8 TV Villains Who Redeemed Themselves

It’s no secret good drama needs a great villain to help power it, which is especially true of a TV series; if the bad guy sucks, audiences will tune out. We all despised Joffrey on Game Of Thrones, but let’s face it, we kind of miss the nasty little s**t too. The same goes for The Governor on The Walking Dead or Gus Fring on Breaking Bad, since they were essential ingredients that made the show work.

A truly complex villain should have more shades than just being nasty, and some of them have been so captivating the show even allowed them some redemption for their evil deeds.They either became out and out good guys, while others died performing selfless acts or saving others.

This can be a tricky balancing act since redemption runs the risk of making them look kind of lame. Thankfully the entries on this list avoided that fate, giving them a satisfying arc without watering them down.

Merle’s presence is still missed on The Walking Dead, because while he might not have been a good guy, he at least had a wicked sense of humour. He’s introduced in season one being a sexist, racist jerk, but soon disappears after he chops his own hand off to escape some zombies.

He reappears as a henchman for The Governor in season three, and is more than willing to commit violence on his behalf. Only when he realises his brother Daryl is on Rick’s side does he take stock, and is reluctantly forced to play nice. This lifestyle doesn’t quite suit him, and since he feels he doesn’t deserve to live among civilised people, he instead tries to kill The Governor to save them.

His one-man suicide mission doesn’t succeed sadly, but he gets close, and this action is enough to earn him some redemption for his past deeds.