Best recent Television Villain (SF inclusive)

[BigJake]

I'm put in mind of this in the wake of watching Dark Matter, Jessica Jones and Daredevil, and a few other shows besides. There are some pretty impressive villain performances hitting the small screen these days. Which are your faves?

My contenders (not all of these are SF but most are, which is why I'm posting here):

Alice Morgan (Luther): Elba's Luther is one of the most authentically flawed, vulnerable yet brilliant heroes ever. I'm less than two seasons in but his relationship with the murderous, creepily fixated Alice Morgan fills me with dread. (For those who've watched further, refrain from SPOILERS pretty pretty please.)

Killgrave (Jessica Jones): "Was 'murder-corpse' taken?" I really appreciate the psychologically realistic takes Marvel's TV properties bring to its villains. Killgrave, complete with his delusional and creepy rapist psychology -- brilliantly and fearlessly realized by David Tennant -- is a genuinely chilling presence throughout JJ's first season.

Wilson Fisk (Daredevil): A Shatnerian performance from d'Onofrio in the best possible sense. His version of Wilson Fisk starts out with lugubrious, learned-sounding quotations and false empathy, and almost never fails to hit an endpoint of "terrifying mantrum" that chills the blood. Still, he's beguiling enough in his lucid mode to make his lover's devotion to him believable.

Alexander Rook (Dark Matter): The dark mirror of Wil Wheaton's post-Trek persona, a "nice guy" who will chop your limbs off to prevent you from walking away from him or his organization. Some of the most inspired SF casting in years.

Who are your picks?

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

I agree on Kilgrave.

Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones is an excellent villain, probably the best one the show's had since Joffrey.

Tyrell on Mr. Robot is pretty nasty and his wife is a ruthless modern-day Lady MacBeth.

The Night Manager's Hugh Laurie gave a fantastic performance as Roper.

 

[Wouter]

Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones is an excellent villain, probably the best one the show's had since Joffrey.

I think Tywin Lannister was an excellent villain in GoT (and even more in the books), partly because he had some admirable qualities in spite of clearly being a villain. Depending on definition of villain, even Stannis Baratheon and Jaime Lannister could go in a similar category. Ramsay is a good villain, but it's interesting when it is believable the villains would view themselves as the hero in their own story.

The Borg as they originally were presented on TNG were very effective villains, though maybe not in the way the OP meant, as there is no particular actor or actress to showcase (Locutus aside).

On Dark Matter, there is potential for characters like 4 to turn out to be villainous - from a certain point-of-view. Would be interesting for a mainstream SF show to turn one or some of its mains into villains, or at least someone part of the public would view as someone to root for, while another part would see him or her as a bad guy.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Would be interesting for a mainstream SF show to turn one or some of its mains into villains, ...

Ward on "Agents of SHIELD". Jiaying, Daisy's mother on "Agents of SHIELD". Going by the season 3 cliffhanger, possibly Daisy on "Agents of SHIELD". It's kinda become what they do. It's still quite effective, though, and I'd list Jiaying as one of the best TV villains in recent years, just because that twist, and because she really did think she's the hero.

 

[Wouter]

I haven't watched Agents of Shield.

They really have turned/are turning three of their main characters into villains? That may be too much of a good thing if they do it every year?

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Well, Ward was one of the main team during the first half of season one, then was revealed to be Hydra.

Jiaying was a recurring character before turning out to be the big bad of season two, which wasn't until the episode before the two-part finale.

Skye/Daisy has been one of the main team since the start, but certain events during the season 3 finale seemed to shake her pretty much, and a last segment jump-forward showed her at odds with SHIELD, though helping out civilians. It's not clear whether Daisy will be turned into a villain, yet. I actually doubt this will be permanent.

 

[Christopher]

I think Cal was Agents of SHIELD's most compelling villain, because he wasn't purely a villain. Raina was pretty great too.

Person of Interest had some pretty strong villains -- Control, Greer, Collier (played by a pre-Hamilton Leslie Odom, Jr.), and of course Samaritan itself. And of course Root was an awesome villain who then became a pretty awesome hero.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

I think Cal was Agents of SHIELD's most compelling villain, because he wasn't purely a villain. Raina was pretty great too.

