Welcome to the YA Indie Carnival,
ladies & gents!
This week’s topic is…
The Villainous Villainy of… um… Villains
Villains.
Evil laughter. Excessive mustache twirling. The dreaded monologuing. World or galactic domination. Damsels tied to railroad tracks. Lust. Greed. Power.
We all love to hate the villain. But what makes a bad guy so… GOOD?
Maybe it says something disturbing about me, but a well-written villain can often become my favorite character in a story — their role often determining the quality of a plot. Stories are propelled by conflict, because, as we all know, without the conflict there would be no story. There needs to be something that brings the hero/heroine to his/her knees, to test their character, to put the things and people they love in danger; something that they must overcome, to fight against, to conquer. The villain provides this necessary upheaval in the plot to keep things interesting, and as such they have the opportunity to be the single most intriguing character in the entire story… if done right.
One of my all time favorite villains is this guy right here:
Blog, meet Scorpius. Creepy, right?
Scorpy is the main baddie from the sci-fi show Farscape, his over-arcing aim being to gain the wormhole technology that’s locked inside our lovable hero’s — John Crichton’s — head. Simple enough goal, right? You’d think so wouldn’t you? <snort> So what makes him my favorite villain?
Scorpius is complicated, he’s devious, he’s intelligent. The writers spent time developing him; giving him a complex and heartbreaking back story of a mistreated, half-breed child who was considered weak in a society that tolerated no weakness, never truly belonging to either race, and handled with scorn and contempt due to circumstances over which he had no control. It provides the viewer with a context through which we can view his current actions. Though I, of course, don’t want to see Scorpius prevail over the good guys and though his nefarious deeds can be unforgivable, I feel pity and compassion for the lonely, oppressed child he once was and for the vengeful, consumed person he’s become. In the present, he relentlessly pursues Crichton, doing whatever he can to foul up his plans, manipulatively using whatever leverage he has to try and convince Crichton to give up the one thing Scorpius desires above all else — the technology that will allow him his revenge. Through the course of the story Scorpius also develops a complex and strange symbiotic relationship with Crichton that provides another layer of depth to his character, and creates yet more conflicted feelings in the viewer.
I guess what I’m trying to say is this:
Do I like Scorpius?
No. Not really. He’s a bad dude. We won’t be hanging out any time soon. Plus, he dresses like an escapee from some twisted S&M video.
Do I respect him?
Absolutely. Despite his questionable fashion choices, he’s proved time and time again throughout the story that he’s a manipulative and formidable enemy, and one that relentlessly tries to worm his way into my sympathies. It’s because of these incredibly polarized feelings that his character is able to generate that he has become my favorite villain.
Now, seriously, go Netflix Farscape. You won’t be sorry.
So….villains? What’s your take on them?
P.S. – None of these Farscape images belong to me. They belong to whoever currently owns the rights to the show.
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Oh my god! Farscape was the best show ever! John and Aeryn are still the best on screen couple I’ve seen. I kind of loved Scorpius too! He was so twisted and disturbed. I can believe that show finished nearly 10 years ago now!
I KNOW! I loved that Farscape wasn’t afraid to actually explore ROMANCE. John & Aeryn are one of my favorite on screen couples of all time too. And wow…. ten years ago. I guess it has been ten years. Man, I feel old. lol
As always, you are brilliant!
Brilliant, eh? Oh, do go on… 😉
LOL
Thanks for stopping by Heather!
It’s true! Your blog is one of favs. It’s umm…pretty
LOL… was totally being facetious, and thank you 😀
Great post!
I’ve to admit that my own answer is less… structured, original and noteworthy. It also makes less sense.
I tend to like villains because I like being contrary. Maybe.
Or maybe I like them because, sometimes, the villains are more honest than the heroes – specially in epic fantasy.
Or because it takes guts to drive the whole world to hate you, to make powerful enemies, just because you are determined to achieve your goals.
As a rule of thumb: if the villain has read the Evil Overlord list, if he has motivations, if he has depth… I’ll probably be rooting for him.
I might forego the previous requisites if he’s hot enough, too lol
Thanks for the great post, Dani!
Ron
Love bad guys with empathetic histories… that hint of innocence shattered and lost forever. Those we can feel for, understand at the most base level while still fearing them and wishing them dead. Awesome, Dani!
Haha! Escapee from some twisted s&m video. That’s great! It depends on the villain, but I do find that a lot of the time I do like them or respect them. I think that if they are well written, and have more substance than just being the bad guy, they are likeable in their own way. Great post.