Always Rootin' for The Bad Guy To Win

I am getting caught up on Justified and Sons of Anarchy and I ask myself, "Why do I always root for the bad guy to win?" I am not sure what that says about my personality. I have to admit, unlike most, I am still one season behind on SOA. That's the trouble with watching it on Netflix. I started it a year ago, I guess. I have been able to watch all 5 seasons, but now I have to wait for the 6th. Anyone's best guess is August of this year. I can wait, but that means I have to avoid any and all spoilers from the season that aired all ready. It's not impossible, but I have to say my eyes have seen a few things, they wish they hadn't. But, once you catch a glimpse it's hard to look away.

So let's return to the bad guy. Let's take SOA. I am so tired of Jax and his momma, and his babies momma (if I am really laying it out for you). I am sure I am not the only one. Lately I find myself feeling for Clay. Now like I said I have read a few spoilers, so I am not naive about Clay Morrow's outcome, but I have to say every episode I wish for him to catch the last train to Clarksville, and get the f**k out of Charming. Season 5 ended with him on the transport to the prison, charged with a murder, he didn't commit. If you don't watch, you are probably thinking how wrong that sounds, but if you know he got away with a murder he kinda did help commit, then you don't feel so bad about these trumped-up charges. I think Ron Perlman does a great job of making you feel sorry for him, even like him a little, even after all of the terrible things he's done. Clay Morrow let his love for the club control him, and as we root for him to survive, we see the same thing happening to his step-son Jackson Teller. I wonder if I will be rooting for Jax when the show ends.

Then there is my other fav, Justified. I know I am suppose to drool at the site of Raylan Givens, but lately I just want to take that smug look and wipe it off his face. He is very proud of himself, most times. Now the most recent episodes I watched, I did see a little bit of regret. It was interesting that he turned to his boss and finally told him he was on the tarmac when Theo Tonin's guy Nicky Augustine was killed. Raylan has his hands in a lot of things, and he likes to go it alone, but when he told Art Mullen the truth you felt he really cared about someone other then himself.  He wanted to make sure the air stayed clear between him and a man who wasn't just his boss, but his friend. That friend, didn't take the news very well. Art gave Raylan a big punch to the jaw. It's unclear where we go from here, but I will tell Raylan is a law man that thinks he is above the law, and lately that puts him in the same group as the criminals. Maybe him and my favorite bad guy Boyd could go on the road together.

Boyd is the one I root for in this FX adventure. To see him work to get Ava out of prison, just to see the tables turn to keep her behind bars. Not only did they turn, but she got transferred out of his reach. Boyd worked to keep her protected and that backfired. Oh Boyd was not happy, and as he forged friendships with enemies to even the score. The Crowe brothers got the job done.

We are seeing a little darker side of Boyd this season, but when he sits with Ava and tells her how he feels, he returns to the man everyone wants to see succeed. Even with all the bad deeds under his belt, you can't help but hope Boyd and Ava end up in the big house with the white picket fence, living the life they say they are working so hard to achieve. I say let the bad guy win, because the good guys need to learn a thing or two.

A few shows I have watched lately do a very good job at making you feel for both the good guy at times, and then the bad. It reminds me of my days with Breaking Bad. In that show the good guy was the bad guy, who hung out with the bad guy who was then the good guy. Sounds confusing, but amazingly it wasn't. It was written so well, you couldn't help but want both guys to ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after.

I should root for the guy who does everything right, but in Sons and Justified, the good guys are  pretty full of themselves, and that is not a quality I am very fond of. So that must be the reason I root for the other guy to win. Now this isn't always the case, take The Following on Fox. I definitely root for Good Guy Kevin Bacon to win in that scenario. In most of my crime shows (CSI, Major Crimes, Castle) I also root for the good guys. When you take a close look at these types of shows that is the way they are designed. I also think it funny that the good guys win over and over again and I keep watching as if something different is going to happen. That may be another reason I root for the bad guy in some other shows. It's something different.

I have a feeling I am not the only one rooting for the bad guy, and after writing this I realize I am probably playing right into the writers hands.  I know I will probably be disappointed in the end. I mean the bad guy never wins, right? That's ok, the most important thing is I am enjoying the ride and with Sons of Anarchy and Justified, there is never a dull moment.
#SOA&JUSTIFIEDtwoshowswithgreatbadguys