a deep dive into villain characters 

Catchier name for "villain-is-the-only-one-that-is-willing-to-teach-the-mc-to-reach-their-true-potential" trope: Menacing Mentorship.

oh! a villain trope i love so much is when the hero and villain have to spontaneously team up in the middle of a fight because something worse happened

The third female villain trope is where her whole personality is being in love with the male lead lol

Homelander from The Boys is probably among the top 3 scariest villains of all time and he should be permanently included in every villain discourse

Explanation is not an excuse : I completely agree ! I love having a backstory for the villain that explains why they turned out to be what they are, but I hate it when it is considered as an excuse.

I think the 'complex backstory: yes or no?'-question depends on the genre quite a bit. We all love the iconic villains of renaissance era Disney (Scar, Ursula, Gaston) not because of their tragic past, but because they have such a menacing presence and are just having a lot of fun being evil. In those cases, adding a tragic backstory will do the story more harm than good. A good example is the Cruella live action movie, in which it's explained that Cruella's mom (or someone else, i don't remember) was killed by dalmatians. We don't really need a tragic backstory for the puppy skinning villain. Of course there are exceptions, Frollo being one of my favourite Disney villains because of his complexity, but it's fair to say that different genres will lead to different answers to the question.

I also love characters who are technically nemeses but also have like a chill best friend/ah my old friend vibe like perry the platypus and dr. doofenshmirtz or jake peralta and doug judy or professor x and magneto. (p.s. loved the video!!! also i continue to be in love with your earring collection! obsessed with the howl earrings)

I hope gender gets discussed here. You very rarely see charismatic female villains/antagonists. Makima was such a breath of fresh air for me and first time I ever understood why people liked villains at all.

I like the magical stone in Leonie's fireplace, shining bright with the trapped souls of her subscribers. Such cozy vibes 🥰

Villain characters have far more interesting dynamics. We appreciate your analysis. Keep up the good work.

Unpopular opinion? Harry Potter has a good and a bad example of the (sad) backstory villain trope. The good one is learning about Voldemorts backstory, because it's it's interesting and opens the possibility to draw parallels between his childhood an the protagonists, leading to the possibility of great internal conflict and worrying other characters. It also doesn't get used as an excuse for what he does. The bad one could have been very good and interesting, but was badly written as a cover all, total redemption: Severus Snape. He was bullied and his crush wasn't reciprocated. So he joins a murdering racist-analogy, gets the protagonists parents killed, bullies years and years of students, including but definitely not limited to the main character, uses his authority to demoralise, endanger and punish students, while encouraging and helping bullies if they are in his favourite group. Feeling bad that his old love died (and ONLY about her), he double crosses the guy who killed her. In the end the protagonist calls him a hero for that?! And names a child after this adult teacher who bullied him for as long as he could/lived. Like wth ...

My favourite villain trope which isn't done nearly enough is where at the end the hero realizes that the villain was right all along, and/or even if he they are defeated in the traditional sense, the villain ends up winning in the end. Ozymandias from Watchmen is perfect example of this.

I feel like in Vicious Eli is a villain who thinks they’re a hero and Victor is a villain who knows they’re a villain.

The trope of the villain being the only one who is willing to assist the main character in reaching their full potential is reminding me a lot of Hannibal and Will, or of Erik of Phantom of the Opera. Love the trope, too!

An amazing "antagonist" is Jinx in the Arcane series !!!! The dynamics between her and her sister are just perfect and you understand both of their points of view I would even say you can't really root for either of them since it's just too sad to see how their relationship collapsed

Maybe not so much of a trope, but I love it when the villain thinks "they're the hero of their own story". It changes the perspective, I feel like.

If only I could show ALL your videos to my high school students and tell them "THIS is how you construct a decent essay with a proper intro, conclusion and examples of evidence!! Now do this on paper!!" What the heck... I might as well try. 😆

My favorite villain has to be Luke Castellan from PJO. He was bitter at the gods for being negligent towards their kids, and that anger led him to be manipulated by Kronos. God I love that man as a villain.

Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men is a great villain who is "evil for no reason". We don't know his backstory and his motivations aren't clear, but this is a big part of why he's so scary - it's the fear of the unknown because we just can't fathom why he does what he does, and makes him inhuman to the point where you almost feel like he's not even a human but some kind of a personification of evil

I feel like Darth Vader is one of the greatest villains of all time. He’s got backstory, is kind of an ass by himself (as Anakin), he’s got a specific goal that made him the way he is (saving Padmé), and he has a redemption arc. Absolutely perfect combination for me Edit: oh also he was totally being groomed for villainy by Palpatine his entire life so the cards are stacked against him

I SWEAR ON MY LIFE I HAVE NEVER CLICKED A VIDEO THIS FAST

one of my favorite tropes is : "Villian x Hero used to be in a relationship -until x happened to ruin it for them- " and we all know they'd be an insane power couple if things worked out. Also the steamy spice scenes that come from this trope 🔥🔥 One funny example I can think of is Barnabas Collins and Angelique from Dark Shadows.

my favourite scene involving villains is when the only person the protagonist can think to turn to during a crisis is the villain/rival, and, after seeing what the protagonist has been through, the villain goes "who did this to you" and goes absolutely feral. (it could be that the reason i like this so much is because it usually leads them becoming lovers, and the enemies to lovers trope is my favourite)

Magneto is one of my favorite villains because it's so hard to get a villain who actually has good points and proves how easy it would be for the main characters to have defected to a more "antagonistic" side. He challenges the status quo and pokes holes in the X-Men's reasons for fighting and is often able to persuade members to convert to the brotherhood. He has the right ideas but the wrong execution and you often end up rooting for him when the "good guys" methods just don't get things done.

We don't care if there's already a female-villain-vid from someone else, WE NEED IT FROM YOUUU 😭

My favourite movie is "catch me if you can" and I'm not even sure how to describe the dynamic between Frank Abagnale Jr. and Carl Hanratty.. Frank is a criminal but you're kinda rooting for him anyway and Carl's just doing his job so you can't fault him for that 🤔 yet they both respect each other.. This movie just makes me feel so many things 😍

A female-specfic villain deep dive would be awesome! I find that female antagonists either act like they're a part of petty teenage crews or are an underling to a stronger male villain. It really annoys me! I want greater range!! Baba Yaga from Spirited Away was a good soft antagonist. She had power, motivation, maliciousness and was at times unpredicable and capable of self-restraint. But she does veer towards being the mother trope, like you mentioned. Makima from Chainsaw Man was effective. She was unnerving and the readers were never fully aware of her powers until the last act. But she used sexual manipulation to blindside Denji, though that is an explicit character flaw of his so the context changes it a little; she wasn't a sexy character by default but instead played into Denji's desires to control him. Still, femme-fatals are overused no matter what imo, or at least maybe only vampire stories can justifyably call upon their ladies to be sexy because their men are sexy too. Sexuality and sexual desires have been part of vampire branding since the first (Western) vampire stories were published haha

If you like David Tennant you'll probably like Good Omens (both a book and a TV show). It kind of fits the villain theme because he plays a literal demon who develops the most heart-warming friendship with an angel as they both try and avert the apocalypse.

Homelander in The Boys is THE best villain writing i’ve seen. You just love to hate him, and he’s so unpredictable and terrifying, but you can’t help but wonder “omg how is homelander going to react to this”. And the whole show really just turns the superhero trope on its head. Also anime wise, I will always recommend Fruits Basket because it makes you put yourself if the villain’s shoes. Plus, has my favorite love story of all time

I really love villains that are villains just for the thrill of it. They are sassy, and seductive and super iconic always

ronan and kavinsky from the raven cycle are a perfect example of the “protagonist that could have so easily been the antagonist” and also “antagonist is the only one who can teach protagonist to fully use their powers” which i think is what makes their dynamic so interesting

Klaus from the vampire diaries is one of my favorites. Before he’s on screen he’s described as the person you don’t want to upset, he has no remorse and doesn’t care he’s killed thousands and it makes it very frightening to think of him. We see him do some questionable things but love him all at once and he does bad things for no reason, however we later on learn more about him. He has done everything because he is scared of being alone, he loves is family but can’t show it. He also falls in love with one girl and would do anything for her. So he isn’t bad for no reason, he has a long past that got him to where he is.

