Nice Job Fixing It, Villain!

I've mentioned before that one way to write a sympathetic antagonist is to have their good intentions go horribly awry. This runs counter to the idea, which seems ingrained in a lot of fiction, that only good people with good intentions can accomplish good outcomes, and only bad people with bad intentions can cause suffering.
The inverse of the kindly-intentioned character who wreaks havoc, of course, is the villainous individual-- possibly with equally nefarious intentions-- who manages to do something beneficial as an unintended consequence of pushing their agenda. This also encompasses unpleasant people who accomplish ultimately positive ends by less-than-gentle methods.
This is another way to add a layer of uncertainty and complexity to your characters. It also demonstrates that their actions do not take place in a perfectly controlled vacuum, but rather a multifaceted world where intentions guarantee nothing.  [image error]