It’s Time to Bring Back Evil Villains

Recent discussion surrounding The Rings of Power has gotten me thinking. No, not just about how much I despise Rings of Power. Instead, I have been thinking about the state of modern media, and what is going wrong. Of course, it’s not all bad. But it’s mostly bad. Modern entertainment is creatively bankrupted, uninspired, or even just plain morally skewed. What that says about the minds behind these shows, movies, and books, I’ll leave for you to decide. What I want to speak on is a simple topic: orcs.

            Yes, you read that right, I want to talk about orcs. Specifically, orcs who are just trying to provide for their families. Recently, The Rings of Power has once again been making headlines, this time for testing the waters with sympathetic orcs. To any hardcore and/or longtime Tolkien fans, this notion sounds ludicrous, but it is about what we can expect from modern Hollywood. To save everyone involved from great suffering, I will avoid delving too deeply into The Acolyte, save to say that it seemed the goal of the showrunners was to make the good guys look bad. From the world of space opera to that of fantasy, it seems that not much changes. Whether or not Rings of Power is truly trying to frame the orcs in a likeable light is of little consequence. The sentiment has already been established by modern entertainment that they are seeking upheaval, reversal, and subversion in morality. Tolkien specifically created orcs to be evil, corrupted versions of greater beings, but now that any direct influence from his family is gone, that sentiment has been tossed aside.

            So, what is the solution? Firstly, we must accept that there may be no saving modern Hollywood or the intellectual properties already in their grasp. Evident by looking at ninety percent of movies or shows from the last five to ten years is the fact that they do not understand, or purposely misconstrue, what made these stories great. True, we can still watch, listen to, and read the classic, original stories, but we must not expect the same greatness that was present before. Instead, we must usher in a comeback of evil villains.

            As someone who heavily analyzes A Song of Ice and Fire, a story known for its grey morality and complex characters, I can definitively say that there is a time and place where the lines between good and evil can and should be blurred. But, in equal and opposite measure, we need stories with a clear moral scale. We need inspirational and aspirational heroes, and deplorable, maniacal villains. We need characters who stand firmly amongst virtues and vices. So no, sympathetic, family-man orcs are not a stunning and brave departure from the norm or a new angle through which to view Tolkien’s classic stories. They are an unfortunate glimpse into the stance of our overall culture today and a lamentable development in the world of storytelling. It’s not about the orcs. It’s about the deepest roots of our stories. It’s time to bring back evil villains.