Foil

Character Role Analysis

Mills and Doe

Sometimes, the protagonist and the antagonist are polar opposites (like a beautiful little mermaid and a horrible sea witch), but sometimes, they are disturbingly similar, as in the curious case of Detective Mills and John Doe.

Both of these guys want to save the world. Mills thinks he can change things for the better by catching criminals. John Doe, as twisted as his logic is, thinks he, too, can change the world for the better … but he does it by becoming a criminal. We're not sure if either of these men can succeed because, as Somerset believes, we should pretty much abandon all hope.