When Evil Walked In: 7 Greatest Villain Intros in TV History

Working in Bollywood films, you don’t have to tell me how crucial villain introductions are. We’ve basically taken our villain intros to a heightened level of melodrama now, sometimes treating them more seriously than a hero's introduction.

On a more serious note, I’ve talked about this multiple times, how a hero’s strength is directly proportional to that of the villain’s. This means your hero is only as strong as your villain.

While “best villain introductions in movies” is a common topic of conversation among cinephiles, in this article, we’re solely focusing on the best villain introductions in TV shows.

Best Villain Introductions In TV Shows

1. Negan’s Introduction in The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead introduced Negan in its season 6. In the scene, Negan arrives with his followers, about 50 men, to assert his dominance over the captives (members of Rick Grimes’ group). He forces them to kneel down and demands the supplies that they are carrying with them as he formally introduces them to a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, which he calls Lucille, after his late wife. His true colors of menace show when he uses a children’s counting rhyme to select a victim for savage beating. I don’t know about you, but I find sadists to be very dangerous people, and Negan is definitely one. Jeffrey Dean Morgan leaves no stone unturned in his portrayal of Negan to establish him as a venomous person.

2. Homelander’s Introduction in The Boys

The Boys introduces its villain right in its very first episode. The episode opens with establishing Homelander as an unstable and complex character, who eventually reveals himself to be the antagonist, motivated by his personal psychopathy and narcissism. He is a man with immense powers who refuses to understand the meaning of ‘with great power comes great responsibility.” Throughout the episode, we get little glimpses of his dichotomous personality, until the last scene seals the deal for the viewers. As he flies alongside the Mayor of Baltimore’s plane, waving at his young son, Homelander doesn’t flinch for a bit when he destroys the plane mid-air with his laser vision. As the plane catches fire, Homelander’s smirk at the sight of destruction reveals the darkness he carries underneath his superhero suit.

3. Moriarty in Sherlock

Sherlock Holmes’ arch nemesis, Jim Moriarty, is widely considered to be the greatest villain in the world of fiction and is known to have inspired countless villains. His introduction in the BBC series, Sherlock, has undoubtedly done complete justice to the original literature. The series introduces Moriarty early on, simply as Jim from IT, who is dating Molly Hooper, but it doesn’t establish him as the villain then. In his first meeting with Sherlock, Moriarty toys with Sherlock, presenting himself as per his own script, preventing Sherlock from identifying him. Towards the end of the episode, in a scene charged with psychological warfare, Moriarty reveals his true identity before Sherlock, which became one of the most iconic villain introductions in TV shows ever.

4. Ramsay Bolton in Game Of Thrones

Another sadistic antagonist, Ramsay (Iwan Rheon), makes his first appearance in the third season, as he saves Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) and then pretends to be a well-wisher by pretending to help him rescue his sister. Soon, he reveals himself as a Stark and the son of Lord Bolton, and captures Theon to punish him for betraying his people. Rheon explicitly brings out the sadistic side of Ramsay through his performance, especially in the scenes where Ramsay subjects Theon to nerve-wrecking torture.

5. Death in Supernatural

Over 15 seasons, Supernatural features countless antagonists, but there’s no villain introduction as unnerving as that of Death. He is introduced in the fifth season of the series as a walking-talking catastrophe. Julian Richings is phenomenal in this scene, considering we barely see his face in the introduction, yet he leaves a scarring impression on your mind.

Richings’ portrayal of Death is restrained yet engulfs your psyche. His introduction isn’t focused on spectacle; rather, it's focused on stirring your buried anxieties. The scene begins with simple close-up shots that build a mystery around his identity as we follow him from behind. Before we can see his face, a random rushing pedestrian bumps into Death. Irritated, the man hurls a comment at Death as he hurries away. Death doesn’t answer. Moments later, the man drops down dead. The minimalism of the scene screams power. Death is as powerful, random, and impulsive as his reputation.

6. Kilgrave in Jessica Jones

A distinguished TV villain, Kilgrave, appears in Jessica Jones mainly in flashbacks, yet his existence is a threat enough. A man who can control minds, Kilgrave is introduced in his full potential in the very first season of the series, where we see him seamlessly mind-control an entire police department in a forceful attempt to speak to Jessica. His obsession with Jessica’s ability to overcome his mind-control, combined with his toxic sense of love, turns him into a real threat to Jessica—ironic considering he believes he is in love with her.

7. Gus Fring in Breaking Bad

I love everything about Gus Fring as he embodies a true sociopath (or at least borderline). Gus Fring is dangerous because he is a man who has seen life closer than anyone else, and then chosen to be the bad guy, under the garb of goodness. For the longest time, the series only refers to Fring in various ways, without revealing any identifiable information about him (not even his name; Saul refers to him as “my guy knows a guy and he knows a guy.”) He is simply known for his business skills and precaution (a much-needed quality if you’re dealing drugs). Fring is ambitious yet knows the cost of standing out. Therefore, he lives his life and runs his business on the principle of fitting in. His introduction is novel, if you ask me.

Walter is informed by Saul that the anonymous high-end distributor has rejected them as suppliers owing to Jesse’s unprofessionalism, which unravels their business plan. Desperate, White sets out to look for this man. Only he has no clue about the individual’s name, what he does, or even what he looks like. Unsure where to start looking, White begins his search at the restaurant where the initial meeting was set. Finally, a man in business casuals steps out and introduces himself to White. The man continues to speak in subtext, as if he is serving a customer.

Giancarlo Esposito’s portrayal of Gus Fring is enchanting, as the actor restricts the evil to his eyes while smiling widely throughout the introduction scene. As a character, Fring is as iconic as Walter White, with a character arc that shows how innocence and empathy are slowly killed in the face of trauma and adverse life experiences. If you ask me, Fring and White share more similarities than they realize (although White consistently mentions how he deeply resonates with Fring’s work principles).

Did we miss any? Who is your favorite villain in the list?