User blog comment:King Flurry51/Mal and Scarlett:analyzis of their values and vices as villains/@comment-24152851-20140821011232

That's precisely how I feel about Mal and Scarlett. They're evil for the sake of evil, and don't care for the prize money. That's what sets them aside, and its intentional, not solely because the writers were too dumb to give Mal any strategy. Mal is a characteristic sociopath like the Joker, who thrives on chaos and presenting any opportunity that presents itself.

Having said that, Mal is far from being a flawless character. He really should not have spent the first 5 episodes breaking things. It would also be nice if he wasn't impulsive to the level that he tries to club people as soon as he's given the chance, and that he didn't dumb everyone down. He seriously had things far too easy.

As I always say, I liked the characterization behind Mal, but he still wasn't executed well. Even for a chaotic sociopath, he still has many problems with his character. No one had any problem with the Joker being chaotic, but Mal shattered the fan base.