5 Reasons We Love Wicked Characters in Wicked Shows
There has been countless studies on our human fascination with evil. Endless research papers have dissected our psychological drive towards characters in movies and TV shows who show malevolent or villainess behaviour.
One thing is undisputed. We love watching naughty people.
Academics will bore you silly unpacking the human brain and why we gravitate toward these characters, but allow us to cut through the intellectual drivel and provide a much more simplified summary.
Here’s 5 straightforward reasons why we love wicked characters in wicked TV Shows.
1. They do revenge better than we do.
The Show:
Beef
The Incident:
Amy (Ali Wong) and Danny (Steven Yeun) are two strangers who get into a road rage incident.
What we’d do:
Mutter a swear word or two under our breath, give an awkward acknowledgment wave, maybe beep our horn once or twice then continue on with our day in the knowledge that we have avoided any major confrontation.
What they do:
Start a major confrontation. After unleashing obscenities on each other, things escalate quickly when Amy tries to ram Danny’s car. But it’s the list of revenge attacks that happen after the road rage incident that really set these two characters apart from the rest of us. Everything from breaking and entering, catfishing, vandalising, kidnapping, public disruption and ‘revenge peeing’ on a household floor.
…and while shocked at their behaviour, we cheer them both on and can’t look away.
Watch Beef on Netflix (Subscription required)
2. They get to the truth of a situation quicker than we do.
The Show:
The Incident:
In Season 2 of Succession, head honcho Logan Roy (Brian Cox) plots a secret takeover of a rival news company. Only, he discovers that someone in his family, or his wider group of confidantes has already released his plans to the rivals, potentially ruining his chances of the takeover. But he has no idea who the snake in the grass is.
What We’d Do:
In a work environment we’ve been repeatedly advised to take such a matter straight to the HR department. We would let trained professionals delicately handle a potentially awkward situation. The wellbeing of staff and the health of the business being the foremost objective.
What They Do:
Over dinner with his closest family and business confidantes, Logan springs on them what he calls “Boar on the Floor”, a game of pure humiliation where he demands three suspects to sit on the floor, play-act like they are pigs, and fight over a piece of sausage. The loser is declared the mole.
…and while we don’t condone it, we suddenly realise it got the job done.
Watch Succession in the Fetch TV Store
3. They make threats on important things better than we ever could.
The Show:
The Incident:
In season 5 of Yellowstone, Beth (Kelly Reilly) has to deal with her Dad’s new girlfriend Summer (Piper Perabo) moving in and living on the same property as she does. Beth and Summer have a vicious dislike of each other.
What We’d Do:
Having to share the same place with a housemate you don’t get on with is never easy, but we usually strive to make it work by being polite, setting boundaries and working on making the best of an uncomfortable situation by labelling food, scheduling chores and coordinating routines.
What They Do:
Never one to hold back her true feelings, Beth threatens and insults Summer several times until things get very real. She turns dramatically and gives the above bone-chilling threat over her secret stash of Peanut M&Ms.
…and we all suddenly felt a strong kinship with Beth. Preach girl. Preach.
Watch Yellowstone in the Fetch TV Store and Stan (Subscription required)
4. They are more in touch with their dark side than we are
The Show:
Wednesday
The Incident:
Forced to room together on campus of their school, Enid (Emma Myers) tries to find a connection with Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) when both girls are clearly opposites in every way.
What We’d Do:
Grin and bear it. Like any normal person having to share space with someone who aggravates us, we do our best to keep our dislike hidden and secretly pray we can survive without lashing out at the person.
What They Do:
After dividing their shared room in half, Wednesday tells Enid that “It looks like a rainbow vomited on your side”. She follows it up with insulting her writing skills on her blog and calling her followers “imbeciles”. Only to finish off the tirade with the above stinger. Ouch.
…and we all suddenly wish we could be so deliciously evil like this.
Watch Wednesday on Netflix (Subscription required)
5. They say out loud what we only dare to think
The Show:
The Incident:
In Season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry suspects the local weatherman of falsely reporting upcoming bad weather, just so he can have the golf course to himself without any waiting.
What We’d Do:
Alert the proper authorities, write a stern letter to the TV station, or at least contact ABC’s Media Watch with the accusation so that they can do the proper, required investigating of the weatherman’s suspected wrong doing.
What They Do:
Larry discovers the weatherman enjoying a round of golf on a virtually empty course and straight-out accuses him of lying about his forecast. When the weatherman tries to explain that a “Jet Stream” is bringing a low pressure system of bad weather into the area, Larry replies with his own opinion of what a “Jet Stream” is bringing.
…and once again we all wish we could speak our mind like Larry David.
Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm on the Fetch TV Store
