Caroline Channing & Max Black

Max can be characterized by her sarcasm and cynicism, often making jokes and throwing casual insults even when inappropriate. Part of it comes from her enjoyment of teasing those around her (especially Han and Caroline), but it's also a tough front to prevent people from getting too close to her. She rarely allows herself to be vulnerable or show affection and on the limited occasions where she does, it comes with extreme difficulty. This is due to a lifetime of being let down by the people around her and as a result, she doesn't believe good things can or even should happen to her; even if they do, she often believes they are doomed to fail, which contrasts with Caroline's optimistic worldview. While not as academically gifted as Caroline, she relies on her street smarts and manipulation skills to get her what she wants and is rarely intimidated by anyone, countering threats with verbal and even physical assaults.

Considering sex one of the only free sources of entertainment, Max often engages in masturbation and casual sex and is very open about her promiscuity, frequently telling anecdotes about her sexual escapades. The actual number of her sexual partners is unknown (even to herself), though she does have some long-term relationships over the series, most notably with Deke and Randy, the latter of whom she later becomes engaged to. In relationships, she is often hesitant, not knowing how to be happy and open up, and tends to self-sabotage to avoid getting hurt.

Max is also extremely lazy, rarely willing to go out of her comfort zone, which results in Caroline needing to drag her along for things like business ventures. She is not particularly altruistic and prefers to mind her own business, but has a soft spot for animals. Max is mostly seen wearing her work uniform and outside of work, she usually dresses casually in clothes from Goodwill. She has a preference for dark colors, flannels, and graphic tees, and is almost always seen in dark boots.

As the foil to Max, Caroline is a perky, cheerful, notably bubbly, charismatic young woman. Despite what her bubbly disposition may suggest, Caroline is an extremely intelligent and educated woman, having gotten excellent grades during her time in school and serving as valedictorian. She is knowledgeable in business and finance, using her skills to help grow Max's Homemade Cupcakes and also help the diner gang with their taxes. She is much more driven than Max, being the one to come up with the idea for starting a cupcake business and becoming the main driving force in making sure that their business gets off the ground thanks to her book smarts and talents in sales.

While academically inclined, Caroline lacks Max's street smarts and is quite meddlesome. While Max prefers to stay out of other people's business, Caroline often meddles and while she usually does so with good intentions, it usually ends poorly due to her saying the wrong things, or not fully understanding the situation before jumping in..