on those characters we love to hate

So what makes a villain?

The telenovela I’m watching has all sorts of antagonists all bent in some form or another of keeping Monica and Juan del Diablo apart. But I’m having difficulty choosing that big-bad character to dislike. For example there’s Aimee, Monica’s sister and Juan’s former lover. Aimee is very free-spirited for her time, which won her points for me, but who ends up forsaking Juan to marry Andres, Monica’s former fiancé. She seems like the typical spoiled sister until Monica means to marry Juan, then she seethes with jealousy and doesn’t miss a chance to taunt her sister with the fact that she loved and had Juan first. Yet, Aimee is still a relatable character, she is silly but her jealousy is justified (if annoying).

Then there’s Doña Sofia, Andres’ mother and Juan’s stepmother. She sent Juan away as a young boy for being the bastard son of her deceased husband, ignoring his final wish that Andres and Juan grow as brother. Doña Sofia is calculating, shrew, and a very protective mother. But even at her worst the facts make her a redeemable character. Would you want the kid your husband had out of wedlock running around your house? Wouldn’t you want what’s best for your only son, whatever the cost?

Finally there’s the local army commander, Capitan Espíndola. He is the chief of prison and is, during his brief stay in the story, the closest we get to the big-bad-wolf. Capitan Espindola is as deplorable as they come. He arrests Juan because he’s bribed into doing so and sees no issue in selling whatever pretty girl is brought into the prison to the local brother owner. He takes advantage of his position of power but comes to a quick end.

That’s another thing about these villains and attagonists, their tragic endings. Aimee, the former wild child, ends up dying in a riding accident; Doña Sofia ends up losing the thing she spent her whole life protecting, her son. Capitan Espindola is the unmourned victim of Juan’s escape from prison. It would seem that coming between the protagonists is a very hazardous decision.