People Share Which Villains They Actually Felt Sympathy For
Even the evil become evil because their heart was tortured.
Who doesn't love a good, complex villain? If you don't have a good villain, then you can't find a way to root for the good guys. The villains are often misunderstood and if maybe someone would give them a hug once and awhile... the world could be a lot safer, like for real.
Redditor u/twilighterror wanted to know what villains they can't help but adore by asking.... Which villain do you feel sympathy for?
Enter Sandman.
GiphySandman from the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man series in the third movie. He just wanted to save his remaining family. Don't agree with his methods but do agree with his reason. Xander0907
The Chemistry.
Anytime a romantic comedy features the story of a guy or girl meeting someone who is already in a relationship, I always feel bad for their soon-to-be ex (think Sweet Home Alabama!), even when the ex gets painted as a "nagging woman" or a "guy who works all the time," etc. I also hate the idea of there only being one "right" person for each of us being romanticized like that... I think love is just as much about making a choice as it is about the chemistry. mkhenry
Love you Girl.
Medusa. She didn't do anything wrong. grimalkin-
Absolutely! She was in Athena's temple (an honorable thing for Athena) but Poseidon came and assaulted her, and for inexplicable reasons, Athena gets pissed at Medusa! turning her into a monster that would turn people to stone. She had no intentions of hurting anyone, and was 100% a victim, yet punished nonetheless. j0hnl33
He Feels.
Loki in the first Thor movie. He then turned into an antihero of sorts, not a villain, but he is certainly a villain in the first movie. Dude just wanted his father to love him as much as he loved Thor, then he finds out he was kidnapped from the frost giants and raised in a lie. JNaran94
Baby No!
GiphyBaby Doll from the old animated Batman series. She was stuck looking young forever and it broke her down. She actually cried in Batman's arms because of it. Transbendobot
To Hell and Back.
He's typically seen as a villain due to Disney and Satan, but I'm sympathetic to Hades. In his original myths the only bad thing he ever did was kidnap Persephone, and that was normal at the time. He even asked Zeus first. He treats Persephone kindly, and in most versions she falls in love with him in end. Outside of of that myth Hades mostly minds his own business and does his work. heBukkitLord
The Beaver.
Mr. Crocker he's a mentally unstable man who lives with his mother and takes loan's to build lairs underneath the school and is tormented by a kid who looks like a beaver and the one thing he dedicates his life to do exist but every time he is close to proving it he fails and looks more crazy and the time he stopped believe6ing in fairies after seeking help he had to be driven back into madness because he powers a large percentage of fairy world. theadeck
The Monster.
Frankenstein's monster. kiwiconspiracy
In the book it's astounding how much of a jerk Victor is. mindcorners
Isn't that the whole "knowledge is knowing Frankenstein is the doctor wisdom is knowing that Frankenstein is the monster" thing? Aurum555
The Dark Count....
Dracula from the Netflix "Castlevania" series. Dude lost his wife to religious fanatics after he rediscovered his humanity AND had to fight and nearly kill his son, the only thing in this world that Lisa left him to remember her by. I don't know about you but that was pretty much what sold me on the Netflix series. fatrabbit61614
Sheltered People Raised In Cults Explain Which Things About The Real World Shocked Them The Most
What's most unsettling about people who grow up in cults or strict and conservative religious groups is they are raised with a highly distorted view of the world.
Rather than being taught to have an open mind and heart, they are brainwashed into believing that there is a very firm right and wrong way to live.
Often including sexist, homophobic, racist and other blatantly discriminatory policies.
As a result, when people leave these societies, either being rescued or through their own bravery, they are often shocked to discover just how different the world is than they were led to believe.
"Sheltered people raised by super religions/cults: what was something about the real world that shocked you when you learned about it?"
Comfort Levels Are OK.
"That it’s actually healthy to have boundaries."- aphroditespearl
It's Ok To Be Yourself
"The greatest thing to me is what it felt like to be authentic."
'When you grow up in a fundamentalist cult, your life is not your own."
"Everything is planned out for you, every worldview is shaped by your religion."
"Leaving that all behind and being my own, genuine person was the best and least expected blessings of leaving the Mormon cult."