Where they turned heroes/sympathetic characters like Ward and Jiaying into villains, they kinda went the opposite way with Cal and Raina. Early in season two, it felt like Cal was set up to be the big bad, only to turn out to not actually be a villain at all. Adversary, yes, but ultimately not a villain. Both he and Raina turned out to be allies for the heroes.

On the DC side of things, I'd nominate Deathstroke from season two of "Arrow" as one of the best recent TV villains.

 

[Christopher]

Where they turned heroes/sympathetic characters like Ward and Jiaying into villains, they kinda went the opposite way with Cal and Raina. Early in season two, it felt like Cal was set up to be the big bad, only to turn out to not actually be a villain at all. Adversary, yes, but ultimately not a villain. Both he and Raina turned out to be allies for the heroes.

Well, my favorite villains tend to be the ones that redeem themselves, or who are morally ambiguous.

 

[Icemizer]

Raymond Red Reddington, I could listen to him spin stories and then kill someone every night of the week.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Donald Trump.

The personality is a bit unrealistic but he's pretty damn evil and terrifying. I don't know why they bothered digitally orange-ifying his skin, though. He seems alien enough without it.

 

[theenglish]

Kilgrave was definitely a top villain for me. He gave me nightmares and by the end of the series he was really well fleshed out as a character.

Walter White and Tony Soprano are fantastic characters and showed that a drama could have the villain as a protagonist and still be engrossing. Of course, Michael Corleone proved this decades earlier.

Harrison Wells from Season 1 flash is also a top choice.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

How recent is recent? Given the choice of GoT villains I'd pick Littlefinger over Ramsay. The calculated manipulative villains are always more interesting to me than the straight up psychos. Gus Fring, Ben Linus, those are the kinds of villains I like.

Though I might go with The Ads from South Park, or Hanzee from Fargo.

 

[BigJake]

Donald Trump.

Well played, madam.

I'm also a Littlefinger fan, definitely. He's one of the characters who translated best from the books to the show. Likewise with Tywin Lannister. Can be tricky to identify who is really a "villain" in GoT, though, with a few obvious exceptions. (The most chilling thing about Ramsay Bolton for me is that he was based on actual historical personages. Martin has a knack for making characters convincing in fiction who would otherwise seem too outlandish to work, and yet are completely realistic.)

Walter White is also an excellent choice. One of the best villain protagonists of all time. I also "loved" Gus in Breaking Bad. Terrifying and banal in equal measure, with each quality reinforcing the other.

Quite agree with @Christopher about Samaritan. The direction that show took was unexpected but quite brilliant, I had written it off as just another police procedural before @Locutus of Bored persuaded me to take another look.

Also agreed with the poster who mentioned Four / Ryo Tetsuda from Dark Matter, who by the end of season one (I haven't seen anything of season two yet) seemed the only character who had fully embraced and committed to his "villainous" past. With the qualifier that his "villainous" past was authentically complicated.

 

[JD]

I've really liked most of the Arrowverse villains, with Deathstroke and Zoom being my top two.
Ward/Hive and Cal on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The final villain on latest seasons of The Original was great, and seeing that character who had always had a rocky relation with them turn on the Mikealsons was a hell of moment. I don't know if I'd call this character a villain, but he was definintely an emeny of the Mikaelsons in the end. Lucien,Tristan, and was Aurora were pretty good too.
Kilgrave on Jessica Jones and Fisk on Daredevil were amazing. Punisher was to, but as the season went on we saw that he was more of a very anti-hero.

 

[Vandervecken]

Billie Piper as Lily (originally Brona), the "Bride" created by Victor Frankenstein in Penny Dreadful. She isn't entirely a villain, but I'd say ordering her cadre of prostitute killers to each bring back a man's hand and pile them on Dorian's table was pretty psychotically villainous. But her best scenes of all were in the last few episodes of season 2, especially the scene where she terrifies the crap out of the Creature.

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Also, from the same series, Christian Camargo's fascinating turn as Dracula. Awesome stuff:

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That moment when he says "have mercy PLEASE!" is a stunner.

 

[Solariabsg25]

I'm put in mind of this in the wake of watching Dark Matter, Jessica Jones and Daredevil, and a few other shows besides. There are some pretty impressive villain performances hitting the small screen these days. Which are your faves?

My contenders (not all of these are SF but most are, which is why I'm posting here):

Alice Morgan (Luther): Elba's Luther is one of the most authentically flawed, vulnerable yet brilliant heroes ever. I'm less than two seasons in but his relationship with the murderous, creepily fixated Alice Morgan fills me with dread. (For those who've watched further, refrain from SPOILERS pretty pretty please.)

