Should side characters become MCs?

Before I delve into the topic that haunts me constantly -- side characters who are better than MCs -- can we all take a shared moment to laugh at the AI suggested topics for this blog post? Offered completely unprompted.

Truly, my favorite is "Crafting dynamic characters like side dishes on a feast table." I don't even know what a feast table is, but I'd really rather AI got to work on preparing a feast to serve on a feast table instead of bothering with what us writers love to suffer through: writing.

Writing may send me on a whirlwind of emotions every time I start writing, but it's my whirlwind. So, AI, please be a dear and take care of the chores instead?

Back to side characters. Truly, one of the most interesting topics in writing, to me. Because side characters somehow get to become so beloved. They retain a bit more mystery than your MCs, which may be the secret to their greater appeal.

When you don't know everything about a character, it's easier to root for them. Whereas knowing your MC's every flaw, following all their silly mistakes, it conflates those feelings of rooting for them. Even if it does make for a compelling character arc to see all the flaws, the things they overcome, the problems they create and encounter along the way.

However, cue the Carrie Bradshaw voice, I wondered: Was there a way to bring the spark of the side character into my Main Character? And, on that note, should your side characters become MCs?

The answer is probably not because your side characters most likely don't have complete character arcs, and instead are good for banter and learning about your MC and various other plot devices that make them fun and absurd.

From the reader side, side characters are usually my favorite ones (Jacks! Elijah from BELLADONNA). From the writer side, they are also the most fun to write because I'm not always thinking about how everything they say and do fits into their arc.

So, maybe the key to adding some side character energy to your MC is being a little looser with them, having some fun, taking them on unexected tangents and seeing how it all plays out?

This is something I'm currently working on. TBD if it will be a chaotic disaster when I reread the new ETERNAL NIGHT SOIREE draft. It's quite possible. Especially since this is a four person POV book with many MCs and many more side characters.

What are your thoughts on side character energy? Who are your favorite side characters?