My favorite scene in the Lion King is the one where Scar kills Mufasa.
It might not surprise anyone to learn that when I share this fact, I usually get reactions of shock and horror. This scene makes me excited; it makes most people extremely sad.
But how can you not love it? It’s the culmination of the brilliant villain’s evil plan! It’s the rise of Scar, voiced by the magnificent Jeremy Irons. In an instant, Mufasa’s rescue of his son is turned from triumph to tragedy as Scar utters the bone chilling words, “Long live the king.”
Seriously, that’s incredible.
As a general rule, villains are just flat out better than heroes. Scar’s mix of dripping sarcasm and megalomania was one of the first examples of this phenomenon that our generation …show more content…
Heroes can be pretty great, actually. But a lackluster hero isn’t going to hurt a work nearly as much as a lackluster villain. Christian Bale’s Batman is fine, but he’s nothing special; it’s the Joker that makes the Dark Knight a masterpiece.
Similarly, I don’t feel particularly strongly about Luke in either direction, but Darth Vader helps to propel Star Wars to its intergalactic heights (I’m sorry, but I had to say something about space). For their parts, the prequels probably couldn’t have been saved, but less stereotypical and boring villains might have given them a boost. Look at Darth Maul. Even if you don’t care much about Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, you’re gonna be glued to the screen when they face down Maul.
And of course, not all villains are great. Mistakes have been made. Unalaq in The Legend of Korra is a painful example of this. The whiny Anakin Skywalker of Star Wars Episode III is another one that many people would rather forget.Perhaps unsurprisingly, Unalaq’s season of The Legend of Korra (season 2) is usually regarded as the worst one. Further, the other seasons all feature stellar villains. Correlation is not causation, but you can’t tell me that Zaheer isn’t a crucial part of why season three was so
It might not surprise anyone to learn that when I share this fact, I usually get reactions of shock and horror. This scene makes me excited; it makes most people extremely sad.
But how can you not love it? It’s the culmination of the brilliant villain’s evil plan! It’s the rise of Scar, voiced by the magnificent Jeremy Irons. In an instant, Mufasa’s rescue of his son is turned from triumph to tragedy as Scar utters the bone chilling words, “Long live the king.”
Seriously, that’s incredible.
As a general rule, villains are just flat out better than heroes. Scar’s mix of dripping sarcasm and megalomania was one of the first examples of this phenomenon that our generation …show more content…
Heroes can be pretty great, actually. But a lackluster hero isn’t going to hurt a work nearly as much as a lackluster villain. Christian Bale’s Batman is fine, but he’s nothing special; it’s the Joker that makes the Dark Knight a masterpiece.
Similarly, I don’t feel particularly strongly about Luke in either direction, but Darth Vader helps to propel Star Wars to its intergalactic heights (I’m sorry, but I had to say something about space). For their parts, the prequels probably couldn’t have been saved, but less stereotypical and boring villains might have given them a boost. Look at Darth Maul. Even if you don’t care much about Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, you’re gonna be glued to the screen when they face down Maul.
And of course, not all villains are great. Mistakes have been made. Unalaq in The Legend of Korra is a painful example of this. The whiny Anakin Skywalker of Star Wars Episode III is another one that many people would rather forget.Perhaps unsurprisingly, Unalaq’s season of The Legend of Korra (season 2) is usually regarded as the worst one. Further, the other seasons all feature stellar villains. Correlation is not causation, but you can’t tell me that Zaheer isn’t a crucial part of why season three was so