About a villain's point of view

[CheertheSecond]

1. Do villains need a relatable reason for their wrong doing?
2. Do they need to have a justifiable cause?
3. Do they need to be fleshed out so that readers can be immersive into the life of the villains?
4. Do you want to slip into the villains' shoes and understand their story / their feelings?
5. Do the villains' reasons need to be believable from a normal person's perspective?

 

[TsumiHokiro]

1. No
2. No
3. No
4. Depends on the story's plot
5. No

It all depends on what kind of story you are trying to write. Therefore, these are this bird's answers.

 

[Lorelliad]

1. Nah. Many villains' motivations are shaped as a result of the hardships they've faced, making them unique in their own way. Heroes will try to relate to them, but very rarely they actually can understand them truly.
2. Justifiable in their own view, sure. The quote "A hero would sacrifice one to save many, while a villain would sacrifice many to save one." can apply.
3. Depends? Is the villain playing a pivotive role in the story? I'd think just showing the readers a glimpse into their hardships and causing moral dilemmas would be more than enough.
4. Sure. Those are the type of villains I like to refer to as redeemable. They aren't pure evil, but were forced to become evil.
5. Believable, in what way? A normal person wouldn't be able to see past the cold, hardened exterior a villain showcases when they commit atrocious acts.

 

[Nahrenne]

Do villains need a relatable reason for their wrong doing?

It's not necessary, but it can make for an interesting character.
I mean, the Joker's reason was just to cause chaos wasn't it?
Is that relatable?
Not to me, but maybe to some?
Whereas Darth Vader's reason was to become powerful enough to protect those he loved (I think?) - though this got warped somewhat...

Do they need to have a justifiable cause?

Not necessarily.
You could have a villain do bad things because they enjoy seeing others suffer.
While another villain could be doing something to make something better, but the process/goal of doing it comes into conflict with the protagonist/s of the story.
It just depends on the type of villain you want to make.
'-'

Do they need to be fleshed out so that readers can be immersive into the life of the villains?

Not necessarily.
It depends on if you want to make the readers feel conflicted over who to actually support: the hero/protagonist, or the villain/antagonist
Fleshing them out would give them more substance and depth of character, though, making the world you're writing feel more alive.

Do you want to slip into the villains' shoes and understand their story / their feelings?

Ironically, one of the stories I'm writing (not posted) has a villain as one of the MC's in it.
I wanted to see how readers would perceive them as their villainous acts got revealed.
Not written much of it, though.

So, I guess I personally do, but it's not a necessary thing to have a well-written villain.
Some people would rather just read from the protagonist's perspective.

Do the villains' reasons need to be believable from a normal person's perspective?

Hmm...yes?
Though, I suppose it depends on the mental stability of the villain.
As well as what the world/setting of the story is like.

As an example, say the villain is a widow whose partner was brutally tortured/killed by those in power/another country/etc...
That villain plans to kill off those people in the most painful way possible without caring about the collateral damage to innocent people.
They want the world/others to suffer the emotional pain they have.
I'd say that's a fairly believable reason.
It doesn't mean I support it, though.
'-'

Whereas, say the villain is the guardian of a nation who has protected them for decades and is known for being incredibly loyal, kind and caring towards the people living there.
Then they just suddenly kill every person in it without any warning.
When asked by someone later why they did it, they just answer with, "I felt like it."
It feels kind of weak for a reason.
Like, what made them feel like it?
Why the sudden urge?
It just feels so...random.
Especially if they then return to being kind and caring afterwards.
Or maybe that's just my opinion.

Meh.

X

 

[melchi]

Like tsumi said it all depends. If the antagonist is not relatable it'll make them seem like a saturday morning cartoon villain. But in some cases that is okay.

If the villain is supposed to be really evil but charismatic then yeah they need to be relatable. Such a villain can twist things to make the hero look like the bad guy.

 

[prognastat]

It depends on the story you are trying to tell. Although I like stories with conflicted heroes and villains sometimes it is nice to read a story where there is a clear good and evil. Like I prefer Star Trek, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Star Wars.

 

[georgelee5786]

1. No, not usually. Villains are evil. People shouldn't relate to evil. Only occasionally should they be relatable and it should be handled with care

2. No. See above.

3. Yes. All major characters should he fleshed out

4. If you have decided to write a antagonist with a debatable justified reason to be evil, then yes.

5. Yes, usually, unless they're bat shit insane

 

[Voidiris]

1. Do villains need a relatable reason for their wrong doing?
2. Do they need to have a justifiable cause?
3. Do they need to be fleshed out so that readers can be immersive into the life of the villains?
4. Do you want to slip into the villains' shoes and understand their story / their feelings?
5. Do the villains' reasons need to be believable from a normal person's perspective?

1 No
2 No
3 No
4 No
5 No

A villain only needs to be seen as evil in the confine of the story, everything else is just things that can flesh out the villain.

My favourite fictional character is a villain, 02, they don’t check of any of the boxes or shouldn't check of any of the boxes, they want to commit absolut omnicide, kill everything, to end all pain, to reduce everything to zero.
Some would see a point in his motives and others wouldn't, it's subjective.
But I found the most interesting are the interpretation of their character, some interpret them as a god or metaphor for depression, my favorite interpretation is that of a cynical idealist.
They know that others see them as evil and knows that many would see them as a villain, what do they do?
They don't give an excuse or justification, they say what they believe, they accept that others see them as villain.