The Villainess Turns the Hourglassis a popular villainess revenge manhwa that follows the protagonist Aria Roscente, after she is nearly executed for her bullying of her sister Mielle Roscente. It is revealed in the moments before her death that Mielle planned her sister’s demise, and set Aria up to be the villain by antagonizing and manipulating her. As the axe swings down, Aria wishes for a chance to come back and do her life over again, and is granted it.Aria decides to use this chance to exact revenge, with the focus of causing Mielle to meet the same fate she almost did.
In the initial build-up of Aria Roscente’s character,the flavor of selfishness and hint of cruelty that wafts around her is novel and almost refreshing for the genre. It has that righteous shield of unjust persecution to protect it, and feels in a way like a deserved revenge. Had it been given to the story’s antagonist, or led to any true growth throughout the story, it might have resulted inyet another unique and refreshingly dynamic villainess. However, as the story progresses,Aria’s cruelty towards others and single-minded selfishness don’t seem to fade, and the beauty of her continued success sours.
The Villainess Turns the HourglassWasted the Most Compelling Premise
The Protagonist’s Victories Feel Too Easy To Be Compelling
Though the story attempts to frame Aria as an underdog, and a commoner struggling to survive among nobility, it largely undermines its own effort by keeping the stakes low, with the primary antagonist Mielle being naive and childish in her efforts. It makes Aria’s victories feel too easy and unearned to be compelling. The manhwa even later reveals that Aria was of noble birth all along,conflicting with one of the core themes of the storythat had been built until that point. It ends up reinforcing classism by implying the source of Aria’s success and acknowledgment is her noble birth after all.
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Furthermore, whilethe story attempts to frame Aria as a victim, it also blatantly acknowledges that she did the things she was accused of in her past life of her own will. She may have been poked and prodded at to instigate her behavior, but she still succumbed and was cruel to her sister, and at one point offhandedly remembers sheripped out her maid’s tonguein her previous life. It is odd that she is repeatedly framed as a victim, and her crusade to do the same to Mielle is framed as righteous instead of hypocritical.
In this life, she is similarly selfish but decides to be manipulative herself, cheerily taking advantage of the affection of everyone around her instead of being outwardly abusive. She even convinces herself the affection she grows for her mentor Sarah Loren (perhaps the only genuinely good person in the story) is a result of how easy she is to take advantage of. More than once,Aria quips it would be “an insult to god” not to take advantage of otherswith the opportunity she’s been given, without ever investigating that thought.
Poor Development of the Main Character Undermined the Story
There could have been something of substance here, had the right plot paths been taken. In a genre that hasbecome known for its subversiveness, this eventually fell flat.The Villainess Turns The Hourglasscould have shown how the class system itself turns Aria into a true villain and genuinely framed her as such instead of glorifying it, or allowed her to grow past her selfish obsession with revenge and attempt empathy for the people around her. Instead,Aria continues to rack up easy victories,and be rewarded for viewing everyone around her as a tool.
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A resolution between Aria and Mielle felt like it was just one alternate universe away with Mielle’s last thoughts of regret and the revealed schemes of the people supporting her. Mielle is revealed to be the victim of manipulation herself, but this too is never developed into anything meaningful. Even small details like Aria’s growing affection for her mentor Sarahcould have led to a more genuine internal confrontation for Aria, but instead she never investigates her cruel framing of the people who support her. She works hard to become more adept at high society but is entirely lacking in emotional and moral growth.
It feels disappointing that the author left chances like these on the table, and makes an otherwise engaging story an experience of slow descent into distaste.It’s difficult to root for Aria when she seems to be purely coasting on wish fulfillment, and she never truly reckons with her abuse of others. Neither is it easy to revel in the continued degradation of Mielle the way Aria herself seems to. The opportunities to create yet another nuanced, interestingly developed villainess withinThe Villainess Turns the Hourglasswere plentiful, but sadly, often ignored.
