Here we go - part deux! Numbers 40-31! This time around we'll feature the last villain of American Horror Story to make the list, some famous villains from "old school" television, and the first appearance of both Justified and Dexter to make the cut.
Enjoy part II!
40. John Graves Simcoe
Played by: Samuel Roukin
Featured on: Turn: Washington's Spies
"Kill the enemy! Force them to charge the barricade! Give them our cannon and musket... full on!" - John Graves Simcoe
Captain Simcoe is a relatively new addition to this list. With Turn having only been on for two seasons, it's impressive just how good he's gotten. When first taking a look at the character, it is very similar to the Hell on Wheels central antagonist: Thor Gundersen. Both are tall, oddly soft spoken, and ridiculously dangerous and imposing. However, where Simcoe differentiates himself from The Swede is in his demeanor toward the other characters on Turn. Whereas Gundersen, for the most part, is an independent mercenary, looking to wreak havoc on Cullhen Bohannon, Simcoe is a career minded man, trying to make it up in the ranks of the British army. He hates Abraham Woodhull and his group of spies, but what drives Simcoe is power and hatred, not just chaos. In addition, Simcoe has legitimate love for Anna Strong, giving him a bit of a weakness. Simcoe is a monster, yes. But with the monster comes a twisted, yet still emotional side. As long as Turn is renewed for season three, I have no doubt that Captain John Graves Simcoe will continue to develop, and as he does so, and eventually meet his downfall, will move farther up in the standings.
39. Sylar
Played by: Zachary Quinto
Featured on: Heroes
"I'm a natural progression of the species. Evolution is a part of nature, and nature kills. Simple, right?" - Sylar
Sylar was a highly interesting character... for a full season. The odd thing about Heroes was that the first season was so impressive, yet the ones to follow it up were so godawful. The same can be said for the character of Sylar. A super-villain among super-villains, Sylar had the ability to kill other heroes to absorb their powers. His quest for destruction and domination was a bloody one and an entertaining one. To absorb another's power, Sylar would cut the head off of them, thereby taking their... essence? However the transfer was done, Zachary Quinto kept the character interesting without his evil as well. What started out as a poor son of a watch-maker, confused by what he was able to do, eventually rose to be the Sylar that we knew of in the present day part of the show. Alas, after an incredible demise at the end of the first season, Heroes clung to the character too much, reviving him, trying to turn him into an anti-hero, and then reviving him again. Had the show been a miniseries instead of a series, perhaps Sylar would be higher on the list, but history cannot ignore an aftermath.
38. Dr. Arthur Arden
Played by: James Cromwell
Featured on: American Horror Story: Asylum & American Horror Story: Freakshow
"I don't believe in God, but I do believe in evil." - Dr. Arthur Arden
The other addition to the list from American Horror Story will be, in my opinion, the top villain in the shows history, Dr. Arthur Arden, portrayed by James Cromwell. The ex-nazi doctor turned psyco-scientist was one of the rulers of Briarcliff Asylum, as well as being responsible for some of the problems befallen by Jessica Lange's character in Freakshow. What made the bow-tied doctor so scene-stealing though, was his presence and the way Cromwell delivered the lines. Being incredibly tall and seeming incredibly intelligent made him an obvious threat, while his mysterious experiments made the threat legitimate. However, while summoning aliens and creating zombies were impressive villainous feats, Arden himself topped them both. From the way he enjoyed doing torturous surgery on "patients," to his pride in his past actions of holocaust-help, Arden was a self-acknowledging villain who was happy to fill the role. What holds him back in the 30's, however, was his demise. In the last couple of episodes, in classic AMHS fashion, the plot fell apart, and Arden stopped making much sense, killing himself in a random change of guilty heart. The days in which he ruled the Asylum with fear however, are hard to forget.
37. Brian Moser "The Ice Truck Killer"
Played by: Christian Camargo
Featured on: Dexter
"You can't be a killer and a hero - it doesn't work that way!" - Brian Moser
In the inaugural season of Dexter, Dexter's own brother, disguised as Brian Moser, tried to woo Dexter back to the dark side, convincing him to kill the innocent, namely Dexter's sister Deb, instead of following the code that he had been following for all these years. Brian Moser was the living proof of how Dexter would have turned out had he not been adopted all those years. And for that, the Ice Truck Killer left a lasting mark on the psychology of our leading man, as well as providing one of the bigger shocks of the show when his true identity was revealed. The reason that Moser is not farther up the list though, is because as a character unto himself, he was good, but not great. In a vacuum, the character is a mid-level villain, yet his effect on the show as a whole is quite incredible. What The Ice Truck Killer probably did best was provide a stepping stone for Dexter to go off of. Once Dexter Morgan had slain is biological brother, his story could continue, going further and further into darkness, peaking in the fourth season. For this, Brian Moser deserves this mid-level spot on the list, giving the show a necessary stoop to springboard off of.
