Morally Gray Characters Explained

All right, folks, we need to talk about what “morally gray” actually means. 

We know they’re irresistible despite their flaws, but how do we make sure we’re writing a compelling morally gray character and not just an unpredictable mess?

What Makes a Character Morally Gray?

A morally gray character isn’t fully “good” or “evil.” Instead, they make choices that blur the line between right and wrong. They will do bad things for good reasons and good things for selfish reasons—and it will be a pattern of behavior. 

I bold “pattern” because this is where I see most writers slip. A character who made one bad choice in the past – even if it was tragic or traumatic – is not morally gray. That’s just a mistake. 

True moral grayness operates on its own moral compass. These characters have complex motivations guiding their choices. They may lie, steal, or even kill, but often in pursuit of survival, ambition, or love. 

Take Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi. For much of the story, he’s depicted as greedy, always demanding money before helping others. Eventually, we learn his greed is actually devotion: he’s using that money to feed his orphaned siblings. He puts money (and safety) above heroics because he has to. While he eventually transitions into a more traditional hero archetype, he first embodies a morally gray space. 

Why Morally Gray Characters Work

Morally gray characters force readers to ask hard questions: 

Would you kill one innocent person to save an entire kingdom? Would you chose your lover over the safety of everyone else? Does manipulation justify the end goal of peace?

Forgiveness should be debatable. The tension is all about ethics and choices, not vibes and aesthetic. They can be lovers, antagonists, protagonists, and even sidekicks. They are not just hot brooding villains. 

A character who kills an innocent person without remorse is not morally gray; they’re just evil. 

A Gray Example

You all know I love Vampire Knight. Mostly because Kaname and his morally grey chessboard. He is devoted to Yuki (the protagonist), but he is also deeply manipulative. He’s loving yet terrifyingly dangerous. His loyal friendships turn out to be war strategy. He’s protecting Yuki’s secret identity as the hidden princess, but he’s also manipulating everyone else, including the rival love interest, to get the outcome he wants most.

Kaname’s consistent motivation—even when we don’t know what it is—keeps the plot moving. It also creates fascinating character dynamics and heart-wrenching scenes. 

My Morally Gray Characters 

In my books, I have two morally gray characters I always point to: 

Robert in Bad Bloods leads the Southern Flock—eleven orphaned children. To protect them, he commits more crimes than I can count, including murdering the innocent family who lived in the house he turns into their shelter. He’s strict and ruthless, but also a fiercely protective parental figure. He makes exceptions for no one—except my protagonist Serena (and yes, his reasons for doing so are eventually revealed). 

Noah in Take Me Tomorrow is the middle child of a drug lord, sent back to his hometown to smuggle out his sister. Too bad he falls for a girl who’s stuck in the capital. Torn between saving her and finding his sister, Noah makes plenty of bad (and selfish) choices—all while wrestling an addiction to the very drug his dad peddles. 

Robert is quiet, calculating, almost studious. Noah is loud, reckless, and constantly in motion. But what their share it consistency. Their choices—good and bad—always flow from who they are at their core. 

And that’s key. 

Morally gray characters can—and should—still have varying personalities, but they should be consistent in their unique chaos. 

Have you ever written a morally gray character? Or fallen in love with one? 

Tell me your favorite in the comments. 

~SAT

Free Kindle Book: Bad Bloods: November Rain