I love a good corruption arc. I currently plan on writing one in a more real world setting where these two characters become more and more destructive over time, to the point where it completely threatens their friendship.

I just rewatched an anime called Monster and it's a masterclass in storytelling and the whole dynamics between heroes and villains, highly recommend!

"No Mr. Bond, I expect you to dine with me" is literally the villain in Addie Larue

I read Vicious and Vengeful literally right after I watched this video when it came out, due to my friend recommending it but not saying it was a FRIENDS TO ENEMIES??? HELLO?? So immediately i read the series and like. it was fantastic and I’m never going to get over it. I loved that both protagonists were so blatantly horrible people, and I just found myself loving Eli so much. Eli and Victor’s dynamic was also just. chefs kiss. Best thing ever.

I am unapologetically in love with Hannibal Lecter 😂 also he has a lot of those tropes you mentioned at first going on with Will. Like, he wants to guide him and help him reach his true potential, of course that potential is being as savage and flamboyant a killer as himself 😂😂😂 but he is the only one that gets his dark side. He also has the “for me it was just tuesday” thing with everything he does to him to “help him along” in getting there

I think Collins mastered the “explanation but not excuse” with Snow’s backstory in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She found that perfect mix of privilege/entitlement and genuine childhood trauma to plant the seed of his hatred; then added the influence of groomers to nurture his choices. He still had agency in his choices, but works as a fair warning. It also underscored how he and Katniss really were two sides of the same coin; and added to the “punch” of him contributing to her ultimate choice to reject the process. In no way does this redeem him, but together Snow and Katniss serve as a warning for all of us about how we allow ourselves to be influenced when we are vulnerable.

I can really recommend "Moriarty the patriot" It's a retelling of the Holmes universe and has the arch-enemy, explanations, equality tropes and the psychology around the moriarty BROTHERS is just amazing.

A build up of how the villain’s greed and desires, shape them to who they are is always compelling. President Snow is an example of this as he wasn’t this maniacal evil in the beginning but his professor brought out the worst in him.

One of my favourite villains, although she is both a villain and a protagonist, is my queen Amy Dunne from Gone Girl. Amy’s backstory does somewhat establish her parents as nutcases and Nick as a prick, but never to an extent that would explain her psychotic behaviour. Amy is evil because she can, because she’s smart enough and remorseless enough to pull it off, and so she does. The story shows that despite external facteurs making her most likely a lot worse, she was still manipulative and cruel from the start and I honestly think it’s kinda brilliant. And I still root for her constantly, even if she should be easy to hate because she doesn’t really have that sad backstory. Also, villain recommendations ! Dracula : Das Musical is literally so iconic, it awakens the simp in me like nothing else AND made me cry BUCKETS at the end.

The TV show "Dark" is mind-blowing with it's villain tropes. Highly, highly recommend!

This isn’t niche at all but Light Yagami from Death Note is an excellent villain protagonist.

the villain from the anime Monster is claimed by many as one of the best villain characters of all time. i'm watching the show so i still can't tell if i agree but i know it's gonna be a wild ride and a masterpiece of a show.

jack horner is probably my favorite villain who is just evil, no sad backstory. He actually had a pretty good childhood but he's just evil, an irredimable monster, and he's fully aware. He's so fun to watch and I wish we got more villains like him.

An underrated trait for villains in my book is resilience. Not power, not some sort of fanaticism necessarily, but a strength of will that makes them come back every time they are dealt a strong blow, a sense of personal values due that drives them no matter what. Bonus points if they accidentally end up inspiring the good guys. A bit of a generic example could be when a third power imprisons the MC and their nemesis, and the villain tells the mentally beaten down MC to pick themselves up and form some temporary alliance to escape. This obviously implies a villain who would rather beat the hero when the hero is at their best.

