A recurring trend in a lot of fiction is that evil and villainy are self-sabotaging things. Characters who do good seem content with what they have in life, while criminals or schemers who always want more will trip themselves up and fall victim to one of their own schemes.
This is perhaps even more common in television than in other shows. With how much more time can be spent on a villain in a lengthy TV show compared to other media, it can be even more satisfying to watch a villain bring themselves down. Even if they're not the ones firing the final shot, these antagonists will often contribute to their own downfall in some way.
10 Walter White Puts Hank Schrader Back On The Case (Breaking Bad)
There are two major threats to Walter White and his drug business in Breaking Bad. The first is fellow criminals, several of whom he battles throughout the series. The other is Hank Schrader, Walt's brother-in-law and a DEA agent who's on a mission to stop the meth-dealing Heisenberg.
Early in season 4, Hank believes that his work is over, with genius chemist Gale Boetticher dead and the authorities believing him to be Heisenberg. Walt lets his ego get the better of him while drunk and refuses to let Gale get the credit for his work, suggesting Heisenberg is still out there. As a result, Hank gets back to work, and this one moment leads to his downfall in season 5.
9 The Silence Order Their Own Mass Slaughter (Doctor Who)
"The Impossible Astronaut" is a two-episode story in Doctor Who that deals with the Silence, an alien race who have completely infiltrated the Earth. They're almost impossible to defeat because they vanish from the memory of anyone who can't see them, and they can put hypnotic suggestions into the minds of people who look at them.
Ultimately, the Doctor uses these traits to defeat them. He baits a wounded Silent into taunting that humanity should kill them on sight, only to record it and broadcast it to all of Earth during the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. Although humanity forgets the brief interruption, they remember the command and begin to wipe out the Silence en masse.
8 King Ecbert Invites A Viking Invasion (Vikings)
King Ecbert of Mercia is a recurring ally and enemy throughout Vikings, one of the few characters able to match Ragnar Lothbrok in cunning. He's entirely morally ambiguous. In his final storyline, however, he proves himself too clever and trusting for his own good, and falls victim to Ragnar's final scheme.
Ragnar gets himself captured by Ecbert, who sends him to King Aelle of Northumbria for execution, rather than freeing him. Ecbert agrees on the conditions that only Aelle gets the blame and Mercia is spared Viking retribution. Ragnar double-crosses him, and Mercia gets invaded by Ragnar's sons and half of the warriors in Scandinavia.
7 Holland Manners Resurrects The Vampire Who Kills Him
A major theme in Angel is that villainy is self-sabotaging, but that its individual failures don't make much of a difference. One character who exemplifies this is Holland Manners, a serious and intelligent antagonist at Wolfram and Hart. However, he's only a cog in a much larger machine.
To bring down Angel, Manners organizes the resurrection of his former lover, Darla. As she's dying of illness, Darla has herself turned back into a vampire. Completely amoral and annoyed at being used, Darla arrives at a Wolfram and Hart party and butchers nearly everyone there, including Manners.
6 Khal Drogo Takes A Lethal Wound Just To Prove He Can (Game Of Thrones)
The Dothraki Khal Drogo appears to be a major antagonist in Game of Thrones season 1, planning a huge invasion of the Seven Kingdoms in retribution for an attempt on Daenerys' life. To raise funds and supplies for the invasion, he attacks the neighboring Lhazareen. This sees him get into a fight with his warrior, Mago, over an insult to Daenerys.
Drogo utterly overwhelms Mago, killing him easily with his bare hands. At the beginning of the fight, however, he deliberately lets Mago cut him to prove his strength. This wound then gets infected, and Daenerys' attempts to treat it see Drogo become comatose and helpless.
5 Malcolm Tucker Perjures Himself While Proving A Point (The Thick Of It)
Although also the protagonist, there is no doubt that Malcolm Tucker is a villain in The Thick of It. He's a menace to both political parties, running endless schemes without a care for who gets hurt by them. His downfall, fittingly, comes at the hands of a backfiring scheme.
Malcolm manipulates former party leader Nicola Murray into calling for an inquiry into a recent scandal. While giving evidence to this inquiry, Malcolm accidentally reveals that he stole the privileged health details of another person. He then immediately and reflexively lies about this, setting himself up to be arrested for perjury.
4 Oliver Leek Surrounds Himself With A Volatile Praetorian Guard (Primeval)
In Primeval, no monster is more dangerous than the Future Predators. They're mutated, bat-like creatures from the future who are impossibly fast and vicious. These creatures are death to almost anybody near them, but season 2 antagonist Oliver Leek actually manages to weaponize them, controlling them with implants in their head.
To force the heroes to stand down, Leek mobilizes his entire force of Future Predators, preparing to kill protagonist Nick Cutter. However, Cutter can sabotage their implants and flee. Due to his grandstanding, Leek's Predators tear him to pieces and completely end his threat.
3 Agatha Harkness Teaches Wanda How To Bind Magical Powers (WandaVision)
In WandaVision, Agatha Harkness plans to bind and steal Wanda Maximoff's magic, taking the powers of the Scarlet Witch in addition to her own dark magic. She nearly succeeds in "The Series Finale," but White Vision interrupts and things turn into an outright fight between her and Wanda.
Agatha's greater experience sees her win this fight and steal Wanda's magic. However, she inadvertently shows Wanda what she needs to do. Wanda reveals that throughout their battle, she was recreating the necessary runes around Westview. Agatha's powers are bound and Wanda takes both of their magic, leaving Agatha trapped in her Agnes persona.
2 The Forces Of Heaven And Hell Rest Their Hopes On One Young Boy (Good Omens)
Good Omens deals with the impending Armageddon, following the plans set in place by God thousands of years ago. Both Heaven and Hell want Armageddon to go ahead, and they funnel their resources into aiding it. However, a major part of their plan hinges on the Antichrist, Adam Young, who can command the Four Horsemen and remake the world in his image.
Just as it looks like Armageddon is inescapable, Adam and his friends step in. They each defeat the Four Horsemen, and Adam refuses to aid in the end of the world. Through the power given to him by both sides and how integral he is to their plans, he's able to stop Beelzebub, the Archangel Gabriel, and even Satan from going through with their war.
1 Michael's Torture Plans Make The Protagonists Better People (The Good Place)
The Good Place deals with the afterlife architect Michael attempting a radical new approach for the Bad Place, the realm of eternal torment. He seems to make the residents of his 'neighborhood' torment one another emotionally, rather than physically. As such, he puts them in scenarios where they will cause friction with one another.
However, Michael's plan has a fundamental flaw. While his four charges do make each other miserable, they also form strong connections. With these bonds, they become better people and foil his plans time and time again. They even succeed in reforming him as well, turning him into a heroic character.