Is Ray Bulgarin an undeveloped antagonist?

[Liberty-TG]

Ray Bulgarin as seen and also described by Niko,was a man with a lot of conections,smart,rude,dark,dangerous,angry that would do anything to get what he wants.He appared only in two cinematics and looked intimidating.

In TBOGT,Bulgarin is a crazy,angry man obsesed with money but is not dark or intimidating just a crazy which does little to kill Luis and Tony,and he don't want revenge on Luis that much,since he wants to leave the city.(Don't understand besside killing him why he would be a thread if he would leave town without Luis killing him)

In TBOGT I think Bulgarin should've been more dark like IV and to do more to kill Luis.

[Davao]

Yes. Niko should have killed him. After the diamond fiasco we never hear of him again in IV.  There was no backstory on how he turned up in IV.   Considering Niko was his enemy, Niko should have killed him not Luis.  He is a massively undeveloped character and the story in IV should have had more of a focus on him

[Grotti Vigilante]

Bulgarin is criminally underdeveloped for an antagonist. Never mind what he did in The Ballad of Gay Tony, in GTA IV he was one of the reasons Niko fled for Liberty City, and he was Dimitri's good friend which is why he betrayed Niko and caused such problems through the entire story of Grand Theft Auto IV. Yet for some reason he never appears for the majority of the game and ends up as a loose end until The Ballad of Gay Tony. He had such an impact on Niko's past life yet so little on the GTA IV story. Even when he actually got some development it didn't live up to how he was described by Niko. The fact he had more impact on Luis' story than Niko's seems to be a rare miss on Rockstar's part.

[DirtCheap]

I think he should've been the main antagonist of IV. Before Rascalov's betrayal, he was said to be some mean f*cker who'd use his connections to get what he wanted. Yet he only appears TWICE throughout the entire game. Not only that, but we could've seen some amazing dialogue between him and Niko during a fight. It would be far more understandable to have him as a antagonist than Pegorino.

 

He fortunately appears in TBOGT (showing us he wasn't forgotten), yet he's more of a joke than anything. He should be Niko's enemy, not Luis'.

 

Also, very nitpicky, but he doesn't have such a threatening name. Rascalov and Faustin do, but RAY Bulgarin? Doesn't sound very Ruski to me.

[Grotti Vigilante]

38 minutes ago, DirtCheap said:

Also, very nitpicky, but he doesn't have such a threatening name. Rascalov and Faustin do, but RAY Bulgarin? Doesn't sound very Ruski to me.

Some speculation suggests his actual full first name was Rodislav, making his name Rodislav Bulgarin. It sounds reasonable, but there's no evidence to support this as his actual name.

[Nico]

I strongly believe Bulgarin was originally going to have a deeper involvement in the base game storyline, but ended up being one of the many changes meant to "spice up" TBOGT. Him as an additional main antagonist alongside Dimitri and Pegorino would have been awesome. There's not too much details about his past relationship with Niko when they both worked in human trafficking in the Adriatic sea, and I feel like Rockstar missed a great opportunity there to enhance both characters. But no, instead they chose to ruin him in TBOGT, in more or less the same way Donald Love was ruined in LCS. Not to mention how crazy and over the top his fate is. That plane explosion should have killed Luis too.

[TheSantader25]

The first time I saw him "Russian Revolution" I was like damn! This dude is serious and does not play around at all. He was intimidating as f*ck. Unlike Dimitri who looked like a sly rat. I thought he had potential to dethrone Tenpenny as the best Antagonist of the series. I was looking forward to more interactions with him and Niko. Disappointing... Dimitri was a good antagonist. But not good enough to be the main one. Instead of Bulgarin we get a whiny weak crybaby like Pegorino. Why didn't they keep Pegorino for TBOGT? It would make sense as well because Tony had connections with the Ancellotis and the commission. And he turns into a joke in TBOGT. I mean I liked the change of tone in TBOGT but they didn't have to make EVERY character into a colorful one. Especially not Bulgarin. Only when he sends Luis to a death trap and his later phone calls remind me of the Bulgarin I saw in IV. 

