Today, we have a fun guest post about villains. I enjoyed reading this submission, so I hope you like it just as much. Looks like we’ll be having more posts from this author!
Fiction usually has a good protagonist. However, REALLY good fiction usually has a great villain – someone you love to hate. Some of the best shows, movies and books were made popular not by the hero, but the villain. Villains tend to be more interesting and it’s often the reader’s own conjecture and reasoning regarding the antagonist’s dark complexities that makes for an enjoyable experience.
Let’s take a look at some of these memorable baddies:
Alice Morgan (Luther)
A criminal mastermind and recurring femme fatale on the BBC series , Alice is as dangerous as she is beautiful. The only thing more disturbing than her penchant for murder and mayhem is her uncanny ability to redeem herself in the eyes of the viewer…luring them into a false sense of security. The most intriguing quality Alice has is that glimmer of humanity she will sometimes show off, however rare.
Benjamin Linus (LOST)
What Ben lacks in weight and muscle, he more than makes up for with wit and a Luciferian tongue. Few can match his deception – sowing distrust in his enemies and completely obliterating obstacles with an idea. A man of few words, mostly, his targets often feel the weight of his actions when it’s too late. The long-term endgame for Ben is often obscure and you never know for sure if he’s truly been beaten.
James Moriarty (Sherlock)
So brilliant and so cunning, Moriarty thinks of himself above the rest. Terror is his goal and lives lost in his wake are the price peons pay for his greatness. With total disregard for human life, his crimes are often aimed at drawing the attention and eliciting a response from his arch nemesis, Sherlock Holmes. The world is a game to Mr. Moriarty and humanity is the required collateral for his war with Holmes.
Negan (The Walking Dead comic)
Sometimes he’s brutally violent and sometimes he’ll bend over backwards to apologize – you never know which one you’ll get until it’s too late to do anything about either. Calling Negan bipolar might just be the understatement of the century, but it’s clear that the two extremes are constantly at odds. Nothing is sacred to Negan and his bloody bat – not even main characters, but we won’t name names.
Joffrey Boratheon (Game of Thrones)
I suppose if a King makes the laws he can’t really be a criminal, but it would be criminal not to include Joffrey from . What can you say about a boy who commits regicide, forces prostitutes to beat each other to death and cuts open pregnant cats to see what unborn kittens look like? With a litany of atrocities on his hands, fans want to know what atrocity might await this irredeemable villain.
Walter White (Breaking Bad)
High school chemistry teacher to most wanted man in the underworld; the journey for Walter has been long and full of surprises. If this were three years ago, it would be debatable whether or not he belonged on this list. Now, however, after all the people he’s murdered and all the lives he’s ruined, it’s safe to say that Walter’s journey to the dark side is nearing completion…and we can’t wait to see how it ends.
Tony Soprano (The Sopranos)
It was James Gandolfini’s portrayal of Tony which, arguably, changed the way we looked at protagonists forever. Sure, you had some bad boy leads before him, but nothing quite on the level of Tony Soprano. He was homicidal, he was conniving, he was a liar, he was savage and he was a real person – with real concerns both for his family and his job. There was no reconciling or divorcing the crime from the man.
Russell “Stringer” Bell (The Wire)
When it comes to irredeemable bad guys, Stringer walked the line in . While, on one hand, he was as violent and ruthless as the next drug lord, he demonstrated time and time again to be a man of substance and class. Studying economics, he sought to legitimize the practice of drug trafficking in his desire to reduce street-level violence as well as turn a larger profit through cooperation.
Carl Elias (Person of Interest)
Like Stringer, Elias and his activities are geared toward the betterment of organized crime. However, Elias has no problem making what he deems to be necessary sacrifices in his campaign to revitalize the New York City crime families and obliterating the Russian mob interlopers. And, just when you think you’ve found a line he won’t cross, he takes a flying leap over it – no one is safe from his ambitions.
Annie Wilkes (Misery)
It’s pretty safe to say that Annie put the fan in fanatic. Not only did she kidnap her favorite author, she forced him to write a manuscript just for her – undoing all the things she didn’t like from his last book. One of the most iconic scenes in the film comes when Annie learns that her unwilling guest is trying to escape. We won’t get into detail but see that hammer? Not just for smashing rocks.
At the end of the day, these are the characters most of us remember long after the story has concluded. Villains – love’em or hate’em – play an integral role in transforming fictional stories into vivid and unforgettable experiences.
London McGuire is a freelance writer and blogger for WeLoveTVMore.com. In addition to the horror and thriller genres, she enjoys writing about sports, great food and anything related to television or movies. Follow her on Twitter @londonmcguire.