None of our villains do things that are sadistic for no reason. They all have reasons, it’s whether or not the audience subjectively accepts their reasons. Example. Regina sadistically orders the death of an entire village when they will not give up Snow White. You and I are put it down as an atrocity. @WickedRegal will dance around us telling us why Regina’s reasons were justified. Rumple murders a mute maid to keep her from drawing a picture of his dagger. I can find a reasoning behind this in the form of self preservation and preservation of his child. Others have argued with me. So anything Hook has done might be sadistic and with reason, but it all comes to down to do I, the subjective viewer, accept his reason.
Fair enough–you’re right, the villains will definitely justify their actions to themselves at least. I suppose it does come back to the fact that Hook’s crimes were far less than those of the others, both in terms of numbers and severity, and I can understand his reasoning–avenging murdered loved ones. And that’s basically Regina’s reasoning too, but she went after someone who didn’t do it instead of the person who did. I’d have much more sympathy for Regina if she had been trying to go after her mother to avenge Daniel’s death instead of someone who really wasn’t at fault for it. (Although I still wouldn’t be able to get over, say, murdering an entire village for example–but I don’t think it would have been an issue since I doubt people would have been willing to give their lives to protect Cora.)