The Untamed Meme... Day 11
11. Favorite villain
It may be the obvious choice - it is the loweringly obvious choice - but it's definitely Jin Guangyao aka Meng Yao for me. Most of the villains, to be honest, are not exactly complex (they make up for it by being satisfyingly loathsome and hateful. Oh, and in due course satisfyingly dead :) They are inherently awful people from the getgo. And given that I can rarely muster much enthusiasm for even the best and brightest and most beloved of villains... well, you see my problem.
But Jin Guangyao had the potential to go either way, in multiple degrees of good or bad, and we get to watch how his really shitty lot in life, plus inborn personality traits that are nasty yes, but no worse than those of other characters... over time turned into a really toxic brew.
He's one of the most complicated pieces of characterisation in the show. He's also a doe-eyed, dimple-smiled monster who I can't help rather liking (doesn't hurt that he's also the one who offs the other two major and majorly loathsome villains, and we all really really cheer him on there). I can feel sympathy for him and at the same time perfectly satisfied with his rather theatrical downfall.
(click to enlarge)
And he has an impeccably evil hat! The only named cast member, as far as I can recall, who wears a hat. That has to mean something... or not :)