All enchanting children’s books open up with the same block of text. They typically begin with, “Once upon a time…in a far off land…” and from there they proceed to tell you the picture-perfect life of a princess or the struggles a soon-to-be princess has.
Another thing all these books mention are the dark, and horrible villains that will act as a roadblock in the story. These villains are usually out for power or revenge and often times we never hear their origin story or why they are the way they are. We are simply given a dark and oftentimes less appealing character that we must hate simply because the main character does.
As I have since aged out of the princess era, I have been able to take a second look at these characters that the screenwriters and directors have tried so diligently to make us hate.
For some, I have had a change of heart.
Miranda Priestly
Miranda is a very well known villain in the cinema world. Her character in the Devil Wears Prada can be seen as an uptight bi*** or a business woman receiving shade for what men would be praised for.
Being the edior-in-chief (EIC), she has a lot on her shoulders. She has the ability to change whatever she wishes, whenever she wishes. Which means they could quite literally be finished with the magazine and then she decides to completely scrap it *yikes*.
While her character can be seen as very harsh, I think it comes with the territory. Being the EIC of any magazine, is a lot of pressure. Being the EIC of a high fashion magazine in New York City, is similar to royalty. Everyone watches what you do, and how you do it. If one magazine comes out a smidge less than perfect, you’re finished. Now, do I think she should treat her employees like garbage? No, of course not. I think her tactics for putting pressure on everyone in a weird way, makes them want to be the best versions of themselves.
This intense life of always working becomes a central focus and I think along the way she has lost sight of what she enjoys outside of the 100 pages of recycled paper.
Miranda is someone who has adapted to her job and the glitz that come with it.
Draco Malfoy
If you are on Tiktok, then you remember the iconic #Dracotok trend. It happened almost overnight and everyone who had been a die hard Gryffindor, found themselves pining over the bleach blonde Slytherin.
So what is the big issue with Malfoy? Well, in the beginning he was a bit of a dick. He was the product of privliege and power. While he was a child his parents were making friendship bracelets with the wizarding world enemy. He didn’t really have a choice on which he was born into. Nor did he have a choice of who he would follow.
I think as he grew older and he saw the frienships Harry possessed and the love he had around him, his heart started to change. We never really see Malfoy receiving love. Of course his mother is more of a caretaker than his father but still, it wasn’t the same as Harry or Ron. Once he is attending Hogwarts for a while, I think he begins to enjoy it. We remember him talking enormous amounts of sh** about the school and the professors but deep down, I think it was an escape from home for him.
That saying, “deep down there’s a scared little kid trying to get out”, that to me sums up Malfoy.
loki laufeyson
I think in the MCU, Loki is one of the most misunderstood characters. He is seen as a trickster, and as someone who is searching for ultimate power. It’s funny to me that the people who begun seeing him this way were also the ones who shared four walls with him.
He has spent his entire life searching for his father’s approval and has always come second best to his brother. The fact that everyone was completely surprised that Loki didn’t go forth on a path of peace, is beyond me. When someone is basically told their entire life “know your place” you start to build your place, towering over those that have wronged you.
Now, do I think he needed to pull tricks out of the villain handbook to get his point across, no. Sometimes, rage can take over you completely and it is hard to come back to the preson you were.
But, *spoilers* he has done that quite well.
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Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my synopsis on villains. I hope it maybe opened your eyes to the idea that villains are not always born but created. Perhaps the next time you read a book or watch a film you will think twice about hating a character.