Lost Boy by Christina Henry is super cool when it comes to main character - villain dynamics, because they used to be friends and still like each other in some way but also hate each other. Plus, the villain is very unaware of the cruel things he does to the main character because "he does it out of friendship". This whole close-ones-to-enemies-trope always hits me so much. Another great example is the movie The Prince Of Egypt

I think Harry Potter and Tom Riddle are amazing examples of two people who have such similar upbringings, above average talent and yet they make completely different choices

"No Mr. Bond I want you to Dine" immediately made me think of Hannibal having people for over for dinner and he serves them human

spike from buffy the vampire slayer will forever be one of the best villains for me, and that’s absolutely the best enemies to lovers story. his backstory wasn’t originally planned because he wasn’t meant to stay around as long as he did, but even from his introduction he’s already a layered and interesting bad guy who really shifts your perspective of evil. the backstory they weave in layer makes perfect sense. he’s a foil to buffy but so much more too. he’s a mirror, as she is for him, and every moment of their dynamic is so crunchy and endlessly compelling.

When you mentioned the villain is the only one who is willing to teach the main character his true potential i thought of the Dream Thieves (second book in The Raven Cycle) it also works with the well we're not so different you and I!

OMG Someone had to talk about the GOOD VILAINS and THE BAD BAD ONES, I am happy u're makingg thissss vid

I was so excited that someone is actually discussing Kilgrave and how good of a villain he is in a circle that I am in. There is something to be said about how terrifying a villain is when I have to stop watching the show and come back to it much later mentally prepared. Kilgrave terrified me to my core. (Coming from an avid reading of thrillers and horror)

The villain teaching the mc to reach their full potential is fully the shatter me trope lol

My sweet spot for (sake of being evil) villains is how Lady Tremane was portrayed in Cinderella 2015. Evil asf, but with enough context to make her human without redeeming her whatsoever.

Catra has one of the best redemption arcs and it's extremely underrated, I would even dare to compare it to zuko's

21:50 You're literally talking about "Shatter me" series. Especially the 3rd book. Aaron the villain was pushing the protagonist to discover her true potential instead of being afraid of it.

TV show rec, my fave of all time: *BLACK SAILS* (unless you've already seen it). every character has a little bit of villainy in them, but you enjoy watching all of them sooo much that it's devastating when any die bc god they were just so INTERESTING. best writing of any show i've ever seen, and the show runners decided to wrap it up after 4 seasons instead of dragging it along because they knew how they wanted to end it and it's done soooooo wellllll. omgggg. there are conversations where the tension is so palpable it's like a fridge laying on top of you and you can't move but you love every moment of it

Love your video essays!

I've been waiting for this video and I love it!

I've never been this early, was waiting for this one eagerly. So excited to watch!

amazing video!! I realised I also really like the "dine with me" scenes and didn't know it's a trope but now that you mentioned it I was like omg I love that. the tension while waiting for the villain to flip is sooooo good.

THE POPPY WAR- literally adore how they play with characters and their morals and such, especially as the series continues and character arcs continue to unfold. Awesome video!

I love Zuko sm and seeing her talk abt him made me smile sm

I love your deep dive videos soo much 😭💓

Oh my goodness, Shades of Magic, The villains series, Babel, The hunger games? I live these books, and I love that you do to.

Love these detailed explanation videos and the aesthetic in this video is too good.

I love your analysis videos

I love these "deep dive" videos you make!

Love your long form videos! 🤩

How are her videos always so cozyyy

I love these deep dive videos! You rock! 😊

You have to watch Mr. Robot! You mentioned how there aren’t enough shows that focus on the protagonists that are pushing for radical change often and it often being only the villains but this show is all about that complexity and how far the protagonists are willing to go to meet their goals. It’s incredibly nuanced and complex. Heavy social commentary and incredible characters!

I loved this video! I have always enjoyed villains, and they are some of my characters to write about in my stories. They are just such a delight! ^^

I really love your video essays! I like your style of telling, the editing, the topics, I also really like the lenghts of them (even though I think my attention span is getting worse from TikTok 😂)

i've been following leoniee for a long time and this is by far one of my favourites

Have you read/watched Moriarty the Patriot? It's a retelling of Sherlock Holmes focusing on Moriarty and IT'S SO GOOD I'M OBSESSED.

I'm obsessed with the new content, Leonie! I could listen to you talk for literal hours about ANYTHING, and even more so when it comes to your nuanced and interesting takes.

You're my favourite booktuber ever, every video of yours is just amazing

All the first 3 examples you gave for good villains (Alina-Darkling, Korra-Amon, Kell-Holland) had me screaming bc I love all of them so much, thank you for appreciating them!!!!!!

