A characters motive can put a spin on their actions that keeps them from being pure evil, or it can make the most benign actions sinister. I can think of plenty of reasons for a young Jedi to become disillusioned or an old one jaded, but not many of them justify a turn to the dark side of the force. And remember kids, a character shouldn't "just evil for evil's sake" and they definitely should not wake up one morning and decide to be a monster, give your bad guys some depth and your heroes will have a greater challenge to overcome.
I don't remember the reason for Pong Krell's turn, but I remember thinking that it was weak writing. I don't even remember Bariss's turn, so I guess I need to re-watch all of the show, right?
Evil for the sake of being evil is so last century. It's what I classify as a 2D villain. Nobody likes that anymore. I understand the reasons why a Jedi would turn. What I didn't like was when the motives were either weak or simply poorly explained. You pretty much said what I was thinking. Krell's motives weren't memorable. Offee's were a little more defined, but it still never really explained why she threw her best friend under the bus.
I disagree. I have no problem with a character just being Evil. The problem comes from no variety at all, there is room enough for all the different types of villains. As to Pong Krell, He began to see the Jedi and the Republic as weak and inefficient as well as glimpsing images of the future in which the Jedi and the Republic fall. So basically The Force was giving him warnings but he took them as an invitation to go to the "stronger" side.
Clearly you've seen the series a few times. Thanks. But I still defer to the fact that this wasn't a shining plot point. I'm pretty good at remembering key elements in a story. Still disagreeing on the 2D villains. Weak motives make weak villains. They don't have anything that drives them to victory. A villain with a cause has reason to fight. Thusly, the essence of the Sith Code; their passions drive them to victory. I loved that they introed this. It turned the Sith into 3D villains instead of "We wear black and we're evil, deal with it."
Barris turned because....... *Spoilers if you want to wait to watch it*
... she saw the Jedi as being the villains in the Clone Wars. She felt the Jedi had become too violent. Her betrayal did lead to one of the best fights in the series though.
Thanks again. Or like Dooku turned for his political ideology. He felt the Republic had grown decadent and corrupt beyond repair. He joined Sidious' cause hoping to fix a broken system no matter the cost. I actually hated that they made him 2D in TCW.
I just think that writing a character as just evil to be evil is lazy sort of like the "it just happens because" thing that happens in a lot of movies, it's okay for a character to be evil, but they need a purpose in my opinion.
OMG, I KRIFFING
HATE THE "It just is" EXCUSE. For many reasons I can't get into, I actively fight that mentality. Nothing "just is". That would be like me justifying my well documented hatred of TFA with "I just do." When the truth of the matter is I deeply love SW, so there has to be reasons for me not to like this one.
Having a motive or purpose doesn't make them more relatable. . . unless you are willing to do "evil" things. . . but you are a sith lord.
Excuse me. ô¿o
What I mean is someone like Sauron. A great Evil that looms over the world.
Excellent example. There's no 'why' behind Sauron. He just wants to dominate everything. Weak motive. The orcs would pretty much ruin everything, so what would be the point in having control over a wasteland?
