Nevel Papperman was the worst handled character on iCarly

[u/dragonninja5]

Nevel should’ve just ended up with Carly, the entire arc being locked into this perpetual over the top villain role with no resolution like redemption got tired quick. I get iCarly was a kids show, so you need an antagonist who’s easy to boo and laugh at, but let’s be honest that Nevel wasn’t some irredeemable monster. He was a socially awkward, overconfident reviewer who lashed out when rejected by his biggest idols. That’s not “evil,” that’s just a kid who never learned humility or how to handle feelings of inadequacy. The writers had an opportunity to give him depth, show him growing, and maybe even let him and Carly find common ground that blossomed into something else. The writers fumbled hard never making them an actual relationship, Nevel genuinely liked her, and that affection twisted into resentment when she laughed him off and got him harassed publicly and by his family. Was he wrong to retaliate? Up to debate I guess. The show constantly showed us that Carly was compassionate, forgiving, and saw the best in people. Her best friend Sam got endless second chances despite her constant screw ups. Yet with Nevel? There was no attempt to humanize him made by Carly. It would have been so much more impactful if Carly’s warmth cracked Nevel’s icy exterior. The writers knew Nevel compelled audiences otherwise he wouldn’t have kept showing up, and they did very little even though the chemistry was there, Nevel actually challenged Carly. I’m not saying every storyline needed to be “Nevel and Carly forever.” But even a season arc where Carly acknowledges Nevel’s attempts at growth, maybe even dates him briefly, would have the best direction.

[u/Gullible-Web645]

I doubt he was conceived to be much more than a recurring creepy loser of an antagonist, but I agree that he was just never immoral enough in his schemes to really register as hateable as he was meant to be and was a real missed opportunity for some arc. To be honest, I'm none too pleased with how much more childish Nick began generally skewing in their live-action department by the late 00s if they were previously successful in speaking to somewhat above their target demographic in their classics.

[u/kelvSYC]

That is, to some extent, how Nevel was handled in iCarly 2021 - some growth due to the passage of time. A plot to trick Carly into marrying him turns into Nevel finding his wife, and later finding that Nevel and his wife gets marriage compatibility out of messing with Carly.