A few of TV’s most unforgettable characters are those who know how you can manipulate these round them.
Whether or not by means of attraction, deception, or psychological video games, they pull the strings and keep a step forward, making everybody else dance to their tune.
These characters blur the road between hero and villain, creating their very own actuality and bending others to their will.
Manipulation isn’t only a tactic; it’s their weapon and what makes them so compelling.
Their skill to deceive, management, and outwit retains us hooked — irrespective of how twisted their strategies could also be.
Listed below are 19 TV characters we expect are true masters of manipulation.
Logan Roy — Succession
Logan Roy from Succession is the epitome of company manipulation. He makes use of his ruthless techniques to manage his household and media empire.
Each dialog and each resolution is a calculated transfer to keep up his energy, even when it means taking part in his kids towards one another.
Logan’s skill to govern allies and enemies with a mixture of concern, attraction, and sheer pressure of will makes him a formidable participant in enterprise and household drama.
His chilly, calculating nature leaves everybody round him questioning their very own loyalties — particularly when survival is at stake.
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Livia Soprano — The Sopranos
Livia Soprano from The Sopranos is a grasp of emotional manipulation, utilizing guilt, passive-aggressive habits, and crafty to manage these round her.
Because the matriarch of the Soprano household, she manipulates her son, Tony, and the remainder of her household with ease, usually sowing chaos to keep up energy.
Livia’s skill to twist conditions and play on others’ weaknesses makes her a formidable pressure in a world of crime and household drama.
Her manipulations are refined however run deep, leaving an enduring influence on everybody she encounters.
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Nandor — What We Do within the Shadows
Nandor the Relentless from What We Do within the Shadows is probably not the sharpest manipulator, however his historical vampire attraction and outdated sense of authority make him a surprisingly efficient schemer.
Because the chief of his vampire family, Nandor makes an attempt to command respect, although his manipulations usually fall quick resulting from his cluelessness and ego.
Regardless of his incompetence, Nandor’s overconfidence and makes an attempt to manage these round him — particularly his fellow vampires — present that he can nonetheless be a grasp manipulator in his personal delightfully awkward means.
His mishandling of energy usually results in hilarious penalties, however it’s all the time rooted in his want for management.
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Wendy Byrde — Ozark
Wendy Byrde is the queen of manipulation. She takes a relaxed, calculated strategy to navigating the felony world and household dynamics.
From managing the cartel’s operations to controlling her household’s future, Wendy expertly pulls the strings to get what she desires — usually at any value.
Whereas her husband, Marty, focuses on numbers, Wendy makes use of her sharp thoughts and persuasive abilities to govern everybody from ruthless criminals to native politicians.
Her skill to stay composed in high-pressure conditions and make ruthless choices makes her one of the highly effective characters in Ozark.
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Oswald Cobb — The Penguin
Oswald Cobb, a.ok.a. The Penguin, is a grasp of manipulation within the felony underworld of Gotham.
With a pointy thoughts and a twisted attraction, he manipulates allies and enemies to climb his solution to energy whereas hiding his true intentions behind a sophisticated exterior.
Whether or not he’s taking part in factions towards one another or leveraging his affect through intimidation, Oswald’s crafty is aware of no bounds.
Each transfer he makes is calculated to make sure his rise, proving that manipulation is the important thing to survival and success in Gotham’s underworld.
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Garak — Star Trek: Deep House 9
Garak is a grasp of manipulation, mixing attraction, thriller, and political intrigue in his pursuit of energy.
As a former Cardassian operative turned shopkeeper, he’s an skilled at taking part in either side, utilizing his wit and persuasive abilities to govern these round him.
Whether or not weaving complicated lies, creating elaborate schemes, or subtly influencing others together with his calculated phrases, Garak retains everybody guessing about his true motives.
His manipulative talents are sometimes shrouded in ambiguity, making him one in all Deep House 9’s most fascinating and unpredictable characters.
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Vic Mackey — The Defend
Vic Mackey from The Defend is the epitome of a morally complicated manipulator. Because the chief of the Strike Group, he makes use of his energy and affect to navigate the superb line between regulation enforcement and criminality.
