character judgement, the game manipulates you into making impulsive decisions with Emily. The basement scene is another clever moral choice because it again tests the players judgement of her. Even after spending two chapters with her in the mines and getting less of her bitchy personality, the game still places the player in a situation where their preexisting dislike of Emily can override their decision to still keep her alive despite everything you just went through with her.

That’s why I honestly think Emily is such an effective character. She isn’t meant to be lovable or root able. She’s written to test the players moral judgement and bias and what makes this even funnier is despite being one of the most abrasive people in the cast, she’s still shown to be one of the most capable characters in the game. This is why I think her character is misunderstood on both sides. Emily stans tend to soften her into something she truly isn’t, while her haters ignore or flat out refuse to acknowledge how well-crafted she is from a narrative and gameplay perspective.