Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-2059440-20160506190434/@comment-1705775-20160510173608

Rigby, in old media audience didn't really want to be surprised and villains were very two-dimensional, from the moment they entered a stage they were booed at and their evil was the entertainment.. it lasted for many, many years and is still common in some media.

the thing is many new media back away from the outright villain of old, yet this trend of "hidden" villains isn't really much better.. audiences can tell who the "hidden" villain is very easily unless the writer is exceptionally good at what they do

the fact remains a villain is usually anything *but* subtle, even in media with a hidden villain there will be an openly villainous character that acts as a kind of red herring (or simply to keep attention away from the hidden one).

for example, let's say a corrupt official plans on some crime - the protagonist will still face an openly villainous character in the form of whatever thug / mercenary the official hired off-screen.. then after the henchmen are desposed of or the protagonist catches onto the bigger plan the "big reveal" is done, normally audiences still have a vague idea the hidden villain is a villain.

it isn't good writing if an entirely good character suddenly gets revealed as evil, a good writer has to give hints at the evil.. if they are good enough the hints are subtle and the audience won't pick it up until later (or a second viewing) but the hints will be there nevertheless.