Comments on: “Woobie” Anti-Villains & Sympathy for the Devil

By: kitty

kitty — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 16:51:49 +0000

so funny – was trying to explain woobification to my friend, and you know who i brought up??? hannibal lecter… and bruce wayne… LMAO. this was good!

By: Roger L Nay

Roger L Nay — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 19:45:38 +0000

Interesting and entertaining as usual, thanks.

By: Brian Dale Pope

Brian Dale Pope — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:29:19 +0000

One of my favorite anti-villains is Red Reddington from The Blacklist (TV series).

By: Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 15:23:47 +0000

In reply to Sharon. BRILLIANTLY STATED! *stands and claps* And YES! That is why these characters are not only fascinating, but necessary.

By: V.M.Sang

V.M.Sang — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 10:07:16 +0000

I felt a great deal of sympathy for Frankenstein’s monster. He was the real victim in the story, and in my opinion, it was Dr Frankenstein who was the true monster.

By: Judd

Judd — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 09:07:36 +0000

I LOVE your articles like this. My wife has been pushing me for over a year to write not just an anti-hero, but one that’s irredeemable, one that would be a villain in almost any other story.
It’s a challenge, but has been so intensely fulfilling that I feel like it’s actually caused me to grow as a person a bit.
PS – Link for two hat appearances is here: https://www.juddexley.com/writing-3/the-number-nine/i-used-to-be-aspiring-but-id-limited-myself/

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 04:13:12 +0000

I think the “sympathy for the devil” is an important – even necessary – human emotion that enables us to, even as we’re judging or exacting justice, understand how this antagonist slipped over the line to the dark side and why they do the terrible things they do. We’re able then to see the shades of gray in situations and exhibit mercy and forgiveness even while meting out justice.

Take Dexter, for instance. I love Dexter even as I know he’s a hideous human being in so many ways. The books play him much darker and ill-connected with the rest of humanity, and it’s really a toss-up as to whether he was born sociopathic or made that way as a result of his childhood trauma. You never are really told one way or the other in either the books or the TV series – the series bends more toward made than born, but even so, there’s always a thread of doubt woven in.

But he’s killing serial killers – predators of the worst sort, so he’s doing us a huge favor, right? Or is he really just pulling us toward the dark side by choosing victims we will automatically think deserve to die and will cause us to be in sympathy with him, cheer him on, maybe even condone and exonerate his actions (regardless of Harry’s code of who to kill, Dex ultimately chooses who he’s taking down). Do we become less moral and righteous as we exhibit that sympathy? Kind of a disturbing question, no?

By: Jean Lamb

Jean Lamb — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 03:04:57 +0000

Another prime example of the anti-villain is Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin on GOTHAM, who pretty much took over the show for a while despite doing some truly awful things (and taking the blame for some of the crap James Gordon, not yet Commissioner, felt forced to do. That was one weird relationship). You hear yourself asking, “Why has no one killed him yet? *How* has nobody killed him yet?”. And the arc where he’s totally rehabilitated, we think, but the Evil Stepsisters constantly torment him? Let’s be real, we were looking forward to him snapping and letting them have it. Even Poison Ivy just kind of sat back and admired him.

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 20:50:26 +0000

Fantastic post!!!