"Yes, sex and drugs (esp psychedelics) were amazing too, but I love being my own person so much."- Bojikthe8th
"Normal People"
"How normal people aren’t thinking about you/judging you all the time, and even if they are- you can’t do anything about it anyway, some will judge no matter what you do."
"We (women, anyway) were raised to obsess over what we are wearing, how modest it is, and will it make men stumble?"
"My breasts are too small for one man but too large for all men, despite being what God gave me."
"My body is both too thin to bear children but somehow also too fat, and proof that I am a glutton."
"We were taught how to modulate our voices into a soft pleasant pitch, how to serve God with every breath, and how we’re living literally every single moment on a precarious cliff of falling into sin."
'The moment I realized that my hair color, my clothes, my makeup was more an expression of myself than a reflection of other’s desires was the moment I finally let go."
"I don’t dress for men, I don’t dress for women- I dress for myself."- Q_Fandango
The World Is More Wholesome Than Expected
"Where is all the sex and drugs?!"
"I was promised wanton lascivious f**king in the streets."- FairUnion275
Words, Words, Words...
"Nothing as major as here but my wife’s family is extremely religious, her grandfather was even a cult leader a few books written about him."
"Can’t get into details for sake of privacy, but it stands out to me and it blows my mind how ignorant her whole family is."
"And I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but ignorance in the way of the most basic social cues and interactions and even words in conversation."
"I’ll be talking to her aunts and uncles in their sixties and they’ll have so many things they’ve never heard of it blows my mind."
'She has two aunts who actually took classes to learn how to have normal conversations because they were so odd."
"It’s weird."
"Even my wife is still learning and growing vocabulary and she’s 39."- Dorkknight112183
People Actually Can Be Compassionate, Equitable And Kind
"Didn't realize that Christianity wasn't the 'default' for adults."
"Didn't realize it's not normal to treat your family like garbage while being a super nice charismatic human to everyone else."
"More of a narcissistic thing but since I was so sheltered and they were so strict and obsessed with being in control, I had no idea."
"Didn't know that not everyone has an ulterior motive when speaking to you."
"Was raised with the girls inside doing women chores and the boys outside helping with man chores."
"Grew up and realized some men actually cook and clean as well... what a shocker."- free-the-krug
The World Is A Safer Place Than You Think
"Not raised religious, but raised by an incredibly sheltering parent."
"Turns out I *won't* be mugged and murdered for simply existing in a city setting without a male escort."- TheRedMaiden
In All Seriousness, It Has Many Health Benefits
"That I’m not gonna go to hell for jerking it and it’s completely normal to feel the urge to self pleasure and release on your own terms."- Nuck_7
Not Always Beholden To Others
"How people can just... Make decisions."
"You don't need to jump through hoops, meditate all night, read the bible, and pray, just because you want to buy a certain dress."
"You can just.. Buy it."
"You can make that decision."
"I can make that decision."
"Freedom was extremely surreal at first."
"It still sort of is."- celaeya
Absolutely Everything
"For me, it was a complete culture shock."
"People could do anything ."
"Women could treat men as equals, not always defer to them."
'People treat other people with more respect-- adults are treated like adults."
"People could talk about sex and bodily functions like periods without being ashamed."
"People weren't afraid of living their lives in a way that made them happy."
"In the first few months of being out of my parents' home, I learned so many new words and things I didn't know existed."
"I watched a lot of movies that would have been considered wickedly sinful in my former home."
"I had to relearn how to talk and act with people."
"Outside of the church, people do everything different, and the people you can and can't trust are different."
"I felt like I had the IQ of a normal 8 year old in the real world."- Fearless-Complaint16
Life Doesn't Need To Be Lived In Fear
“'End is nigh!''."
"Oh I’m waiting!"
“'Christo Viene'.”
"'I wish he would'."
"'You’ve been left behind' … yep."
"To suffer like the rest of us."
"Grew up in a rapture-centric evangelical household."
"Parts of it were loads of fun, some just straight up trauma porn."
"Y2K was a hoot in my house, we definitely believed it could all end, given all of the televangelists hopping on the doom train."
"The part that shocked me the most, or affected me the most is that you don’t realize until you are older that you really did believe the world would end, well, soon-ish."
