The development of a character throughout the course of a movie or television series is one of the things that holds the attention of viewers as the story plays out. Change within a character is necessary because it gives the character a sense of authenticity. In real life, people change over time. While these changes may not be large, they are significant. I have seen pretty much every episode of TruTv's Impractical Jokers, and feel throughout the five seasons the guys have each gone through their own individual changes. Although they're still the lovable goofballs we've come to know, watching them grow because of the show gives it the genuity that keeps us coming back for more. Here are my thoughts on how Sal, Joe, Murr, and Q have grown in their times as the Jokers.
Sal
Anyone who has watched at least one episode of IJ knows that Sal is the scaredy cat of the bunch (Side note: people who've watch more than one episode know why call Sal a scaredy cat is funny).
The other guys have been known to exploit Sal's fears both in challenges and in punishments. Though Sal hasn't gotten over his fears, he has definitely learned how to better deal with them and to face new ones. Season 1 Sal could have never ridden in the trunk of a random car, stood in a yucky swamp dressed as the Bog Monster of Louisiana, or helped deliver a cow. Through the show Sal has become much better at dealing with things he's afraid of (even though the rest of us don't find them all that scary).
Joe
On the show, it seems that Joe has remained the most consistent. However, something that happened off the show has had a bit of an influence on his performance - his marriage!
The guys have learned that Joe's kryptonite in "if you refuse, you lose" challenges is wife jokes. It's usually easy for Joe to say the crazy, ethically questionable things the guys make up for each other, but since he's a gentleman he could never even think about saying those things about his wife. I would argue that this change in his life has made Joe stop and think before deciding whether or not to refuse during a challenge. Though Joe has become a bit more hesitant, he definitely hasn't softened his approach or got off his game. He remains one of the hardest Jokers to stump.
Murr
Murr has always been the man with the plan. He's often ridiculed for his various plans, mainly because they don't ever seem to work. Murr has finally realized that, since he can't have complete control over each challenge, he might as well just let loose and let the chips fall where they may. In Season 5, he actually won a challenge after stating he wasn't going to plan it out!
I predict that in Season 6 (Which starts on February 9th - yay!) Murr will continue his newfound strategy and maybe even keep himself from getting punished!
Q
Q has changed most notably out of the four guys by far. In the beginning, Q struggled interacting with the public. He could almost never get people to sign his petitions, he had a hard time getting their opinions to be in his favor during "joker vs. joker" challenges, and he seemed significantly more nervous and uncomfortable performing during his turns than the others.
It's been a pleasure watching these guys grow for the past five seasons, and I can't wait to see where the next season takes them!
