So good, Sarah! This line: “ I don’t see humans as divided into winners and losers, we’re simply loved and the universe is trying to help us and give us what we need.”
I love a well-written, complicated antagonist- and yes, Javert is so good bc he’s wrong but can’t see it! Scarlet O’Hara is fascinating. I love her grit and beauty and intelligence but she’s so destructive and becomes her own worst enemy…
The cartoon could totally be about Kylo Ren, who was a certified villain that the internet went MAD for. I get that he's an attractive man, but the worship of the CHARACTER always mystified me. HE KILLED HAN SOLO, PEOPLE. He deserves to be digested for a thousand years in the stomach of a Saarlac.
Super insightful read Sarah! I’m a sports guy so my examples come from two baseball movies: The Judge in “The Natural” and the Rachel Phelps character in “Major League.” Their faces don’t melt off but they each certainly get their comeuppance 🤣
Fantastic breakdown! In a way it almost feels more believable that the Nazis in Raiders are brought down not by one whip snapping American professor, but by the incredible power within the arc because they never thought God's arc would melt THIER faces. In a way that also plays in to the satisfying conclusion.
Oh my gosh I LOVE a delicious bad guy! Great post Sarah! I think a key ingredient to a compelling villain is their steadfast belief that THEY are the one doing the right thing. They are the hero of their own story - Javert is a great example of this. Magneto is another one! Kingpin in Into The Spiderverse! Anakin! (ok admittedly thats a really complicated can of worms so maybe bad example haha)
Oh absolutely!! And sometimes, like with Javert, and really Magneto too, in many ways, they’re just so earnest and trying so hard and their principles are understandable enough that it’s hard to immediately dismiss them. Such deliciously complicated characters!
A great many other fictional villains are brought low by hubris, though it doesn't always lead to their end, self-destructive or otherwise.
Very true! It’s also a way the hero can find the chink in the villain’s armor and take them down, when it IS the hero who delivers the final blow.
Sometimes, before then, it's vice versa at least once.
Absolutley! And then the hero wins by accepting humility and learning, while the villain refuses to change.
True.
So good, Sarah! This line: “ I don’t see humans as divided into winners and losers, we’re simply loved and the universe is trying to help us and give us what we need.”
I love a well-written, complicated antagonist- and yes, Javert is so good bc he’s wrong but can’t see it! Scarlet O’Hara is fascinating. I love her grit and beauty and intelligence but she’s so destructive and becomes her own worst enemy…
Good luck with that adult novel…
Thank you thank you!!! Honestly, I would die for Javert. His earnestness kills me in the best way.
And thanks...I'll need all the luck I can get!
The cartoon could totally be about Kylo Ren, who was a certified villain that the internet went MAD for. I get that he's an attractive man, but the worship of the CHARACTER always mystified me. HE KILLED HAN SOLO, PEOPLE. He deserves to be digested for a thousand years in the stomach of a Saarlac.
Bahahaha you make a very valid point. The internet does love a sexy tortured soul.
Super insightful read Sarah! I’m a sports guy so my examples come from two baseball movies: The Judge in “The Natural” and the Rachel Phelps character in “Major League.” Their faces don’t melt off but they each certainly get their comeuppance 🤣
Thank you!! And oh yes, these are good ones. There's something so satisfying about the fall of the prideful mighty in sports stories, isn't there?
Fantastic breakdown! In a way it almost feels more believable that the Nazis in Raiders are brought down not by one whip snapping American professor, but by the incredible power within the arc because they never thought God's arc would melt THIER faces. In a way that also plays in to the satisfying conclusion.
Exactly! And again, we've been promised and hinted at face-melting power the whole time, and Indy wins by respecting that. The Nazi's don't.
I love this!!!
Yaaay!! Thank you!
Oh my gosh I LOVE a delicious bad guy! Great post Sarah! I think a key ingredient to a compelling villain is their steadfast belief that THEY are the one doing the right thing. They are the hero of their own story - Javert is a great example of this. Magneto is another one! Kingpin in Into The Spiderverse! Anakin! (ok admittedly thats a really complicated can of worms so maybe bad example haha)
Oh absolutely!! And sometimes, like with Javert, and really Magneto too, in many ways, they’re just so earnest and trying so hard and their principles are understandable enough that it’s hard to immediately dismiss them. Such deliciously complicated characters!