10 Video Game Villains Who Lived Long Enough To Become The Hero
4. Dr. Judith Mossman - Half-Life 2
It is a testament to Valve’s superlative writing that they could take an (intentionally) unlikeable supporting character, make her complicit in blindsiding one of gaming’s most iconic heroes, then handle her redemption with such skill that not only do her colleagues not hate her, neither does the player.
Introduced as a member of the Resistance against the Combine, Mossman comes across as overly formal but not unfriendly, on good terms with her colleagues and, like everyone, excited to see Gordon Freeman returned. So when she is abducted along with Eli Vance the player is naturally keen to rescue her.
Then we learn that she was behind the attack on Black Mesa...or would have been had the Combine not followed Gordon. Unhappy over the treatment of Eli if not the lives lost, she find herself in a tight spot, and knows it. But proving precisely why she has Dr. in front of her name, she fakes a second betrayal, gets close to the big bad, and lays down another stunning blindside – this time in service of the Resistance.
As redemptive moments go this one was badass, showing a mistake emphatically put right and a true hero born.