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       King Arthur spins around quickly.
         "Who the devil are you?" The figure he is addressing is dressed all in black, with long dark brown curls and icy blue eyes. He cocks a smile and leans casually against the door frame.
         "Eloquently put; who the devil..." he begins advancing towards Arthur. "Yes, indeed: who the devil." 
          And so, King Arthur meets the wondrously evil Mordred in NBC's 1998 miniseries
Merlin. I say wondrously evil because there is something catchy about this Mordred, played by Jason Done. He is the perfect, magically mysterious, rogue, handsome with a "great personality"; meaning he is sarcastic in all the right places. Theoretically, the audience shouldn?t connect with Mordred since, after Queen Mab, who is the larger force of trouble for Merlin, he is the antagonist. He definitely is Arthur's nightmare, being his illegitimate son born after he was tricked into sleeping with his half sister Morgan Le Fey in an effort to further thwart Arthur and Merlin. Basically, Merlin is using Arthur for good and Mab is using Morgan and Mordred for evil. Yet, for me, that rarely matters. I often find myself cheering for "the bad guy".
          Besides Mordred, I have been known to cheer on the darker characters in movies, TV shows and even literature. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't like the protagonist too. It just seems that a certain kind of evil seems to endear a character to me; I don't quite know why. There are even different levels of evil. For instance, I loved Ditchley Harpsichord in the BBC's
Return of the Borrowers, based on the novels by Mary Norton about people only three inches in height. Yet, all he and his brother really do are arrogant little pranks. On the other hand, Jack Merridew in William Golding's Lord of the Flies is also on my list, even though he is nothing but trouble. After all, he does cause the death of several of the boys and has a frighteningly barbaric side. What I think is coolest about him is the description. Just the picture of him; red hair, freckles and a black robe creates such a banquet of imagery, I can't help but be taken. Where I would defend Ditchley and laugh, with Jack you can only stand in awe at how purely evil he can be.
          When I think hard about it, I guess appearance does have something to do with it. After all, Ditchley does wear a Victorian black velvet coat and most evil doers do enjoy their black fashions. Also, on my list is Don Jon (a.k.a. John the Bastard) in William Shakespeare's
Much Ado About Nothing. With Jon I enjoy both the character on paper and in the 1993 movie. Most of this 'love' has to do with the brilliant lines written by Shakespeare. His character is hardly threatening, but more the jealous half-brother with style. I mean, how many adversaries can express themselves with phrases like this one in Act I, Scene III: "I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace... In this, though I cannot be said to be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied that I am a plain-dealing villain. I am trusted with a muzzle and enfranchised with a       clog;      therefore I have decreed not to sing in my cage. If I had my mouth, I would bite; if I had my liberty, I would do my liking." I believe the answer is limited, only coming close in another literary "fiend" of mine: Heathcliff, from Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Showing even more range in what I consider evil, Heathcliff is not so much an evil character as he is just a darker one.  In the book, he is sometimes referred to as the "devil incarnate", but none of the characters in the moody tale are sweet angels. Heathcliff's abrasiveness even turns into humor when he catches young Cathy and Hareton daring to laugh at the dinner table. He is the very picture of the brooding, misunderstood man. Someone with a deep, possessive love but also an unparalleled taste for vengeance. Seeking revenge, he hates as violently as he loves.
          On the TV screen, I am an avid supporter of Agent Alex Krycek in FOX's
The X-Files. Originally paired as Fox Mulder's FBI replacement partner in Scully's absence, he later turned out to be working for the darker side. Now he has betrayed both sides and is basically on his own, sometimes helping the two agents and sometimes working against them. He is underestimated and portrayed wonderfully by Nick Lea, whom I had the opportunity to meet last spring. Krycek is more the rebel with a cause and I always look forward to the story lines with him included. I should probably also mention that he wears a black leather jacket most of the time.
          Touching back to Shakespeare, Tybalt Capulet from
Romeo and Juliet caught my eye when I first read the play five years ago. He, too, has the rebellious and feisty edge, but I also root for Romeo and Mercutio. Whenever I am watching either the 1968 or 1996 movie, or even re-reading it, it is a toss-up who gets the sympathy. Sometimes it falls on minor characters like Balthasar! 
          There are a few other evil characters who are fun to love, but I thought I should mention not all these characters have to be men. For example, who didn't go around pretending they were the Wicked Witch of the West when they were little after watching the
Wizard of Oz? Personally, I am all for Maleficent, the evil queen in Disney's 1958 animated classic Sleeping Beauty. She is a lot better than the cold and flat witch in Snow White, and has more grace and confidence than The Little Mermaid's Ursula could ever hope to have. She also has a really cool purple and black robe!
          I would like to remind audiences everywhere that sometimes the more devilish characters have more personality, period. They often prove entertaining and a welcome change from the goody-goody boring heroes. Remember this as you sit down to read your next book or watch the next movie - but be careful. Why? Because not every evil character is cool. Some are either too evil even for me or are definitely too annoying to be cared about. Look out for the unusual ones, the clever ones, and as a last resort make sure they have on a cool black outfit!
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