MovieChat Forums > Ghostbusters II (1989) Discussion > Was Janosz a Victim, or a Villain?

Was Janosz a Victim, or a Villain?


I rewatched this the other day, and I remember thinking that Janosz had a very similar arc as Louis Tully in the first film. He was a villain for awhile, but only while under the supernatural influence of an evil ghost entity. Then at the end of the movie, he was back to his old self, and treated as a victim.

The only difference is that Tully was a completely different person while he was possessed or enchanted. Janosz seemed to still be himself for the most part, and he even bargained with the evil Vigo, arranging a deal where he would deliver the baby, Oscar, in exchange for Dana, with whom he was clearly infatuated even before he fell under Vigo's supernatural influence.

So in the end, would you consider Janosz a victim of evil, like Louis was, or a willing participant/villain?

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I'd consider him a victim. He was being controlled by Vigo.

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Even when he was bargaining with Vigo? How do you bargain with someone who is controlling you? Why would they allow you to?

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Vigo made him give into his worst emotions.

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It wasn't so much bargaining as it was begging for permission. And Viggo approved it part because he figured it would be to his benefit if Janos was there to keep an eye on Dana.

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Yeah but if Viggo was actually in control of Janosz, then why would he have to approve anything? Why not just make Janosz do whatever he wanted him to do, to Viggo's benefit?

Louis Tully was a victim, as was Dana Barrett, because they were completely controlled by a supernatural evil. When they were briefly "villains," they had absolutely no sense of their real selves anymore. Neither of them ever begged Gozer for anything in exchange for becoming the Keymaster, or the Gatekeeper.

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I always saw him as a villain, he was a loser and the arrival of Vigo was an opportunity he exploited.

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I agree, and it always bothered me that he was treated as a victim in the end, just like Tully was in the original.

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