“Make Way for the Bad Guy”
Whether it be in books, movies, or on TV, there is always a character that you don’t know what to make of. Instead, you have this weird mix of feelings for them. You like them, you hate them, you want them to change, but then again, you don’t. Sometimes you can’t stand them, and yet you want to read/see more of them, and above all, you want to find redeeming qualities, so that you can justify why you have this draw towards them. For me, one of my favourite current baddies is Damon Salvatore from the Vampire Diaries. Unfortunately, the books lost their appeal for me after the third installment, but I think the TV show is just fantastic and Ian Somerhalder is the perfect baddie, who you just don’t want to hate (or you can’t hate? Not sure which one it is!). Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape were another two that I had a love/hate relationship with. With Draco, the love/hate feelings weren’t as strong for the book character, but they were with the actor that played him in the movie (Tom Felton did a great job). There was something about the blonde hair and smirk that was comical and likeable for me. Plus he was a coward, so I think I felt a little bad for him too.
Here are my top 5 Baddies that I love to hate:
1. Damon from Vampire Diaries
2. Catwoman
3. Gollum from The Lord of the Rings
4. Loki from Thor
5. Tony Montana from Scarface
Let me know which bad guys (or gals) you love to hate.
14 thoughts on ““Make Way for the Bad Guy””
ooh, you have some good lave/hate picks there.
Catwoman and Loki because they both play both sides, occasionally helping out the “good guys” and occasionally being the villain. And Gollum because you can’t help but pity him and the pathetic state he was reduced to by the ring.
The comics world has some great, over-the-top bad guys, some of whom did it to themselves, like the Green Goblin, and some who were unfortunate products of accident or upbringing, like the Joker.
It’s always interesting when you get a good, layered back story that makes for a more complex villain! So much more satisfying.
Thanks, Alice 🙂
You’re right, it’s all about the back story of the character. The Joker is a great example.
I always had mixed feelings for Snape in Harry Potter, like sure he devoted his life to protecting Harry because of his love for Lilly Evans, but most of the time he still treated Harry like dirt.
Hi Hyerin, that’s a good point. Initially I didn’t like Snape either, but once Rowling gave his character more depth, and the gave us the back-story, I found him more likeable, and in a way I felt bad for him. All along, it was Snape that was helping Harry and protecting him, so in the end, he was one of my favourite characters. Plus I found it a bit comical at times, especially in the movies (thinking of the scene in the Goblet of Fire where Ron and Harry are discussing who to take to the Yule Ball during his class, and Snape hits them on the head! Hilarious! :P)
DAMOOOOOOON OMG
gotta love the vampire diaries 😀
i always had a thing for edward cullen.. well actually all the cullen guys 😛
LOL! I hear ya!! 😀
Now here’s the question… did you like Edward better in the books or in the movies?
Very true I guess he hated Harry since he resembles James. But he is Lilly’s (Lily?) son just as much. I kept thinking that he was the bad guy up until the vision. Hmm I guess I understand why he is so bitter, especially towards Neville since if Voldemort had chose him instead of Harry, Lilly could have been spared.
I love that scene! I felt really bad for Snape at the end of the series. Ever since he was young, he spent his time chasing Lily, then when he got older, he had to risk his life for years protecting Harry. He never had a free happy moment.
I think most of the time I feel this way about characters its because of how attractive they’re described to be or portrayed in the movies. I only began to feel more than a twinge of sympathy for Draco Malfoy and Barty Crouch Jr. after seeing the movies thanks to Tom Felton and David Tennant. It’s superficial, I know, but not uncommon.
I think TV Tropes describes it excellently: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DracoInLeatherPants
1) Eric from Divergent
2) Ethan from The Lying game
3) Damon from The Vampire Diaries
4) Bane from Batman
5) Oakland from Variant
If anyone watches American Horror Story, Tate from the first season
He kills 30+ people, including students (school shooting, where he was the shooter), rapes Violet’s mom, is completely incapable of empathy, and just an awful human being– and yet everyone loves his character
HONESTLY, if he wasn’t played by an attractive actor like Evan Peters, everyone would hate his guts
BTW, if you don’t already watch it, it’s a fantastic show. One of my favorites, next to True Detective and Game of Thrones 🙂
It’s such a great scene! 😛
I agree with you. I think a lot of it is superficial, even in the books. The characters are always described as super good looking, and mysterious, and are always the brooding type. I guess it keeps us entertained.