 

This whole lack of focus on the Russians who are supposed to be Niko's main problem after Niko moves to Algonquin really degraded IV's story for me. Instead we should run around meeting NEW people every 2-3 missions and act like an errand boy. IV had one of the best Writings I've seen in a videogame up to the Bohan part. A Shame it didn't keep the same focus. 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by TheSantader25

[Wylyth1992]

I think its suppose to show that Ray Bulgarin shows an affable front to people who haven't wronged him (like Luis at first), but once you have wronged him (or he THINKS you have wronged him), that front falls apart and he shows his true side, which you see in GTA IV and post "In The Crosshairs" TBoGT.

[iiCriminnaaL]

I can already think of how interesting it would've been had he been the main antagonist of GTA IV, or at least him and Dimitri being the two main antagonists in the same time. But either way, I can see why R* gave Dimitri that role, and not Bulgarin. They wanted the player to experience a betrayal, to meet him for the first time and feel safe that the protagonist has become friends with him, until he turns on the former and tries his best to make his life a living hell. That can't be properly done with Bulgarin, given the fact that he was already an enemy of Niko prior to 2008.

 

Either way, I don't have to explain why it felt very forced to give him a backseat for TBOGT, but at least they could've done it better. They didn't have to show that too "friendly" side of him, even if it's true that crime lords enjoy their hobbies in their free time. His antagonism should've happened a little earlier, because it doesn't feel so much different from Pegorino's last minute betrayal. And yeah... those angry child phone calls weren't a necessary neither. They just made it impossible to take him seriously, even after what he did to that cook.

 

Kinda off-topic, but I believe it could've been better if him and Pegorino switched roles. Pegorino is tied to the Ancelottis (even though they do have some kind of rivalries), given the fact that he was looking forward to take part in the Commission. They could've found an easy way to write him a role that properly connects him to TBOGT's story, with Rocco, Vince, and the Ancelottis. As for Bulgarin, I believe it could of worked if he was the one who ambushes the wedding during the Revenge ending, avenging Dimitri as he was a close friend of him. The last mission would play the same, except that you kill Bulgarin and his Russian goons instead of Pegorino and the Italians. As for Deal, him and his goons could've been in the old casino along with Dimitri and Pegorino. It could've been written as, instead of Dimitri killing Pegorino for his own benefit only, it would be that he had been planning to get rid of him and sell half of the heroin to Bulgarin instead. Hell, I'm not a writer, but the developers could've found appropriate scenarios that fit with the story.

 

Not saying that Pegorino as an antagonist doesn't make sense, but it's just that he's not as powerful as Dimitri or Bulgarin, nor did we get enough time to establish hatred towards him. I just believe that Bulgarin could've been a better choice.

[Sentinel Driver]

TBOGT was too short to build him up as an antagonist for the game

and his death makes no sense or I mean

he's escaping on a plane so Luis pulls off an unrealistic stunt to get on the plane and then a hand grenade rips apart the whole plane?

ok it looks cool but doesn't really make sense. Why didn't Yusuf just use his buzzard to blow up Bulgarin's plane before he could take off

[billiejoearmstrong8]

I think his character was pretty well shown but there were just a few too many silly extras added on top. If the dumb guitar playing and shooting the sister through the floor parts weren't included I'd have no complaints, he's a good villain and I didn't mind part of his personality being a bit crass and laughable (eg his interaction with Luis and Tony in the club or being into the sports team), just needed toning down a bit. Also would've been nice to see him interacting with Niko more but he's still a good character that I enjoyed in both games either way. So yeah his character is underdeveloped but not criminally so.

[Bratva Assassin]

I actually don’t think so. I like how he had a beef with both Niko Bellic and Luis Fernando Lopez at the same time. I also like how he enjoyed his underboss, Timur’s guitar skills, as well as arcade games in his mansion. I agree though, that he really isn’t AS developed of an antagonist as Dimitri Rascalov or Billy Grey. 

[tranceking26]

He loved his grenades, that's what will be written on his tombstone. 

