This series has always been about peculiar people. Many of the characters were presented with brief descriptions of their peculiarities long before they became active in the plot line; and the audience was explicitly told that this school was shot-through with unusual people. Moreover, this series has always been about understanding and thence kindness.
Still, there are comments here complaining about the number of peculiar characters, and lots of comments that are grossly unkind reactions to those characters.