Dad and I watch old Perry Mason and Columbo in the evenings. We like to watch shows in which the good guy wins. I prefer such story endings before bed. The world dumps enough anxiety and terror during the day. Why not feel the world is righted before dreamtime?

I like how in Perry Mason, you usually don’t know who the murderer is until they break down in the courtroom. Some cry, some run to the doors, and some shout, but the viewers get the joy of either being surprised or having their suspicions confirmed.

In Columbo, the viewers usually knows who the killer is right from the start. (A couple of times the show’s writers do some fancy misdirection, which is why please know that if you don’t see the murder happen, you are being played.) The fun is watching Columbo figure it out, and the killer either gets overconfident or nervous. Either way, they make mistakes and, viola! Busted.

It’s tremendously satisfying.

I heard in some YouTube video or another about how police procedurals, most superhero movies, and other stories in which a law-and-order types saves lives and catches bad guys are stories of maintaining the status quo. Right? Super heroes fight villains. They fight for the system. They don’t fight to upend the system. That’s the villain.

Haven’t you ever thought–the villain has a point? Doesn’t the villain need to have a point to gain followers? Their methods may be abhorrent, but they speak to some unrest in the populace, fairly or not.

I’m working on (slowly) on my novel The Princess Detective. The villain doesn’t have a valid complaint. They have twisted logic. But I want the Princess to learn something from solving the mystery. (Spoiler alert: she’s definitely catching the bad guy.) And afterwards I don’t want her to go back to the world as it has always been.

We’ll see how it goes! (You can follow along on Patreon!)