[Jeansowaty]

I don't think he is. He's the type of guy who comes across as an intimidating criminal mastermind yet he's actually nothing more than a typical pussy. Don't get me wrong, he is crazy and creepy even though we see his "bright side", but on the other hand he comes across as pathetic too. Even Niko calls him a coward because he didn't stay to fight Niko personally. He's not a bad antagonist, but he just has a far weaker personality than say, Dimitri, who was not intimidated by Niko at all and never thought of backing off.

[Megumi]

I always felt that they only threw Bulgarin into TBoGT is so that they can clear up loose ends from the GTA IV story.

 

Bulgarin and the Russian mafia were just extremely forced in Luis’s story, they just appeared outta nowhere halfway through the campaign and suddenly ended up being the main antagonists. I would’ve preferred if the main antagonists of TBOGT were the Ancelottis instead, especially that major a-hole Old Man Ancelotti.

[BrynnaDaRosa]

Oh, absolutely. That man ruined Niko's life for the second time. The guy was a sex trafficker. I couldn't believe that i didn't get to kill him in IV. Killing him in TBOGT at the end was awesome but it made me so angry and upset at the same time because like, what about Niko? There's no way for him to even find out that he's finished. 

Edited April 22, 2020 by BrynnaDaRosa

[Niobium]

yes. occasionally he felt threatening to luis, like when he showed the cook's head, but he still comes across as a goofy man a lot of the time.

 

having bulgarin as the main antagonist for luis mane instead of niko was fine. it's just that he could have been a lot more threatening.

[universetwisters]

I don't think he's undeveloped, I just think that in TBOGT we were able to see a more casual, jovial side of him that Niko wasn't able to see. 
 

[crazyduelist95]

On 1/2/2019 at 5:54 PM, Liberty-TG said:

Ray Bulgarin as seen and also described by Niko,was a man with a lot of conections,smart,rude,dark,dangerous,angry that would do anything to get what he wants.He appared only in two cinematics and looked intimidating.

In TBOGT,Bulgarin is a crazy,angry man obsesed with money but is not dark or intimidating just a crazy which does little to kill Luis and Tony,and he don't want revenge on Luis that much,since he wants to leave the city.(Don't understand besside killing him why he would be a thread if he would leave town without Luis killing him)

In TBOGT I think Bulgarin should've been more dark like IV and to do more to kill Luis.

Bulgarin was not leaving the town forever he was going to bnring more men to the city and hunt down luis and Tony for buying his diamonds without his permission that is why luis wanted to stop him from leaving

[Guest]

I just wish he was more threatening.

[billiejoearmstrong8]

41 minutes ago, OH76 said:

I just wish he was more threatening.

 

I think he actually was pretty threatening even in TBOGT, his phone calls to Luis and the thing where he lures him to the roof and gets him to open the box are very menacing. Just could've done without the dumb guitar playing and being obsessed with a sports team stuff alongside it.

Edited February 22, 2021 by billiejoearmstrong8

[4lly]

I was reading the comments and I don't think people here understood Bulgarin's purpose as a villain.

 

I completely disagree with people who say that Ray was was not well used in GTA IV because of his personality in TBoGT. Although Ray has a connection to Niko's past, the real villain of Niko in fact it was always Dimitri, because he was the one who decided to betray Niko and sell him to Bulgarin. The choice to make Jimmy Pegorino the final boss was the right choice, as the developers wanted to show how Dimitri was manipulative and powerful as a villain, even after his death, he still impacts the events of Niko's life and manages to make even the people Niko worked with, also betray him. And they wanted the betrayal to come from someone unexpected like Pegorino. If Bulgarin were the final villain, it would become very predictable.

 

When Niko is about to kill Dimitri, Dimitri says that if Niko did that, it would bring consequences. But Niko was too blinded by revenge to care (although Dimitri really deserved to die). One of Niko's main goals during the game was revenge, he was someone who was quite vengeful. In the end, Niko learned that this cycle of revenge only brought consequences to him and the people around him and that even though he got rid of those who hurt him and his friends, he still remained empty.

The main reason Ray Bulgarin came to Liberty City was for the diamonds that were stolen from him by the cook, and all 3 protagonists have involvement with this event. The involvement of Bulgarin and the Russians in TBoGT does not sound forced, as some people have said here. Bulgarin owned a lot of property in Liberty City and was in interest in buying Tony's clubs, so he ended up meeting Luis. Tony decided to buy the diamonds, on account of his consumerist boyfriend, and it turned into a big mess.

