Here Are 23 "Villains" From Our Favorite Shows That We Were Supposed To Hate, But Ended Up Rooting For

It feels good to be bad.

We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us some of their favorite "villains" who they hate to love. Here are some "villains" that have us questioning our moral compass.

1. Petra Solano from Jane The Virgin

The CW

She was problematic at first, and sometimes still is. But she gradually became this funny and highly relatable character who I love dearly ❤️.

—izzim4071cf87e

2. Georgina Sparks from Gossip Girl

The CW

Every time Georgina came around, you knew things were going to get interesting. She is sassy, funny, and unapologetically savage.

—morgenk

3. Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones

HBO

She's the definition of a powerful woman. She literally blew up a portion of the city because they “made a fool of her.” She's passionate about her family and ensuring the survival of her bloodline and will do anything she can to keep herself on the throne. She may be an evil, backstabbing person, but man, she will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Can't help but respect that.

—jessicaivyf

4. Kai Parker from The Vampire Diaries

The CW

He's so witty and funny that it became really hard to root against him. I wish they wrote him into the spin-off like they did Klaus.

—laurissahuff

5. Edie Britt from Desperate Housewives

ABC

I think she was misunderstood and had an untimely death. She spoke her mind, lived her life, and called people out on their bullshit. She was a strong, independent, successful woman.

—alexb414f74e77

6. Lord Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones

HBO

He was cunning, sneaky, and helped control the narrative.

—samanthat416ded614

7. Serena Joy from The Handmaid's Tale

Hulu

I go through stages with her because she can be very awful, but at the end of the day, she also falls victim to the oppression of women in Gilead. Plus *spoiler alert* she allowed Offred to escape because she knew her daughter couldn't grow up in Gilead and face the same oppression she faces. AMAZING CHARACTER ARC, IMO!

—megb8787

8. Mr. Gold / Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon A Time

ABC

You knew he was the one you could always count on to screw people over, but the more you learned about him, the more you realized he was only evil because he was screwed over time and time again by the people who were supposed to care for him the most.

—n4119eafd5

9. Hannibal Lecter from Hannibal

NBC

We aren't supposed to like a serial killer/cannibal antagonist, but he's so damn charming and, not to mention, an amazing chef that makes (human) food look like art. His character is so well written, that all of his flaws are almost forgiven.

—mitsukol

10. Klaus Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries

The CW

Originally, he was an immortal, heartless villain, but later on in The Vampire Diaries, and then in The Originals, he showed that there was so much more to him than met the eye. Sure, his methods were unconventional, but he always believed he was the doing the right thing for his family.

—spinbarre123

11. Deucalion and Theo from Teen Wolf

MTV

They're so evil, but then, in the last season, they turned out to be a great allies to Scott's pack and managed to redeem themselves along the way.

—fabarreraguer

12. Negan from The Walking Dead

AMC

He was set up as the formidable antagonist to Rick and the gang after he killed Glenn. Yes, he's an evil asshole, but he's also great comic relief and incredibly smart, if you think about it.

—dominiquej49afefded

13. Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer

The WB

I hated him when we first met him, but I loved him when we came back! He’s definitely my favorite character from BTVS. He's hilarious, witty, charming, and I love that there's nothing he wouldn't do for Buffy and Dawn.

—amber1441

14. Lucifer from Supernatural

The CW

He was just so sarcastic and witty. I know we were supposed to hate him, but I just couldn't help but laugh during his scenes.

—niknak119

15. Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events

Netflix

We never want to see him again when he leaves, yet, we eagerly anticipate his return every time.

—chrisjammedel

16. The Evil Queen from Once Upon A Time

ABC

Usually, I never like villain characters — that is, until I watched Once Upon A Time and came across the Evil Queen Regina. Her backstory added so many layers to her character that I couldn't help but shift my allegiance to her. Honestly, Regina did deserve a happy ending, especially after Robin died.

—aselaleek

17. Jim Moriarty from Sherlock

BBC

Like every other Sherlock fan, I really loved Moriarty. Like, he was supposed to be the most evil character, but it didn't stop my love for the complex character. And his evil was just. So. Good.

—courtneys419945b93

18. Marina Andrieski from The Magicians

SyFy

She dressed impeccably and took shit from nobody. Plus, even when she *spoiler alert* was murdered by a demon, she was still a boss lady up until the very end.

—awkwrdcait

19. Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones

HBO

He was a cold and calculating asshole, but he knew that and didn’t care. He was very intelligent — probably one of the best strategists on the show. He was the only person who could keep Cersei and Joffrey in line...to an extent. He was the only person Joffrey was afraid of and, because of that, he was the only person who had a modicum of control over him. The only person he couldn’t control was Tyrion, and that eventually lead to his death. Yes, he was a terrible person and father and I’m not really sad that he’s dead, but he was efficient.

—amazinganne90

20. Mona Vanderwaal from Pretty Little Liars

Freeform

I know she can be awful at times, but she's also brilliant and funny and went out of her way to save the Liars multiple times in the later seasons! I love to watch her scheme. Mona's a total badass!

—cdehon

21. Jasper from Steven Universe

Cartoon Network

I know she's a bully and is kind of horrible, but she just makes every scene she's in so amusing and 10x more interesting. Even when Jasper eventually got her much-deserved comeuppance, I felt really bad for her and it only made my intrigue in her grow.

—kaylynnnarwhal

22. Sue Sylvester from Glee

FOX

She's always the bad guy, but does it in such an entertaining way. And, deep down, she really does enjoy the Glee Club, even if she always denies it. She loves those students and Will Schuester, even when she acts like she doesn't.

—sarahw46

23. Finally, Villanelle from Killing Eve

buzzfeed.com

She’s brilliant, witty, and strong.

—danielled4a0e60e12