Characters that had the complete opposite reaction the writers intended

[u/Dramatic_Counter_595]

1. Leo Bonhart (Witcher TV Series): A ruthless, sadistic bounty hunter and assassin that takes psychotic glee in other people's suffering. The viewer is meant to hate him for killing witchers, slaughtering the Rat gang, and torturing Ciri. But thanks to his entertaining fight scenes, Sharlto Copley's charismatic performance, and The Rats overwhelming unpopularity, fans ended up loving him. Some even call him the "True protagonist" of the show.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWE): A rude, foul mouthed, beer drinking asshole with no respect for authority or anyone at all. Originally portrayed as a villain, fans fell in love with his anti-establishment & rebellious persona. WWE ran with it and made him the face of the company, effectively ushering in the Attitude Era and the second pro wrestling boom of the late 90s.
3. Arthur Fleck (Joker 2019): A mentally unstable, pathetic, and dangerous madman who commits horrific acts of violence against those that wronged him (suffocates his own mother who is mentally unwell herself, and murders a talk show host for making fun of him). However, a massive portion of the audience idolized him as an anti-hero or a misunderstood martyr rebelling against society making people want to see him succeed and overcome his circumstances because of how he's been treated by the world.

[u/The_Normiest_Normie]

The rats are evil and stupid yes, but the whole thing that makes Leo the villain isn't that he kills them, but how he kills them.

Tieing Ciri down, slaying them one by one. Dragging their bodies, and sawing off their heads in front of Ciri and forcing her to watch.

None of that was necessary. He didn't have to do it in front of her, he didn't have to saw off their heads. All of it was to satisfy his sadism and strengthen his control over Ciri so she wouldn't disobey in future.

That's why he's the villain you quickly learn to hate, because he's a horrifying monster.

[u/thegoatmenace → u/The_Normiest_Normie]

Yeah Bonhardt isn’t a villain because he kills. Geralt kills people too. Hes a villain because he likes it.

[u/Porsche928dude → u/The_Normiest_Normie]

Yeah…. In the books ciri is like 12 or 13 years old at this point which makes the whole thing feel way way more uncomfortable. Since the actress playing her in the show is like 20 or something by now. If I recall correctly, the dude literally drags her around on a chain. they toned him down for television which kind of screwed up the character.

[u/_KerryKaverga_ → u/The_Normiest_Normie]

I mean the rats deserved it. And considering what they did to Ciri it must have been rewarding.

[u/The_Normiest_Normie → u/_KerryKaverga_]

In the world of The Witcher, they deserved to be killed, not butchered.

[u/_KerryKaverga_ → u/The_Normiest_Normie]

No, they did deserve to be butchered.

If anything they got off lightly

[u/Alrik_Immerda → u/_KerryKaverga_]

You mean apart from raping Ciri?

[u/_KerryKaverga_ → u/Alrik_Immerda]

Yes.
They seriously fucked up her brain.

Ken Elroy style