Shows with anti-heroes are messing with my head

I keep justifying their awful actions because the story is so good. Feels wrong to enjoy it so much.

3 comments

3 Comments

That part about it feeling wrong to enjoy it really hits home. These shows are designed to make you cheer for the bad guy. You get so wrapped up in their world that you start excusing the terrible things they do. It's a clever trick, making us part of their crimes just by tuning in. Maybe it says more about how stories can bend our sense of right and wrong. Still, when the writing is that good, you end up glued to the screen anyway.

shah.ben2mo ago

Had a friend who got way too into one of those shows. Started defending the main character's worst calls. @the_sandra, that clever trick you mentioned is so real.

lunam911mo ago

Remember that scene in season two where Walter White watches Jane die? I had to pause it and just sit there for a minute. It’s exactly what @shah.ben is talking about. You spend so much time in his head that you almost feel bad for him in that moment, even though he just let someone choke to death. The show makes you comfy with evil by showing you all the small steps that lead there. You don’t jump from cooking meth to murder, you just take one little step at a time with the character. By the end you’re making excuses for stuff you’d never accept in real life.