"The idea of getting old, worrying about retirement, whether my aspirations would materialize, most of those things seemed more far fetched than the apocalypse did."- rotissrev
Privacy Is A Right, Not A Privilege
"The complete and total lack of privacy in the church vs actually having privacy."
"Besides being roomed with all my siblings and cousin."
"Daily body inspections, spankings, potty time."
"Also being treated like a toddler pretty much 24/7.'
"God forbid we did something without permission.'
"We didn’t address adults as sir or ma’am, calling our parents Mommy and Daddy into our teenage years, having a bedtime, knowing how to do chores but not really knowing why."
"Getting to the real world."
"I knew how wash clothes."
"I didn’t know why I was washing clothes."
"I knew how to wash dishes, I didn’t know why I was."
"If I wasn’t told to do something I would just stand there hopeless."- lighthousek
No matter one's upbringing, the world can be a terrifying place.
Particularly when you set out to face it on your own for the first time.
But the only way to stop being afraid of the world is by exploring all the things it has to offer.
This includes many wonderful things, which should never be hidden by walls and boundaries from anyone.
People Who Have Watched Their Partner Give Birth Describe What It Was Really Like
For couples who want to have children, the actual child-birthing process might be one of the most trying experiences the couple will ever go through together.
But while many of us think of the process of pushing and the physical messes of birthing the baby, there's actually a lot more to it, and the partners who witness their other half giving birth tend to remember far more about the experience than just the blood.
Redditor Asleep-Awareness5249 asked:
"Men who have watched their wives/partners give birth, what was that like?"
Hilarious Moments
"My wife cussed out the doctor. I was glad we were forced to wear face masks because I was cackling when she would let him have it in-between pushes."
- OkVolume1
Inopportune Phone Calls
"My wife's phone went off during a really painful procedure, and she yelled, 'Who the f**k is calling me!!!!???'"
"But to be fair, one does not need to go thru painful procedures in order to justify saying this every time the phone rings."
- Veritas3333
Sort of Fascinating
"I was holding my wife's hand through two c-sections, the first an emergency."
"There was a low green cloth screen to stop her (and me) from seeing the actual procedure, but I'm tall, so I could see over the top anyway. Fortunately, I'm not squeamish. It was like a butcher's shop window (except very interesting)."
"They had a radio on and the first kid came out to the sound of 'First Of The Gang To Die,' which was funny."
"It all worked out well, both kids are great, a fascinating and completely exhausting experience."
- catbrane
Absolutely Not Useless
"As someone who had a 36-hour labor that ended in a c-section, I can say that having a partner there for you is a godsend. I spent so much time with my eyes closed, drifting in and out, not able to acknowledge my partner but I knew he was there the whole time."
"He was the person that knew me best out of all the strangers that popped in and out of the room. He was my advocate and anticipated what I needed before I knew I needed it."
"After, he said he felt totally useless and helpless but that couldn't be further from the truth."
- Timetogoout
The Importance of Aftercare
"You're the cheerleader in this game. F**king play your part and feel useless."
"A father's REAL test is aftercare. While your wife is recovering from childbirth, you are to do everything, and I mean f**king everything, for her that you possibly can."
"Men who don't change dirty nappies are just f**king p**s-weak men, and even more so if they brag about it."
- BlazeVenturaV2
Terribly Scary
"Am I a bad person if I say horrific? It was a c-section and seeing her knocked out like that was one of the most disturbing images I can recall. I nearly cried on the spot."
- Dyn085
Childbirth on Fast-Forward
"Our first was 13 hours, giving us a false sense of security for the second. It was only three hours."
"My wife didn't do an epidural for #1 and said, 'I didn't need to do that. I'm getting it for the next one.' So we get to the hospital and said, 'Give me the epidural.'"
"They say we need to get settled in the room. By the time we got to the room, he was coming out. There was no time for anything; the docs had to scramble."
"All things considered, both deliveries were 'fine.' It's mind-boggling that that is the best-case scenario; they were the most intense days of my life."
- thugarth
Don't Skimp on Breakfast
"My wife was going into contractions but they were pretty far apart, so we drive down to the hospital, stopping for Egg McMuffins along the way. I dropped my wife off at the receiving area for delivery with some nurses and the midwife and then I went back out to move the car because I was in a 15-minute parking area."
