A Fitting End for a Villain?

[MystiqueRain]

One of my favorite tropes is a third way--one of those things they encourage you to do. The good guy and the bad guy are all set to duke it out, battle to the death, and show who's right. Then a bigger badder threat shows up, and they have to join forces to defeat it. Maybe that only works in Doctor Who and Saturday morning cartoons.

Unfortunately, my villain has joined forces with the "bigger, badder threat". xDDD

 

[Mindfire]

I don't think there are enough stories where some sort of legal process decides the fate of a villain.

That's because litigation is boring.

 

[Steerpike]

That's because litigation is boring.

There are a bunch of legal procedural novels. Can be done well just like anything else.

 

[Mindfire]

There are a bunch of legal procedural novels. Can be done well just like anything else.

Well... idk maybe it could work. It'd be really bizarre though.

Law and Order: Middle Earth

...I don't see it.

 

[Chilari]

One does not have to describe the litigation process to let the reader know that there's a trial for the villain. You can just say something like, "In the first few months after Vorkilak's fall, the city was tense but hopeful. The quarters of the city that had been destroyed were filled with work parties first clearing the debris and then starting to rebuild. Gossip of Vorkilak's trial was eagerly sought, often stopping work new juicy new information on the trial made its way through the streets. In the end there could be only one outcome: a guilty verdict. The central square had never been so full than the day, a week after the end of the trial, when he was to be executed."

No litigation, just acknowlegement that a trial has taken place, that a judicial procedure has determined the punishment. You can treat is as part of the mending process of the society that was harmed, and a sign that there is a new way of doing things and no matter how obvious it is that Vorkilak is an evil s.o.b the new people in charge are STILL going to do things right, because you have to start as you mean to go on.

 

[Ireth]

Well... idk maybe it could work. It'd be really bizarre though.

Law and Order: Middle Earth

...I don't see it.

That'd be hilarious! Gollum launching a suit against Bilbo for stealing his Precious, Saruman making a case against the Ents for destroying his property... There are tons of possibilities.

 

[Mindfire]

That'd be hilarious! Gollum launching a suit against Bilbo for stealing his Precious, Saruman making a case against the Ents for destroying his property... There are tons of possibilities.

I feel a great disturbance in the Force. As if a thousand fanfic writers booted up their laptops and opened their word processors...

 

[Butterfly]

What I'm thinking... he's cursed, so how does one break the curse? Can it even be broken?

Maybe it's not a matter of killing him, or forgiving him, but maybe one of middle-ground. If your protags can find a way to break that curse then maybe that is the key to his fate. Lose his power/his strength, and spend the rest of his life running away from what he was, while having all these new emotions bubbling to the surface, and hiding from bounty hunters in the process.

It may be too far removed from what you have planned, but I see that as another option for you.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

There are a bunch of legal procedural novels. Can be done well just like anything else.

I thought the context was a more traditional Evil Overlord-type scenario. Legal procedurals only work in a setting with a strong, centralized government where rule of law is the norm. I'm trying (and failing) to imagine someone defeating Tywin Lannister by taking him to court.

 

[MystiqueRain]

What I'm thinking... he's cursed, so how does one break the curse? Can it even be broken?

Maybe it's not a matter of killing him, or forgiving him, but maybe one of middle-ground. If your protags can find a way to break that curse then maybe that is the key to his fate. Lose his power/his strength, and spend the rest of his life running away from what he was, while having all these new emotions bubbling to the surface, and hiding from bounty hunters in the process.

It may be too far removed from what you have planned, but I see that as another option for you.

Actually, not that far removed. xD I'm pretty sure there would always be a way to break the curse. I just haven't thought of how yet. The problem with what you're suggesting is that it could branch into a whole different series after the events in the main storyline. How could I conclude his ending in a satisfactory way when there are so many more options left open at the end? Should I leave it for the readers to think what they want? Personally, I don't like it when you just end a character by saying they ran away. Even if this was in the middle of the series and he returns, I doubt he would play as big of a role or even want to get involved with the protagonists. I know the protagonists wouldn't be too excited about breaking the curse xD