TV Tuesday: Frenemy

[yourlibrarian]

What makes for a memorable TV antagonist? Does any kind of redemption arc play into this?

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

For me, a good antagonist has to be smart or clever. Perhaps because I recently watched the Joan Collins documentary, Alexis Carrington came to mind. Having a sense of style or sass doesn't hurt. An ideal antagonist is fun to watch.

I don't know if a redemption is necessary, however I do think that a good antagonist has to have a chink in their armor. Someone who is just irredeemably evil is just dull. It might work for a movie where they can be disposable, but for a TV show they need some characterization if they're going to be more than the villain of the week.

[jo]

Someone who is just irredeemably evil is just dull.

An antagonist doesn't have to be evil at all -- they just have to be at odds with the main character -- e.g. maybe the voice of reason if the protagonist being completely unreasonable, or an authority figure, etc. I mean, Marge Simpson is probably the antagonist in most episodes of The Simpsons.

[yourlibrarian]

Heh, that's true, though as I've been watching House of the Dragon lately it would be on my mind. I think a number of procedurals tend to include an "at odds" character, though very often they're defeated routinely which makes them a lot less memorable in my book.