I’ve decided to start my own mini series of blogs devoted to villains I come across in the media that are very well written and are more than just your run-of-the-mill “evil antagonist.” To kick the series off, I want to look at a villain that I have mentioned in my blog on Night Vale: Kevin.
Kevin (no last name given) is a character in the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. Because we can only ever hear his voice, there is no canon appearance for Kevin. He is only said to have “black eyes and an unsettling smile.” Most people in the fandom have agreed that this is what Kevin looks like:
As I mentioned in my Night Vale post, Desert Bluffs is the counterpart town to Night Vale, but the main difference is that Bluffs has been taken over by an evil corporation called Strex Corp that has turned the residents of Night Vale into violent employees that are always smiling and spreading the word about the corporation and the “smiling god” the company is ruled by.
When we first are inroduced to Kevin, it is during a sandstorm that opened portals that made a direct link between Night Vale and Desert Bluffs, allowing the residents of the town to go through and meet their doubles.
Cecil goes through the portal and comes back, telling us in a panicked voice that he encountered his double, who tried to strangle him. But when we are told the story again from Kevin, we are given a much different description on the encounter: he tells us in a calm voice that he gave Cecil a hug.
Now, this immediately begins to raise questions on who is telling the truth. Our immediate reaction is to trust Cecil, since he has been around the longest and we trust him more, and since we know that Desert Bluffs is home to violent people, we can safely assume that the “hug” Kevin referenced was, in fact, a hug around the neck.
Later in the series, Strex comes to Night Vale and begins to buy out all of the businesses in the town. Kevin takes over Cecil’s job as the Night Vale radio host. Thankfully, Cecil is successful in leading a revolution against Kevin and those loyal to Strex, sending them back to their horror-filled town.
We also find out in this episode that Kevin was once like Cecil. He was againt the ways of Strex Corp, and he was opposed to their violent ways. But, when they came after his radio station, unlike Cecil, Kevin was unsuccessful in his rebellion. He was brainwashed by Strex, turning him into the person we know him as now.
This gives us insight into Kevin’s character: he really wanted to do the right thing, and tried his best to fight for his beliefs. Unfortunately, he was not successful, thus turning him into a violent person who is forced to smile all the time.
In another episode, we are able to listen to Cecil talk to a Kevin from the future. He tells Cecil that he was truly sorry that he wasn’t able to keep Strex from taking over the Bluffs, and wished that Cecil could have known him before he had been brainwashed.
This gives us yet another insight to Kevin’s character: he is still aware that what he is doing is wrong, but because he is under the thumb of Strex, there is nothing he can do about it.
When I first listened to this episode, I felt sorry for Kevin. He never wanted to be a part of Strex, but he was forced into it against his will. Even though his actions are terrible, they are now beyond his control, and even though he desperately wants to, he is physically unable to do the right thing. He only wishes to be out from the under the thumb of Strex, yet he is never able to be truly free.
