When it comes to a good television show, everyone likes a good hero. However, what makes a television show great is a villain that everyone LOVES.
While a villain may stop the actions of actions of the hero, the reason why everyone loves a villain because we see their tragic backstory. It is because of this that we do gain some sympathy for the villain. While we may not approve their actions, we do understand why they behave the way they do.
Here are four villains who may do some bad things, but you have to feel for them because of their past:
4. Regina Mills/The Evil Queen (“Once Upon a Time”)
You could make an argument on Regina still being a villain in “Once Upon a Time” since she is now one of the main heroes of the show. However, when she WAS the main villain of the show, she was one of the most popular characters of the show because of why she wanted her vengeance. After all, it kind of was young Snow White’s actions that led to the love of her life being killed, so you could understand why she would be mad. However, as the show goes on, you see Regina slowly change into more of a heroic person. While not necessarily a villain anymore, she still makes the cut!
3. Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (“The Flash”)
Ok, so Snart is a bit of psycho since he uses his freeze gun to kill a number of people. However, despite his current job as a professional thief, you have to feel bad for what happened to him when he was a child. In the show, we see that in his younger years, Leonard and little sister Lisa lived with their father, a con-man. Their father was also extremely abusive to them, with Leonard often getting his sister out of trouble by taking her punishments as well. Sure, he is not the best person, but considering his childhood, you have to have a little sympathy for the guy.
2. Victor Fries (“Gotham”)
Most of the villains in Gotham City are already pretty insane. However, Fries is one of the very few villains in Gotham you have to feel for. Although he kills a countless number of people in the name of “science,” you learn that him doing this is to save the life of his wife, Nora Fries. Nora has a terminal illness, and Victor tries to use his research on cryogenics to find a way to save her. Sure, he ended up killing a lot of people to find a way to save her, but you have to understand how desperate he is. It is not okay to kill people to further scientific research, but Fries is just a desperate man trying to save the love of his life.
1. Henry Parrish (“Sleepy Hollow”)
Now, all of Henry’s horrible actions are the result of him being led to believe that his parents just gave him up and never loved him. Could you really blame him for that? Being a sorcerer and trapped within a coffin for two centuries would probably make a lot of your anger fester. Little did he know that his parents very much loved him and lived in guilt for not being there for him. While he was killed off in the second season of the show, he was able to make amends with his parents before moving on to the afterlife.
