10 TV Villains Who Stole The Show
6. Mags Bennett (Justified)
The main antagonist from season two of much-missed crime drama Justified is about the nicest person you could hope to meet. Mags Bennett is matriarch not just to her tearaway kids, but to the folks she employs as part of her criminal empire. She’s reserved and professional, she makes a mean batch of moonshine, and she has a hell of a singing voice.
As portrayed by the brilliant Margo Martindale, she’s also nothing short of terrifying. With a lucrative marijuana farm to look after, she wants only to sell her wares and live a quiet life. She is beset on all sides, however, by the foolishness of her family, and the greed of her underlings. Early on, she poisons an employee for talking to the cops on an unrelated matter; the calm with which she talks him into, and then eases him through, his death tells us this is not the first time she’s done this.
She’s a caring soul and remains somewhat likeable throughout the season - but she is most certainly not to be trifled with. Justified was probably never better than in its stellar second season, and Mags - and Martindale - is the prime reason for this.