We've all heard the old cliche about how appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes, in movies and TV shows, the person we think is the villain turns out to be more than we had imagined them to be.
That's why I've gone and compiled a list of 10+ female characters we thought were the villain, but are really just powerful. Have a look and discover why you may have judged too harshly the first go-around.
Harley Quinn is like a dog chasing a car: she's not exactly sure why she's doing it and has little-to-no clue what she'd do if she actually caught one.
While the company she keeps may be evil to the core, Harley's just a bad [expletive] with a strong stomach.
Ursula was following up on the contract that Ariel agreed to. Since Ariel and Eric didn't kiss before the sunset on the 3rd day, Ursula was 100% entitled to take Ariel as her prisoner.
"Caveat emptor" as the saying goes.
It's not as if Hallie and Annie were particularly welcoming to Meredith. In fact, they used every opportunity at their disposal to be miserable toward her.
How would you like it if some little twerp swapped out your bug repellant for sugar-water? It's time we give Meredith a break.
The true villain of Bring It On isn't Isis or the Clovers — it's 'Big Red.'
All Isis that Isis was trying to do was stand up for her school and her squad by speaking out against the inequalities that they had faced over the years.
Examining the emotionally crippling behavior patterns we've seen Frasier exhibit over the course of the series — can you honestly imagine what Lilith must have gone through being married to him?
Lilith falls victim to the idea that being a professional woman makes you an ice queen; an old and outdated stereotype.
Yes, on the one hand, Carrie did murder the vast majority of her classmates and peers. But in her defense, they did dump a bucket of pig's blood over her head.
Was it an extreme reaction? Surely. But was it unprovoked? Hardly.
Catwoman has a penchant for making mischief but by and large, her main motivating factor is fueled by vengeance.
In many ways, she's a lot like Batman. Only instead of avenging the deaths of her parents, she's out to murder Max Shreck for pushing her out a window.
Samara's mother is the true villain in The Ring if you ask me. Her solution to her daughter's paranormal ability was to put a bag over her head and throw Samara down a well?
What kind of person does that?
Poison Ivy is consumed by the greater good. She understands the threat human beings pose to the environment better than anyone.
Her methods are questionable but in the end, she's actually fighting to save our planet.
Come on, you know that he had it coming. I'm willing to bet that if you had been there, that if you'd heard it — you would have done the same.
Velma isn't a villain, she's just true to her word.
One day, your Odin's favorite child, conquering and slaughtering your way through the Nine Realms. Then just like that, you're banished to the deepest recesses of Helheim without so much as a "thank you."
Odin was the one who flipped the script; Hela was just playing the part given to her.
Agatha wasn't the one who kidnapped an entire town and held their minds hostage while she played house with her make-believe sitcom family.
She was trying to stop Wanda because she understands how truly dangerous the Scarlet Witch is!
How would you feel if someone dropped a house on your sister and then, to add insult to injury, went and stole the shoes from her dead feet?
Everything in Munchkin Land seemed to be going just fine until Dorothy went and screwed it all up.
Gemme is one of the most divisive characters in the history of Sons of Anarchy.
No matter what you try and say about her, there's no denying that everything she ever did was always motivated by an unwavering primal love for her family.
Just because you can't see King Stefan's horns don't make the mistake of thinking that he isn't a devil.
The man mutilated Maleficent and yet she was still able to find it in her heart to love his daughter. She's no villain — she's a hero.
