9 Villains We Ended Up Loving And 10 Others Whose Downfall We Couldn't Wait To See

There's something about their evilness that draws us in

Chelsi

• Published in Film & TV
• July 1, 2022

It is easy to root for the good guys in movies and TV shows. Siding with the righteous seems like a default choice for a lot of us because we would like to believe, given the same circumstances, we would choose to do the same path that they did.

The funny thing is no matter how hard we try to always wish for the good guys to win, there is something that is so intriguing about the villains. I don't know if it's their questionable morals or the fact that they can get away with doing whatever they want but their stories, if written right, can be gripping.

Their stories can sometimes be even more compelling than the heroines we are supposed to rally for. In some cases, there are still villains in movies or TV shows that we can't help but hate.

They are so good at being bad that there would be nothing more satisfying than watching them face their doom delivered by the righteous main character, of course. In stories like that, a lot of the credit should go to the writing team and the actor who gave life to the most hated character in that story.

Either way, whether they are bad guys we learn how to love or the bad guys we hate from the get-go, their stories are intriguing, to say the least. For this reason, here is a list of evil bad guys and sympathetic bad guys you should watch out for:

1. Randall from Monsters, Inc.

He kidnapped Boo to become a guinea pig for the Scream Extractor. It was a world full of monsters but Randall was the special evil kind.

2. Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

Her overly sweet teas masked the awful personified that is Dolores Umbridge. Her love for cats wasn't enough to redeem her blind willingness to be self-righteous.

3. King Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones

The first of Cersei's kids, Joffrey was the unfortunate king of Westeros. It was especially satisfying watching him drop dead during his own wedding.

4. Scar from The Lion King

This movie had surprising real-world themes for a children's movie. Scar was the worst lion in that pride and his painful demise taught me a new word as a kid: vengeance.

5. President Snow from The Hunger Games

The rose-smelling President of Panem doomed hundreds of people to certain death when he upheld the annual Hunger Games. Watching the citizens he took advantage of mob him and ultimately cause his demise was justified.

6. Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars

The internet loves to pile on Jar Jar Binks for being annoying but it's undeniable that Palpatine is the evilest. He was the worst advisor Darth Vader could have had and watching him die (twice) was amazing.

7. Commodus from Gladiator

The emperor of Rome was quite possibly the most annoying person in that film. He was whiny, power-hungry, and good old bad news.

8. Voldemort from Harry Potter

A genocidal middle-aged man obsessing over immortality is unquestionably a bad guy. He has a face only Nagini could love and that's because a part of his soul was in it.

9. Detective Alonzo Harris from Training Day

Detective Harris is your classic dirty cop only 100 times worse. No matter how many times you watch the movie, he is just diabolical.

10. The White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

If you find yourself in a snowy forest, do not accept Turkish delight from a strange White Witch. This character gave a lot of children a lot of bad dreams.

11. Darth Vader from Star Wars

Was it the voice of James Earl Jones or was it because he was Luke's father that we have learned to love Darth Vader? Either way, learning about his story gave us enough reason to sympathize with this bad guy.

12. Joker from The Dark Knight

Enough has probably been said with Heath Ledger's portrayal of Batman's nemesis but his version of the Joker was probably one of the best ones. We had a glimpse of why the agent of anarchy hated the billionaire so much.

13. Moriarty from Sherlock

Moriarty was creepily brilliant and villainous. His charisma was a great contrast to Sherlock's cold and calculating nature; he was a deserving opponent.

14. Maleficent from Disney's Maleficent

She was heartbroken and left wingless in the middle of the forest. How can we hate the evil godmother who only wanted love?

15. Sharpay Evans from High School Musical

Sharpay's redemption in pop culture has been long overdue. She is the epitome of a girly girl and was unfairly treated when the new girl came along.

16. Severus Snape from Harry Potter

Snape is and will always be a grey character. He was a bully and he needed a lot of therapy but Alan Rickman was so damn good with his portrayal that we couldn't help but be a little sympathetic.

17. Kylo Ren from Star Wars

Yes, yes Kylo Ren did kill Han Solo but he isn't all bad, is he? The emo prince of space needs a lot of hugs because the kid has been through a lot

18. Magneto from X-Men

Magneto has one of the most difficult villain origin stories in the X-Men. His friendship with Professor X, his charisma, and his amazing mutant talents make him more endearing.

19. And the misunderstood adopted Norse God of Mischief, Loki from Thor

Thor's brother, the puny god, and would-be-in-Slytherin-if-he-were-in-Harry-Potter character is the most loveable villain in recent movie history. We liked it a lot when he impersonated Odin and we teared up a lot when he sacrificed himself.

Heroes can have questionable morals and methods as well but we root for them. When we point out the same thing with the villains, it's suddenly controversial?

With how popular these villains are, loving villains is not an unpopular opinion anymore. We also like those who fully lean into their evil characters and sow chaos whenever they can. We're not alone in this, are we?

Chelsi