There's at least one character in every TV show that we love to hate and hate to love. If a character fits that description, he or she is probably the villain of that show.
However, as much as villains often ruin the best-laid plans of our favorite characters and keep you up at night thinking about their latest schemes, you can't help but wonder, where would we be without them? A TV show has to have some tension and drama to be worth watching, and who better to provide all of that than a villain?
However, a truly exceptional villain is one who is much more than just a person that does bad things. The best villains are flawed and complex individuals whose motivations and actions give evil a whole new meaning. They also often have some of the best lines in a TV show, which helps make it so you don't run in terror when they appear on screen but actually want to stick around to see what they say next.
This new golden age of television we live in has also brought some of the best villains to have ever hit the small screen. Most of them are loathed, some of them are lauded, but they are all absolutely memorable in their own sickening ways. Here are eight baddies from current TV shows that are worthy of that title, listed in no particular order.
And yes, there are some MAJOR SPOILERS about these characters and their respective TV shows throughout. I would be a bit of a villain myself if I didn't warn you about that, right?
Ramsay Bolton — Game of Thrones (2013-2015)
Even if you don't watch Game of Thrones, you know who Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) is. Ramsay has always been kind of awful on the show. Over the course of his time on Game of Thrones, he has violently betrayed Robb Stark (Richard Madden) in the War of the Five Kings, brutally tortured Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) and flayed, or gruesomely removed the skin of, a bunch of people.
However, Ramsay really caused a stir when he raped Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) during the couple's wedding night in an episode midway through Season 5 of Game of Thrones. To be fair, most of the outrage over the show's portrayal of violence against women among critics and fans alike was mostly directed toward Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. However, if, for some reason, you ever needed any more evidence of just how bad Ramsay can be, this would really be it.
Piper Chapman — Orange is the New Black (2013-)
Sometimes, the most sinister villains are the ones you don't see coming. When Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) first entered the Litchfield Correctional Facility at the beginning of Orange is the New Black, she was a naive inmate just trying to get everyone to like her. By Season 3, though it seemed like many of our favorite inmates had let their guards down, Piper had become one of the baddest of Litchfield's ladies. After months in prison, we saw Piper start a prison panty ring, cheat (again) and get the ultimate revenge on lover Stella Carlin (Ruby Rose) after she double-crossed her. Prison has definitely changed Piper for the worse, but I'm not sure I want to see her change back, either.
Chuck McGill — Better Call Saul (2015)
When the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul first premiered, Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) brother Chuck (Michael McKean) seemed like one of the most vulnerable characters in the series. After years of being a high-powered partner in a fancy firm in Albuquerque, Chuck had snapped, refusing to leave his home or allow anyone entering it to carry a battery-powered device because of his so-called debilitating "electricity allergy." However, Chuck gradually overcame his condition as he got back into law and joined Jimmy to take on a company owning a ton of retirement communities in a major fraud case.
It seemed like these two brothers had finally put their strained relationship behind them and were living the dream. That was until Chuck convinced Jimmy to hand over the case to his firm, which later told Jimmy they wanted him off the case. It wasn't Chuck's stuffy partner Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) who wanted Jimmy gone, either. Chuck didn't want to work with Jimmy all along because he always thought he was nothing more than a crook. I have to admit, I did see this brotherly betrayal coming from a mile away. However, when it finally happened, it hurt all the same.
Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. The Penguin — Gotham (2014-)
Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. The Penguin, has earned the distinction of being the most recognizable villain on Gotham. That's not only because he's one of the most famous characters in the Batman canon but also because he has made a bad name for himself with all of his dastardly deeds in Season 1 of Gotham. First of all, Oswald's austere suit, greasy hair and ever-present smirk just make him look evil. Then, there's the fact that he's involved in organized crime, lacks a sense of loyalty and has murdered anyone that stands in the way of his ambition that really makes him a terrifying figure on the show. Oh, and you shouldn't call him "Penguin" if you know what's good for you.
Sin Rostro — Jane the Virgin (2014-2015)
If you've seen any promos for Jane the Virgin, you probably think it looks like a lighthearted CW show full of love and laughs. It is, but there's also a major criminal aspect to the story. Since Jane the Virgin is in part an homage to telenovelas, over-the-top drama has to come from somewhere, right? Much of Season 1 of the series was devoted to a storyline involving the investigation of a mysterious drug lord named Sin Rostro who had also murdered some people in The Marbella hotel run by Rafael Solano (Justin Baldoni), Jane Villaneuva's (Gina Rodriguez) baby daddy.
Things got even worse once the true identity of Sin Rostro is revealed to be Rafael's stepmom Rose (Bridget Regan). She ended up having her stepdaughter Luisa committed to a mental hospital after she threatened to reveal their affair. Rose also murdered her husband by pouring a bunch of cement on him, effectively having him be a part of The Marbella forever, I guess. Then, she went and stole Jane and Rafael's newborn baby Mateo a hot second after he was born in the Season 1 finale. It doesn't get any more evil than that.
Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne — Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015)
We're well aware that Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm) is a bad guy from the beginning of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He did kidnap Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) and three other women and kept them as members of his cult in his underground bunker for 15 years, after all. However, once he was finally arrested and brought to trial toward the end of Season 1, not to mention he was revealed to be played by the hunky Jon Hamm, Richard was so ridiculously hilarious and delightful to watch, you were not really scared of him. It's the fact that you're almost wooed by Richard's charm that makes him completely unsettling.
Gavin Belson — Silicon Valley (2014-2015)
Silicon Valley's Gavin Belson (Matt Ross) is so frightening because he seems like someone who could exist in real life. Gavin is one of the adversaries of the Pied Piper team during Seasons 1 and 2 of the HBO comedy — the other being themselves — constantly trying to take the company down with innovations from his own company Hooli, whether that means pooling all of their resources to build better compression software or filing a lawsuit as a last-ditch effort to own Richard Hendricks' (Thomas Middleditch) revolutionary software once and for all. You can almost imagine Gavin's mind games and manipulation going down in some boardroom in the real Silicon Valley.
Lady Mary Crawley — Downton Abbey (2010-)
Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) isn't a villain per se, but if there had to be one on Downton Abbey, I think she'd be it. Except, of course, for that doctor who killed Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay)! But I digress. The beautiful firstborn daughter of the Crawley clan is incredibly self-centered, always putting down her younger sister Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and has toyed with the emotions of just about every man that has crossed her path. Though Lady Mary has a heart somewhere in that cold body of hers and is a flawed and much more nuanced character than I may be letting on right now, the fact that she has grown little from the terrible person that she was in Season 1 of the show makes her fairly irredeemable in my eyes.
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