"While I was moving the car, I looked at that Egg McMuffin I hadn't been able to eat yet and was like, 'I totally have hours before this baby comes out. I should eat this sandwich now and not like, in the delivery room as my wife was trying to push a baby out.'"
"So I ate the sandwich, moved the car, and went up to the delivery room."
"At the reception desk there, one of the nurses said, 'I think your wife just had a baby.'"
"And was like, 'Nah, you must be mistaken. I just arrived. WE HAVE HOURS.'"
"So I went to the delivery room and there was my son, fresh as could be, and my exhausted wife who had just given birth."
- doublerapscallion
A Traumatic Experience
"My wife was in labor for about 35 hours. When we got to the point where she was ready to push, my son’s heart rate started to plummet."
"We went from a single midwife in the hospital room with us, encouraging and owning the whole process, to a team of doctors (about 10 people) who came to help within two minutes. They performed an episiotomy and had to pull my kid out with forceps and the vacuum."
"My wife lost about 1.5 liters of blood, and I remember sitting there watching all of this and thinking they would both die and my whole world was crashing around me. She looked like a ghost and he looked like a bloody, bleeding little alien when he came out. They rushed him to the NICU and gave him oxygen."
"My son is now almost 3 years old, my wife made a full recovery, and they are both the best people I know. It can be a traumatic experience for everyone involved, but f**k me if I don’t look back on it and remember what a warrior she was and what a fighter he is."
- upark88
New Admiration
"I saw a strength in my wife I don't think either of us knew she had. It was an incredible experience, and I was so proud of my wife and child. I'm glad they still keep me around."
- Druzl
Feeling Irrelevant
"This is really my experience in the maternity ward. You are 'dad' and you will carry bag and get water. Not because you are actually needed to carry these bags that could fit on this cart, or get the water from the sink over there that literally takes more time to explain where the cups are."
"But you need a job to keep you occupied, so get moving."
"I've never been so 'handled' before in my life, and I knew it was happening, but f**k if I was going to mess up the process and make them focus on anything besides my wife and kids."
"Nurses are the most amazing, and most evil things ever."
- mwbbrown
New Appreciation for Life
"With our firstborn, I had three primary thoughts:"
"1. Thank god for modern medicine, or both my wife and son would be dead."
"2. My wife is a godd**n warrior."
"3. I have a whole new appreciation for my own mother."
"Every birth is a medical emergency, and every successful birth is a miracle. Simple as that to me."
"A planned c-section for our second was much smoother."
- leftcoastbias24
Lonely and Helpless
"The loneliest and most helpless feeling in the world. She had to undergo an emergency C-section and went under shortly after they started. The head doctor made the call to not let me in the room, so I was stuck watching through a small window."
"The little man came out purple and not breathing and my wife was limp. For about five minutes, nobody came out to speak to me and I was quite certain both of them were dead."
"Then I heard him scream and cry and one of the nurses rushed him over to my wife and held him against her cheek. Shortly after that, the nurse handed him to me and said that both my wife and him were perfectly healthy. To say it was the largest range of emotions my mind and body had ever experienced is an understatement."
"We felt like we were prepared for anything during labor, but the emergency c-section really threw us off. Happened so fast. Luckily everything worked out, but it was pretty scary for a while there."
- AdvancedGentleman
Something Out of an '80s Movie
"It's kind of like the movie 'Aliens' but entirely based around a vagina."
- Digreth
A Message to Fathers
"So, I'm the wife. And we didn't get to take our babies home, but I delivered stillborn twins a few months ago."
"My husband said exactly the same as many fathers here, that he felt so helpless watching me give birth."
"But to me, that man standing there and holding my hand was exactly what I needed. It was both medically and emotionally traumatic, but I remember feeling calm and purposeful because I knew what needed to be done, and I knew that I was the only one who could do it."
"What I needed from him was his presence. He didn't leave me alone. He didn't run from any of it, and I think he saw more of the blood and such than I did (I was a little doped up and had my eye closed for the actual delivery)."
"I could do that, keep my eyes closed and focus on what my body was telling me, BECAUSE he was there holding my hand. I didn't need to be on high alert, because he was there. His presence and my trust in him helped me do the hardest thing I have ever done in my life."
