Vera, or Joan?

I like em both just as much, Both Classic and wonderful characters, Perhaps Vera was a bit more realistic at times, but i find them both entertaining in different ways.....

Oy, Joan by miles and miles! I've just recently begun watching the episodes with Joan (only saw Vera-era episodes in the US and UK back in the 80s) and she is thus totally brand-new to me. I absolutely love to hate her, and while she is over the top, she is a true sadist who enjoys inflicting as much damage--physical as well as emotional (e.g. her horrid comments to Bea about her daughter)--as she can.

Vera was probably the character I *hated* more than any other, but not love to hate--truly despise (although I do think she was well played by Fiona Spence). I have known people like Vera before--nasty, petty, vindictive, always citing rules and regulations when it serves them, and only then to curtail whatever little fun others are having, even when it's doing no harm whatsoever. Yet Vera was also a complete hypocrite, more than happy to bend rules and turn a blind eye whenever a man came along and offered her a bit of dick.

I do think they did a good job with Vera, though, as we see quite a few scenes in her private life that show how truly miserable and pathetic she was. Still, I would have liked to see her go out of the show in failure and shame rather than due to a promotion. She did all she could to make the women's lives a misery, and all for no reason other than she couldn't stand seeing others enjoy themselves. Joan is a sicko par excellence who gets off on what she is doing, and is a far more entertaining character than Vera.

Joan, no contests. One, I think she was the better character with more honest and clear motivations. I didn't agree with her treatment of the prisoners at Wentworth, but I understood where her hatred of prisoners came from. Vera was far less relatable on that front.

Two, Joan was just a better villain. Vera was all bark and no bite - she would put a prisoner on a charge, take away their privileges, but that was pretty much it. Joan, on the other hand, could and would mentally and physically beat a prisoner down, and enjoy every minute of it (cf. the Zara Moonbeam storyline). Plus, let's not forget, the black leather gloves. You could tell the prisoners had no fear of Vera, but watch episode 413 (when Joan comes back after being lynched) - the prisoners all collectively shat themselves when Joan walked in. It was very entertaining to watch.

Three, Joan, despite being the main antagonist of the series, was also the most layered and fleshed out of the characters. She was also far more honest, emotionally, than Saint Meg. Joan only trusted those who were worthy of trust (or at least not proven themselves to be untrustworthy). She loved kids, to the point that she was willing to lose her job over Ruth Ballinger. She loved dogs (you can see how truly devastated she was when Major died), her dad (she was willing to put her job and her life on the line for him), and her girlfriend.

Four, while I like Fiona Spence as Vera, I love Maggie Kirkpatrick as Joan. The way Maggie portrayed Joan was simply brilliant. The body language, the physicality, the facial expressions - I loved (and still love) watching Joan.

Vera!

Prefer Joan Ferguson. One the best characters on that show.

Joan. One of television's greatest and most iconic characters. Never a dull moment on the Ferguson shift.

Vera was overrated.

Vera or "Vinegar tits" was more interesting I think towards the end of the freaks run they tried to give her a more human side a well but it was too late as they had already gone too far in the direction.

Vera was more realistic and had a softer side. The Freak was more of a one dimensional cliche.