Jeremy Is the Villain - Peep Show Theory

Jez: Now pass me the Doritos or I'll blow my brains out.

There is much talk on online Peep Show forms about who the real "villain" of the show is. The easy answer is Jeff, but if you remember it's a POV show and look at it objectively, he's one of the most normal characters. Lots of people consider others from Alan Johnson to Sophie Chapman for being the source of everyone's misery. Thoroughly underrepresented is Jez.

Having painstakingly combed through every episode I've tried to account for every wrong and sociopathic action Jeremy has been responsible for:

• Sabotages his interview at Mark's work.
• Sabotages Mark so he won't leave with Johnson.
• destroys Mark's laptop.
• Maces Superhans.
• Tries to kiss Sophie during their trip.
• Pretends to have terminal illness to get a handjob.
• Threatens Gog with a bat.
• Rips up a homeless man's forms.
• Steals from Mr Rasheed.
• Cheats on Nancy.
• Punches lovely Stu in a church.
• Tries taking an insane woman's pub.
• Tries to get two friends sectioned.
• Locks Mark in his room after drugging him.
• Sleeps with Mark's sister.
• Sleeps with Mark's fiance's mother.
• Tries to sell his girlfriend for sex.
• Snogs Sophie.
• Traps a woman in a flotation tank.
• Does a poo in a pool.
• Says a personal trainer sexually assaulted Mark.
• Drives pissed and stoned.
• Eats a dog in front of its owner.
• Doesn't mention to Suze he has chlamydia.
• Steals thousands on Johnson's credit.
• Tries to put a gun in his mom's bag.
• Ruins Mark's chances with the war diaries.
• Destroys Cally's RV and blames it on Mark.
• Sleeps with Mark's wife.
• Continues his affair with Elena.
• Tries to drink drive during Sophie's labor.
• Begins an affair with Zahra.
• Makes Mark lose his job by grifting.
• Ruins Mark's proposal and relationship with Dobby.
• Forcibly removes Jerry and waterboards him.
• Begins an affair with each side of the couple he's life coaching.
• Steals Mark's key for the Pub Man.
• Causes Mark to lose his job again, at the bank.
• Kills a fish.
• Leaves a snake in a kids soft play area.
• Helps kidnap Angus.

Food for thought. Now to be fair, the Peep Show world is degenerative and any character, given enough screen time, would show fault. Jeremy is still up there, showing the psychopathic lack of remorse ("I've been having this really weird feeling in my brain..." "It's call guilt, Jeremy, most people feel it quite a lot.") and an indifference to the consequences of his actions.

If you were to rank Peep Show characters as villains in accordance to their screen on-time, the list would be roughly:

1. Natalie - for raping Mark
2. Sophie - for forcing a pregnancy
3. Gregory - physical violence
4. Jeremy - for reasons listed above

A final alternative theory for the villain of Peep show is... "The Boiler." It's got an idiosyncratic control panel, can't maintain an adequate temperature, it's the most boring purchase as it only provides the resumption of an equitable temperature, it's too hot, can't be tricked, ruins Mark's sex life, explodes on the day his son is born, and eventually leads to the damp in the wall that means Dobby can't move in.