User blog comment:Verminfate/Essay: Who is the main villain in The Taggerung?/@comment-33198517-20150529034058/@comment-2246928-20150529065214

You call him the main villain, and yet Sawney Rath refused to attack Redwall Abbey and protected and supported Deyna throughout his childhood leading up to the day he told Deyna to kill Felch- And Deyna refused. He had seen Deyna as an adopted son, even considering having a mate in order for Deyna to be able to have a mother figure. In my opinion, this certainly bars out his role as Main Villain. Also, Askor the wolverine was the entire reason the events of Rakketty Tam occurred thanks to his theft of the Walking Stone; that doesn't make Askor the main villain, despite beginning the chaos that is the story- Gulo the Savage is.

Personally, I see Gruven as the main villain of Taggerung. You don't have to be particularly good at anything to be downright evil, or even command a band. When Brian Jacques wanted to prove that you didn't have to be ugly to be a villain, he created Ferahgo. When he wanted to prove that you didn't have to be strong or smart or fast or feared to be a villain, he created Gruven. Gruven was the reason Antigra murdered Sawney Rath, and thanks to his mother, Gruven came to power and seized control of the Juska, becoming the leader he (or at least Antigra) always thought he deserved to be. Gruven was lazy, stupid, careless and selfish, and singlepawed, he caused the deaths of multiple members of his own paw-selected band, turned Rawback insane after trying to lead him to his death, helped murder a bunch of pygmy shrews and taunted them as they lay dying, and obsessively tailed Deyna despite running like a coward at every chance he could. Eventually, he's what leads Ruggan Bor to Redwall, and dies the death he deserved- That of the spineless, lying maggot he had always been, slain by a single blow.