Thread:LucidPigeons/@comment-24859393-20160518221445/@comment-26205772-20160518222153

An antagonist is defined as something in opposition to the protagonist, usually something that creates conflict. This can be anything, from a character (villain or not, so long as they have a reason to get in the way of the protagonist's journey) to an inanimate object or force to even a plot device used to shake up the protagonist's journey a little (so say, a waterfall at the end of a river the protagonist is journeying down). A villain, on the other hand, is a immoral character that engages in acts and behavior considered by the narrative to be evil or at the very, very least, morally dubious, most often for some sort of gain. Not all antagonists are villains and not all villains are antagonists; the two terms are confused because the villain usually acts as the biggest force opposing the hero or the biggest thing causing conflict (i.e. the primary antagonist).