Borderlands is known for its cartoonishly sadistic villains. The two main antagonists of the third numbered entry, Troy and Tyreen Calypso, fit the bill perfectly. They are not woven of the same cloth as Handsome Jack, but they are just as evil, if not more so. Through the game's lens, much of what they do is seen as comedic, but even with this in mind, a few heinous acts come off as especially cruel.
The ten entries below will detail the ten worst things the twins get up to during Borderlands 3. Some of them the twins do together, while a few are committed by one of them only. Those who don't want spoilers should probably look away if they have yet to beat the game.
10 Take Away Lilith's Powers
Lilith is a proud and powerful Siren who always helps out the Vault Hunter. During the game's introductory chapter, the Crimson Raiders are preparing to launch Sanctuary into space. Moments before they prepare for liftoff, the Children of the Vault launch a surprise attack.
Troy and Tyreen surround Lilith and absorb her powers. Her marks disappear and she is unable to use any of her abilities. The former playable character from the first game marches on with her head held high, but the experience takes a toll on her.
9 Kidnap Hammerlock
Sir Hammerlock has been through some rough stuff, evidenced by his artificial appendages. He can certainly hold his own, but that doesn't make it right when the Calypsos kidnap him.
Furthermore, Hammerlock's abduction is not a simple snatch and run in the middle of the night; his own sister, Aurelia, sells him out to the twins in exchange for control of the Jakobs corporation. Fortunately, players quickly save Hammerlock and he makes it out mostly unscathed.
8 Kill Montgomery Jakobs
The Jakobs corporation is based on Eden-6, a swamp planet whose inhabitants resemble residents of New Orleans in their demeanor. Unfortunately for the planet, the Calypsos are intent on opening a Vault lying in wait. During their search for the Vault Key, the twins kill Montgomery Jakobs.
Montgomery loses his life, but the twins don't find the key. By the end of the player's time on Eden-6, the Jakobs corporation is back in good hands, but Montgomery can never be brought back to life.
7 Kidnap Tannis
After learning of the Calypsos' true intentions in finding each vault - they wish to absorb the monsters' powers and eventually obtain omnipotence - Patricia Tannis devises a way to permanently destroy a monster before the villains have the chance to take its strength.
Her plan is successful, but it enrages the twins, prompting them to kidnap her out of nowhere. Tannis has been a notable supporting character since the beginning. Anything bad happening to her would be an immense tragedy. The Vault Hunter rescues her, but the kidnapping fuels the Crimson Raiders' rage towards the twins even more.
6 The Twins Broadcast Their Wrongdoings
The two siblings are a parody of social media influencers. To some, their jokes fall flat, but the idea of people becoming popular over the Internet by committing unspeakable crimes against humanity hits a little close to reality.
They even edit in slapstick music and comedic sound effects. All of the twins' henchmen are followers of their videos and part of their cult, and not paid goons like the Maliwan troops.
5 Make Their Followers Kill Each Other
Several times throughout the game, either in quests or echo logs, the twins force their followers to either maim themselves or each other. One quest even sees the two pitting teams of their fanatic worshipers against each other in a game to see which of the siblings they love more.
In a separate instance, Tyreen forces a follower to cut off his own leg to prove his loyalty. When he cuts off the wrong leg, she acts disappointed and eliminates him on the spot.
4 Troy Tortures Hammerlock's Friends
During Hammerlock's time in captivity, he makes a few close friends. One side quest tasks the players with finding their current location. The player discovers some of their mangled corpses and echo logs detailing their final moments.
Troy used them as guinea pigs to test out new powers. A couple of others were turned into super-powered enemies whom the player must destroy. Maybe they were in prison for doing something unseemly, but they probably didn't deserve a painful end at the hands of Troy.
3 Killing Their Father
The game's last area is Nekrotafayo, where the missing Typhon DeLeon has been living for decades since his disappearance. The Crimson Raiders eventually discover that the first Vault Hunter is Tyreen and Troy's father.
Typhon feels immense guilt for the twins' transformation into monsters, and while he loves them, he understands they need to be put down. During a confrontation between him and Tyreen, she mortally wounds the petite character. Most have some issues with their parents, and Tyreen's gripe may not be entirely unjustified, but killing one's own father is low.
2 Killing Maya
When raiding the Vault on Promethea, Ava tags along against Maya's wishes. When the twins show up to rain on the player's parade, Ava tries to fight them but is easily overpowered. Maya then comes to the rescue. She successfully protects Ava, but while holding Troy hostage he seizes the opportunity to absorb her powers, causing her to disintegrate in front of her apprentice's eyes.
It's one of the game's more dramatic moments, as Maya was a playable character in the second game. Most can only imagine what it's like for a young teenager to see their teacher and most trusted guardian turn to dust in front of them.
1 They Try To Become Gods
It's unclear what the twins' objective is at first, but all of their mayhem and Vault scourings is for a single purpose: Becoming gods. Troy bites it when trying to activate the Vault Key, which is Pandora's moon, but Tyreen gets dangerously close to fulfilling her goal.
After successfully merging with The Great Vault's monster, The Destroyer, the player takes her out during the game's final boss fight. Had she won, she would have had the power to destroy entire planets with the snap of a finger.