Vic is a grasp of manipulation. He usually makes use of his place to use the system for his personal acquire whereas preserving his staff beneath his management.
He’s expert at bending the reality, making offers, and pulling strings behind the scenes whereas sustaining his picture as a hero.
His manipulative nature isn’t nearly survival — it’s about guaranteeing his dominance, irrespective of the price.
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Cersei Lannister — Sport of Thrones
Cersei Lannister’s manipulation is as lethal because the poison she’s prepared to make use of to safe her household’s energy.
From orchestrating political alliances to plotting the demise of her enemies, Cersei’s skill to manage and deceive is aware of no limits.
She makes use of her magnificence, wit, and unyielding ambition to outmaneuver everybody round her, making her one of the harmful gamers on the Sport of Thrones.
Her manipulation isn’t nearly gaining energy; it’s about preserving it,
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Frank Harkness — Gradual Horses
Frank Harkness from Gradual Horses is a grasp manipulator of the best diploma. A former CIA operative turned mercenary, he has a twisted imaginative and prescient of loyalty and energy.
His strategies are brutal, together with impregnating girls to type his personal personal military of assassins often called the deniable assassination squad.
Harkness thrives on secrecy, working from the shadows whereas pulling the strings of worldwide politics, utilizing his lethal connections and skillset to play everybody in his path.
A real grasp of bending others to his will, he’ll cease at nothing to keep up management — even when it means manipulating his circle of relatives and former colleagues.
With chilling calmness, Harkness retains his true intentions hidden, all the time staying one step forward within the harmful sport he’s taking part in.
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Monroe Fuches — Barry
Monroe Fuches is the final word manipulator, taking part in each mentor and villain in Barry.
As the person who pulled Barry into the world of crime, Fuches always manipulates the hitman-turned-actor, utilizing guilt, threats, and refined persuasion to manage him.
Although he claims to care about Barry, Fuches’s true motivations are pushed by his personal self-interest, making him one of many present’s most complicated manipulators.
His skill to weave webs of deceit and guilt retains Barry tethered to his previous, making Fuches a continuing pressure in his life — whether or not Barry likes it or not.
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Serena Pleasure — The Handmaid’s Story
Serena Pleasure’s manipulation is a quiet however highly effective pressure within the dystopian world of Gilead on The Handmaid’s Story.
As one of many regime’s most influential figures, she makes use of her intelligence and crafty to maneuver inside a patriarchal society, usually manipulating these round her to keep up her place.
Beneath her composed exterior, Serena is a grasp of emotional manipulation, particularly along with her function as a spouse to a Commander and her relationship with the Handmaids.
Her drive to guard her place in Gilead leads her to make calculated choices, manipulating these closest to her to realize her personal objectives — irrespective of the price.
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Frank Underwood — Home of Playing cards
Frank Underwood from the Home of Playing cards is the definition of political manipulation.
With a relaxed demeanor and an iron will, Frank navigates the treacherous waters of Washington, pulling the strings behind closed doorways to climb the political ladder.
He makes use of attraction, deceit, and betrayal to eradicate anybody standing in his means, all whereas making viewers imagine they’re in on the plan.
Frank’s skill to govern each allies and enemies- usually with devastating results- makes him one of the compelling and terrifying characters ever to grace the display screen.
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Don Draper — Mad Males
Don Draper from Mad Males is a grasp of manipulation, utilizing attraction and calculated deception to form not solely promoting campaigns however the lives of these round him.
As a prime advert man within the Sixties, Don’s skill to craft persuasive narratives made him a pressure to be reckoned with, whether or not he was promoting merchandise or his personal fastidiously constructed persona.
Behind the polished exterior lies a person who manipulates his id, relationships, and even his feelings to maintain management of his world.
Don’s manipulation isn’t simply skilled; it’s deeply private, making him each magnetic and deeply flawed.
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Shiv Roy — Succession
Shiv Roy from Succession is a talented manipulator who expertly navigates the cutthroat world of media moguls and household dynamics.
