The Art of Villainy

Since it's airing right now, let's analyze Justified for a moment. In season three, the best season of the show, the villain was Neil Mcdonough's Robert Quarles was the villain. The main characters were all the same from seasons past; the same layered heroes, the ever-present anti-heroes, and the white knights of the law. However, one variable had been thrown into the equation: the villain. Because of the epic performance by Mcdonough and the flawless character design of Robert Quarles, Justified aired its best season. However, come season five, Michael Rapaport's Daryl Crowe was poorly written and mediocre-ly acted. As the big bad of the season, he disappointing, bringing the show its worst season. Does all the credit go into having a weak villain?

The question may dig a little deeper. As I mentioned earlier, even comedies use villains, some more blatant than others. Archer's Barry Dillon, the cyborg ODIN agent is outright evil. He's still funny because of the nature of the show, but essentially, he has no redeeming qualities. For the purposes of comedy, he isn't quite as sinister as, say, Hell on Wheels's Thor "The Swede" Gundersson. However, he is still a villain, one that automatically adds intrigue to every episode he participates in. 

Speaking of The Swede, let's talk about Christopher Heyerdahl's Benny winning performance. The big bad of Hell on Wheels manages to steal every scene he takes part in, grabbing the audience's attention with his towering figure, his slow, menacing way of speaking, and his intense facial expressions. The show would simply not be the same without him. Is it fair to say that Heyerdahl carries Hell on Wheels entirely? No. Of course not. Shows are, by nature, ensembles. However, it is completely fair to credit him with a large amount of the episode-to-episode intrigue. With a force like The Swede looming in every episode, it adds a layer of "who could he kill/threaten this week?" And with that being said, it's not just The Swede that adds this layer. It's every seasonal villain, every threatening bit part, and every force of evil that could participate in a plot.

We see this time and time again. The more developed the villain, the more intrigue he provides. The more unpredictable he gets. We see it shows like Breaking Bad when the protagonist of the show is still a villain. We see it in shows like 24 where each season introduces a new problem for our all-american superman Jack Bauer to conquer. We even see it in shows like Arrested Development when a prosecution trial can bring the Bluth family into scrambling mode, providing an interesting plot and a promise of comedy along the way. 

The truth of the matter is that heroes will stay heroes because of the nature of their characters. It would be ridiculous for a defender of light to suddenly turn to darkness without a reason. Without ample reasoning to provide the word of the hour - intrigue - this type of plot simply makes no sense. Villains however, have a level of unpredictability. A good one has that "it" factor where viewers just hate to love them. Like it or not, the most fascinating character on House of Cards is Frank Underwood. In fact, many will find themselves rooting for him despite his diabolical schemes... all because of the intrigue he provides. Without such a villain, the show would collapse, much like a house of cards. Hell, the best character to ever appear on American Horror Story was James Cromwell's Arthur Arden, a Nazi torturer and scientist. It wasn't because he was a good guy that audiences rooted for, but because he was such an interesting character to have around that we fell in love with having the man on our screens. 

It's hard to find a single fantastic show that didn't have a villain at it's core. It's hard to think of a "favorite season" that didn't feature a bang-up antagonist. It's hard to think of a narrative that doesn't utilize darkness. Sometimes this villain is an idea, as in HBO's The Leftovers. Whatever the case, it simply isn't possible to create a masterpiece without conflict caused by villainy. Where would we be without Brother Justin Crowe in Carnivale? Or without Vern Schillinger in Oz? The list could go on for days. 

My point in writing this is merely to point out the art of villainy. Make a strong villain and the level of intrigue in a show or movie skyrockets. Make them fall flat and the show is comprised of white knights without any darkness to counteract them. It'll be interesting to observe the creative decisions made with villains as the television season goes on. Will Justified trump Robert Quarles with the trio of Boyd Crowder, Markham, and Ty Walker? Will Archer continue to utilize Barry effectively? Maybe the McPoyles will make a return in Always Sunny. Or perhaps we'll see a new (hopefully more effective than last season) villain in The Walking Dead? The question remains up in the air at the moment, but these elements can truly make or break a show.