Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25266931-20140907180258/@comment-25641997-20140907212014

Roman surprised me, too, but I actually liked him more because of it. I just thought he was hired muscle, an arrogant prick who thought he was a high-level baddie when he's really just a pawn. But he was funny and charming. Now, I see Roman as so much more. I thought he wasn't much of a threat, just someone to do Cinder's dirty work. However, I don't think that's the case anymore. Roman is a cruel, calculating, selfish, arrogant, and even sadistic person, but at the same time, he's witty and charming and silver-tongued. And that's what makes him such an interesting character. He may not seem like much compared to Cinder, but I actually think he's more dangerous. Cinder has an endgame; she has an aspiration for her plans. But Roman is a more dangerous villain who causes more pain for more people because he has no endgame other than doing whatever benefits himself. Everything he does is done for his own sake, and if he's in danger, he'll do whatever it takes and hurt whoever he has to in order to save himself. Cinder will be satisfied, at least for a while, if she gets what she wants. And I'm not saying that this makes her a bad character. But Roman's so terrifying, so villainous, because he'll never be satisfied; he'll never stop being bad, not just for the sake of being bad, but for the rewards he could reap from his actions.

I can totally see why you wouldn't like Roman as a person. But I don't think that a character necessarily has to be likeable in order to be liked. I mean, people love the Joker, but he's the most twisted, horrible psychopath you could ever find in fiction. There's just a certain charming quality about being bad, and it helps that Roman is as charming a psychopath as there is. In my opinion, his cruelty just makes him a better character because now I take him so much more seriously. I may not agree with what he does or like his personality or the way he treats others, but I like him because of those things, and not just as a character but as a person. They make him interesting. I think that being an interesting character is a lot more important than being likeable, and Roman interests me, and I like him because and not despite the cruel things that he's done.