Sunday, December 16, 2012

Villains and Antiheroes


















In a lot of the more alluring teleseries since the 1990s, the protagonist is an antihero. In watching one like Dexter, figuring out antagonists, antiheroes and villains is sort of like looking through a kaleidoscope -- it may shift depending on one's point of view. Is Dexter's half-sister Deb a fallen hero? Remembering that all heroes are flawed, is Angel a hero? Isaak Sirko is an anagonist, but seems too cool to be a true villain. How would they rate relative to each other within the universe of the story itself?  

How about Ray Drecker in HBO's Hung?  I'd say hero (however unconventional). And one of the great characters of recent times, Tony Soprano? Antihero. Nurse Jackie as character? Hero? (Again, all heroes are flawed)?

What think ye?  Any favorites?  Any hated protagonists or antagonists in recent years?

Today's Rune: Wholeness.     

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

Maybe not quite the same thing, but the Christian Troy character in Nip/Tuck was pretty much an anti-hero and I came to like him quite a lot.

jodi said...

Erik, Hung is the only show I've seen in the bunch, so my vote is for Ray Drecker!