Philosophical musings on evil characters in film, TV and books

[dweomeroflight]

I've always had this obsession with working out evil characters motivations for doing things, which is why even though I disagree with people who claim that Wicked is the greatest musical ever (that would be those written by the musical genius Stephan Sondheim) I do have to admit that the opening and closing songs of No one mourns the Wicked really have hold of something that not many people like to admit... which is basically that the world isn't black and white... but rather shades of grey.

the respective lyrics are here:

Let us be glad
Let us be grateful
Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue
The wicked workings of you-know-who
Isn't it nice to know
That good will conquer evil?
The truth we all believe'll by and by
Outlive a lie
For you and -

SOMEONE IN THE CROWD:
No one mourns the Wicked

ANOTHER PERSON:
No one cries "They won't return!"

ALL:
No one lays a lily on their grave

MAN:
The good man scorns the Wicked!

WOMEN:
Through their lives, our children learn

ALL:
What we miss, when we misbehave:

GLINDA:
And Goodness knows
The Wicked's lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The Wicked die alone
It just shows when you're Wicked
You're left only
On your own

ALL:
Yes, Goodness knows
The Wicked's lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The Wicked cry alone
Nothing grows for the Wicked
They reap only
What they sow

and later on:

No one mourns the Wicked!
Now at last, she's dead and gone!
Now at last, there's joy throughout the land
And Goodness knows
We know what Goodness is
Goodness knows
The Wicked die alone

GLINDA:
She died alone

ALL:
Woe to those (Woe to those)
Who spurn what Goodnesses
They are shown
No one mourns the Wicked

now having taken out all the superfluous stuff that relates to the Wicked Witch and other characters in the actual musical, this song could pretty much apply to every well written evil character under the sun. I love this song so much, I love the irony involved and how in the finale there's one choir who is overjoyed that the witch is dead, and how the second choir is quietly mournful, seeming to say, "No one mourns the wicked" even as they know that in real life, there is always someone left to mourn.

Now when I say well written evil characters I'm not talking Sauron from LOTR say who is just evil for the sake of it, but rather evil characters that are given some sort of reason for their evilness.

and some examples of evil characters who are loved despite their evilness...

evil people can be loved... (this is the guy who destroyed one tenth of the world's population, imprisoned The Doctor and abused his wife) and yet the Doctor is ABSOLUTELY shattered that he is dying!!!



and mourned for... (I still get a bit emotional remembering this scene) You know its serious when a male is crying...



and from Sweeney Todd...



Toby loves Mrs Lovett and even kills Sweeney in revenge for his murder of her (this is despite knowing she is an evil bitch who willingly took part in murder to cook bodies in pies, and who would have killed Toby himself) again proving... people mourn the Wicked.

Other examples...

Mab and Merlin in Hallmark's Merlin (Mab pretty much destroys everything Merlin loves and he still is sad when she dies)

Various characters in KK's Deverry saga

Darth Vadar in the Star Wars prequels

and others that I will add when I think of them...