Cotter is the personification of evil. He is morally reprehensible in character and deed, and his physical appearance adds to his loathsomeness. Cotter could be considered a caricature, if he were not based on an actual British politician, who shared his gargantuan girth and passion for young boys. There are overtones of Jabba the Hutt, the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, and shades of James I.

Cotter stepped into Mo Dickens’s slagerhaus fully formed. He was there to take over ownership, put his deviant mark on Carlos’s character, and cast Juan out to the Slough, where he would grow in his own way. 

Is someone born evil, or do circumstances forge their path? In Cotter’s case, I believe he came out of the womb seeking destruction. Like most bullies, he was bigger and more violent than those around him. He took pleasure in seeing the discomfort of others, whether torturing defenseless animals, or branding his own sister.

I did add one redeeming feature for Cotter, in leaving Nell a pot of gold in his will. We will never know why he succumbed to one act of kindness before his timely demise.