10 Creepy TV Characters You ACTUALLY Root For

Andrew Scott's Moriarty was a nasty piece of work. From strapping an explosive vest to John Watson to pretending that he was an actor hired by Sherlock - all, apparently, because he found those things amusing - there was an unhinged, almost inhuman quality to his cruelness. He didn't care about any of the consequences, emotions, or people involved - he just wanted to have a spot of fun.

But sadly for everyone else around him, his idea of fun usually revolved around violence, death, and plenty of devious mind games.

Despite his rotten core though, the show came alive whenever he appeared onscreen. Moriarty was first name-dropped at the end of the pilot episode and the rest of the series built and built and built towards his arrival, and when he finally showed up inside that swimming pool, it was absolutely worth the wait.

Then, series two went full-on Moriarty, easily the golden age of Sherlock, and some of the finest British TV of the last decade. After his death, the show was never quite the same, and the character's absence was felt so much that he was even brought back for one-off special The Abominable Bride.

The point is, the fans loved Moriarty, the writers clearly loved Moriarty, and even Sherlock had a weird sort of admiration for his twisted yet brilliant mind as well. It was extremely entertaining to watch his latest madcap scheme come together, and there was a part of you that hoped he'd succeed, just so you could see a bit more of him and his deranged antics.