People who "love" or "hate" characters to the point of wishing they were not in the storyline miss the point.
People of all kinds exist--and none are simple.Personally, I found Amanda pretty one-dimensional and therefore boring, but I give the writers the benefit of the doubt, and assume that given more time they would have expanded and deepened her character.Jessi was complex and interesting. She sensed that there was some component missing in her, and in her life, and longed for connection, while not understanding the mechanism of empathy.I was touched by her clumsy and clueless attempts to make amends. Her violent tantrums were a more powerful version of what any toddler goes through as they learn how to feel and manage feelings of frustration, pain and rage.Her path of learning was complicated further by the manipulations of her handlers.It would have been great to see how she developed, sorted things out, and found her own path, if ever she was to be allowed to do so.It might have even been interesting to see if Kyle, as he became less naive and trusting, moved closer to being more like Jessi as she moved closer to being like him.I'd have predicted that, given a couple more seasons, we'd have seen a point where they were both at the midpoint, perfectly balanced between realistic self-protection and idealistic self-sacrifice.And here's another thought: what if, on that continuum, they passed each other, and Kyle became the hardcore cynic and Jessi the loving empathetic soul?   See 23 other replies

Jessi's storyline is that she is a real, complex human being, who only wants to be loved and fit in without compromising who she is, yet life deals her a blow after blow, seemingly without end in sight. S 2 Ep 6,7 shows her true personalty unspoiled by pain, rejection and betrayal that will come later. She has a crush on Declan, and when she is not acting pre-programmed or on instinct (violent outbursts), she is the girl from Casablanca - romantic, lonely, vulnerable, sweet and sexy - the mature version of the "girl next door" that is Amanda. Jessi was happy in those episodes, but it is pain, not happiness that will acompany her from now on. She is wiped from her feelings for Declan, reprogrammed to be a killer, and as time goes by she is betrayed and abandoned by every family member she has (Emily, Brian, Sarah). What is worse, all of them treat her like a tool, a wepon, a project, a mistake but not as a human being - the way Kyle is treated by everyone he meets. Everybody's attitude towards her (including many viewers :)) is that we would all be better of if she was dead, simply because she is inconvinient, she does not fit in, she is different – an attitude she can see clearly. She is unwilling to hide who she truly is, unlike Kyle spends most of his time pretending to be dumber than he is just so he could fit in (s2ep15 career fair for example). The real question then becomes - how much pain can this sweet girl endure before she reaches a boiling point, before pain overpowers her and drives her to become a manipulative stone cold killer, the perfect "supervillain".

When despite all that suffering she chooses "to be a good person" it made us believe in humanity, in our ability to make "moral" and "right" choices not when it is convinient or easy (Kyle), but when those choices come at a terrible price (saving Amanda, only to never see you mother again S3 ep1).   See 23 other replies