36. Peter Paul Spector
Played by: Jamie Dornan
Featured on: The Fall
"Watch me walk away." - Paul Spector
The Belfast-set, darkness-fueled, tale of a detective and a serial killer known as The Fall provided one of the most dangerous and interesting characters seen on the list so far. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Peter Paul Spector, the serial killer in question, kicks off a bit of a new tier for the list. Spector is great on two levels. On the first, as a character unto himself, he is a handsome, married, well-adjusted individual with a great deal of darkness underneath. In the middle of the night Spector will sneak out of his baby daughter's room after a sweet bedtime story to commit horrific crimes on young brunette women, leaving them dead time after time. In itself, this is an interesting and dark villain. Yet as another added layer, Spector is directly contrasted with Gillian Anderson's protagonist, showing him to be a quote on quote "hunter," just as she is in her detective profession. Both characters realize this, yet neither actually has a want to be compared with each other. The interesting clash of character and ostensible emotionless response to murder leaves Spector with a very deserving spot on the list.
35. Windom Earle
Played by: Kenneth Walsh
Featured on: Twin Peaks
"These evil sorcerers, dugpas, they call them, cultivate evil for the sake of evil and nothing ekse. They express themselves in darkness for darkness, without leaving motive. This ardent purity has allowed them to access a secret place of great power, where the cultivation of evil proceeds in exponential fashion. And with it, the furtherence of evil's resulting power. These are not fairy tales, or myths. This place of power is tangible, and as such, can be found, entered, and perhaps, utilized in some fashion. The dugpas have many names for it, but chief among them is the Black Lodge - and I intend to find it. - Windom Earle
Windom Earle, the crazed, frequently-disguised, murderous ex-partner of Dale Cooper was one of the major highlights of the latter half of Twin Peaks. Starting with the buildup to his introduction, Earle was already going to be fantastic. For many episodes before he ever appeared on screen, Dale was sent chess pieces, signalling the uber-strategic mind and terrifying "game" that Windom Earle was coming to play. Then, once we actually met him, Earle was shot off in many equally intriguing directions. He wanted to ruin Cooper, killing his newfound love of Annie Blackburn. He wanted to finish his ever-game of Chess. And of course, he wanted to find the Black Lodge and harness the awful power that lay within. To do this, he would dress up in strange costumes, from a kindly professor to a senile old woman, manipulating the residents of Twin Peaks and putting them into his master plans. And, as an added bonus, we learned the backstory of Earle. How he had lost his wife, how he had once been a good cop, and how his mind had snapped to darkness. It wasn't the most original story ever, but it worked in the context and gave us a reason to understand the darkness of Windom Earle. His demise came at the hands of BOB himself, eradicating Earle's soul and seemingly getting him with his Death Bag. Though not quite as essential or game-changing as some of the villains farther up the list, Earle is truly a staple of Twin Peaks, and without Kenneth Walsh's expertise as a villain, the end of the show would have surely fizzled out quickly.
34. J.R. Ewing
Played by: Larry Hagman
Featured on: Dallas
"A conscience is like a boat or a car. If you feel you need one, rent it!" - J.R. Ewing
J.R. Ewing is one of the more interesting posts on this list. Already, I can see people getting angry that he's up so high, but hear me out. The biggest testimony to Ewing, in my opinion, is how he was able to set a precedent for villains over the years. When Dallas first appeared in 1978, television hadn't really witnessed a character as Machiavellian or as vile. Villains had been evil before, but they were more shlocky and purely "evil," without any real rhyme or reason other than the fact that they had been classified that way. Ewing changed this. He opened the door for villains to come, allowing a certain level of psychopathic tendencies and character traits to not only be featured on a villain, but featured on a main character. In addition, the existence of the mystery of "who shot J.R," will go down as one of the bigger talking points of the era, as well as in TV notable history in general. However, why J.R. is not listed a bit higher speaks basically to the same reasons that make him notable. Ewing couldn't really capture the evil of later villains due to network requirements and restrictions. Someone like Oz's Simon Adebisi is just allowed to be more villainous on TV, allowing him to edge out Ewing on this list. That being said, as a legend and as an idea, Ewing is more than worthy of a decent spot on the list.