Don't know if you've see in but Galavant is a show with awesome writing. The hero himself, Galavant, King Richard, and every one else is just awesome every single minute. And don't even get me started on the character development of them both. The pilot episode is a bit weird, but by the 3rd episode you'll be so deep in, you wouldn't want to stop watching the series. (talking from experience)

im trying to binge brainstorm this previous weeks on details i still don't have on different characters and elements of my untouched story so this is helpful 💛

i love your long/“documentary” videos💕💕

This video is super exciting, and I used it also to inspire my writing now. I'm super in love with the villains and villains to lovers trope in City of Brass. It's just such a good one!

I have to say I love your videos so much. When I do homework, I listen to your vids like a podcast and they are so interesting and fun to listen to. You’re very clever and have a good thought process and I can’t wait to see more of your vids! Keep it up!

love this lighting

I love the switched by Amanda Hocking...tbh its my comfort book that help me get back into reading. It helps that I see myself as the main character, not in the ways she's described physically but at times emotionally.

Love the video!! I just finished Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik and the Staryk are perfect examples of blue and orange morality :)

17:41 for this I recommend the webtoon called 'Your Throne' it's soooo good and one of the 2 main characters is literally like that

You have such fascinating discussion videos. I am LIVING. ♥️

Wow, such an enjoyable video, I love it! Super fun and interesting!

I was waiting for you to talk about Eli and Victor coz that's not a villain video without them. 🧍🏽‍♀️🧍🏽‍♀️ and to think that they actually are villain against villain (and not a hero) make them SO MUCH BETTER AND INTERESTING

I think the whole mirror person thing with the "I'm the only one that understands you" is also shown in the evil twin trope; literally someone you could've been. I also love the childhood friends who meet again later and turns out they're enemies now, that's also a bit of the "we're not so different" thing. I never thought about it like that but it makes perfect sense that mainstream villains are the only ones who challenge mainstream ideas, but one of my favorite tropes is when the main character's main antagonist is basically just everyone else who is outside of them or their (probably very small) group and those other people's ideas, and then by the end it's like they find a way to prove themselves. I also like the whole thing of "meeting your match" in a villain way; like you may both suck but at least you're meant for each other. The Shadows Between Us is a good example of this I think

I was so intrigued by Holland in ADSOM!! Excited for the new series in that universe... :D

Love this video. I love villains. And this details why so amazingly, they're so complex when done well! Oh Killgrave what a horrible human. And the AI in the Illuminae Files has a great reason as to why he's terrorizing the crew. I enjoy space stories a lot so Jessie Mahlik's characters also have depth to their bad decisions and villainy. Glad Jesse shouted you out in a recent vid!

Your point about villains being the only ones being allowed to fight for change and MCs never doing so makes me think of Mo Dao Zu Shi by MXTX, where the MC is perceived as the villain by other characters in the story bc of their inducing change and persisting for that even at the cost of innocent lives! I think it interestingly flips the status quo vs. change plot line we see in a lot of mass media, and the villain in the story is amazing too!

as a londoner, yes, i can agree. the underground is ridiculous. after living with it for such a long time, however, it eventually just gets subconsciously muffled into this dull background noise that one can easily ignore. this was extremely interesting and very, very useful. at the moment, i'm constructing a villainous character, with generally little to go off of on how to make them *likeable*(?) but also good in terms of malignity. thank you!

Ngl never ever seen any book review channels, stumbled across you and can say I wanna read more, it's so nice to be able to learn about tropes new genres and just wanna say thank you for being cool

Such a fun video! Enemy being the only one willing to teach MC immediately made me think of Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. Palpatine doesn't start off as a known villain and he perfectly manipulates Anakin, who feels frustration with the jedi council and their rigid ways, to come to the dark side by teaching him how to use the power within him that the jedi refuse to acknowledge.

One of my favorite villains ever is Strahd von Zarovich of dungeons and dragons fame. He can be portrayed in so many different ways but at his core he is just so brilliantly done. He truly and deeply believes that he is right and above everyone. He is the epitome of “for me it was just a Tuesday” and you can watch that resolve crack as the heroes get further into the campaign *chef’s kiss*