10 TV Shows You Didn't Realise You Were Following The Villain

No discussion about stealth TV villains would be complete without mentioning Breaking Bad's Walter White (Bryan Cranston).

Initially introduced as an incredibly sympathetic, terminally ill high school chemistry teacher who turns to cooking meth in order to secure his family's livelihood, White's arc over the course of the show sees him ultimately transformed into a savage, ruthless shadow of his former self.

Over the show's five seasons, Walt gradually allows himself to become involved in a series of increasingly immoral - and, it goes without saying, illegal - activities, such as numerous counts of murder, letting Jesse's (Aaron Paul) girlfriend Jane (Krysten Ritter) choke to death on her own vomit, and even poisoning an innocent child.

But Walt's most damning act is not knowing when to quit, because as he eventually confesses, he loved the entire "game" - and was damn good at it too.

Being Heisenberg gave Walt's life purpose beyond simply trying to amass enough cash to keep his family afloat, and though he ultimately did the right thing by saving Jesse from Uncle Jack (Michael Bowen), it hardly redeemed five years of increasingly indefensible behaviour.

Fans themselves made excuses for Walt while routinely dunking on his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn), but in the end, Walt had unquestionably become the legendary villain in his own story.