I still am bitter about the whole plotline surrounding Harlan, and also to a smaller degree the whole confrontation between Allison and Viktor, so I guess I will postpone watching the rest of the season until I feel ready to continue.
I was pretty intrigued when it first was confirmed Allison would become darker this season, but right now, I can't quite bring myself to really sympathize with her character despite everything. At first, I did really like the direction her character took, but then the Harlan Plot happened and just... yeah, I disliked that. A lot.
But I already saw some posts discussing why people are treating Allison like a villain when Viktor did objectively worse things with a wider reach and it did make me pause and reflect on my own gut reaction to all this, and there were good arguments made about the different standards Allison and Viktor are held to.
And I think the reason why I at least have a harder time liking Allison than Viktor in season one comes down to one big difference between their plotline, which is intent.
I think a good comparison are their two big fights in season one and three, that I think really parallel each other.
Viktor's actions, while much more disastrous and should be held accountable for, were presented as made in the heat of high emotions, in the middle of an emotional breakdown, and for example the 'slitting Allison's throat' incident made clear that Viktor never would have done that if he had taken the time to think before act and he showed immediate regret the moment it happened.
In the season three fight, Allison acts and speaks with the clear intent to hurt Viktor as much as possible - her using her power against Viktor is framed as deliberate, she doesn't pause to be shocked by the outburst and doesn't regret it. The comment about the basement didn't slip out in the heat of the moment either but instead obviously carefully picked as an immediate way of causing more pain for Viktor (the way she takes time to close in on him, almost whispering the words directly in his ear).
Though, there is also a vital difference in why S1!Allison and S3!Viktor were blamed and attacked during their fights - Allison, the moment she realizes what she'd done, immediately comes clean to Viktor and she doesn't hide her mistakes. S3!Viktor meanwhile deliberately hid an important information from Allison and still tries to justify his decisions during the confrontation. Prior to this, they both were the only ones in the family trying to help the other (Allison trying to include and bond with Viktor in S1 while no one else looked out for him, Viktor comforting Allison about her daughter and trying to get the briefcase back while no one else seems interested in doing so. Ironically, despite being the ones that tried the most, they both also get blamed the most about the trauma and situation the other is in).
So, yeah, a lot of similarities but pretty important distinctions in the details.
I don't think we can objectively judge which ones worse or more in wrong, because everyone has a different view on how important a role intent should play in a moral judgement. If you consider the consequences of their actions more important, Viktor is less sympathetic. If you consider the intent behind their actions to be more important, Allison is less sympathetic. Viktor's worst actions are made impulsively, Allison's are calculated.
Also, I just liked and found Harlan much more sympathetic than Pogo which is why Allison's murder appears worse to me than Viktor's. This also comes down to intent, though this time the intent of their victims. Pogo helped and enabled Reginald's abuse and manipulation of Viktor, fully aware what he's doing, while Harlan lost control of his powers when his mother died. And like with Allison and Viktor, one character did terrible things with intent while the other did much worse with long-reaching consequences but accidentally.
As it turns out, I am more preoccupied with how they ended up making these decisions instead of the consequences which I think has a bit to do with that I prioritize the emotional aspect in characters more.
I'm not going to deny their degree of relatability plays into this as well, Viktor being neglected and ignored hits closer to home than Allison losing her husband and daughter because I have not yet experienced a loss to that degree. That again boils down to personal preference.
Again, this isn't written to say one character is more redeemable than the other or one is more villainous, but just to showcase there are many reasons why someone might like one character's corruption arc more and/or is able to forgive their actions more than the other despite their similarities.
While I have different opinions, others do consider Viktor's actions more unforgivable and you know what, that's fair.
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