Happiest Season: 5 Ways Harper Is The Worst Character (& Why Sloane Is Even Meaner)

With all the holiday movies enjoyed this time of year, Happiest Season may soon be added to the list of beloved Christmas classics. The romantic comedy stars Kristen Stewart as Abby, a young woman invited to spend Christmas with her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and her family. But complications arise when Harper admits that her family doesn’t know she is gay.

The movie charmed a lot of audiences, but some have found Harper to be a generally unlikable character. But while she does treat Abby unfairly, Harper’s cold sister Sloane (Alison Brie) might be an even more unlikable character.

10 Harper: Ignoring Abby

Though she is initially reluctant to go, Abby gets really excited about getting to meet Harper’s family and even plans to propose to Harper while they are there. Though Harper’s revelation that they have to keep their relationship a secret throws a wrench in those plans, Abby goes along with it because she loves Harper.

However, Abby soon feels totally alienated as she is not included in the family fun and Harper begins ignoring her. She leaves her alone at parties and stays out with her friends when all Abby wants is to spend the holidays with the woman she loves.

9 Sloane: Overly Competitive

As soon as Sloane and Harper get together, it becomes clear that they have a very competitive relationship. While most siblings enjoy a friendly rivalry, Sloane seems to take it way past the point of being cute or enjoyable.

She is relentless in how she tries to prove herself better than Harper. While Harper fights back against Sloane, it is clear that Sloane is the instigator and it makes for a very bitter relationship between the two sisters.

8 Harper: Destroying Jane’s Painting

Jane is the third sister in the family and by far the most likable. When Abby and Harper come home, she is super excited to see Harper and is immediately warm and welcoming to Abby. But the rest of the family don’t show Jane the respect she deserves.

While Harper is not as dismissive of Jane, in the midst of a fight with Sloane, she does destroy the painting Jane worked very hard on. Jane is immediately devastated by this and it shows Harper’s selfishness that she didn’t even consider how it would make her sister feel.

7 Sloane: Being Rude To Jane

Harper might be the one who destroyed Jane’s painting, but at least she acts decently to her sister at other times. Sloane shows little to no affection towards Jane throughout their time together.

No matter how helpful or kind Jane is being, Sloane treats her with utter contempt or just flat out ignores her. It is a wonder why someone as awesome as Jane would waste her time with someone as dull as Sloane, but it just shows she is a better person.

6 Harper: Blaming Abby

When Harper returns home, she turns into a completely different person. While she might not mean to be so uncaring towards Abby, her insecurities cause her to keep Abby at a distance.

However, when Abby just wants to spend time with Harper, she turns it back on Abby and acts like she is the one being irrational. She claims Abby is smothering her and says she needs space. While she is free to have insecurities of her own, it is totally unfair for Harper to blame them on her girlfriend.

5 Sloane: Unwelcoming Attitude

Abby just wants to make a good impression on Harper’s family as she intends to marry Harper one day. Unfortunately, she has a hard time getting to know them at all and she is sort of pushed to the background for all the family stuff. But that’s royal treatment compared to how Sloane behaves toward Abby.

She is immediately cold to Abby for no reason whatsoever. Whenever Abby tries to make an effort to get to know Sloane, she only receives a condescending and annoyed attitude in return.

4 Harper: Denying Abby

When Abby has had enough of being pushed aside by Harper, she tells her girlfriend she is leaving. Harper finally realizes how unfair she has been to Abby. She apologizes and explains how she is afraid she will lose her parents if the truth comes out.

When the truth does come out with Abby standing right next to her, Harper’s first reaction is to deny it and deny her relationship with Abby. While it is certainly a hard situation for Harper, she chose to break Abby’s heart.

3 Sloane: Unsympathetic

Both Harper and Sloane do terrible things in the movie, some of which are hard to forgive. However, it is much easier to find sympathy with Harper than it is for Sloane.

Harper is struggling with the idea that she cannot be open about her sexuality or she will lose the love of her parents. Even when she makes bad choices, it’s easy to understand her dilemma. In Sloane’s case, she is jealous that Harper gets all the attention from their parents and wants to destroy that bond.

2 Harper: What She Did To Riley

Being in Harper’s hometown, Abby meets a lot of people from Harper’s past, including Riley. Harper has told Abby that Riley was her first girlfriend, but Riley later explains that it is more complicated than that.

When they were younger, Harper and Riley would write love letters to each other. When one of the letters was found by someone else, Harper claimed Riley was gay and obsessed with her. It was a vicious betrayal that made Riley an outcast.

1 Sloane: Outing Her Sister

When Sloane walks in on Harper and Abby kissing, the look on her face is one of pure evil. Instead of having sympathy for her sister having to hide who she was, or being happy she is in this relationship, Sloane sees it as an opportunity for revenge.

She interrupts the Christmas party and announces to her parents that Harper is gay. Outing Harper in front of everyone and against her wishes is such an evil act and one that she does not deserve to be forgiven for.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2045 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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