- what_ho_puck
Whether the birthing process was really long or really short, whether it was complicated or straight-forward, many partners had shared experiences of being overwhelmed, of being proud of their wives, and of feeling like there was hardly anything they could do.
At least for the women who chimed in, though, them being there might have been the most helpful part.
The death of certain TV characters in dramatic television can be jarring.
But extinguishing the life of some of your favorite protagonists–or even villains–is a necessity in order to advance the over-arching plot.
Other times, a character's sudden exit may have more to do with issues behind the scenes–like problematic actors being written off the show or a star of a show dying in real life.
Those deaths are sometimes handled poorly as writers suddenly attempt to scramble together a cohesive narrative that winds up failing and drawing criticism from loyal fans of the show.
Curious to hear about the surprising departures of characters on TV, Redditor BuckNa3ty asked:
"What was the most unexpected death in the show you watched?"
Dramas wouldn't be popular without controversial deaths.
Death On Wisteria Lane
"Mike from Desperate Housewives."
– Miss__Snrub
Literally Mind-Blowing
"Gus Fring Breaking Bad"
"That image of him walking out of the room is seared into my mind."
– send_tits_n_tats
Vigilante Serial Killer's Damaged Girlfriend
"Rita in Dexter."
– quivx
"I actually screamed what the f'k at the TV."
"Coincidentally that's when the show really stopped being good. Season 5 was garbage."
– BanIslandWasFull
How Dan Stevens Pursued A Movie Career
"Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey."
– Long-Tall-Sally61
Even medical procedurals had unexpected character exits.
Sacred Heart's Gossipy Nurse
"Laverne in Scrubs :("
"Edit: how did I forget Ben???"
– Whenyouattewhen
"Even the 'regular;' patient deaths in scrubs - like the nice old lady that died from a hospital acquired infection because she and Cabbage had a farewell moment when Cabbage had dirty hands."
– ReferenceTight1851
Duty Called
"Kutner, portrayed by Kal Penn in House M.D. The guy went to work with Obama so he needed to leave the show asap."
– Expensive-Tax5328
Killed By A Schizophrenic Patient
"Lucy on 'ER.'”
– LowerSeaworthiness
People still talk about the demise of these characters.
Illogical Death
"Death from Supernatural."
"Best character in the show... Killed by one of the DUMBEST written scenes ever to grace cinema."
"Dude is on the same power level as God himself, in fact he himself stated that in the end he'll take God too... But he was killed by a human. Show is so stupid sometimes."
– IBreedBagels
Season-Ender With A Bang
"The Byrdes' lawyer, Helen Pierce, in Ozark."
– melanchollist
Better Call An Ambulance
"howard hamlin."
– HungrymanH
"The whole season I knew something bad would happen to Howard, but I was honestly so thrown off when it happened. It was so sudden and it was sad that a character so pivotal to the show was just thrown out like that and disposed of with no hesitation. Probably one of the hardest deaths in BCS, alongside Werner Ziegler."
– SlavetoBeefShawarma
Most Graphic Exit
"Glenn from walking dead."
– Jeffthechef03
HBO's Six Feet Under was brilliant for challenging expectations.
Every episode started with the death of an ancillary character who winds up being a cadaver on the coroner's table at the Fisher & Sons Funeral Home.
Viewers knew these unfortunate characters would eventually perish at some point during the three-minute-long intro, but they never knew how because of the way each scene was directed to throw off audiences.
To me, these expected unexpected deaths were always something to look forward to in succeeding episodes.
Not everyone has the luxury of working in a safe environment.
Rather poignantly, most of the essential workers, who continued to report to work as the world shut down during the pandemic, often had to report to very dangerous conditions.
And while we'd like to think that the people who are responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of these employees will make sure nothing happens to them, that simply isn't always the case.
As many people have witnessed, truly horrific accidents take place at work more frequently than we think.
"What's the worst accident that happened at your workplace?"
As If One Time Wasn't Bad Enough
"Not my story, but my dad told me it."
"A man got his arm stuck in a machine, which degloved his arm."
"After he recovered, he was showing the safety people how it happened, and he accidentally degloved his other arm."- nugget_the_third3
Before You Eat Those Fries...
"Working at McDonalds, a girl slipped walking past a deep fryer and her hand went deep into the fryer."
"The manager wrapped her hand in a cloth, when she pulled it off to put in water all of her skin came off."
