Anyone else rooting for Sheila?

kikilucy, 6/14/2022, 7:38AM(683 days ago) @AnnieO- one person liked this

I can't help myself - I am firmly Team Sheila. I don't even care what she does at this point, it really doesn't bother me if she shoots people or kidnaps people or switches labels on bottles or anything else she might come up with.

There is just something infinitely more likable to me about a "pure" villain character who is acknowledged as a villain in the writing, than "normal" characters who do a lot of the same things the villain does but suffer none of the consequences and then judge the villain for doing the same things they did.

For me, a key component of character likability is "karma balance". Sheila's karma is balanced because her bad deeds have negative consequences for her - so her bad deeds don't bother me because her "karma debt" is being paid. Every other character hates her. She is in and out of prison all the time. So she's okay.

If a character has a "positive karma imbalance" they also become likable to me (they deserve better than they get). It can be frustrating at times if they are NEVER vindicated, but at least I think of them fondly.

But what really bothers me is when a character has a "karma debt" that is never repaid and never acknowledged in the writing. They commit crimes and the crimes are simply forgotten. They hurt people and are always forgiven. They judge others for doing the same things they themselves are doing. And too many of the current characters have these "unpaid karma debts".

That is why I am rooting for Sheila, one of the few characters who actually "pays her debts" from a narrative point of view.

I can't say I actually "root" for Sheila but she sure does turn this into an entertaining show from an otherwise unentertaining show! Right now, most of the characters are just plain unlikeable and boring IMO. Sheila has the ability to make you actually feel a little bit sorry for her because all she wants is to be included in a family and loved like everyone else. Sure, she has no idea how to really accomplish that so she ends up alienating everyone with her misdeeds and crimes. Too bad some of the other characters on B&B are still held to high esteem even though they have plenty of misdeeds and crimes to go around. Doesn't seem quite fair!

---

chat Reply

Like

reply Share

Share Tweet email Email

bookmark Save

---