So, I just finished the Blood Meridian audiobook. I have a lot to think about, but in the spirit of this forum, I’d like to focus on the villain—Judge Holden.
Often placed alongside Griffith, Holden is frequently considered one of the greatest villains of all time, ranking alongside figures like Palpatine and AM. I think it’s interesting to compare the two.
From the outset, I should say that McCarthy’s work feels like a heavy critique of Nietzsche—specifically, of Will to Power—or at least, one possible end scenario (out of several) for the Übermensch. Similarly, Miura Sensei frequently explored Nietzschean themes, often more directly than McCarthy. Guts’ will to power, resilience, and amor fati are central to his character, and in my opinion, he is a worthy contender for the title of Übermensch.
Power and Dominion
Both Holden and Griffith embody different aspects of Will to Power. They share a cynical worldview and a philosophy that sees power as an end in itself.
Griffith seeks power in a structured, hierarchical sense—political power, dominion over a kingdom, and later, as Femto, control over reality itself. As Walter puts it:
“It’s no mystery. Griffith desires sovereignty. The most obvious path to that position is to own a kingdom.”
Griffith’s own rationale is made clear:
“In this age, the lives of the majority of people are spent catering to the whims of a handful of nobles and royal families. Everyone is merely entrusting their lives to a large stream… And everyone dies without even knowing who they were.”
His desire stems from a sense of superiority. He refuses to let his own lineage—or lack thereof—define him. He seeks absolute control: over others (as seen in his obsession with Guts) and over himself (as evidenced by his self-loathing for showing vulnerability toward Guts). This ultimately escalates when Femto reshapes the world into a dystopian kingdom where he reigns as an untouchable god.
Holden, on the other hand, seeks something more primal—the power of raw, unrestrained violence. He is not concerned with political rule or civilization; his dominion is one of total physical, intellectual, and psychological subjugation. He is the apex predator, the strongest ape, the embodiment of war itself. As he says:
“The freedom of birds insults me. I’d have them all in zoos.”
“Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.”
For Holden, control is absolute—whether in warfare, philosophy, or even over the very existence of others. There are no boundaries. He dominates through destruction, through the eradication of anything outside his control. This is reflected in his violence—his rapes, his killings, and his philosophical monologues asserting that morality is nothing but an illusion of the weak.
Method and Philosophy
For Judge Holden, war is both the method and the purpose. He views it not as a means to an end but as the defining principle of existence. He describes war as:
“War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner.”
“This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification. Seen so, war is the truest form of divination. It is the testing of one’s will and the will of another within that larger will which, because it binds them, is therefore forced to select. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god.”
“Moral law is an invention of mankind for the disenfranchisement of the powerful in favor of the weak. Historical law subverts it at every turn. A moral view can never be proven right or wrong by any ultimate test. A man falling dead in a duel is not thereby proven in error as to his views.”
For Holden, morality is nothing but a construct to constrain power. War is the only truth—because might is right. It is the fundamental law of existence, and through it, he achieves total control.
Griffith, in contrast, initially sees morality as an obstacle but struggles with the implications of discarding it. His goal—the acquisition of a kingdom—is not inherently evil, but his willingness to sacrifice anything to achieve it is what dooms him. He rationalizes his atrocities as necessary steps, yet deep down, he is tormented by the contradiction. The God Hand, particularly Void and Ubik, manipulate this internal conflict:
“Eyeing the castle in the sky. Taking it by piling up corpses endlessly. That is you. Bury everything in exchange for the past, in the ruins of your dream.”
The breaking point is the Eclipse. At that moment, Griffith fully abandons his humanity and becomes Femto, the personification of ambition stripped of all restraint. Unlike before, he no longer needs to justify his actions—he simply is. His methods no longer matter because his very existence has become a manifestation of absolute evil.
Motifs and Symbolism
Holden is an enigma. He displays supernatural knowledge and abilities within an otherwise grounded world. His presence, his philosophy, and his actions suggest he is more than human—perhaps a demon, a god of war, or something even more eldritch. He represents a side of humanity that has fully transcended moral and social constraints.
Griffith’s rise, fall, and damnation are classically symbolic of the Devil or the Antichrist—the beautiful, charismatic figure who lures people to their doom under the guise of salvation. As Femto, he embodies pure evil, his past rationalizations stripped away in favor of godlike cruelty.
Also, both of them are pale. Coincidence? I think not.
Anyway, thanks for reading this far! I just wanted to put some of my thoughts into words. I’m sure I missed things, generalized others, or misinterpreted a few aspects, but I really wanted to lay out the connections between these two characters. Let me know what you think