Five times Netflix villains were actually more fun than the heroes
Since childhood, we have all been taught to like heroes. Because heroes are nice. They get the emotional arcs, the redemption journeys, and they get the happy ending. But let’s be honest: nine times out of ten, it’s the villains who make us sit up straighter on the couch. Netflix do have many such characters.
In the end, most of the time, we leave with the story of a villain in mind, thinking about what made them behave the way they did. They are usually messed up and the ones we secretly end up rooting for, even if we’d never admit it out loud.
Netflix especially has a knack for delivering these scene-stealing baddies. Think about it: the heroes often play it safe, but the villains? They go all in. They are unpredictable, sharper dressed, funnier, and sometimes even… right? There is nothing more entertaining than watching a villain who refuses to blend into the background.
And fans know it well. How many times have you finished a Netflix series and realised you actually enjoyed the “evil” character way more than the so-called protagonist? Exactly. The villains give us memes and quotable lines, while the heroes give us… moral lessons.
So let’s give credit where it’s due. Here are five Netflix villains who were so much more fun than the heroes they were supposed to play second fiddle to.
Five times Netflix villains were actually more fun
Love Quinn (You)
Joe Goldberg was supposed to be the centre of You. Our brooding antihero with the creepy narration. Although he was the true villain of the show, he was portrayed as an “anti-hero”, and at some point or another, we all rooted for him. But let’s be real: by season two, his monologues felt tired. But then Love Quinn entered. She was as diabolical as Joe but way less predictable. Love didn’t sit around analysing her every move. Instead, she acted. And that impulsiveness made her electric to watch.
Her kills were shocking. A pretty lady with a terrifying temper, but also someone with twisted vulnerability that made you weirdly root for her. Unlike Joe, who always tried to justify his actions, Love embraced her mess. She made You fun again, because suddenly Joe wasn’t in control anymore. She was. And honestly? The show’s best moments came when Love was running the game.
The Darkling (Shadow and Bone)
Alina Starkov was the destined hero, sure. However, she sometimes felt a little flat compared to the man cloaked in shadows. The Darkling wasn’t just the villain; he was the reason half the fandom showed up. Ben Barnes, the actor who played the character, poured charisma into every scene and gave us a character who should have been despicable but felt magnetic.
Every time he appeared in Shadow and Bone, the screen got darker (well, quite literally), but it also got more interesting. The Darkling carried himself with this dangerous elegance that made you question why you were rooting for him even as he burnt kingdoms to the ground. Heroes like Alina gave us hope, sure, but the Darkling gave us edge and drama. Lots of it.
Berlin (Money Heist)
The Professor may have been the mastermind, but Berlin was the one who made Money Heist addictive. He was arrogant and manipulative and often downright cruel, yet he couldn’t be ignored. Where the professor was careful and calculating, Berlin lived for the thrill. His presence alone in a scene gave it way more depth than anyone else in the show.
He could make you laugh one moment and horrify you the next, and that’s why he was so loved. That unpredictability was what made him so magnetic. He wasn’t just there to steal gold; he was there to steal the show. And he did. Fans loved him so much that Netflix gave him his own spinoff, because let’s be honest, without Berlin’s messy flair, the heist would have felt way too mechanical.
Vecna (Stranger Things)
Kids of Hawkins are lovable for sure, and everyone roots for them, but Vecna gave Stranger Things its bite back. Like, have you ever thought why it always takes more than a dozen people to beat a guy? He must be something, huh! Season four’s big bad wasn’t just another monster. He was a villain with a terrifying backstory and the kind of presence that made the whole show feel scarier. His kills were gruesome, and Jamie Campbell Bower’s performance made him impossible to look away from.
Eleven was always meant to be the hero, but Vecna shifted the tone entirely. Every time he appeared, the nostalgia and light-hearted adventure gave way to genuine horror. And fans loved it. More importantly, the elaborated backstory of Henry Creel, aka Vecna, has not been revealed yet, and fans are looking forward to it. And you have to agree, there is a style in the creepiness of Vecna, and he is far more layered than anyone expected. Vecna didn’t just challenge the heroes… he reminded us that villains can elevate an entire series.
Drea (Do Revenge)
At first, Drea seemed like just another shy new girl in a teen rom-com. But she had other plans. Her transformation from sweet outsider to full-blown villain was one of the most fun twists Netflix has pulled off. While the heroes were busy stressing over crushes and cliques, Drea was playing chess. A mental chess of traps and turning the high school hierarchy upside down.
She brought humour and bite to every scene she was in. The leads gave us teenage angst in a decent way, but Drea gave us pure entertainment. She was the kind of villain who didn’t just break the rules; she rewrote them. And by the end, you couldn’t deny it: Do Revenge worked because Drea was more fun than anyone else in the movie.
