She automatically comes off as selfish and somewhat sinister, but she really seems to be ultimately misguided. Hell, almost all of her actions throughout the game were technically forced upon her regardless of her own opinion. I really think that she'd only ever get any sadistic pleasure from seeing people who she especially despises getting killed. Why? Just look at the freaking real ending. She could have very easily left Quote and Curly die.
Her greed is apparent at all times due to the fact that it was her who got Ballos to create the Demon Crown in the first place, but from that point onward, all of her offenses were merely the orders she received from her various masters. Of course, why else would Misery want the Demon Crown other than to become queen of the island, but do you think that she would have become an evil queen, or, say, a “naughty” one?
One major event that will definitely play into this argument is the “rape the dog” scene wherein The Doctor, Misery and Balrog finally find the Crimson Flowers in the Sand Zone and force one of the scarlet weeds down Toroko’s throat. Clearly, Misery is pleased when ugly ol’ Date suggests they use a Mimiga as a test subject… Of course, this is instead of using it on herself, a prospect that she had suggested no less than moment ago. Why did she do this? Well, really, she was either obligated to by the power that oppresses her or she became masochistic or suicidal during her long days of enslavement, maybe hoping for some semblance of sweet release. The latter, of course, I find very unlikely unless I forced myself to believe that her name really did apply directly to her. In the case of the more likely “forced by the crown” alternative, she’s almost definitely relieved that she dodged such a huge bullet, and I’d be pretty satisfied with that outcome if I was her too.
Now for the real stake in the heart of the “Misery is a sadistic bitch” theory: if you truly believe that Misery is being intentionally malicious in this scene, Balrog shares this evil. I mean, after all, he’s the one who performed the act in the first place and he showed absolutely no remorse for the act afterwards, at least not on screen. Does this mean Balrog is evil? I laugh at whomever says yes.