Just a thought. Thanks for the thoughtful article!

I would disagree a bit. Lecter does indeed have an STC! moment, when, in his first encounter with Clarice, Miggs abuses her by throwing semen in her face. Lecter is outraged – and from that moment on, assumes a role of patient paternity in Clarice’s life.

Norman Bates is a character chock full of STC! moments. A nice, handsome young man, trapped in an isolated, seedy motel with nothing but a demanding and half-mad mother to take care of. It’s fascinating that, after Norman discovers the first murder, we (the audience) become conspirators with him. We want him to be able to get rid of the evidence; as the car sinks, and then stops, we gasp… and wait for it to continue to sink to the depths of the swamp.

Vader can have a psychological STC! in regard to his mask. We know he was once human; we know that something terrible happened to make him “this” way. And so, while we may not feel sorry for him, we are fascinated by him, and that fascination can even reveal itself as moments of empathy. In Episode IV (our first full introduction to him) he is being ridiculed as an antiquity; a servant to that “old religion” – this moment of ridicule can stir up a very deep seated response in the viewer. We don’t cheer from him, we know he is a Bad Man, and yet, he’s not a stereotype. We’re pretty ready to go along with him all the way.

Voldemort is a little different in that we do eventually discover his past; we learn about Tom and the challenges that he faces – and so, while at first, Voledemort is little more than this shapeless evil “thing”, he does eventually, become a fully-dimensional character.

I’d say that the above examples are all classic villains. An STC moment does not mean that we have to like the character (though for the protag it can help); what it does mean is that there needs to be some action – or situation – that challenges us into empathizing or having a deeper understanding of their character. We’re fascinated by them, and their Juno-esque duality, for the villian represents the dark that resides within us all, as the protagonist represents the heroic light within. The two faces of woman/man, present in every great story!