Dexter, Walter White, and 8 other antiheroes from the series

We feel sorry for them, love them, fear them, and despise them ― in general, these heroes will never be strangers to us. It has long been known that the more hateful a character is, the more interesting, deeper and closer it is to the viewer. A long series of traumatic events, a lack of love, a thirst for power and wealth have made the heroes of this collection the way we now love them.

Antihero: Walter White is a humble chemist turned meth addict Tony Montana.

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) works as a chemistry teacher, has a small salary, and has to work part ― time at a car wash-there was a humiliating case when he washed his student's car. By the end of the series, the quiet Walter will turn into a drug lord who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

White justifies his cruelty, pride (he does not want to accept any help from outsiders) and the desire to manipulate the lives of loved ones with "good intentions": he wants to earn money for his family. It quickly becomes clear that becoming a meth king is no longer an end in itself.

Antihero: Frank Underwood is a heartless manipulator who goes head over heels for power.

Not having received the promised post of Secretary of State at the beginning of the series, Underwood weaves intrigues in the style of the Borgia family and achieves the post of president as a result. However, Frank would not be on this list if he did not kill the main thing in the series-the concept of the American dream.

Kevin Spacey is depicted on the poster of the series with bloodied hands for a reason ― with these hands, day after day, episode after episode, he destroyed any concept of freedom and democracy, crushing everything that is dear to others. Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows said: "Only I can live forever", and Frank is convinced that only he is worthy of power.

Antihero: Oksana Astankova / Villanelle-a psychopathic killer in love with a fine mental organization.

A stylish killer named Villanelle is familiar even to those who have never watched the TV series "Killing Eve", her outfits are frequent guests of collections of fashion magazines. Cruelty, unscrupulousness, ingenuity and a love of elegant methods of murder are drawn to the girl by a bloody trail.

She has already become a celebrity among her colleagues and MI6 agents, who chased her in the first season, collaborated with her in the second, and are afraid to approach her in the third.

Villanelle has one weakness-former MI6 agent Eva Polastri, their mutual passion and even dependence on each other has become a major dramatic element. If at first Villanelle brutally killed people for the sake of money and beautiful Parisian apartments, now her number one goal is to get to Eva before she gets to her.

Antihero: Dexter Morgan is a sociopathic maniac who only kills bad people.

Forensic scientist Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) can tell you everything about a crime by blood spatter, and in his spare time, he kills people, observing, however, two rules that his foster father taught him ― to kill only the guilty people and masterfully cover his tracks. Dexter is the most emotionless person ― he even has to simulate emotions so that others do not suspect something is wrong.

A man's thirst for murder lies in his childhood: at the age of 8, he witnessed the murder of his mother. The boys sat in a pool of blood for three days before they were found. From that moment on, his cruelty and coldness manifested itself, first he began to kill dogs, and later people. Despite all the hell described, Dexter dotes on children ― when his beloved Rita gave birth to his son, the man devoted all his free time to him.

Antihero: Don Draper is an alcoholic and rake whose weaknesses harm others.

A talented advertising executive, highly regarded by his colleagues, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is a womanizer and alcoholic, for whom, however, the audience experienced a long seven seasons. Draper's reluctance to talk about his past took the audience by storm from the start. At the military hospital, he was confused with the dead commander and given a reward, Draper did not object and thus got a chance to start life with a clean slate.

Of course, his conscience tormented him, and therefore all his sins ― alcoholism, infidelity, mistresses and bestial attitude towards them ― seemed to be justified by this inner darkness. Riddled with contradictions, Draper became the perfect antihero ― he is a family man, a womanizer, a libertine, and a man of principle in his work.

Antihero: Pablo Escobar is a cocaine king whose cruelty knows no bounds.

Biographical crime drama tells about the real drug lord Pablo Escobar, the head of the Medellin drug cartel. By the end of 1980, his cartel controlled 80% of the world's cocaine market ― Escobar could literally burn money, and this further inflated his ego.

Murders, kidnappings and tortures of people, threats to those in power, blackmail, arson of competitive cartels-Escobar did everything to become what he became ― the richest drug dealer, before whom people trembled with fear.

In the series, the role of Pablo Escobar was played by the Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, thanks to him we saw a tough, manipulative man who became so in order to ensure that his family was in prosperity and security. It was ironic, considering the danger he'd put her in when the hunt for him had begun.

Antihero: Joe Exotic is a narcissist with megalomania who uses people for his own benefit.

In the Netflix documentary series about exotic animal breeder Joe Exotic, at first it seems that the villains are all there. And Carol Baskin, the woman who killed her husband and fed his body to the tigers (if you believe the speculation), and another breeder Antle, who seems to have not recovered from Woodstock and still lives in the commune with his many wives.

But already from the third or fourth series, it becomes clear that this whole madhouse revolves around Joe's narcissistic personality, everyone is unhappy around him: his first husband, who ran away from him with a pregnant girl, and the second, who committed suicide almost live on air, and the employees of his zoo, tired of psychological violence.

Joe is the perfect villain of our time, with a lot of complexes, unresolved mental problems, and untreated wounds that others suffer from. By the way, recently it became known that in the upcoming game series based on this story, Joe Exotic will be played by Nicolas Cage ― it seems that this is a combo.

Antihero: A sex addict whose vices cost her best friend her life.

Screenwriter and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a real discovery of recent years. Based on a one-man show, "Trash" has become a story of overcoming trauma, accepting your demons, and redeeming yourself in two seasons. Waller-Bridge herself played the main role ― a girl who at first seems to us a disgusting person, but in her everyone will see their own vices.

The heroine of "Trash" is not a typical villain, we immediately see: something very bad and dark eats her from the inside, but she has no strength to fight it. It is noteworthy that this archetype will continue in other works of Waller-Bridge — "Killing Eve" and " Run " also tell about women who have moved to their own dark side.

Antihero: a cynical alcoholic who suffers from loneliness and self-hatred.

The animated series "Bojack Horse" is populated by anthropomorphic characters, the main character is actually BoJack horse (Will Arnett), among his friends, enemies and exes-the cat Princess Caroline, a guy named Todd, a girl Diana, a labrador Mr. Tailchaser and other anthropomorphic animals that BoJack ruined their lives.

Bojack was once a star of show business, but now he ekes out a very miserable existence ― he drinks heavily, complains about loneliness and considers everyone around him stupid. The saddest thing about Bojack's story is its realism; despite the format, the entire series is a satire of Hollywood reality, where you can suddenly lose everything and become nothing.

But over time, it becomes clear that the problems in Bojack's life are the result of his squabbling, self-pity and irrepressible cynicism, all of which simply does not allow him to let something good into his life.

Antihero: a criminal and psychopath, for whom revenge for a painful breakup has become the meaning of life.

Since the psychotherapist Harlin Quinzel fell into a vat of acid (through the fault of the Joker or by her own will ― in this case, the testimony differs), her new life began and the criminal Harley Quinn appeared. It took her a long time, or rather, an entire season of the animated series, to realize that the Joker did not really love her, but used her for his dirty deeds.

The problem of Harley Quinn, as we will find out, is much deeper, and the series itself is better and funnier than the movie with Margot Robbie. Everything lies in the lack of love and trust from the childhood of baby Harlin. Only after finding a real friend in the person of Poison Ivy and a new team, Quinn will understand that the Joker is a narcissistic psychopath who does not belong in her life, and she is much cooler and smarter for not being his appendage, but being a whole person.