Every good TV show needs a compelling villain, whether they be the main character or a side character who challenges the hero. Usually, the worse these villains are, the better. However, some TV villains simply take things too far.
Whether it be excessive greed, costly arrogance, or barbaric actions, some TV characters just don’t know when to quit. In most cases, these actions didn’t just cement these characters’ status as ruthless villains, but they changed the direction of the entire show. An antagonist is meant to do bad things, but these characters went a little overboard with their villainy.
10 Mr. Burns Blocked Out The Sun
The Simpsons
In The Simpsons, Mr. Burns is the wealthiest and most powerful man in the entire town of Springfield. He’s an extremely greedy businessman who constantly puts the citizens of Springfield in harm’s way for his own financial gain. In one of the most iconic Simpsons episodes, he went as far as building a device to block out the sun so his electric company could become a monopoly.
Naturally, this turned the entire town against Mr. Burns, including his loyal assistant Mr. Smithers. When a mysterious gunman shoots him, the townspeople agree that since he angered so many people, anyone could’ve been the shooter. He clearly went too far, as an entire town has a motive to hurt him.
9 Ben Let Alex Die
Lost
Lost is known for killing off its characters and easily the most shocking and upsetting death was when Ben let Alex die. Ben thinks he’s the smartest person in the room and can manipulate others to do what he wants. When his adoptive daughter Alex is held at gunpoint, Ben thinks he can outsmart the gunman by using reverse psychology.
Ben taunts the gunman and says Alex means nothing to him. This encourages the criminal to shoot Alex, which he does. Ben looks less upset and more shocked that his plan didn’t work. Her death did spark Ben's redemption arc, but the damage was already done.
8 Angelus Killed Jenny
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer had plenty of scary monsters, but Angelus is just a different breed of terrible. He is the soulless alter-ego of Angel and has a reputation as the evilest vampire in Europe’s history. Angelus has killed nearly 400 people and while all of his murders are terrible, none were as brutal as Jenny Calendar's murder.
Jenny was a fan-favorite character whose death came as a huge shock and marked a major turning point in Buffy. It was the final straw that turned Buffy and fans against Angel. To make things worse, Angelus left Jenny's dead body in her boyfriend's bed for him to find.
7 Walter White Poisoned Brock
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad chronicles Walter White’s descent from a law-abiding citizen to a hardened criminal and methamphetamine kingpin. Walt has committed some pretty questionable acts in his journey to becoming a drug lord. His most reprehensible action was when he poisoned six-year-old Brock in an effort to turn Jesse against Gustavo Fring.
While some of Walt’s actions were justified, this was definitely not one of them. Throughout Breaking Bad, Walt always seemed more like an anti-hero, but poisoning Brock proved that Walter was a straight-up villain. It was this act that turned Jesse against Walt and led to his downfall.
6 Ramsay Bolton Did Awful Things
Game Of Thrones
Game of Thrones is known for having some truly reprehensible and irredeemable villains, but none are as vile as Ramsay Bolton. He’s so evil that he made Joffrey look tame. Born a bastard of Lord Roose Bolton, who is equally cunning and ruthless, Ramsay became Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North after taking it too far. He killed his father and fed his newborn half-brother and stepmother to his hounds.
Ramsay put Theon and Sansa through further pain. He crossed every line and sunk to a new low in every scene he was in. It’s impossible to single out just one awful thing he did because everything he did was too far.
5 George Hearst Slaughtered His Own Workers For Unionizing
Deadwood
This HBO Western drama series centers around the real-life town of Deadwood, South Dakota, and the historical figures who lived there. Among them is George Hearst, a cut-throat businessman who wants total control over Deadwood.
Although Hearst doesn’t appear until the season two finale, he quickly proves he is a force to be reckoned with. He’s the epitome of power-hungry; he routinely has people murdered who get in his way or mess with his profits. He had several Cornish miners slaughtered for simply trying to unionize. It was a brutal act that quickly established Hearst as Deadwood’s most vile villain yet.
4 Negan Introducing The Survivors To Lucille
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is known for its villains and Negan was by far the cruelest. He took things too far from the very start. In his first appearance, Negan brutally beat both Abraham and Glenn to death with his barbed-wire bat, Lucille.
There have been some pretty gruesome shots throughout The Walking Dead’s 11 seasons and Glenn with his eye bulging out is one of the worst. Though Negan had a redemption arc and turned more into an anti-hero, fans will never forgive him for what he did to Abraham and Glenn.
3 Cartman Fed Scott's Parents To Him
South Park
The small mountain town of South Park is home to many colorful characters, including the sinister Eric Cartman. Throughout the show’s 25 seasons, Cartman has done some pretty horrendous things, but none come close to what he did to ninth-grader Scott Tenorman.
After Scott tricks Cartman out of $16.12 and publicly humiliates him, Cartman devises a plan to get revenge. He gets a pony to bite Scott at a chili cook-off. The audience soon learns this is a ruse, as Cartman’s real plan involves getting Scott’s parents killed and cooking them in a chili that he tricks Scott into eating. It's just too far, even by Cartman's standards.
2 Homelander Crashing A Plane Filled With People
The Boys
The Boys is a satirical superhero show that's known for its excessive violence and diabolical characters. Usually at the center of all the mayhem is Homelander, who presents himself as a hero. In reality, he's an arrogant murderer who fans want to see suffer.
As the main villain, Homelander is no stranger to terrible, irredeemable acts, but none are as traumatizing as Flight 37. Homelander is tasked with saving a hijacked plane, but he carelessly slices the engine in half with his laser vision and sends it in a nosedive. Instead of saving anyone, he abandons the plane and watches with no remorse as it goes down.
1 Cersei Blowing Up The Sept Of Baelor
Game Of Thrones
Cersei Lannister is one of the key players in Game of Thrones, but also one of the cruelest. When her plan of giving power to the Faith Militant backfires and results in her arrest and public shaming, she gets revenge by blowing up the Sept of Baelor in one of the most jaw-dropping scenes.
Not only does Cersei kill the High Sparrow, his followers, and House Tyrell, but she also kills hundreds of innocent people and destroys half the city in the process. The act was so heinous that Cersei’s son immediately jumped to his death upon seeing what she had done. It was the definition of taking things too far.