Summary

• TV shows excel at prolonging suspense for shocking villain reveals, keeping viewers on their toes.
• A good villain twist can change the entire narrative, while a lazy one can harm a show's reputation.
• Some of the best TV villains were initially harmless side characters, proving that anyone can be the antagonist.

There are few things that can be more satisfying in a TV show than a well executed villain twist, especially if the antagonist had been hiding in plain sight all along. Movies also use villain twists, but TV shows are able to prolong the suspense for multiple episodes or even multiple seasons, so the reveal can be much more shocking. Often, it can be a close ally or even one of the main characters who is revealed to be the villain, and this allows viewers to see everything they had done up until that point through a different lens.

Crime shows frequently go for shocking villain reveals, but any genre can benefit from flipping the script. Big twists can be even more powerful in shows where audiences don't expect such turbulent narratives. In any case, pulling off a twist requires a lot of careful planning, otherwise it can break the suspension of disbelief. A good villain twist should change everything which came before it, but a lazy twist can damage a show's reputation. Some of the best TV villains of all time started off as nothing more than harmless side characters.

10 Michael

Played by Ted Danson in The Good Place (2016-2020)

Michael had been merely masquerading as a Good Place architect so that he could keep a close eye on his perverse experiment in human suffering.

Michael is the first person Eleanor sees when she first arrives in the Good Place, and he guides her through the afterlife with a steady hand and a warm smile. She thinks of him as something akin to an angel, but The Good Place's season 1 plot twist shows that he's much closer to the devil. Michael had been merely masquerading as a Good Place architect so that he could keep a close eye on his perverse experiment in human suffering. He eventually redeems himself and becomes a trusted ally, but this never distracts from his shocking reveal.

9 Jan Bellows

Played by Amy Ryan in Only Murders in the Building (2021-)

Charles, Mabel and Oliver form an unlikely team when they get together to solve a strange murder that has taken place in their apartment building. Jan Bellows isn't a suspect. She's just a charming neighbor who strikes up a relationship with Charles. She even helps the team in their investigation for a while, but her story is always secondary to the main plot. That is until the twist, which reveals that Jan had been the killer all along. She poisoned Tim Kono, and she poisons Charles as well when he threatens to get too close to her secret.

8 Moriarty

Played by Andrew Scott in Sherlock (2010-2017)

Anyone familiar with Arthur Conan Doyle's original novels will know that James Moriarty is Sherlock Holmes' most prolific nemesis, so the BBC adaptation had to get creative to conceal his identity. Moriarty is first introduced as one of Molly's coworkers, the unremarkable Jim from IT. Moriarty uses a disguise to get physically close to Sherlock, and to throw him off the scent. He lets Sherlock's powers of deduction work in his favor. Sherlock wasn't the same after Moriarty's death, as their game of cat-and-mouse was vital to many of the show's best moments.

7 John & Jane Smith

Played by Wagner Moura and Parker Posey in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024-)

One recent example of TV villains hiding in plain sight comes from the Prime Video spy thriller Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and it shows that the trope is just as effective as ever. John and Jane Smith first bump into the other John and Jane at a market, and they discover that there are more people like them who have traded in their identities to work for the mysterious organization. Although the other John and Jane initially seem friendly, the Mr. & Mrs. Smith season finale reveals that their "super-high-risk" status means that they assassinate other Johns and Janes.

6 Eobard Thawne

Played by Tom Cavanagh in The Flash (2014-2023)

Harrison Wells starts out as a mentor to Barry Allen, and he guides him through the first steps of harnessing his powers and crafting his superhero identity as The Flash. There are a few peculiar hints that something is off about Harrison, as he seems to have some knowledge of future events, but the reveal that he is actually Eobard Thawne is still a shock. Eobard Thawne is the Reverse Flash, a villain who traveled back in time to stop Barry. Reverse Flash almost killed Barry when he was just a child, and he continues sabotaging him for years.

5 Stormfront

Played by Aya Cash in The Boys (2019-)

Episode 1 of The Boys reveals that every superhero under the umbrella of Vought is hiding a dark side. Even the squeaky clean poster boy Homelander causes a plane crash to protect the company. Stormfront seems different when she first arrives on the scene. She sides with Starlight in her quest to break up the boy's club mentality of Vought, and she gains a lot of fans by speaking her mind in front of the camera. Ultimately, these are all calculated steps in Stormfront's plan to win for her Nazi ideology.

The Boys season 4 is set to be released in June.

4 Dan Humphrey

Played by Penn Badgley in Gossip Girl (2007-2012)

The ultimate reveal that Dan was behind the Gossip Girl posts was a divisive TV villain reveal like no other. Throughout the show, Dan had participated in discussions about who Gossip Girl could be, and he had even been shown reacting to the posts in private. The reveal seemed to counter large parts of his character, but Gossip Girl's big twist was always going to be a shocking moment. Keeping a mystery going for so long can be difficult, and Gossip Girl had to come up with something that would still be surprising after years of speculation.

3 Dris

Played by Shone Romolus in Top Boy (2011-2023)

Dris isn't a true villain, but he sells out Sully and Dushane in an attempt to gain some stability for himself and his daughter. When Sully and Dushane try to think who could have betrayed their locations to Modie's gang, Dris is never on their minds. He had been with them since the very beginning, often serving as second-in-command, so his betrayal reaffirms the notion that Sully and Dushane can trust nobody except for each other. In a world where loyalty is the most prized trait somebody can have, Dris shows that he values himself above the gang.

2 Agatha Harkness

Played by Kathryn Hahn in Wandavision (2021)

Wandavision marked a fresh new direction for the MCU, ripping up the pre-existing genre conventions of the franchise and creating a quirky sci-fi sitcom. Kathryn Hahn plays Agnes, who at first seems like a typical stock character from a sitcom. She's the friendly next-door neighbor who always manages to insert herself into other people's business, but Wandavision's shocking twist reveals that Agnes is actually Agatha Harkness, the true villain of the show. Hahn's performance was such a hit that Agatha Harkness has her own Wandavision spinoff coming up.

1 Joe Miller

Played by Matthew Gravelle in Broadchurch (2013-2017)

Joe is the husband of Detective Ellie Miller, and he seems to be one of the very few people in the town who is totally above suspicion.

British crime drama Broadchurch shows the fault lines that open up in a previously civil small town when a young boy's body is found on the beach. Although the investigation uncovers a litany of dark secrets, Joe Miller's name is never on the radar of the two detectives. Joe is the husband of Detective Ellie Miller, and he seems to be one of the very few people in the town who is totally above suspicion. Ultimately, Ellie discovers that Joe killed the boy to cover up their inappropriate relationship, and she realizes her marriage wasn't as perfect as she thought.