Along with her political acumen and sharp instincts, she is aware of precisely how you can play each her household and her enterprise rivals towards each other.
Shiv makes use of her intelligence, attraction, and ambition to climb the company ladder, all whereas preserving her true intentions hidden.
Whether or not she’s making strategic alliances or betraying her personal blood, Shiv’s manipulations are all the time calculated, positioning her to someday take the throne — if she will outwit everybody, together with her circle of relatives.
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Crimson John — The Mentalist
Crimson John is a felony mastermind whose manipulation is aware of no bounds.
Because the elusive serial killer on the middle of The Mentalist, he makes use of psychological video games, attraction, and concern to manage his victims and keep one step forward of the regulation.
His skill to govern each his followers and the detectives looking him is chilling, and he stays a thriller for a lot of the sequence — till his surprising reveal.
Crimson John doesn’t simply kill; he twists minds, vegetation doubt, and performs together with his adversaries’ feelings, making him a harmful, calculating pressure who thrives on management and deception.
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Jan Bellows — Solely Murders within the Constructing
Jan Bellows from Solely Murders within the Constructing is a grasp of manipulation. She expertly weaves lies to guard her fragile ego and conceal her darkest actions.
What begins as a seemingly candy, quirky musician rapidly unravels right into a harmful, obsessive particular person pushed by jealousy and a must all the time be first.
Her manipulative tendencies are deep-rooted in childhood wounds and an insatiable need for management.
Whether or not she’s charming Charles, plotting Tim’s homicide out of petty jealousy, or hiding behind the facade of innocence, Jan’s psychological video games hold everybody guessing.
Beneath her calm exterior lies a girl prepared to go to any size — irrespective of how excessive — to keep up management over these round her.
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Chuck Bass — Gossip Lady
Chuck Bass from Gossip Lady is the final word schemer, utilizing wealth, attraction, and sharp wit to govern everybody in his orbit.
Chuck makes use of his energy and standing to manage the individuals round him, particularly relating to love and household, whether or not within the enterprise world or his tangled relationships.
He is aware of precisely how you can play the sport, twisting conditions to his benefit and preserving his true emotions hidden behind layers of vanity and bravado.
With Chuck, manipulation isn’t nearly getting what he desires — it’s about guaranteeing he all the time stays one step forward.
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Kevin “Kilgrave” Thompson — Jessica Jones
Kevin “Kilgrave” Thompson is the embodiment of terrifying manipulation, with the flexibility to manage anybody with a single command.
His energy to bend individuals to his will makes him one of the harmful characters within the Jessica Jones universe.
Kilgrave’s attraction is simply as lethal as his powers — he makes use of his manipulative talents to govern and torture his victims, all the time discovering new methods to torment Jessica and people round her.
His lack of empathy and complete disregard for others solely improve his skill to govern, making him a real grasp of psychological management.
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Wednesday Addams — Wednesday
Wednesday Addams from Wednesday is the queen of quiet manipulation.
Along with her sharp thoughts and stoic demeanor, she makes use of her intelligence and refined charisma to govern these round her, usually in ways in which depart others unaware of her true intentions.
Whether or not she’s navigating the world of Nevermore Academy or fixing darkish mysteries, Wednesday bends individuals to her will with calculated strikes and a whole lack of concern.
Her manipulations are extra mental than emotional, utilizing wit and commentary to remain two steps forward of her rivals — and it’s all the time carried out with that signature deadpan expression.
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Masters of the Sport
These characters have perfected the artwork of manipulation, whether or not in politics, crime, or household drama. They use attraction, deception, and intelligence to manage their world — and everybody in it.
From energy performs in boardrooms to quiet psychological warfare, their manipulative strikes hold us hooked, making us each admire and concern them.
The very best half? They make us query whether or not we’d be their pawn or their associate.
Over to you, TV Fanatics! Which TV manipulator do you assume reigns supreme? Drop your ideas within the feedback beneath — let’s focus on who performed the sport the very best!
