As far as Holt is concerned, Madeline Wuntch is the absolute worst. Over the course of the show, Holt has described Wuntch as everything from a "devil, a goat, a bat, a forked-tongued lizard witch" to "a talking raisin" and so much more. But is Wuntch really that bad? Actually, yes — especially considering how often she torments Holt for seemingly no reason at all.
For starters, Wuntch has a flimsy "reason" for even hating Holt in the first place: she once tried to seduce him and was embarrassed when he turned her down because of his sexuality. That's enough to cause some moderate embarrassment, but Wuntch grows an intense hatred for Holt and makes it her mission to essentially strip his life from any and all joy. She he goes way too far every time she tries to take the noble captain down, and it's frustrating for fans to watch. From giving the precinct failing grades during assessments to "promoting" Holt to a terrible desk job after pretending to be his friend to sabotaging several of Holt's best laid plans, Wuntch really is the worst after all — and it's easy to understand why nobody can stand watching her on screen.
The fact that Wuntch is so overtly terrible, however, is a pretty great credit to Sedgwick, who pulls off her vengeful, spiteful performance with total gusto despite the fact that she's so beloved for her longtime role on The Closer. As Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on police procedural, Sedgwick won a Golden Globe and an Emmy— in 2007 and in 2010, respectively — before the show came to a close in 2012. Johnson, an excellent detective who often closes cases by getting the necessary confession, couldn't be more different from Wuntch, a cold, hard woman who often gets in her own way professionally.