"We were still made to work so we walked off, they were even happy to keep using the fryer after it!"- Reasonable_Slice5324
Sometimes It's Their Own Fault
"Working for a specialized trucking company, a fellow driver lost control fully loaded going down a winding mountain road."
'The truck tipped over, slid across 2 lanes of oncoming traffic and landed in a field."
"Truck and trailer were absolutely demolished, cab was flattened, and the driver (a huge MFer) crawled out the back window without a scratch."
"$400k unit wasn’t even recognizable."
"Guy was fired when insurance pulled the ECM out of the rig and found he was going over 100kmh around a 50kmh corner and didn’t even touch the brakes."- Barquebe
"Man fell 75 feet due to standing on the wrong side of the pipe he was cutting."
"You ever see those cartoons where they cut the branch while standing on the branch?"
"He was cutting from inside and everyone thinks he just got disoriented."- R3DLOTU5·
Bizarre After Effects
"Guy fell 15’ and landed on his head."
"He lived."
"It fixed his lazy eye and he’s still with the company."
"He became very irritable, has violent outbursts and is a lil psychotic but otherwise perfectly ok."- Oneinsevenbillion75
Choose Your Smoking Breaks Wisely
"Had a corn starch dust explosion at a previous job."
"And no it's not previous because I caused it lol."
"A truly stupid guy decided he'd sneak a cigarette break in basically the worst place he could."
"He came very close to death for his stupidity and could have taken others with him, but thankfully he was the only one seriously injured when the dust went boom."
"That night I was pretty far from the boom area doing vacuum decay testing on completed bags of sugar substitute."
"I was uninjured, but it definitely scared the sh*t out of me."- LaReinaTormenta
They Call It Protective Gear For A Reason
"Teenage girl cut off her finger after refusing to wear the cut proof glove because 'it was ugly'."
"Follow safety protocols folks."- the-cosmic-kraken
So Many People's Worst Nightmares
"When I worked at a grocery store a guy lost his thumb in the meat slicer."
"Worst part is, because of the blade it went flying and they couldn’t find it soon enough to reattach."
'Deli was closed for 24 hours."- Mryan7600
Not Always Causing Physical Harm
"Worked in a grocery store as a teenager."
'My coworker (and still friend) was lowering a huge pallet of 1L apple juice tetra packs and the whole thing tipped from like 20ft up."
"Thousands of liters of apple juice flooded the whole back of the store."
"It was super hot that day and it just smelled like intense hot apple juice."
'We had the worst ant problem forever."
"Thankfully nobody was hurt but what a godawful mess."- permacloud
Wearing Your Hair Up Is As Stylish As It Is Safe
"A girl with long hair leaned down to check something near a fast rotating piece of machinery and got it caught."
"It ripped a good chunk of her scalp out."- EntertainerOk9552
Don't Rely On Workman's Comp
"At Walmart, an assistant manager had a heart attack in the break room."
"When she was taken away and treated she disappeared from work for months, and when she finally came back."
"Walmart management decided to put her outside in the hot California summer heat to be a greeter."
"When she refused they didn’t care and she quit."
"Every single person on my team was saying they probably did it on purpose and wanted her to quit."
"Really f*cked up and it’s probably true."- Filthy_pilgrim
At Least He Was A Good Sport...
"I watched a guy, who pinned his safety guard back on his Skill saw with a nail, lay the still spinning blade right into the meat of his thigh."
"It went right in."
"I almost passed out when he yanked it out. "
"He was in shock and laughing about how the blade was so hot it cauterized the cut, so not much blood."
"He then got into his yellow Bronco with a bad clutch and drove himself to the hospital."- Spodson
Why Updates And Refurbishments Are Necessary
"Hydraulic ferry doors were forced open to let cars out, pins snapped and doors slammed shut on an employee."
"They survived but it wasn’t pretty."- PlantBagWood
Texting While Moving Is Dangerous
"A crew was walking a plane out to the flight line and a guy got his bottom half squished underneath the wheels."
"Texting and not paying attention was suspected to be the cause but that’s not confirmed."- niciswan
"Safety First" should not simply be a warning or guideline for employees to follow.
But rather a basic standard for any workplace putting their employees in dangerous situations to uphold.