Villains that weren't really villains

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

Brian Jacques said the following on numerous occasions and in more than one form.
From the Ask Brian Files:

42. Will you ever have any really good vermin or bad woodlanders in any of your stories?

"No! The goodies are good and the baddies are BAD, no grey areas."

All characters are either heroes or villains. The labled "grays" are beasts who are against their normal species' alignment. That is what I would say.
It does, as a fact, fit with canon, the author and the all the books.
As such, it seems reasonable.

That is what I meant by saying they must be villains.
I hope that made sense.

[daskar666]

Well first of all opinions are subjective, and my interpretation may differ from Brian Jacques.
Most importantly however, Brian also confirmed that he purposefully kept Veil's morality a mystery and open to interpretation.

[rakkety tam]

I've always found those villains who end up living peaceful lives interesting. For example, in the Bellmaker there was the rat named Blaggut who ended up killing his master and building boats and things for the Abbey. He may have started off evil, but he sure ended good.

i love that guy

[daskar666]

I'd say the watervole from Eulalia and Tugga Bruster were gray characters.

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

I'd say the watervole from Eulalia and Tugga Bruster were gray characters.

Agreed. They were gray. Strange though, that watervole never getting a name-interesting characteristic.

[Redwall Musician]

I'd say the watervole from Eulalia and Tugga Bruster were gray characters.

I so thought Trugga Bruster was grey. Well when I read it. I guess I kinda forgot about him. After my friend and I finished the book, we talked about how much we didn't like him.

[Nightfire]

I think Bluefen was really good. Have you ever read Kate Sullivan, A.K.A. Snowfur's short story callen "Swartt's really aweful, rotten no-good day?' At least, it's name it close enough along those lines.

[daskar666]

Dingeye and Thura were definitely not villains.
Ashleg wasn't at least when he left Kotir.
Aggril and Blodd Apis are far from heroes but to call them villains...they don't really strike me as such.

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

Blodd Apis was the bee queen if I'm correct. Going to murder a bunch of Redwallers is pretty bad, that's clearly villainous.

Ashleg is a very interesting character.
I liked him, and Argulor. Ironic, really.
Good thinking on his part to leave.
Throughout the entire book he never truly identified himself as evil or did anything particuarly bad.

[Tiria Wildlough]

Oh yeah! I forgot about Tugga Bruster. Nasty. 

[daskar666]

I thought of Blodd Apis as a hostile-type hermit. The main reasons she wanted to MURDER the characters tho are:
1. They captured and threatened her.
2. They wanted the doomwyte eye.
As for Argulor....at the beginning of the book I regarded him as Mossflower's equivalent of Asmodeus, however that turned out to not be a case. Definitely not a villain (someone who kills characters STRICTLY for food isn't) and obviously not a hero.

[Redwall Musician]

I always thought of Captain Snow as a good guy, and even before he stopped eating mice. I think that killing for food does not make them evil. Does anyone here think Captain Snow was evil?

[Log-a-Log]

I thought of Blodd Apis as a hostile-type hermit. The main reasons she wanted to MURDER the characters tho are:
1. They captured and threatened her.
2. They wanted the doomwyte eye.
As for Argulor....at the beginning of the book I regarded him as Mossflower's equivalent of Asmodeus, however that turned out to not be a case. Definitely not a villain (someone who kills characters STRICTLY for food isn't) and obviously not a hero.

I considered Argulor a good guy because of his hatred against Tsarmina. If he had gotten a good chance to kill her he would have and probably would win the fight

[DanielofRedwall]

What about Queen Dukwina Drampik and the other bloodrippers from Rogue Crew? They were shrews, but still I would consider them grey. Also Crumdun from the same book, he wasn't really evil. I haven't finished that book, BTW.

[Storm]

I think Bluefen was really good. Have you ever read Kate Sullivan, A.K.A. Snowfur's short story callen "Swartt's really aweful, rotten no-good day?' At least, it's name it close enough along those lines.

I loved those things! I also really like the radio things. They were clever, amusing, and fun. I thank Kate Sullivan for giving the world such wickedly fun stories to us.