Killgrave (Jessica Jones): "Was 'murder-corpse' taken?" I really appreciate the psychologically realistic takes Marvel's TV properties bring to its villains. Killgrave, complete with his delusional and creepy rapist psychology -- brilliantly and fearlessly realized by David Tennant -- is a genuinely chilling presence throughout JJ's first season.

Wilson Fisk (Daredevil): A Shatnerian performance from d'Onofrio in the best possible sense. His version of Wilson Fisk starts out with lugubrious, learned-sounding quotations and false empathy, and almost never fails to hit an endpoint of "terrifying mantrum" that chills the blood. Still, he's beguiling enough in his lucid mode to make his lover's devotion to him believable.

Alexander Rook (Dark Matter): The dark mirror of Wil Wheaton's post-Trek persona, a "nice guy" who will chop your limbs off to prevent you from walking away from him or his organization. Some of the most inspired SF casting in years.

Who are your picks?

Hope you enjoy Luther it is superbly well written and acted.

Killgrave though has to be the stand-out villain of recent years. He's a truly broken individual who has these powers, yet desperately wants Jessica, or perhaps anyone, to truly care for him, and not do so just because he told them to. His desperation to try to get his way without giving orders like when he wanted to buy the house, struggling to really try to avoid using his powers on the owner, showing a genuine effort to change as there was no way Jessica could possibly know how he did it.

Not from this year though, but I've been catching up on Season One of Powers with both Johnny Royalle and Wolfe being multi-layered and complex characters.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I'm put in mind of this in the wake of watching Dark Matter, Jessica Jones and Daredevil, and a few other shows besides. There are some pretty impressive villain performances hitting the small screen these days. Which are your faves?
Wilson Fisk (Daredevil): A Shatnerian performance from d'Onofrio in the best possible sense. His version of Wilson Fisk starts out with lugubrious, learned-sounding quotations and false empathy, and almost never fails to hit an endpoint of "terrifying mantrum" that chills the blood. Still, he's beguiling enough in his lucid mode to make his lover's devotion to him believable.
Who are your picks?

I agree with the choice of Fisk; he's serious enough to fit into the MCU--the new Spider-Man in particular. Seeing a teenager struggling with his still-new life as a hero face off against an older, brutal criminal will be a contrast right out of the comics.

Donald Trump.

The personality is a bit unrealistic but he's pretty damn evil and terrifying. I don't know why they bothered digitally orange-ifying his skin, though. He seems alien enough with it.

Try Ted Cruz--only a true villain could inspire hatred even within his own ranks.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Yeah, Mads Mikkelson's Hannibal. One of the very best TV villain performances, playing an utterly vile human being who, no matter how reprehenible, you really want to see win.

Walton Goggins' Boyd Crowder in Justified. A great villain, not only matches and challenges the hero, but sometimes make the hero-character even possible. The history and throughline between Boyd and Raylan is so rich that, even though they are enemies, they thrive on their animosity and would almost be lost without each other in their lives.

Gus Fring - utterly, utterly terrifying and the fact that Walter outplays him with ruthfulness makes HIM just as great a screen villain.

Ben Linus - even when the show was going off the rails, there was Ben, kidnapping, mass murdering, letting his daughter die. So committed to an ideal and his own destiny, anything was possible. Plus, even through his vile ooze, Michael Emerson still brought an air of charm to him. Remarkable villain, wonderful performance.

The really great villains have not only a strong drive through the narrative, but are generally intrinsically linked to their environment or the "hero", building pathos and a real investment in their rationale, so when you examine it, you can understand their point of view, if not necessarily agree with it.

Hugo - I've been accused of being many things... inarticulate ain't one of them

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Other than 'The Ads' in South Park I've already mentioned, what about Eric Cartman?

Eric Cartman, in the grand scope of humanity, is the reason we can't have nice things. If he sees someone else receiving a privilege, he wants it. If he sees weakness, he attacks. If he sees anything going on, he makes it about him. Every story told is the story about his desires being fulfilled or denied. In his own world he is all that is good, those who deny his desires are all that is evil.

Whenever humans try to get something good done that helps people and makes the world a better place, Eric Cartman is that one asshole who ruins it for everyone.