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Morally Grey Is Not the Same as Complex
Aug. 8th, 2020 07:04 pmI sometimes feel that when people talk about 'complex' villains, what they mean is villains who are less evil, or more morally grey. And while I do find a number of morally grey villains to be complex, I would say it's not their moral greyness that creates their complexity. Complex villains *can* be morally grey, but they can also be unrelentingly evil.
What makes a villain complex to me, then? A history that informs their present day behaviors and attitudes. Specific goals and motivations that exist that inform what specific actions they take. For example, I'd say neither Plagueis nor Palpatine are especially morally grey characters as depicted within the Darth Plagueis novel. But I would say that the novel adds quite a bit of complexity to both of these characters. We learn their history, their preoccupations, and their underlying motivations. And all of this increases their complexity as characters. They're also quite distinct from each other in their personality and approach to accomplishing their goals. The prequels also increase Palpatine's complexity as a character, which they do by showing his indirect approach to seizing power, not by making him a good character...who was wronged...by a gangster woman (no, I will never get over this Star Wars Underworld plot proposal).
What I'm saying is, regardless of how evil a villain is, they can still be a complex character. And regardless of how morally grey they are, they can still be a very simple character. Moral greyness is not tied to character complexity. To make a character morally grey, the author just has to make them be less evil, much like to make a very evil villain one just has to make them do more evil things. But to make a character complex, they have to create detail and specificity for the character.
What makes a villain complex to me, then? A history that informs their present day behaviors and attitudes. Specific goals and motivations that exist that inform what specific actions they take. For example, I'd say neither Plagueis nor Palpatine are especially morally grey characters as depicted within the Darth Plagueis novel. But I would say that the novel adds quite a bit of complexity to both of these characters. We learn their history, their preoccupations, and their underlying motivations. And all of this increases their complexity as characters. They're also quite distinct from each other in their personality and approach to accomplishing their goals. The prequels also increase Palpatine's complexity as a character, which they do by showing his indirect approach to seizing power, not by making him a good character...who was wronged...by a gangster woman (no, I will never get over this Star Wars Underworld plot proposal).
What I'm saying is, regardless of how evil a villain is, they can still be a complex character. And regardless of how morally grey they are, they can still be a very simple character. Moral greyness is not tied to character complexity. To make a character morally grey, the author just has to make them be less evil, much like to make a very evil villain one just has to make them do more evil things. But to make a character complex, they have to create detail and specificity for the character.
