Hackneyed af (Destiny)

by Kermit , Raleigh, NC, Friday, December 13, 2019, 07:18 (1814 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Bungie has been riding that trite concept for a bit too long at this point. Ghaul, Uldren, the emperor, the Fanatic, even the Darkness itself! It's bland at this point, because the "hero of their own story" angle is predicated on the villain's ignorance, or mistaken perspective.

You must dismiss as bland all villainy then, because evil is itself ignorance or mistaken perspective.

In my opinion, good antagonists are one (or both) of the following:

1. Built with an emotionally comprehensive and understandable psychology
2. Metaphors for our fears or anxieties.

One is not nessesarily better than the other (for instance, Michael Meyers is infinitely more interesting as a villain in the original Halloween than in the screen vomit that was Rob Zombie's remake that gave him a backstory).

Right. I might agree with Korny that certain villains are one dimensional and writers can lean too heavily on one aspect in their characterization of them, but you can't say a basic psychological truth is trite or hackneyed--it just is. Human beings try to justify their behavior. It's simply what they do.