Over the years, there have been countless villains for the heroes to face on the ABC series. Once upon a timebut none more evil than the wickedly cruel Cruella de Vil (Victoria Smurfit). Yes, characters like Once upon a timeThe Evil Queen got undeserved redemption arcs despite casting curses to cause devastation to an entire population. There are villains like Mr. Hyde (Sam Witwer), who makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) for the deed to Storybrooke so that it will be easier for him to torment his enemies. However, none of them are as bad as Cruella de Vil.
There are many reasons why Cruella is the most evil character in Once upon a timefrom his terrible acts to his troubled history. What makes Cruella stand out from the other villains in the series is the fact that she is totally evil, completely. Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold has always said that evil is not born, it is made, but it is obvious that Cruella is the only exception. Throughout her life, Cruella never tried to follow the path of good, rejoicing in all evil things.
Cruella De Vil is the most evil character in Once Upon a Time
Cruella was pure evil, with no hope of redemption
In terms of committing evil acts, Cruella isn’t in the same league as other villains like Regina (Lana Parilla), Rumpelstiltskin, or Cora (Barbara Hershey) – but she can’t be blamed for not trying. Cruella doesn’t have magic like the other villains; his only power is to control and manipulate animals. If she had access to the full catalog of power and magic, Cruella would have been unstoppable and probably the hardest villain to defeat. Just consider Cruella’s strategy in the Season 4 episode “Sympathy for the De Vil” as proof.
Cruella is ready to kidnap and threaten to murder a child to get what she wants, stopping at nothing to get her happy ending. None of Cruella’s family is around to temper her, and she doesn’t really have any friends. She was completely a loose cannon and that made her more dangerous than any other villain that appeared in the series. Even in death, when she appears in the Underworld in the fifth season of the series, she still tries to take revenge and manipulate the heroes.
Cruella’s story sets her apart from all the other villains in OUAT
Most of OUAT’s villains have a backstory to make the audience feel sorry for them
However, it’s Cruella’s story that makes her stand out and proves that she is more evil than any other character in the series. Her episode shows that as a child she murdered her own father, poisoning him with a toxic flower. She also killed her mother’s two later husbands. When the Author gives her the power to control animals, she causes her mother’s dogs to abuse her to death. She even says she never tried to be good because it was boring.
Typically, villains have a tragic backstory, with something to make the audience understand them on a deeper level and why they are doing bad things. Cruella Once upon a time the backstory was the first to go against this, illustrating it as pure evil without hope of redemption. If she had been given unlimited power and if Isaac (Patrick Fischler) hadn’t taken away her ability to kill, Cruella de Vil would have been able to wreak untold havoc on the cast of Once upon a time.