 

Bulgarin as a villain in TBoGT was the best choice and totally makes sense. Because Rockstar wanted to show that Bulgarin was not the person he wanted to appear to be. He might have had power and influence in his country, in Russia, but in Liberty City things are different. He was not the only dangerous mobster in the city, which by the way had many more dangerous criminals than him. He might have had money and muscle, but he couldn't make a name for himself as he did in Russia and was a joke in America (Bulgarin's sister says this).

 

Even Niko calls him a coward after his failed attempt to kill Niko. He is seen running together with Dimitri, as he did not have the courage to confront him after all his men were killed. Dimitri and Bulgarin were both cowards, but Dimitri was more persistent in confronting Niko out of pure sadism, he was a psychopath who liked to see the people around him suffer.

 

Bulgarin's eccentric personality matches TBoGT's more laid-back, whacky tone. We must also remember that although people like him commit terrible acts, these kinds of people live their lives normally, have their tastes, and do normal things like the rest of us. He may have been a terrible person who worked in human trafficking, but he was also a guy who liked to play on a guitar and liked sports. This makes him a not one-dimensional villain and with personality.

 

Bulgarin accused Niko of robbing him in Europe and did the same to Luis in Liberty City and betrayed him. But he made a mistake, because Luis had allies who had as much power as he did. In the end, Luis unintentionally solved Niko's problem by killing Bulgarin and preventing him from trying anything against Niko again.

It is also worth noting that Bulgarin is not the only one to have connections with one protagonist and end up being killed by another. This also happens with Ray Boccino, who was one of Johnny's villains, but ended up being killed by Niko. Rockstar did this so that the actions of the 3 characters would have an effect on each of their stories. After all GTA 4 is not just about Niko, but about Luis and Johnny as well.

 

And about Luis surviving in Bulgarin's plane explosion, yes, that was intentional. Because Dan Houser said in an interview, that for TBoGT, he wanted the action to be ridiculous.

[billiejoearmstrong8]

11 minutes ago, 4lly said:

I was reading the comments and I don't think people here understood Bulgarin's purpose as a villain.

 

I completely disagree with people who say that Ray was was not well used in GTA IV because of his personality in TBoGT. Although Ray has a connection to Niko's past, the real villain of Niko in fact it was always Dimitri, because he was the one who decided to betray Niko and sell him to Bulgarin. The choice to make Jimmy Pegorino the final boss was the right choice, as the developers wanted to show how Dimitri was manipulative and powerful as a villain, even after his death, he still impacts the events of Niko's life and manages to make even the people Niko worked with, also betray him. And they wanted the betrayal to come from someone unexpected like Pegorino. If Bulgarin were the final villain, it would become very predictable.

 

When Niko is about to kill Dimitri, Dimitri says that if Niko did that, it would bring consequences. But Niko was too blinded by revenge to care (although Dimitri really deserved to die). One of Niko's main goals during the game was revenge, he was someone who was quite vengeful. In the end, Niko learned that this cycle of revenge only brought consequences to him and the people around him and that even though he got rid of those who hurt him and his friends, he still remained empty.

The main reason Ray Bulgarin came to Liberty City was for the diamonds that were stolen from him by the cook, and all 3 protagonists have involvement with this event. The involvement of Bulgarin and the Russians in TBoGT does not sound forced, as some people have said here. Bulgarin owned a lot of property in Liberty City and was in interest in buying Tony's clubs, so he ended up meeting Luis. Tony decided to buy the diamonds, on account of his consumerist boyfriend, and it turned into a big mess.

 

Bulgarin as a villain in TBoGT was the best choice and totally makes sense. Because Rockstar wanted to show that Bulgarin was not the person he wanted to appear to be. He might have had power and influence in his country, in Russia, but in Liberty City things are different. He was not the only dangerous mobster in the city, which by the way had many more dangerous criminals than him. He might have had money and muscle, but he couldn't make a name for himself as he did in Russia and was a joke in America (Bulgarin's sister says this).

