Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-25926288-20150420021238/@comment-5106672-20150427024659

I don't think the show portrays villais as smarter than the heroes. I think they're simply shown as more effective in the short run due to their disregard of collateral damage you pointed out, until everything blows up in their face in the long run. Indeed, when they've been good, some way or another things have favoured Snow and Charming; the moment they did a big mistake and kept digging deeper into it, things have turned against them.

I only think SOME of the villains are better than heroes at coping with the consequences of what they've done – or at least, they're becoming so. Regina went through a big phase of denial and blame pushing, but she is ultimately learning to come to terms with what she's done, taking responsibility for it and trying to use that gained wisdom to benefit others (mostly Emma in this latest arc). On the other hand, Snow and Charming are still clinging to self-justification and have tried to cover up their dirty little secret instead of dealing with it, and we've seen how it has turned out. I think heroes are simply less used to dealing with mistakes than villains are and this is why they seem less smart.

(Then there's Rumple, who never learns a thing. Well, maybe he took a small step at looooong last, but he's still hell-bent on his self-destructive path).