Chad McKnight is one of the main characters in Netflix’s action comedy series, Obliterated. The character is played by Nick Zano.
Obliterated follows a CIA elite tactical unit of best of the best agents from all forces who are tasked with some of the most perilous of missions.
The tactical unit of agents that the show follows consists of an array of eccentric characters most of whom like to party just as hard as they like to work.
The leader at the helm of operations is Ava Winters, who’s essentially the brains of the operation, while the brawns in the whole nuke-neutralizing, world-saving affair is Chad McKnight.
A walking stereotype
His name is Chad, which is so on-the-nose that even another character states the unabashed on-the-nose-ness of it.
Chad is a chiseled, athletic fighting machine who’s got more brawn than brain as he constantly exudes the jock-ish charms.
He’s the full package of the fraternity dude-bro archetype, from the vernacular he employs to the way he speaks as well as the treatment of women as sexual goals.
Then he’s also got the hyper-patriotic American jingoism parts to the tee. He loves Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA for its misinterprets patriotic aesthetics while the anti-US commentary within the track eludes him.
The aforementioned fact is made funnier when a Russian arms dealer highlights it to him, whom Chad McKnight constantly refers to as a “commie” — his go-to slang for the terrorists and arms dealers who are anything but communistic in their endeavors.
Additionally, Chad is also oblivious to a fault, of his closest friend Trunks’ sexuality. He spends the most amount of time with him and yet remains clueless regarding his homosexuality — something that everyone else has known for a long time.
Beyond the stereotype
Given all the clichés that he thrives on, Chad McKnight can be more than just a sum of all those clichés and stereotypes.
He’s a mother who he absolutely adores, like she does him. She raised him as a single mother after her husband’s death and the two have been really close.
Both are shown to be similarly brash and macho, having a good time watching Sylvester Stallone movies together. Their tastes are also the same.
That he’s a mama’s boy surprises Ava Winters upon learning of it. She sees all the stereotypical aspects of his personality as others do as well.
However, during a world-saving mission, she gets to know more about him, including his warmer side and the tact he employs often. It makes sense then, why the two end up together at the end of Obliterated.
Also Read: Obliterated summary and ending explained