 

Even Niko calls him a coward after his failed attempt to kill Niko. He is seen running together with Dimitri, as he did not have the courage to confront him after all his men were killed. Dimitri and Bulgarin were both cowards, but Dimitri was more persistent in confronting Niko out of pure sadism, he was a psychopath who liked to see the people around him suffer.

 

Bulgarin's eccentric personality matches TBoGT's more laid-back, whacky tone. We must also remember that although people like him commit terrible acts, these kinds of people live their lives normally, have their tastes, and do normal things like the rest of us. He may have been a terrible person who worked in human trafficking, but he was also a guy who liked to play on a guitar and liked sports. This makes him a not one-dimensional villain and with personality.

 

Bulgarin accused Niko of robbing him in Europe and did the same to Luis in Liberty City and betrayed him. But he made a mistake, because Luis had allies who had as much power as he did. In the end, Luis unintentionally solved Niko's problem by killing Bulgarin and preventing him from trying anything against Niko again.

It is also worth noting that Bulgarin is not the only one to have connections with one protagonist and end up being killed by another. This also happens with Ray Boccino, who was one of Johnny's villains, but ended up being killed by Niko. Rockstar did this so that the actions of the 3 characters would have an effect on each of their stories. After all GTA 4 is not just about Niko, but about Luis and Johnny as well.

 

And about Luis surviving in Bulgarin's plane explosion, yes, that was intentional. Because Dan Houser said in an interview, that for TBoGT, he wanted the action to be ridiculous.

 

Nailed it. Personally I found his level of wackiness in TBOGT a bit much, but it was in keeping with the tone of the game really. He's definitely not "underdeveloped", he plays his role in IV and then is a major character featured heavily in TBOGT, becoming the final boss of the entire trilogy. I think most people's beef is more how his personality was in TBOGT. But even with that he was still very menacing, at the club and in phone calls to Luis and through his actions and what we know about him. Or that they liked IV more than TBOGT so would've preferred to see him there. But that doesn't mean he was underdeveloped, just means he wasn't developed the way everyone wants. 

[Donald Lov]

3 hours ago, billiejoearmstrong8 said:

 

 I think most people's beef is more how his personality was in TBOGT. But even with that he was still very menacing, at the club and in phone calls to Luis and through his actions and what we know about him. 

Absolutely. After all, I have a hard time thinking of anybody who decapitates people to threaten his enemies as wacky. This is batsh*t insane; this is some Manhunt type deal.

 

[billiejoearmstrong8]

2 hours ago, Notorious_Jack said:

Absolutely. After all, I have a hard time thinking of anybody who decapitates people to threaten his enemies as wacky. This is batsh*t insane; this is some Manhunt type deal.

 

 

 I forgot about that! For real, probably the most disturbing moment in a GTA game. The way Luis jumped and kicked it away, I felt that.

Edited January 9, 2022 by billiejoearmstrong8

[LegitimatePride]

On 1/9/2022 at 3:29 AM, 4lly said:

Bulgarin as a villain in TBoGT was the best choice and totally makes sense. Because Rockstar wanted to show that Bulgarin was not the person he wanted to appear to be. He might have had power and influence in his country, in Russia, but in Liberty City things are different. He was not the only dangerous mobster in the city, which by the way had many more dangerous criminals than him. He might have had money and muscle, but he couldn't make a name for himself as he did in Russia and was a joke in America (Bulgarin's sister says this).

You said Bulgarin being the villain of TBoGT makes sense but you didn't elaborate why, you only described how they wrote him... sorry, what? And I don't what you're basing all of this around, Bulgarin not only is very connected with Niko, but he also tried to torment and hunt down Niko after learning him being in LC (just like he did in Europe), he's even the reason Niko and Roman decided to move away from Hove Beach.

 

Hell, Dimitri and Bulgarin are stated to be very good friends, it would be expected he would come after Niko after he learning he killed Dimitri... which is actually confirmed to be the case in TBoGT, but he just didn't do it for some reason, despite knowing the only person wanting to kill them is Niko. The characters saying "this is over" while we know that Bulgarin is still out there as a threat and most likely still searching for Niko doesn't feel right.

Edited June 25, 2022 by LegitimatePride