10 More Movie Villains You Didn't Realise Actually Won
4. Terence Fletcher - Whiplash
Whiplash seemingly ends with jazz drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) triumphing over his abusive former instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), by leading the band in a mesmerising performance of the jazz standard "Caravan".
This is despite Fletcher's attempts to publicly embarrass him by having the band first play a song that Andrew doesn't know.
However, even beyond the debates about whether Andrew pushed himself too far in the pursuit of greatness, didn't Fletcher ultimately get what he really wanted? His own Charlie Parker.
A few scenes earlier, Fletcher laments to Andrew that, despite his efforts, he was never able to mould his own Charlie Parker; a genuine musical prodigy formed by his "harsh" - if we're being kind - methods.
But with Andrew's stunning final performance, Fletcher finally got it.
Andrew may think that he was the real winner by subverting Fletcher's plan to embarrass him on-stage, but all it did was push Andrew to give the best rendition of his life and fulfill Fletcher's own twisted ambition.