Yahoo News 8 TV characters who flipped between good and evil
While soap characters' personalities often flip between good and evil – if we had a pound for every time Phil Mitchell went from nice guy to complete thug, we'd be rich enough to buy the Queen Vic – it's much more shocking when an established character in a drama series suddenly goes from good to bad... or vice versa. Or indeed both: here are eight of the most memorable personality transformations.
1. Angel – Buffy The Vampire Slayer
For fans of Buffy, vampire-with-a-soul Angel's turn to the dark side wasn't just a shock, it was a stake to the heart. In season two's 'Surprise', Buffy and Angel finally have sex, only for Angel to wake up in the middle of the night in anguish – the moment of true happiness he shared with Buffy lifted the curse that gave him a soul.
Yes kids, sex doesn't only mean STIs and unwanted pregnancies, you could end up with a vengeful vampire on your hands.
While David Boreanaz was always terrific as "good" Angel, he was even better as the truly nasty, vicious Angelus, whose mission to end the world led to one of Buffy's most memorable moments – killing her lover to save everyone, just as he regains his soul – in the season finale 'Becoming'.
Though of course he returned as a good guy, who was possessed by evil, which he rejected, becoming good again and getting his own spin-off series. In which he briefly turned evil a couple of times.
2. Willow – also Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Another Buffy flip-flopper! Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) may have seemed sweet and meek in the first few seasons of Buffy, but we all knew there was an inner baddie just itching to get out.
First, we met a wicked Willow from an alternate universe – a leather-clad bisexual vampire, no less – but the most jaw-dropping transformation came when, after the death of her ex-girlfriend Tara, she embraced dark magic to torture and gruesomely flay the man responsible, Warren.
She was eventually talked down by oldest friend Xander: "The first day of kindergarten, you cried because you broke the yellow crayon and you were afraid to tell anyone, " he reminded her. "I love crayon-breaky Willow, and I love scary, veiny Willow. So if I am going out, it's here. If you want to kill the world, then start with me."
Crayon-breaky Willow prevailed.
3. Zack Addy – Bones
Back in the very early days of crime show Bones, anthropologist Temperance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) was aided by brilliant young graduate student Zack (Eric Millegan), a sweet man who was as socially awkward as his boss.
So it was a jaw-dropping moment when we discovered that for most of the third season Zack had secretly been the apprentice of cannibalistic serial killer Gormogon – even, it seemed, going so far as to stab a man to death for his master (though Zack later revealed he only chose the victim but did not actually kill him).
Sent to a mental institution for the murder, Zack returned in 2017 for the series finale, when new evidence of his innocence in the Gormogon killing revealed he would be a free man within a year. So he's… good again?
4. Regina – Once Upon A Time
At the start of OUAT in 2011 there wasn't much to like about mayor Regina Mills (Lana Parrilla) – aka the Evil Queen who had cursed everyone in the first place. She strutted around Storybrooke in killer heels, literally crushing hearts (including Sheriff Humbert's, played by a pre-Fifty Shades Jamie Dornan) and punishing anyone who got in her way.
But as the show progressed Regina found her inner goodness thanks to the love of son Henry, and even managed to separate from her evil inner self – although this created a whole new set of problems when reformed Regina and a vengeful Evil Queen both ended up inhabiting Storybrooke at the same time.
5. Walter White – Breaking Bad
It took a diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer to put meek chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) on the road to villainy, but manufacturing crystal meth, donning a black hat and calling himself Heisenberg was just the start.
He watched Jesse's girlfriend overdose without trying to save her, almost murdered a child by poisoning, blew up his rival, blackmailed his brother-in-law Hank, and betrayed Jesse. No wonder series creator Vince Gilligan described the character's arc as "turning Mr Chips into Scarface".
Of course, as fans of the show know, Walter does (sort of) redeem himself at the very end by saving Jesse – which was really the least he could do after all he put the poor guy through over five seasons.
6. Theon Greyjoy – Game Of Thrones
He's been bad (betraying the Starks), good (passing off two farm boys' bodies as Bran and Rickon Stark so everyone thinks they are dead), bad (killing said farm boys), and – after some extremely gruesome torture at the hands of Ramsay Bolton – broken and insane.
But castrated Theon's nicer side finally came to the surface once more when he helped Sansa escape from Ramsay's slimy clutches (although – oops – he did toss Myranda off a walkway while doing so).
Last seen alongside sister Yara and Daenerys Targaryen, only time will tell whether Theon can remain on the side of good (and which side was that again?).
7. Shane – The Walking Dead
Deputy sheriff Shane (Jon Bernthal) seemed such a nice guy when we first met him – concerned about best pal Rick, who was lying comatose in hospital, even going so far as to protect Rick's wife Lori and son when the walkers came.
And who could blame him for having an 'affair' with Lori when they both assumed Rick was dead?
We can, however, blame him for later trying to force himself on her after Rick showed up, for contemplating shooting Rick in the back, for shooting Otis and leaving him to be eaten by walkers, and for luring Rick out into the woods with the intention of killing him. That didn't work out too well for Shane though, did it?
8. Stefan – The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries seemed so simple in the beginning – there's nice vampire Stefan and his selfish, evil brother Damon, and both of them are in love with Mystic Falls gal Elena.
Over eight seasons, it got far more complicated as Damon turned out not to be so nasty after all, and Elena couldn't make up her mind which brother she fancied.
But the biggest shock was softy Stefan's transformation into Ripper, a vicious vampire with no conscience, a rather overactive bloodlust and a far more interesting personality than the regular Stefan.
Actor Paul Wesley even admitted he much preferred being on the dark side. Well, who wouldn't?
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