33. Mags Bennett
Played by: Margo Martindale
Featured on: Justified
"As it is, I have to hurt Coover. And I like Coover." - Mags Bennett
Our first appearance from the show with some of the best villains ever on television, Justified, is Margo Martindale's Bennett family matriarch, the backwoods clan leader known as Mags. In many ways, Bennett was like Livia Soprano, only more detached from the central characters. She was a mother, but one that used her children to her advantage. In Bennett's case, her three boys all had different skillsets, but by manipulating all three of them in various ways, made a squadron of elite Bennett family holler-mobsters. She would beat her grown sons if they did something she had told them not to, brewed poisonous moonshine, and opposed Raylan Givens like no villain on the show ever really did. For the most part, Raylan's big enemies were hard, gun-toting, men. He would engage in stare-downs with them, speak threats, and when push came to shove, generally take them out with his own gun. Mags was different. She was an older woman who had known Raylan as a boy, engaged in a rivalry with the Givens family for a long time, and though their conflict was just as real as other villains, played more mind games with Raylan than violent ones. That being said, when siccing her sons on Raylan, there was no love lost. When Mags finally met her downfall, it was in her own hands, drinking a mason jar full on poison, ending her reign over the Bennett Holler.
32. The Cigarette Smoking Man
Played by: William B. Davis
Featured on: The X Files
"Men can never be free, because they're weak, corrupt, worthless... and restless. The people believe in authority. They've frown tired of waiting for miracle or mystery. Science is their religion - no greater explanation exists for them! They must never believe any differently if the project is to go forward." - The Cigarette Smoking Man
"Watching X-Files with no lights on, we're dans la maison, I hope the Smoking Man's in this one." - One Week, The Barenaked Ladies
The Cigarette Smoking Man is one of the most iconic figures in television history, whether his actual character is developed as a person or not. Known as the ominous figure standing behind various mysteries on The X-Files, the Smoking Man always seemed to be at the center of potential answers for the central mythos of the show. Though said mythos was never fully figured out and a bit roughly executed, the Smoking Man's slow, staring demeanor, and enigmatic lines always shone through to make a central villain. However, what made the Smoking Man such a revolutionary character, was that he may have been the first to have the plot actually revolve more around him than around the protagonist. Though Mulder and Scully were at the heart of the show, it was the Cigarette Smoking Man that seemed to be at the epicenter of the happenings, allowing our main characters to pursue the events set in motion by the Man. Additionally, though as previously mentioned, The X-Files never quite understood its long-term mythos, it was one of the first attempts at building such a long-term narrative. For being one of the main tools of said narrative and for being such an iconic and ominous figure, the infamous Cigarette Smoking Man earns his spot.
31. Number Six
Played by: Tricia Helfer
Featured on: Battlestar Galactica
"Gaius, the end times are approaching. Humanity's final chapters are about to be written. And you, you will be its author." - Number Six
Battlestar Galactica, at many times in its run, was pure brilliance. At many times during its run, it may have also felt a bit too big for its britches. Whatever your opinion on the matter, the central villain of the Cylons really only had one spokesperson, aside from the hidden Cylons in the main cast. This was the red-dressed, Gaius Baltar-banging, Number Six. Portrayed as a sexy blonde with a silver tongue, Six was the top manipulator of the evil robot race. In particular, her relationship with Gaius Baltar became a centerpiece of whether or not the human race would go extinct to the Cylons. By using her sex appeal, and her poetic dialogue, Six made a sort of God complex around herself. She was the last hope for the Cylon race in this war, but at the same time, she coached Baltar into being humanity's last real hope as well. Her mystique was in her position on the battlefield. Top that off with the fact that at any time, there could have been multiple Sixes, and the multi-faceted character grows even more. Was the original Number Six ever just one person? Was she just a figment of Baltar's imagination realized by others? The questions, behind just Battlestar Galactica posed by the ominous woman in the red dress were part of the reasons that she was such a fantastic villain. Though not as developed as a character, since she may not just be one character, as some of the names further down the list, Number Six is certainly one of the most interesting.Labels: Christian Camargo, Dexter, Game of Thrones, Jack Gleeson, James Cromwell, Jamie Dornan, Kenneth Walsh, Larry Hagman, Margo Martindale, The X Files, Tricia Helfer, Twin Peaks, William B. Davis, Zachary Quinto
