# Novels, long form TV series, and movies where reader/audience sympathizes with both adversaries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513 "2020-11-13T14:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/21 "2020-11-15T01:01:06Z")
21 Bridges is a decent cop thriller with somewhat grey villains. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/22 "2020-11-15T01:56:37Z")
Funny that you mention this, because it’s actually the movie that inspired the thread. I watched it a few months ago and have been meaning to ask for recommendations ever since. I’d love to see more characters like Lady Eboshi. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/23 "2020-11-15T03:09:10Z")
If you liked _Princess Mononoke_, I’d suggest _The Dragon Prince_, Netflix Original animated series. There are a couple of actual villainous villains, but both sides of the central conflict have legitimate grievances against the other. Even the main villain has some legitimately good reasons for doing what he does. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/24 "2020-11-15T03:38:05Z")
Why is it that “kids’” animated shows have some of the best writing these days? I see that show gets phenomenal reviews on RT. It’s funny because my nephew got me watching the Avatar the Last Airbender series just a few weeks ago and I’ve been binging it. I’m loving the redemption arc of one of the characters, which reminded me of Princess Mononoke, which brought me here. I can’t believe I actually enjoyed the damn Castlevania series also. There’s also a new series called Blood of Zeus on Netflix that is on my list. Those last two could hardly be called “kids” shows though. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/25 "2020-11-15T03:58:36Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > Why is it that “kids’” animated shows have some of the best writing these days? I see that show gets phenomenal reviews on RT. It’s funny because my nephew got me watching the Avatar the Last Airbender series just a few weeks ago and I’ve been binging it. Aaron Ehasz was the head writer and co-executive producer of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ and co-creator and co-head writer of _The Dragon Prince_, so that’s not a coincidence. > [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > I can’t believe I actually enjoyed the damn Castlevania series also. I wanted to like it, but couldn’t quite get into it. It’s written by Warren Ellis, one of my favorite comic book writers, who definitely writes for adults. > [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > There’s also a new series called Blood of Zeus on Netflix that is on my list. I watched the first episode and did not like it at all. Maybe it gets better as the series goes on. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/26 "2020-11-15T07:17:22Z")
_The Wire_ has lots of good examples of this sort of thing - because it goes very deeply into the context of all its main characters it’s very easy to end up sympathising with both sides of a deadly conflict at the same time. D’Angelo Barksdale would be a good example of that, and even stone cold killers like Felicia, for instance, it was easy to hope for a good outcome for them. If you can get hold of it, the 90s British miniseries _GBH_ is also an excellent example. It starts with a conflict in which a blameless school headmaster (played by Michael Palin) is being harassed and tormented by a bullying politician (Robert Lindsay - who really is excellent) for his own sociopathic ends. And then the episodes focus more and more on Lindsay’s character, and things that have been done to him as a child, and you end up feeling more and more sorry for him, as he cycles down to his inevitable doom. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513/27 "2020-11-15T09:08:54Z")
Several of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin novels have various enemies of England portrayed sympathetically. French, Spanish, American, just to name a few, many portrayed as honorable, competent, and as compassionate within the rules of warfare as possible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-long-form-tv-series-and-movies-where-reader-audience-sympathizes-with-both-adversaries/925513.md?page=1)